Starting Tutorial and Onboarding
The core introductory walkthrough is a five-step sequence covering the game's basic tower-defense loop: selecting a unit from the hotbar, thinking about placement relative to the enemy path, managing and upgrading placed units with Yen earned from kills, watching enemies travel the path, and finally clearing every wave to earn rewards. Beyond this initial walkthrough, Anime Expeditions uses contextual, feature-specific tutorials that only trigger the first time a player opens a given system: Evolution, Equipment (in two parts covering standard versus unit-specific gear), Ascension, Crafting, Trait rerolling, and Stat Potential each get their own short explainer the first time that menu is opened, rather than front-loading everything into one long intro.
Expedition Mode gets the most detailed onboarding of any single system, spread across three separate tutorial triggers. An introductory Expedition tutorial covers the mode's building and management layer over two steps, a checkpoint-focused tutorial explains the safe zones where players repair their Payload, buy Stat Anvils, and hire random units across three steps, and a defense-focused tutorial introduces the wave-defense checkpoints encountered along the route. This staggered approach means a new player is not expected to understand Expedition Mode's full building-and-payload loop until they actually reach it in-game.
Layered on top of the in-game tutorial system, community-documented early progression follows a consistent pattern: the first quest chapter grants 10 guaranteed summons (which include a guaranteed money-generating unit), then rewards clearing Map 1's Acts 1 through 5 on Normal difficulty with 25 Beginner Tickets and 25 Essence. Those Beginner Tickets are spent on Beginner Banner, whose short 50-pull Mythic pity is specifically tuned to align with that quest reward amount, effectively guaranteeing a strong early Mythic before a new player even reaches Chapter 2. Recommended settings for smoother early play include enabling Wave Skip, Auto Retry and Auto Next, and ghost placement, all of which reduce manual clicking during repeat clears.
Details
In-game tutorial flow
Rather than a single long onboarding sequence, Anime Expeditions spreads its tutorials across the moment each system first becomes relevant. A brand-new player only sees the introductory walkthrough and basic menu prompts at the very start; Evolution, Ascension, Crafting, Trait rerolling, and Stat Potential tutorials only appear the first time that specific menu is opened, which is typically well after the first few Story acts once a player has units worth investing in.
Recommended early progression order
Based on documented early-game routes, the efficient order for a new account is: claim the 10 guaranteed summons from the first quest chapter, clear Map 1 Acts 1 through 5 on Normal for the one-time 25 Beginner Ticket and 25 Essence reward, spend those tickets on Beginner Banner to secure a guaranteed Mythic near its 50-pull pity, then begin investing in Evolution, Trait rerolling, and Stat Potential on that Mythic once the corresponding tutorials unlock. Turning on Wave Skip, Auto Retry, Auto Next, and ghost placement early removes a large amount of manual repetition from repeat Story clears.
What the Expedition tutorials cover
Because Expedition Mode only unlocks at account level 20, its three tutorials are held back until a player is actually ready to see them, rather than appearing during the earliest Story acts. The first covers the building and management layer around the Expedition Center, the second walks through Expedition Checkpoints where Stat Anvils are bought and the Payload is repaired, and the third introduces the wave-defense sections between checkpoints. Seeing all three in sequence on a first Expedition run is normal and expected, since none of them trigger early.
Settling in after the first Mythic
Once Beginner Banner has produced a guaranteed Mythic, the natural next step is treating that unit as the account's first real investment target: pushing it toward its Evolution once materials allow, rerolling its Trait, and spending early Stat Rerolls on its Stat Potential rather than spreading those resources across the whole roster. Because Beginner Banner's pool never rotates and cannot be pulled on indefinitely, most of a new account's early currency naturally shifts toward Standard Banner and Mini Banner once the Beginner event quest line is fully cleared.
FAQ
What should I do first in Anime Expeditions?
Claim the first quest chapter's 10 guaranteed summons, then clear Map 1's Acts 1 through 5 on Normal difficulty, since that one-time clear rewards 25 Beginner Tickets and 25 Essence usable on Beginner Banner.
Should I pull on Beginner Banner first?
Yes. Its Mythic pity is only 50 pulls, and the early quest line is designed to hand out roughly that many Beginner Tickets, making a guaranteed Mythic close to free for a new account.
What settings should new players turn on?
Wave Skip, Auto Retry, Auto Next, and ghost placement are commonly recommended, since they cut down on manual clicking during repeat clears without affecting reward output.
When do the Evolution and Ascension tutorials appear?
They trigger contextually the first time a player opens the Evolution or Ascension menu for a unit, rather than appearing during the initial walkthrough.
When does Expedition Mode unlock for new players?
Expedition Mode requires account level 20 plus map progression, so its three dedicated tutorials only appear well after the earliest Story content, once a player actually reaches the mode.
How many guaranteed summons do new players get?
10 guaranteed summons from the first quest chapter, which include a guaranteed money-generating unit, separate from any pulls made on Beginner Banner afterward.
What should I invest in once I get my first Mythic?
Prioritize that unit's Evolution once materials allow, reroll its Trait, and spend early Stat Rerolls on its Stat Potential rather than splitting resources across the rest of a still-small early roster.
Other systems
Source-checked
In-game tutorial steps extracted from Anime Expeditions client data (tutorials.json). Early progression order and recommended settings are community-reported from creator gameplay footage (YouTube transcripts), not client-verified quest text. updated · GuideDex staff. Report a correction.