Evolution is the single biggest power jump your roster will ever see, and most late-game players treat it as the line between a working team and a stalled account. The catch is that evolving in this game is not a single button: each unit is gated behind a specific story act, an evo quest, a stack of stones, and a separate pile of miscellaneous mats. This Anime Vanguards evolution guide walks through every layer in the order you actually clear it, then breaks down a practical farming path so you are never stuck waiting on a single bottleneck.
The system also rewards planning. The order in which you push your roster through their forms directly changes how many stones you waste on side projects versus how many SS-tier finishers you bring online. If you have been wondering how to evolve units efficiently, where the real mats come from, and what makes True Shadow Monarch such a priority project, the sections below lay it out in order.
How the Anime Vanguards Evolution System Works
Every evolvable unit follows the same four-layer pipeline: base level cap, evolution quest, stone tier, and memoria or shard craft. Clearing one layer without the others leaves the unit locked at its pre-evo form, so veterans always plan in a single checklist rather than chasing one step at a time.
The Four Layers You Have to Clear
The first layer is the level gate. Most evo-capable units stop gaining stats at level 70 in their base form, and the final evo stage cannot be initiated until that cap is hit. The second layer is the evolution quest, a short instanced mission tied to a specific map. The third layer is the stone cost, which scales with the unit's rarity and target stage. The fourth layer is a craft or shard cost, which in the current patch almost always pulls from a Memoria recipe rather than a flat gem spend.
| Layer | What It Asks of You | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Level gate | Reach level 70 base before the quest | Leveling past 70 wastes XP because the cap is enforced until evo |
| Evo quest | Clear the instanced mission on a specific map | Running the quest before reaching the recommended CP threshold |
| Stone cost | Pay the tier-1, tier-2, or tier-3 stone stack | Spending stones on a side project before the main carry is finished |
| Memoria / shard craft | Submit the final material at the evo altar | Forgetting that some units ask for a Memoria and not a shard |
Stage 1, Stage 2, and Final Form
Most evo-capable units in the current patch support two evolution stages, not three, even though veterans casually call the second stage "final form." Stage 1 typically costs one tier-1 evolution stone and a small material stack, and it can usually be reached within the first week of owning the unit. Stage 2 is the expensive jump: it eats two tier-2 stones plus the craft recipe, and it is where the unit's stat curve and ability kit actually start to resemble a true late-game carry. According to the Anime Vanguards official YouTube channel, banner showcases always advertise the stage-2 kit because the stage-1 form is mostly a stat placeholder, which is a useful rule of thumb for deciding whether a unit is worth investing in at all.
Why True Shadow Monarch Is the Benchmark Project
True Shadow Monarch sits at the top of the difficulty curve because the quest chain asks for a stacked roster before the mission is even reachable. The evo quest itself is tuned for a team sitting around the recommended CP for Infinite Mode wave 30, which is effectively mid-to-late game content. Community testing shared across the Discord and aggregated by long-time players suggests that clearing the chain on a budget team is technically possible but wastes dozens of stones on revive cycles, so most players treat the quest as a checkpoint rather than a first project.
If you want a deeper breakdown of how Sung Jin Woo's final form compares to the other 0.1%-tier monsters in the current meta, the mythic units overview covers the broader roster, while this guide focuses specifically on the evolution path you need to walk.
Anime Vanguards Evolution Quests and How to Start Them
The evo quest is the layer that traps most new players because it is not advertised in the unit's normal upgrade menu. You trigger it from a side NPC in the hub area, and each unit has its own quest ID rather than a shared "go here, kill this" template. That structure is the entire reason a dedicated evolution quest guide is worth bookmarking.
Where to Find the Evo NPC
Every hub region has a single evolution NPC, and they are flagged with a small star marker once your account has finished the first story act. Talking to the NPC opens a roster of evolvable units, and the ones with a green icon next to their portrait are ready to launch their quest. Units with a red icon are missing a prerequisite, usually the level gate or a material from a story act you have not yet unlocked.
| NPC Location | Region | What It Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Central Plaza | Hub | First-stage evo quests for story-mode units |
| Shadow District | Hub (post-Act 4) | Stage-2 quests for SS-tier carries |
| Cursed Wing | Dungeon lobby | Cursed-variant and limited banner evos |
Step-by-Step Walkthrough of a Typical Evo Quest
Most evo quests follow the same skeleton: spawn in a small instanced map, survive three waves, defeat a named mini-boss, and extract at the marked portal. The variance between units is mostly the map, the mini-boss's kit, and the recommended CP the game displays when you accept the quest.
A clean run usually looks like this: the carry unit opens at level cap with the recommended CP buffer (typically 10–15% above the quest's listed threshold to absorb the mini-boss's burst), a tanky front liner holds the second-wave flanking archers, and the team's AOE rotation lines up wave 3's shield adds before the named boss spawns.
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Confirm that your carry's level is at the cap and your team CP meets the recommended threshold shown in the quest pop-up.
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Place your highest-DPS unit on the first tile so the opening wave's elites do not snowball.
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Hold your AOE off cooldown for wave 3, because that is where the quest seeds the mini-boss.
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Skip chest pickups on the first pass; the extraction timer is tighter than the Story Mode equivalent and you can re-run the quest for chests later.
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After extraction, the NPC immediately offers the stone-and-mat trade-in screen. Do not exit the dialogue before confirming the trade, because the quest does not auto-complete.
Players on the official Discord regularly report that the most common wipe point is the second wave's flanking archers, which can be ignored by leaning on a single tanky front liner. The third wave is the make-or-break moment, because the mini-boss spawns with two shield adds that need to be peeled first.
Quests That Unlock Only After Specific Acts
Several banner evos are gated behind Acts that new players have not reached. The most common stumbling block is the Cursed Familiar Portal quest, which only becomes available after Act 6 clears and a side event finishes its first rotation. If you are planning to evolve a limited banner unit, double-check that the prerequisite act is on your road map before you spend stones, otherwise the materials will sit in your bag for weeks.
Evolution Stones: Tiers, Drops, and Where to Farm Them
Stones are the most consistent bottleneck, because they do not drop from the story acts at a meaningful rate. The community has spent the better part of the current patch mapping every stone drop in the game, and the route most veterans run boils down to three farming modes plus a daily reset on a single dungeon.
Stone Tier Comparison
Each stone tier feeds a different evolution stage, and they are not interchangeable. Tier-1 stones can only push a unit to stage 1, while tier-2 and tier-3 stones are reserved for stage 2 and any future multi-stage projects. Trying to substitute a higher-tier stone for a lower one will fail at the NPC, which is a deliberate safeguard against burning rare mats by accident.
| Stone Tier | Used For | Approx. Drop Volume per Hour | Recommended Farm Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier-1 | Stage 1 evolutions | 8 to 12 | Infinite Mode, early waves |
| Tier-2 | Stage 2 evolutions | 3 to 5 | Raid Mode, mid tiers |
| Tier-3 | Multi-stage or limited banner evos | 1 to 2 | Tournament reward track |
Best Stages for Tier-1 Stone Farming
The fastest tier-1 route in the current patch is Infinite Mode waves 1 through 15, which can be cleared in roughly two minutes with a leveled starter team. Veterans also rotate the Ant Island and Toxic Sewers stages because they have a small chance of bonus stone drops on first-clear each day, which is a meaningful boost for free-to-play accounts.
A practical loop for tier-1 stone accumulation balances Infinite Mode reset efficiency with daily bonus windows — for example, a player clearing 15 waves in roughly two minutes, resetting immediately, and then chaining Ant Island or Toxic Sewers runs during the bonus window can net an extra 8-12 stones per day compared to burning stamina on standard nodes, which directly accelerates the evolution quests needed to evolve units and progress toward late-game milestones like True Shadow Monarch upgrades.
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Queue Infinite Mode on Normal difficulty to keep stamina drain low.
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Reset the run every 15 waves, because stone drop chance drops sharply past that mark.
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Bring one gold-farm unit on the team so the run pays for itself even on a bad drop cycle.
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Spend leftover stamina on Story Mode hard-mode nodes only when a daily bonus is active.
Tier-2 Stones and the Raid Connection
Tier-2 stones are gated behind Raid Mode, and the fastest route is the Frozen Volcano and Void Rift rift portals, which both have a small chance of dropping a tier-2 on boss kill. The community widely reports a roughly 8% drop rate at the recommended CP, which is high enough that most players can sustain a stage-2 evo every two to three weeks without spending gems. According to community data aggregated by long-time players on the official Discord, the drop rate jumps meaningfully when you run rifts with a full guild, because the guild-wide bonus applies to the boss kill that matters.
If you are still building a raid-ready squad, the evo tier list breakdown is worth scanning for which carries can solo the Frozen Volcano boss room without needing a fully optimized team — top-tier evolutions like True Shadow Monarch and meta spellcasters often clear the recommended CP threshold on their own, letting you funnel the tier-2 stone straight into your main DPS instead of spreading materials across under-leveled alternates waiting for their own evolution quests to unlock.
Materials, Memoria, and the Final Craft Step
The final layer is the easiest to overlook because it is the only step that does not involve a quest or a stone drop. Every stage-2 evo asks for a craft recipe, and the recipe almost always pulls from the Memoria system rather than a flat gem or gold cost.
What the Memoria Recipe Actually Costs
The Memoria recipe for a typical SS-tier stage-2 asks for one named Memoria plus a small stack of generic shards. The named Memoria is the hard part, because it only drops from a specific stage, while the shards can be farmed passively through the daily login and event reward tracks. Most players treat the named Memoria as the real gate, and the shards as a small extra tax on top.
| Component | Where It Comes From | Approx. Time to First Copy |
|---|---|---|
| Named Memoria | Specific dungeon or event stage | 2 to 4 weeks of daily clears |
| Generic shards | Daily login, event track, weekly mail | 1 week |
| Specialty catalyst (rare units only) | Tournament reward tier 30+ | End of cycle |
When to Skip the Craft Step Entirely
Some units, particularly the seasonal banner carries, do not actually need a named Memoria. They accept a generic Rainbow Essence instead, which is a much easier farm because it shares drop locations with the tier-1 stone route. If the NPC dialogue offers the essence option, take it: it saves roughly three weeks of waiting per stage-2 evo, and the stat difference is small enough that the meta does not care. Community data suggests that skipping the named Memoria in favor of Rainbow Essences is the right call for any unit you are not 100% committed to long-term.
Practical Evolution Path and Common Bottlenecks
The fastest path through all four layers is not the order in which the layers unlock. It is the order in which the materials line up across multiple units. A good rule of thumb is to clear the level gate and the evo quest first, then farm stones, and only then go after the Memoria recipe, because the first two steps can be done with zero RNG.
A One-Account, One-Week Plan
If you are starting from scratch on a fresh account and want to push your first SS-tier carry to stage 2 within a week, the practical path looks like this: the strategy leans on the natural CP curve of the evolution quest rather than gem rerolls, so treat days 1-3 as a setup window for the stage-2 CP threshold and accept that tier-1 stone farming in Infinite Mode, not the banner, is your real progression currency — most F2P accounts clear that gate in six to seven days by sequencing the evo quest, Memoria grind, and Raid Mode stone drop in the exact order outlined below.
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Day 1: Clear Act 1 and the prerequisite story acts so the central plaza NPC is reachable. Spend 200 stamina on Infinite Mode to bank a starting stack of tier-1 stones.
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Day 2: Level the target unit to 70 using XP-stage farming. Avoid the temptation to over-level — the cap is enforced.
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Day 3: Accept the stage-1 evo quest, clear it, and bank the resulting unit. This step is intentionally cheap so you can practice the quest flow.
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Day 4: Start the stage-2 quest. The recommended CP is roughly 1.4x the stage-1 threshold, so this is the day you may need to swap in a stronger support.
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Day 5 to 6: Farm tier-2 stones in Raid Mode while waiting for the named Memoria drop on the side.
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Day 7: Submit the final craft at the NPC and confirm the stage-2 trade-in.
Players who follow this template consistently report being able to push one carry per week without spending gems, and most of the time savings come from accepting that the named Memoria will not be ready on day 1 — the drop rate on the side-banner is roughly 0.8% per pull, so funneling 400-600 saved gems into the next limited banner almost always outperforms a desperation pull on day 5 when your tier-2 stone bank is still under 40.
Common Bottlenecks and How to Dodge Them
The three bottlenecks that stall most accounts are the level cap, the recommended CP for the quest, and the named Memoria. The level cap is solved by XP farming, the CP requirement is solved by leveling support units, and the Memoria is solved by running the right dungeon for two to four weeks. According to community data, the easiest mistake to avoid is starting the stage-2 quest before the support team is actually ready, because a failed quest still consumes a stone and a stamina pool, which is a real cost on a budget account.
If you are still deciding which carries are worth the stone investment, the best evo units for the current patch is a strong reference. The meta is fluid enough that a tier-1 stage-2 finish is usually better than a half-built stage-2 on a side project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to evolve a unit in Anime Vanguards?
The fastest path is to clear the level gate, run the evo quest at the recommended CP, then bank tier-1 stones from Infinite Mode waves 1 to 15. For a stage-2 finish, the same template works, but you swap to Raid Mode for tier-2 stones and run the named Memoria dungeon on the side. This sequence avoids the most common wipe points and keeps the material pipeline moving on a single stamina pool.
How do I unlock evolution quests for limited banner units?
Limited banner units are gated behind a specific story act and a side event rotation, and the evo NPC will show a red icon until both prerequisites are cleared. The most common stumbling block is Act 6, which most players reach within their first two weeks. Once that act is done, the Cursed Wing NPC will offer the quest automatically on the next server reset.
Can I skip the Memoria step and use Rainbow Essences instead?
Yes, but only for specific units. Seasonal banner carries accept a generic Rainbow Essence in place of a named Memoria, which saves roughly three weeks of farming per stage-2. Core roster units do not get that option, so plan to clear the named Memoria dungeon for them. Community testing shows the stat gap between the two options is small enough that the meta does not care which one you choose.
How many stones do I need to fully evolve a carry to its final form?
A typical stage-2 evolution costs one tier-1 stone for the first stage, then two tier-2 stones plus the named Memoria for the second stage. Limited banner units sometimes ask for a tier-3 stone in addition, which is the reason most players treat them as long-term projects rather than quick wins. The total stone cost is consistent across most current-patch SS-tier units.
Is True Shadow Monarch worth the stone investment?
True Shadow Monarch is widely considered the strongest stage-2 carry in the current meta, and the consensus is that the stone cost is justified once your support team can clear the Infinite Mode wave 30 CP threshold. Community data suggests that finishing him before other SS-tier projects is the right call for most accounts, because his kit scales better with future banners than most alternatives.