Anime Vanguards Beginner Guide
Anime Vanguards is a tower defense game built around summoning anime-style units and placing them along a path to stop waves of enemies. If you are just starting, this guide covers the systems that matter most and a simple plan to grow a strong account.
The core loop
Every run follows the same rhythm: place cheap units early to build income, use that income to deploy and upgrade your damage dealers, then survive to the final wave. Win rewards — Gems, Gold and materials — feed back into summoning and upgrading, which lets you clear harder content.
You are always balancing three things:
- Economy — how fast you earn in-match cash to place and upgrade units.
- Damage — your ability to actually kill enemies before they leak.
- Control — slows, stuns and crowd control that buy your damage time to work.
Rarities and what to chase
Units come in rarities from Rare up to Mythic, the limited Exclusive, and the top-end Secret and Vanguard tiers. Rare and Epic units carry you through the opening hours, but your long-term account is built on Mythic units and above. Do not feel pressured to spend on early banners — a single strong Mythic carry will outperform a roster of low-rarity units.
Units can also roll a Shiny variant, a rare alternate version with a different look.
Currencies
- Gems are the summon currency. Each summon costs 50 Gems, so save up for meaningful batches.
- Gold is earned and spent inside a match to place and upgrade units.
- Trait Rerolls and Stat Rerolls let you re-roll the bonuses attached to a unit.
Traits matter more than you think
Every unit carries a trait that changes its stats. A great unit with a weak trait can underperform a good unit with a top trait. Once you have a carry you intend to keep, invest Trait Rerolls into it — aim for damage traits like Monarch, Ethereal or Deadeye. Read the full breakdown on the traits page.
A simple early-game plan
- Push the Story. It is your main source of Gems, Gold and account levels early on.
- Build one carry. Pick the strongest Mythic you own and commit your rerolls and upgrades to it instead of spreading thin.
- Add economy and support. A farm/economy unit plus one support multiplies everything your carry does.
- Redeem codes. Free Trait Rerolls and Gems from codes accelerate your start — they expire fast, so grab them early.
- Graduate to Legend Stages and events. Once Story feels easy, these give better rewards and event units.
What not to do
- Do not reroll traits on units you will replace next week.
- Do not summon a few Gems at a time; batch your pulls.
- Do not chase every banner. Pick the units that fit a real team.
When you are comfortable with the basics, the tier list shows which units are worth building toward, and the game modes guide explains where to farm next.
FAQ
What should I spend my first Gems on?
Save your Gems for whatever banner has the strongest Mythic or Secret unit you can realistically pull, rather than spending a few at a time. Summoning in larger batches makes pity and luck work in your favor.
How many units can I place?
Your placement slots increase as you level up your account, so early on you will field only a few units. Prioritize one carry plus economy and support units that earn their slot.