Combat basics
You fight with a party of four Aniimo and switch between them. Each has one of nine elements, and a strong matchup deals about 1.6 times damage while a resisted one deals about 0.625 times. Each has one of five roles: DPS for damage, Break to drain the enemy's break gauge, Support, Heal, and Energy to refill the team's EP. A broken enemy is easier to catch. You can Twine to control an Aniimo directly or stay in Command Mode and use your own Pathfinder skills.
Check any matchup
Open the type chartEvery element's strengths and weaknesses in one grid. Pick an Aniimo to see its matchups.The five roles
| Role | What it does |
|---|---|
| DPS | Main damage |
| Break | Drains the enemy's break gauge |
| Support | Buffs your team and weakens enemies |
| Heal | Restores HP |
| Energy | Restores the team's EP; also called Regen |
Every Aniimo has exactly one role.
Your party
A combat party holds four Aniimo, and the default controls have Switch to Aniimo 1 to 4 (the number keys on PC). You also keep a separate Exploration party, and on PC the H key opens party presets.
Switching is part of the design. Chirpi's trait, for example, restores 20 EP to the next Chirpi-family member you switch in.
The strongest shape is one each of DPS, Break, Energy and Heal, trading Heal for Support once your Aniimo can keep themselves alive.
Break
BREAK damage wears down an enemy's break gauge. A target in Break State takes bonus damage from some traits, and the catch formula gives it ×1.5, or ×3 with a Break catch bonus active.
Spatial counters
| Type | Strong against | Weak against |
|---|---|---|
| Ranged | Fly | Tunnel |
| Fly | Pound | Ranged |
| Pound | Tunnel | Fly |
| Tunnel | Ranged | Pound |
Tunnel is immune to ranged attacks, Pound skills knock tunnellers into the air, and Take Off dodges ground attacks but takes more damage in the air.
Twining and Command Mode
Twining puts you in direct control of your Aniimo, with its skills and mobility (C on PC). In Command Mode your Aniimo fights on its own while you use Pathfinder skills, such as Mega Mallet for heavy BREAK damage or Bubble Gun to keep a target above 1 HP for a catch. The Quick Twine talent makes Twining instant.
Twining, from the developers
Skills, traits and personality
Skills split into Combat and Innate. Innate holds the basic attack, called ATK, and some signature moves. Each skill lists its element, type, EP cost and power.
Every Aniimo has one trait, a passive effect such as Emberpup's Scorching Flames, which deals 25% more damage to targets its element counters.
Personality letters add small bonuses, such as Crit Rate +5% for Nimble. There is also an Elemental Vulnerability debuff that stacks up to 20 times when you keep hitting with matching elements.
Helion's and Lunara's traits do the opposite of most: they add 30% final damage when not attacking with an advantageous element, so the starters hit hard even without a type edge.
Not confirmed yet
- How two elements combine on one defending Aniimo. Guides only say each element adds its own strengths and weaknesses.
- Whether Momentum exists beyond Budclaw's and Shrubclaw's trait.
Combat basics, answered
How many Aniimo can you have in a party?
Four in a combat party, switched with the Switch to Aniimo 1 to 4 controls. You also keep a separate Exploration party.
What are the roles in Aniimo?
DPS, Break, Support, Heal and Energy. Energy, also called Regen, refills the team's EP.
How much extra damage does type advantage do?
About 1.6 times for a strong matchup and 0.625 times for a resisted one. There are no immunities.
What does BREAK do?
It drains the enemy's break gauge. Broken enemies take bonus damage from some traits and are easier to catch (×1.5).
What are spatial counters?
A second counter layer based on movement: Ranged beats Fly, Fly beats Pound, Pound beats Tunnel, Tunnel beats Ranged.
What is Twining?
Directly controlling your Aniimo in the field and in battle. Command Mode lets it fight while you use Pathfinder skills.
What makes a good team?
One each of DPS, Break, Energy and Heal, swapping Heal for Support once your Aniimo can sustain themselves.
What is the difference between Combat and Innate skills?
Two groups of skills. Innate holds the basic attack and some signature moves; Combat holds the rest.
Sources: the official Aniimo site, Game8, Mobalytics, Game Rant, Sportskeeda, GamingOnPhone and youtube.com.
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