It's time to save the Mana Tree again; Square Enix's latest Mana series crossover, Echoes of Mana, will have you depart on an epic quest while meeting familiar faces across the beautiful lands played straight on your favorite Android phone. You'll revisit memories, paying homage to classic tales across every game in the series. However, Echoes of Mana has a fair share of grindy systems that adds a few bumps on the road, which is why we've produced a guide to teach you how to easily traverse these systems; covering all the basics, from battling to upgrading systems and how to go about forming your dream team.

Getting started

This time around, you get to pick between two characters, Quilto (male) or Quilta (female), who'll represent the main protagonist in Echoes of Mana. If you prefer adding more flair to your hero, you can add a nickname.

Before sending you off to the deep end, you're provided with a series of tutorials that cover how the battle system works. You'll uncover more periodic tutorials once you've progressed further into the story. Luckily for you, Baashear, the game's mascot (literally the Mana Goddess' doll), is there to keep you on track.

Battle system

You can move up, down, left, and right on a 2D plane to perform normal attacks, and you can evade enemy attacks by tapping the corresponding buttons outlined in the image below. The sword icon is the normal attack button, and the smaller button to the left of the sword icon is for evading.

Your party consists of six members; in battle, you control three in a pairing-up system. The pair-up system utilizes three characters in the reserves to power up your three active characters.

Skills and techniques

Characters have two skills: a special technique and a support skill (passive party bonuses). The support skill requires magic points (MP), and the special technique consumes the ST gauge. Performing special techniques also fills up the Mega Spirit Magic gauge; filling the Mega Spirit Magic gauge allows you to unleash ultimates.

Quest mode

Quest mode is your stop to experiencing the Echoes of Mana epic story. Each story is split into chapters; thankfully, new chapters are continuously added with updates. These chapters center around Echoes, memories that re-tell past events as an avenue to bring back old worlds/timelines.

How chapters play out

Chapters are further divided into three parts: story, quests, and battles. The story is filled with dialogue to provide context for the chapter, while quests and battles will test the strength of your team. Any battle will require stamina to participate, and it's worth keeping in mind that one stamina point is recovered every 5 minutes.

You can replay chapters and increase the difficulty for better rewards, but remember that you'll need stamina points to spare before diving right in.

Acquiring more characters

The nature of a gacha game is that it requires a bit of luck and hard work to form your perfect team. Part of putting together your team is picking and choosing which characters deserve the time and resources. Essentially not everyone makes the cut; characters are replaceable, so you don't want to dry out your resources on characters that don't fit the team and content. We recommend always selecting one unit at a time to slow down your resource expenditures and focus on enhancing your unit's strength and capabilities.

Tip: If you acquired the free Primm at launch, she is definitely a well-balanced unit to invest in if you're looking for decent damage and range.

Categorized by rarity

Rarity refers to how many stars a character possesses. Typically, the more stars your character has, the higher the baseline value of that character, but the more difficult it is to obtain that character. Characters are primarily obtained by harvesting, so pulling for higher stars may get costly since the probability of getting that unit doesn't work in your favor.

The general rule of thumb is the fewer stars your character offers, the lower their level cap. Once your character reaches the level cap, you can no longer gain any experience which stunts your character growth until you've raised their level cap. You can improve the rarity by utilizing the 'Awakening' upgrade system. Reaching the level cap prematurely will spell trouble as you progress into the game.

Consider re-rolling

If you have a lot of patience you can re-roll your account as many times as you’d like. Re-rolling helps you obtain the characters you want on your account. You have two opportunities to roll for new characters for free. The first is when you harvest fruit for the first time, you’ll acquire a 3-star character. The second is when acquire a 4-star Ally-Echo Harvest Ticket; once you reach the village for the first time in Chapter 1, you’re guaranteed a 4-star character.

To re-roll your character simply play until you reach the village in Chapter 1. Relaunch the app to access the start screen, tap on User Support > Delete User Data > OK.

Re-rolling your account can be tedious, but it guarantees you'll eventually unlock the characters you want on your team. Your 3-star character won't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but re-rolling for a 4-star will help in the long term much more.

Harvesting fruit

Acquiring new characters uses Spirit Crystals. You can perform single pulls or 10x-pulls (Summon x1 or Summon x10). Summoning or pulling is referred to as harvesting in this game. Always harvest in bulks of 10 to ensure a 3-star or higher ally/Memory Gem on your 10th pull.

Tip: If you're lucky enough to unlock a 4-star Ally-Echo Harvest Ticket, use it to guarantee yourself a 4-star character!

Every time you harvest, you obtain Trade Points. Gather enough points to acquire a 4-star character of your choice. Beware that some harvest banners are only offered for a limited time, so you'll have to redeem any featured 4-stars during that period.

Should you pull for X character?

No simple answer. You'll likely pick units you want on your team regardless of whether they are meta or not. A gacha-based game incentivizes you to pull newer units to keep up to the meta. Meta characters slowly fall off as more units are introduced, but typically the highest two tiers (in a tier list) stay relevant unless direct buffs/nerfs change the overall kit. Luckily, Echoes of Mana doesn't focus on PvP and the most challenging content you can do while joining a Co-Op session with two other players. Co-Op is unlocked by clearing main story mission 2-12.

Tip: It's more important to singly invest in your favorite unit and acquire copies of that unit for the 'Unleash' upgrade system.

Putting together a party

With a vast cast of characters to choose from, putting together a party can get complicated. Consider these factors when making your party:

• Each character has an equipped weapon type. The weapon type is displayed on the ally's stats screen.

  

• Weapon types include boomerang, sword, staff, polearm, flail, glove, axe, knife, and bow. Your weapon type determines your fighting style, such as a front-line fighter (short-range melee units) or a back-line fighter/supporter (ranged characters and mages).
• Party pairings are useful for unlocking bonuses like stat boosts. Consider the following when choosing pairs: same element for resonance, synergy with equipped Memory Gem, and complementary fighting style.

  

• Every character is paired with an element. Elements decide the nature of your skills. Your character's element is found on the ally's stats screen.

  

• Elements are light, fire, dark, water, wind, earth, moon, and wood. Your elements determine your matchups against other elements/monsters.
  • Light opposes dark
  • Fire opposes water
  • Dark opposes light
  • Water opposes fire
  • Wind opposes earth
  • Earth opposes wind
  • Moon opposes wood
  • Wood opposes moon

Tip: Don't forget the Change Strategy button on your ally's status screen. Choosing a strategy determines the AI behavior in battle, making it significantly easier to manage one character at a time. It's a good idea to have your supportive units focus on 'Support' and 'Healer' tactics.

Expect to change your party on the fly depending on the content you're currently working on and the monster's elemental types you anticipate encountering. Maintain your party preset options to your advantage to cut down on creating a new party every time you need to switch up strategies.

How to create and switch your party

• Tap on Party on the main menu to access your party.
• Use the arrows (left and right) to toggle between your party sets. Tap on the right arrow to switch to 'Party 2.'
• Tap on an empty icon (plus sign) to add characters to your party. You can swap characters anytime by tapping on their character profile. Any added or swapped characters are automatically saved to 'Party 2.'

  

  

  

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Upgrading your party and gear

You'll hit a roadblock quickly if you don't maintain your characters, gear, and Mana Gems. Here's a breakdown of what upgrading systems you can expect to incorporate into your gameplay. Remember, everything has a Lucre and material cost, so plan accordingly!

Skills and levels

You can perform three main upgrades directly affecting your character's skills and level cap. (1) Ascending an ally affects the level cap and unlocks a new mana board. (2) Unleashing an ally, levels up skills and special techniques. (3) Awakening an ally, which raises their rarity (stars) and level cap.

How to ascend an ally

• Tap on Ally and select a character to ascend.
• Scroll to the last tab on the right (two arrows and three stars) and tap on it.
• Tap on Ascend and select the available material to use.

  

  

  

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• Tap Ascend > Ascend (confirm upgrade) > Close. Your character has now gained a star and has a raised level cap/new mana board.

  

  

  

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How to unleash an ally

• Tap on Ally on the main menu to access your characters. Choose the character that you want to upgrade (Unleash).
• Select the right-most tab option (triple arrow with three stars icon) to access the upgrade skills/rarity menu.

  

• Tap on Unleash (pick the ally material to use) > Unleash > Unleash (confirm upgrade).

  

  

  

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• Once you've completed the upgrade, you'll see a boost in your stats and newly unlocked abilities.

  

Leveling

Character leveling can happen naturally by having them in your party, or you can manually give out experience points. Experience points are delegated through Experience Tomes, which are accessed in the 'Ally' menu.

How to level up an ally using an Experience Tome

• Tap on Ally and select a character to level up.
• Scroll to the second tab on the right (the icon with two arrows pointing up) and tap on it.
• Using the plus and minus buttons, pick how many Experience Tomes to use. An Experience Tome is separated into sizes: Small (S), Medium (M), and Large (L). The larger the Experience Tome, the more experience you'll gain. Choose wisely.
• After determining the size of the Experience Tome you'd like to use, tap upgrade.

  

  

  

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Tip: The upgrading system relies on finding copies of the same character to power those characters up, which you'll come across more once you start harvesting in bulks. The same rules apply when upgrading Memory Gems (your equipped passives and party stat bonuses).

Mana boards

You can upgrade your character's stats directly after you've unlocked mana boards in Chapter 2. You'll need the corresponding element medal to upgrade your selected stat. Medals can be obtained as rewards in the story chapters or by participating in training (uses Stamina).

Note: Not all medals are obtained in the Training tab. You'll have to visit the shop to trade in other medals instead.

Mana board stats:

• HP: Your hit points, I.E., your character's health.
• MP: Your character's magic points, necessary for magic attacks.
• STR: Relates to your character's strength.
• CON: Refers to your character's constitution (similar to defense).
• INT: Intelligence correlates to your character's magic output.
• SPR: Spirit covers your character's supportive magic.
• LCK: And luck indicates your character's luck level.

Gear

Each character's ability to equip gear doesn't unlock until Chapter 2. You're provided six slots to equip gear. In order to equip gear, select a character on the Ally page, then tap on Equip Gear at the bottom of the status page.

Upgrade your gear at the Blacksmith or by tapping on the gear page. Each gear piece offers a 'Main Stat' and 'Bonus Stats.' By leveling up your gear, you acquire more stats. Tip: Equipping gear from the same set activates a set stat bonus.

All gear contains a level cap based on its rarity. You can raise the rarity of your gear in the same way you upgrade characters.

To obtain more gear, you can visit the Gear Dungeon within the Training tab. Note: Clear rewards in the Quest mode also drop gear.

Overall progression path

Throwing yourself into Echoes of Mana without a daily routine and a planned route for building your characters will likely get you in trouble. Essentially you have a limited number of chapters to clear and only so many ways to gain upgrade materials and opportunities to earn experience points. So below, we've outlined a few tips and tricks to kick start your Echoes of Mana journey!

• Prioritize using AP on the quest mode to clear story content, ensuring you can unlock all the upgrade features and facilities.
• Complete your dailies and spend the remaining SP on training quests.
• Hone in on acquiring items that give experience points and replay quests that drop gear.
• Tune into Co-Op play after unlocking (clear chapter 2-12) when you're stuck/underpowered.

Traversing Echoes of Mana

Echoes of Mana is a bit of a grind, but it also serves as the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet in the Mana series. It's gentle on the action RPG gameplay but, most importantly, hones in on the collectible cast of characters and places you on a nostalgic trip while revisiting the series classics. There's nothing like getting lost in an RPG. Echoes of Mana is still receiving updates for new characters and optimization fixes to improve the player's experience. If you're interested in checking out Echoes of Mana, we've provided a copy of the app below.