Anime Expeditions Beginner Guide: Best Progression Route, Team Setup, and Gem Spending Tips

Starting strong in Anime Expeditions is the easiest way to speed up your progression without wasting valuable resources. While the game offers plenty of free rewards early on, using them at the right time is far more important than spending everything immediately.

Whether you’re aiming to build a powerful team or prepare for the endgame, following an efficient progression path can save hundreds of gems and hours of grinding. This beginner guide covers everything you should prioritize, from claiming free units and redeeming rewards to building your first team, clearing Story Mode, and choosing the best banners to summon on.

1. Claim True Saint Before or Shortly After Launch

One of the strongest units available for new players is True Saint.

Players who accessed the Time Chamber before launch could earn the unit by remaining there for 18 hours. Fortunately, missing this opportunity doesn’t permanently lock you out. True Saint is also available through the login calendar on the third day, making it accessible to every player.

Because of its high damage and excellent scaling, True Saint can carry your account through a large portion of Story Mode with minimal investment.

2. Redeem Every Available Code First

Before doing anything else, redeem every active promotional code. Launch codes usually reward players with useful resources such as:

• Gems
• Summon rerolls
• Upgrade materials
• Other progression items

These rewards only take a few moments to claim and provide an immediate boost for new accounts.

3. Don’t Forget the Free Group Reward

Another easy reward comes from joining the game’s official group. After joining, visit the Bounty Hunter located near the AFK Chamber to claim an additional beginner reward. Although it may seem small, every free resource helps during the opening hours when your account has very limited currency.

4. Summon Enough Units to Build Your First Team

Your first summons shouldn’t be focused on chasing rare characters.

Instead, summon just enough units to fill your available team slots so you can begin progressing through Story Mode immediately.

Most of these early units will eventually be replaced, so there’s no reason to spend every gem searching for perfect pulls right away.

5. Save Most of Your Gems Until Level 10

This is one of the biggest mistakes new players can avoid. While it’s tempting to summon immediately, it’s much more efficient to save the majority of your gems until reaching Level 10.

At Level 10, Secret Units become available in the summon pool. Summoning before unlocking them means you’re missing the opportunity to obtain the game’s highest rarity, making early gem spending much less valuable.

6. Good Early Legendary Units

If you happen to pull Legendary characters before Level 10, several of them perform very well during the early game. Strong temporary options include:

• Scissors
• Forbidden Teacher
• Ice Queen

These units provide enough damage to comfortably clear early Story Mode while you work toward Mythical and Secret characters later.

7. Complete the Beginner’s Path Event

Once you’ve performed at least ten summons, open the Events menu and begin completing the Beginner’s Path. This event serves as both a tutorial and progression guide while rewarding several valuable items. One of the earliest rewards is Stone Alchemist, which is one of the most important beginner units in the game.

8. Equip Stone Alchemist Immediately

Stone Alchemist isn’t a damage dealer. Instead, it’s a Farm Unit, meaning it generates money throughout each match. The extra income allows you to:

• Place more units sooner
• Upgrade your team faster
• Handle difficult waves more comfortably

Because economy is incredibly important in tower defense games, Stone Alchemist should remain part of your lineup for quite some time.

9. Prepare Your Team Before Story Mode

Before entering your first stages, equip your strongest available units. If you already own True Saint, consider using trait or stat rerolls before beginning your progression. Improving one of your primary carry units early can noticeably increase its effectiveness throughout Story Mode.

10. Play Story Mode on Hard Difficulty

Story Mode consists of multiple maps, each containing several Acts followed by additional challenge modes. If your team is reasonably strong—especially if you have True Saint—it’s worth starting directly on Hard Mode. Hard Mode provides approximately double the rewards, allowing you to level faster while earning more resources for future upgrades.

11. Use Farm Units Before Damage Units

One of the best beginner strategies is focusing on economy first. Rather than placing all of your offensive units immediately, begin each match by deploying your Farm Units.

Your general strategy should be:

1. Place Stone Alchemist early.
2. Upgrade your farms as much as possible.
3. Defend only when enemies begin approaching the base.
4. Once your economy is established, invest heavily in your damage dealers.

This approach provides significantly more income throughout the match, making later waves much easier.

12. Upgrade Farms Before Expanding Your Team

Resist the urge to fill every unit slot immediately.

Instead, spend your early money upgrading your Farm Units first.

As income increases between waves, you’ll have enough resources to fully upgrade your strongest attackers before bosses appear.

This strategy works consistently across much of the early Story Mode progression.

13. Reach Level 10 Before Spending Your Gems

After clearing the early maps, you’ll likely reach Level 10.

Now it’s finally time to begin summoning seriously.

At this point, Secret Units become available, making every summon considerably more valuable than before.

14. Focus Your Gems on the Standard Banner

Anime Expeditions features multiple summon banners, but not all of them offer the same long-term value.

For gem spending, prioritize the Standard Banner.

The biggest advantage is its Secret Unit pity system, meaning every summon gradually moves you closer to obtaining one of the game’s strongest characters.

This makes it a far better long-term investment than spending gems elsewhere.

15. Best Mythical Units to Target

Several Mythical characters stand out for early progression.

Puppet

Puppet is one of the strongest support-oriented Mythicals available.

Its abilities mark powerful enemies, causing them to receive additional damage from your entire team. After evolving, Puppet also gains a time-rewind ability that further improves its usefulness during difficult encounters.

Cursed Student

Cursed Student is an excellent damage dealer that specializes in Bleed effects.

After evolution, its damage output increases dramatically, making it a reliable choice for bosses and tougher stages.

Elf Mage

Elf Mage offers straightforward, consistent damage.

While lacking complicated mechanics, it performs well across Story Mode and remains a dependable attacker for progressing through new maps.

Summon Sorcerer

Although its raw damage isn’t exceptional, Summon Sorcerer provides valuable crowd control by slowing enemies.

This support capability becomes increasingly helpful in difficult stages where controlling enemy movement is just as important as dealing damage.

16. Roman Is the Next Farm Unit You Should Obtain

Beyond Stone Alchemist, another valuable economy unit is Roman. Roman requires a larger investment before becoming profitable but generates significantly more income as matches progress. For longer and more difficult stages, Roman eventually becomes one of the best Farm Units available.

17. Claim Rewards From the Headliner Hunt Event

Whenever you obtain new Mythical units, revisit the Headliner Hunt event. The event rewards special coins that can be exchanged for useful evolution materials. These rewards are easy to overlook but become increasingly important as your account grows.

18. Buy Gray Sprite Whenever Possible

One of the most valuable evolution materials is Gray Sprite. You’ll use it when evolving several powerful units, including True Saint. You can obtain Gray Sprite through:

• Event rewards
• Event shops
• The Gold Shop

Collecting it early prevents future progression bottlenecks.

19. Use Trait Rerolls Carefully

Trait rerolls are limited, so avoid spending them on temporary characters. Instead, prioritize permanent members of your team, especially:

• True Saint
• Strong Mythical units
• Long-term carries

Saving rerolls for characters you’ll actually use for weeks provides much better value.

20. Continue Following the Beginner’s Path

As you progress, continue checking the Beginner’s Path event whenever you’re unsure what to do next. The event naturally guides new players through important game systems while providing valuable rewards that help accelerate account progression. Completing every objective should remain one of your highest priorities.

21. Evolve True Saint as Soon as Possible

True Saint becomes significantly stronger after evolution. Its upgraded form gains:

• An additional upgrade level
• A brand-new attack
• An active ability
• Higher overall damage

Its evolved attack deals multiple damage ticks across a wide area, making it one of the strongest early-game clearing units. The active skill also temporarily steals a portion of the damage from nearby powerful allies, dramatically increasing True Saint’s own offensive potential.

22. Progress Into Endgame Content

Once Story Mode is complete, your progression expands considerably. Your next priorities should include:

• Clearing Mastery Mode for Artifacts
• Farming stronger Artifacts for additional stats
• Evolving more units
• Ascending powerful characters
• Completing Challenges
• Participating in Raids
• Joining an active Guild

These activities provide stronger equipment, additional resources, and long-term upgrades that continue improving your account.

Anime Expeditions rewards smart resource management far more than aggressive summoning. By saving gems until Level 10, prioritizing Farm Units, and investing in powerful long-term characters like True Saint, you can clear Story Mode efficiently while preparing your account for harder content. Once you’ve established a stable economy and evolved your core units, the transition into Mastery stages, Raids, and endgame progression becomes much smoother, allowing you to build a stronger roster without wasting valuable resources.