Apart from the various new units, the Update 1 of Anime Vanguards also features a new unit element system to the base game. Many players on multiple platforms are getting confused about this new gameplay feature compared to the existing traits functionality. So, here is a dedicated guide explaining everything about the Unit Elements feature in the game.
Every Character in Anime Vanguards has a unique element associated with them. These elements provide unique buffs/perks to the character to increase their overall effectiveness in battle. It may include an increase in damage while attacking a boss, immunity to any type of debuffs, or other buffs that vary from Element to Element.
You can always check the Element of your unit by hovering over the character profile in the upgrade menu while playing the game. So, first place down the unit and then hover over the unit profile to get to know its element type.
As of now, there are 10 different Unit Elements in the game, and you can see the buffs provided by each of them below.
| Element | Buffs |
|---|---|
| Fire | All the Fire Element Units will be immune to Snare. |
| Water | All the Water Element Units will be immune to SPA debuffs. |
| Nature | All the Nature Element Units will be immune to DMG debuffs. |
| Spark | The Units categorized as Spark are immune to DMG debuffs |
| Holy | Every Holy Unit will reduce the time of any debuffs by 10% |
| Curse | The Curse Units can scale their DMG by +5% when attacking a boss |
| Unbound | Unbound Units can increase their Crit Rate by 5% |
| Blast | All the Blast Characters can ignore 10% of enemies' DMG reduction |
| Cosmic | Cosmic Unit can gain a +10% DMG on placement |
| Passion | The Passion-type Units can increase dodge chance by 10% |
Most enemies/bosses in Anime Vanguards have Elemental weaknesses that can be dealt with and defeated more quickly if you have a counter Element type on your team. For example, suppose an enemy is weak against the Spark Element. In that case, you must have a Spark-type character like Genitsu in your team loadout.
This change will force the players to experiment with several of the units they neglected in the past in their loadouts and also customize new loadouts based on enemies or bosses on a map rather than using a standard team for every stage.
No, you cannot change the Element of your Unit like you could a Trait, as these are fixed for each character. So, please don't expect to change the Element of your unit from X to Y through rerolling using crystals or other items in the game.
It's also unlikely such a feature will be added, because it will defeat the purpose of the mechanic (i.e. to include neglected units and make a loadout specific to a map).
For more on Anime Vanguards, check outAnime Vanguards Tier List – All Traits, Ranked, andAnime Vanguards Tier List – All Units, Ranked