This anime vanguards evolution guide is your roadmap to turning those basic, baseline units into absolute powerhouses that can actually clear the endgame content. If you've been playing for more than five minutes, you probably realized that while pulling a Mythic unit is a great feeling, keeping them in their base form is a recipe for disaster once you hit the harder stages. Evolution isn't just a flashy skin change; it's a complete overhaul of a unit's stats, abilities, and overall utility.
In this guide, we're going to break down exactly how the evolution system works, what materials you're going to spend your life farming, and which units you should prioritize if you want to stop seeing that "Defeat" screen.
The Basics: Where and How to Evolve
Before you get ahead of yourself, you need to know where to actually go. In the main lobby, there's a massive area labeled "Evolve." It's hard to miss. When you walk up to the NPC there, you'll see a list of your units and the specific "recipes" required to evolve them.
Think of evolution like a high-stakes cooking show. You need the base unit (the protein), a bunch of Essences (the seasoning), and usually a unique boss drop (the secret sauce). If you're missing even one tiny ingredient, the "Evolve" button stays gray and sad.
One thing people often forget: your unit doesn't necessarily need to be max level to evolve, but they must not be equipped in your current loadout while you're trying to perform the evolution. If you don't see your unit in the menu, double-check your team slots.
The Ingredient List: Essences and Where to Find Them
If you want to follow this anime vanguards evolution guide to the letter, you need to start hoarding Essences like a dragon. These are the primary currency for evolution, and you'll need a lot of them.
Common Essences
There are several types of Essences: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Light/Dark variants. You mostly get these by playing through the Story Mode stages or by completing the daily Challenges. Challenges are honestly the best way to go because they offer higher drop rates for specific types.
Rainbow Essences
The Rainbow Essence is the one that'll make you pull your hair out. It's a universal material required for almost every high-tier evolution (Mythics and Secrets). You can craft these at the Crafting NPC by combining multiple basic Essences and a chunk of Gold. It's expensive, so don't just spend them on a whim.
Unique Evolution Items
This is where things get tricky. Certain units—usually the ones based on heavy hitters like Igris or Alucard—require a special item that only drops from specific acts or raids. For example, if you're trying to evolve "Iggy" (Igris), you're going to need the Blade of Arise. These items have notoriously low drop rates, so be prepared to run the same stage twenty times. Or fifty. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Priority Picks: Who Should You Evolve First?
You probably have a handful of units sitting in your inventory, but your resources are limited. You shouldn't just evolve the first thing you see. Here's a breakdown of the heavy hitters you should focus on.
Iggy (Igris) into Iggy (The Order)
Iggy is arguably one of the best physical damage dealers in the game. When you evolve him using the Blade of Arise and a stack of Dark and Rainbow Essences, his DPS sky-rockets. He gains better range and a much faster attack speed. If you have him, he should be at the top of your list. He can solo carry a lot of the mid-game content once he's evolved.
Song Jinwu (Jinwoo) into Song Jinwu (Monarch)
If you're lucky enough to have Song Jinwu, evolving him into his Monarch form is a game-changer. He requires the Monarch's Heart, which is a rare drop. The evolution gives him a massive boost to his "Arise" mechanic, allowing him to summon stronger shadows that stay on the field longer. It turns him from a good unit into a literal one-man army.
Aucard (Alucard) into Aucard (Vampire King)
Aucard is your go-to for consistent, high-damage output. His evolution requires some specific items related to his lore (look for the "Hellsing" themed drops). Once evolved, his range becomes massive, and his bleed damage starts ticking for astronomical numbers. He's perfect for Boss levels where you need to whittle down a massive health bar.
Farming Tips for the Weary Player
Let's be real: the grind for materials can be exhausting. If you want to make the most of this anime vanguards evolution guide, you have to farm efficiently.
- Don't Sleep on Daily Challenges: These are refreshed every 24 hours and are the most reliable source of Essences. Even if you only have 20 minutes to play, hop in and clear these.
- Use Luck Potions: If you're hunting for a 1% drop like the Blade of Arise, use a Luck Potion. They actually make a noticeable difference over a long session.
- Afk Time is Your Friend: If the game has an AFK chamber or rewards for staying logged in, use them. The extra gems and gold add up, and you'll need every bit of gold for crafting those Rainbow Essences.
- Join a Group: Playing with friends or people from the Discord makes high-level raids much faster. Faster clears = more rolls for that evolution item you need.
Is Evolution Always Worth the Cost?
You might look at the cost of an evolution—50,000 Gold, 10 Rainbow Essences, 30 Fire Essences, and a Rare Drop—and think, "Is this really worth it?"
The short answer is: Yes.
The long answer is: The jump in power is usually around 50% to 100%. An unevolved Mythic unit is often weaker than a fully evolved Legendary unit. If you're trying to tackle the Nightmare modes or the later stages of the Infinite mode, evolution isn't optional; it's a requirement. The base units simply don't have the scaling to keep up with the enemy health pools in the late game.
Plus, let's be honest, the evolved models look way cooler. Who doesn't want their units to have glowing auras and better animations?
Wrapping it Up
Following an anime vanguards evolution guide is basically a requirement if you want to be competitive. It's a bit of a marathon, not a sprint. Don't get discouraged if you don't get that rare drop on your first ten tries. That's just the nature of the beast.
Focus on one unit at a time. Pick your strongest Mythic, look at the recipe, and start ticking off the boxes. Once you see the damage numbers jump from 2,000 to 10,000 per hit, you'll realize the grind was totally worth it. Now, get back out there, start farming those Essences, and turn your squad into the legends they're meant to be!