Handbook
The game’s own Traveler’s-Guide tips on how its systems work: bonding Anima, repairing Aspect Fractures, the Apex Club and Apex Forum, synergy, and more. Tap any entry to read the full explainer with screenshots. Summarized from the closed beta (via the Fandom wiki) and not officially confirmed.
Exploration (Planar Travel)
Gameplay Tutorial
This walks through the main things to do. First, raise your Apex Forum rating by challenging its members; reaching Level 4 (the Seeded Contestant tier) earns an invite to the Championship Qualifiers. Second, explore the town, bond with more Anima, repair Aspect Fractures, and work toward restoring peace. Third, help the residents of Iia by completing their Happiness Events. Finally, advance the main story, finish Quests, and fight Nexus Battles. All of these grant Experience and raise your player level.
Bonding Anima
A Bond is the link you form with a Nexus Anima that lets you summon and use it. In most cases you create the Bond after defeating that Anima in battle. While exploring, any Anima you haven't bonded yet is marked with a special icon floating above it, so the ones still available are easy to spot.
Powerful Anima
As you adventure, you might come across extremely rare and powerful Anima. Like other Anima, you can form a Bond with these after defeating them in battle, making them a prize for players who manage to find and beat them.
Aspect Fractures
Aspect Sundering Fractures (usually shortened to Aspect Fractures) are spread across the world, left behind by the Sundering. To take one on you must bring Anima of a specific Aspect, since only Anima of the matching Aspect can challenge a given Fracture.
Attributes and Choices
You shape three attributes: Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT) and Charisma (CHA). They affect combat numbers, and they also shape your personality and behavior. Many dialogue options stay locked until you meet the required attribute thresholds, so building the right stats opens new conversation choices.
Battle Team
Before a battle you can freely adjust your team's composition, and you can save several setups to swap between them quickly. On PC there's a shortcut: right-clicking lets you rapidly deploy or equip your Anima, Kardia and Relics.
Day and Night
You can change the time of day by sitting on certain benches, switching between day and night as you like. This matters for collecting Anima, since some only appear at night and won't show up during the day.
Gliding
Some Anima make getting around much easier by granting a Glide ability. Once you've set an Anima with Glide, jump off an elevated spot and press jump again in mid-air to start gliding, helping you cover ground and explore more freely.
Quick Travel
Quick Travel lets you jump instantly to places you've already unlocked. Open the Map and select an unlocked location to fast-travel there.
Committee for a Joyful Iia
This activity is about getting to know the people who live in town. By interacting with residents and completing their Happiness Events, you steadily build up your reputation in the community.
Research Topics
You can find the Research Topics for each Anima inside the Anidex. Completing one of these research tasks unlocks the matching Anima Avatar as a reward.
Petrilog
Petrilogs are Nexus Anima of the Stasis category, found scattered around town. Collecting Petrilogs in their different poses earns special rewards, so it's worth seeking out the various forms they appear in.
Consumables
Consumables are items you can check in your Inventory. When used, a consumable stays effective for a limited time and temporarily changes a character's Attributes during that window.
Artifacts
Artifacts are items you view and use directly from your Inventory. Using one grants a special buff that stays active for a set number of battles before it runs out.
Nexus Strands
Equipping Nexus Strands boosts your Anima's combat abilities, and since every Strand has its own unique effect, it's worth experimenting with combinations. You acquire them from the Echo Pawnshop, or earn them through the Apex Club once you've leveled up enough.
Apex Forum
The Apex Forum is a competitive ladder where you face skilled opponents across the skill levels. Beating them earns Apex Forum Victory Points, which raise your overall rating; reaching Level 4 sends an invitation to the Championship Qualifiers. You'll also meet Duel Aficionados wandering around town, and defeating these random challengers is another way to earn Victory Points.
Infinite Vortex
The Infinite Vortex revolves around the idea that the choices you make lead to different outcomes and possibilities. By anchoring all of those possibilities within the Infinite Vortex, you can unlock hidden content tied to the various paths you take.
Combat (Nexus Battle)
Synergy
Synergy is a battle mechanic triggered by team composition. If you deploy enough Anima that share the same Aspect or the same Trait, you activate Synergy effects, which is a reason to group Anima with matching characteristics together.
Apex Club
Taking part in the official Apex Club challenges opens up more Gauntlet Principles and items to use. As you climb the membership ranks, even more Principles and goods become available. The higher tiers also demand a greater number of trophies to complete, so the difficulty scales up as you progress.
Nexus Strand Selection Phase
When you begin the 10th battle of an Apex Club challenge, the Nexus Strand selection phase kicks in. You're shown three Nexus Strands and must pick one to attach to an Anima already on the field. Drag its icon onto your target to grant a buff. The effect lasts only for the current challenge, but if you win, you keep that Nexus Strand permanently.
Anima Skill Enhancement Items
Anima Skill Enhancement Items are optional purchases that can appear when you refresh the Gauntlet Store, so they aren't guaranteed every time. Buying one boosts the skill of the matching Anima; once applied, you can check the improved skill effect from that Anima's details screen.