As players progress deeper into Anime Expeditions, one challenge quickly becomes apparent: resources become much harder to obtain. While Story stages provide plenty of rolls and rewards early on, late-game progression requires a steady supply of gold, gems, Trade Crystals, and building materials.
This is where Expeditions become one of the most valuable game modes in the entire experience. Knowing how to farm Expeditions efficiently can save hours of grinding while helping you upgrade your Expedition Hub much faster. This guide covers everything you need to know, from Hub upgrades and team building to route selection and farming strategies.
Why Expeditions Matter
Expeditions are the primary source of several important resources needed for long-term progression. They provide:
- Building materials for the Expedition Hub
- Expedition Coins
- Gold income
- Fuel Cells
- Trade Crystal farming opportunities
- Valuable progression upgrades
Unlike Infinite Mode or other repetitive farming methods, Expeditions offer a consistent way to earn multiple resources at once. For players focused on late-game growth, this mode becomes almost mandatory.
Prioritize the Expedition Hub First
Before worrying about perfect runs, focus on upgrading your Expedition Hub. The most important structure is the Research Lab. This building unlocks a passive upgrade tree that significantly improves Expedition efficiency. Every material earned from Expeditions should be invested here first.
- Research Lab
- Quest Board
- Gold Mine
- Everything else
The Research Lab provides some of the strongest upgrades available, including:
- Increased payload unit capacity
- Better card luck
- Card rerolls
- Turret unlocks
- Various Expedition bonuses
Focus heavily on the blue upgrade path first since it directly improves farming speed and overall Expedition performance.
Gold Mine Is Your Best Gold Source
After establishing the Research Lab, build the Gold Mine. This building generates huge amounts of passive gold using Fuel Cells. Even a few hours of production can provide more gold than many active farming methods. Gold becomes especially valuable because it allows players to:
- Purchase Trade Crystals
- Buy useful shop resources
- Prepare for future updates
Although the Gold Mine is extremely powerful, avoid upgrading it too aggressively until your Research Lab upgrades are well developed.
Which Buildings Can Wait?
Several Expedition Hub buildings are useful but not urgent.
- Training Grounds Training Grounds allow units to gain XP and Worthiness while offline. This becomes useful later when farming better stats and transferring them to stronger units.
- Shop The Shop lets players spend Expedition Coins on resources such as Trade Crystals. While valuable, newer players should prioritize Hub progression before investing heavily here.
- Capsule Buildings These provide additional rewards and materials but offer less value than the Research Lab and Gold Mine during early progression.
Best Team Setup for Expeditions
By the time Expeditions unlock at Level 20, players should already have access to important economy units.
Always bring:
- Ramen Guy
- Senku
These two units provide the economy needed to scale quickly during runs.
Top Carry Units
If available, prioritize:
- Megumi (Shadow)
- Kenpachi
Both units are considered among the strongest Expedition carries thanks to their damage output and utility.
Strong Mythic Options
If you do not own the top Secret units, several Mythics perform very well:
- Frieren
- Puppet Master
- Lady Giant
- Flame Emperor
- Hero
- Forbidden Teacher
Frieren is particularly effective because her follow-up attacks can clear large groups of enemies efficiently.
Support Units
Support characters that provide buffs, stuns, or crowd control are excellent additions. Rukia is a popular choice thanks to her stun effects.
Avoid Matchmaking
For efficient farming, play solo whenever possible. Matchmaking often leads to:
- Longer queue times
- Difficulty mismatches
- Uncoordinated teammates
- Inability to use reroll strategies
Since Expedition farming revolves around controlling your route and restarting bad runs, solo play is generally much more efficient.
Which Difficulty Should You Farm?
There are three Expedition difficulties.
- Difficulty 1 Avoid this difficulty whenever possible. Rewards are extremely low and progression is much slower.
- Difficulty 2 This is the best farming difficulty for most players. It provides excellent rewards while remaining manageable. The resource gains are significantly higher than Difficulty 1 and not dramatically lower than Difficulty 3.
- Difficulty 3 Only farm this after obtaining major Expedition upgrades and a strong roster. The increased difficulty often isn’t worth the small reward increase for average players.
For most players, Difficulty 2 offers the best balance between speed and rewards.
Understanding Expedition Routes
Each Expedition generates a random map with different paths and encounters. The main encounter types are:
- Defense These are usually the easiest encounters during the first loop. They provide easy income and help build stronger teams before reaching checkpoints.
- Assault These are generally the most difficult stages early on because enemies attack the payload directly. They often slow runs down significantly.
- Elite Defense Similar to Defense stages but with stronger enemies and tougher modifiers.
- Checkpoints
You can view the route before starting and choose which path to take.
The Restart Strategy
The most efficient Expedition farming method is simple: Restart bad runs. Before committing to an Expedition, inspect the route. Look for:
- Multiple Defense stages
- High material rewards
- Late checkpoints
- Fewer Assault stages
If the route looks poor, restart immediately. A reroll takes only a few seconds and can dramatically improve resource gains. Instead of spending time on inefficient routes, keep resetting until a favorable layout appears. This strategy alone can double your farming efficiency.
Why Late Checkpoints Are Better
Checkpoint placement matters more than many players realize. When checkpoints appear later in a run, you’ll have more Yen available for purchases. This allows you to:
- Buy stronger units
- Purchase useful items
- Build a better team before the boss
Early checkpoints often leave players with limited funds and fewer options.
For this reason, routes with late checkpoints are usually worth keeping.
Collect XP Orbs During Runs
As enemies die, they drop white XP orbs. Always collect these. XP orbs level up your payload and provide cards that grant powerful bonuses throughout the run. These upgrades can significantly increase damage and survivability. When choosing cards, many players prefer focusing on a single synergy path rather than spreading upgrades across multiple categories.
First Loop Farming Is the Most Efficient
One of the biggest mistakes players make is pushing too far into later loops. After defeating the first boss, Expeditions continue into a second loop with much stronger enemies. While later loops offer additional Fuel Cells, they also:
- Take much longer
- Become significantly harder
- Provide fewer building materials relative to time invested
For players focused on Hub progression, repeatedly farming the first loop is usually the fastest option. Only consider extended looping when Fuel Cells become your primary target.
By following these strategies, you’ll earn building materials, Expedition Coins, Fuel Cells, and gold far faster than players who simply run Expeditions without a plan. Over time, those extra resources translate into a stronger Expedition Hub, better upgrades, and much smoother late-game progression.