Updated July 27, 2026
Anime Expeditions Best Units (July 2026)
Knowing which unit is strongest is the easy half. This page is the other half: what to build first, in the order a free-to-play account can actually get things, and which units will waste your Trait Crystals. For pure rankings see the tier list.
Short answer
Build Puppet (Telekinetic)first — it is Top 5 and free from the Beginner's Banner. Add a farm unit (Stone Alchemist) before level 20. Your first Secret should be 8th Sword (Berserk), because 35 raid clears beats 10,000 summons. Long-term, Dark Mage is the best unit in the game and the cheapest top-tier unit to guarantee.
What to build, in order
Your first week
— Get one Mythic and stop summoningThe single best use of a new account. It is Top 5 overall, ranks in three roles, and is on the Beginner's Banner — so it is the strongest unit you can get without gambling.
Any Beginner's Banner Mythic
Lady Giant, Elf Mage, Salmon Sorcerer, Hollow, Flame Emperor, String Demon and Cursed Student are all on it at 12.5%. Finishing the Beginner's Quest event grants enough tickets to hit guaranteed Mythic pity — take the free one before spending a single Gem.
Avoid: Do not spend Gems on the Standard Banner in week one. Mythic pity there is 400 summons; the Beginner's Banner gives you one for free.
Getting to level 20
— Unlock Expeditions, then economyOne of only two Farm units, and Epic at 15.06% so you will own it almost immediately. It splits into three cheap placements, which is what you want while you are still poor in the opening waves.
The other Farm unit, Legendary with a 50-summon pity. Condenses income into one expensive placement — better once your placement cap is the constraint rather than your opening cash.
Avoid: A farm unit is not optional. Running six damage units and no economy is the single most common reason an account stalls before level 20.
First real carry
— One Secret, obtained on purposeThe only top-tier unit with a deterministic path. It drops from Spirit City Raid Act 3 at 1%, with a guaranteed pity after 35 clears — no summoning involved. Buy 10 Raid Totems from the Spirit City Raid Shop first; that is a flat x2 damage in that raid and roughly halves the grind.
Avoid: Do not chase Shadow (Divine) instead. Same tier, but it is 0.01% from the Standard Banner with pity at 10,000 summons — 500,000 Gems. 8th Sword is 35 raid clears.
Endgame
— Chase the units that are actually #1Ranked first overall and first in DPS on the official list, and it is only Mythic — so pity is 400 summons rather than 10,000. Best power-per-Gem in the game by a wide margin.
Top 5, Secret, and limited to the Villain Banner. Prioritise it over anything else on this list purely because the banner leaves when the event does.
Avoid: Luck Potions do not raise Secret or event-unit rates. Using them on a Crow hunt does nothing at all.
Best teams by stage
Five slots plus a flexible sixth. Every team below assumes you have a farm unit somewhere in the rotation.
Free-to-play team
Everything here is obtainable without spending, and without a Secret.Puppet covers support and crowd control, Salmon Sorcerer is the #1 crowd-control unit and keeps enemies inside everyone's range, Lady Giant and Elf Mage carry the damage, and Stone Alchemist pays for all of it. Every unit is on the Beginner's Banner except Stone Alchemist, which is Epic.
Mid-game team
Once you have one Secret and a farm unit built.8th Sword handles bosses and single high-HP targets, which is where mid-game walls actually are. Cursed Student adds the #1 Utility slot. Ramen Guy over Stone Alchemist here because by now the placement cap matters more than opening income.
Current best team
The official Top 5, minus the farm slot you still need.This is the official wiki Top 5 exactly. Note that four of the five also rank in Support or Crowd-Control, so it is not a glass-cannon comp — but you will still want a farm unit in the sixth slot on any map where income is tight.
Best trait for each top unit
Unbound is the default, and rolling it everywhere is the mistake. These four units want something else — check before you spend Trait Crystals, not after.
| Unit | Best trait | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most units | Unbound | The default best trait, and correct for the large majority of the roster. |
| Puppet (Telekinetic) | Optics | Explicitly recommended over Unbound on the official list. |
| Cursed Student (True Love) | Forsaken | Rolling Unbound and stopping is how this unit gets under-built. |
| Salmon Sorcerer (Grade 1) | Primordial | The crowd-control specialist wants its own trait, not the generic one. |
| Flame Emperor (Reincarnate) | Draconic | The only unit on the entire chart with this recommendation. |
Full mechanics, odds and rerolling costs are on the traits page.
Get the Gems before you summon
Mythic pity is 400 summons — 20,000 Gems, or 16,000 with VIP. Codes are the only free source at that scale, and several active ones hand out thousands of Gems and dozens of rerolls at once.
Best units FAQ
What are the best units in Anime Expeditions?
On the official community tier list the Top 5 are Dark Mage, Shadow, 8th Sword, Crow and Puppet. But the best unit for you depends on what you can actually get: Dark Mage is #1 and only Mythic, so pity is 400 summons instead of 10,000, and 8th Sword is the only top unit with a guaranteed non-summon path — 35 clears of Spirit City Raid Act 3.
Which unit should I build first in Anime Expeditions?
Puppet (Telekinetic). It is Top 5 overall, ranks in DPS, Support and Crowd-Control, and it is on the Beginner's Banner — so a new account can get it for free by finishing the Beginner's Quest event rather than gambling Gems on the Standard Banner.
What is the best team in Anime Expeditions?
The strongest possible team is the official Top 5 — Dark Mage, Shadow, 8th Sword, Crow and Puppet — plus a farm unit on maps where income is tight. A realistic free-to-play team is Puppet, Salmon Sorcerer, Lady Giant, Elf Mage and Stone Alchemist, all obtainable without spending.
Do I need a farm unit in Anime Expeditions?
Yes, and there are only two: Stone Alchemist and Ramen Guy. Stone Alchemist splits into three cheap placements so it pays out earlier; Ramen Guy condenses income into one expensive placement, which is better once your placement cap is the limit. Running an all-damage team is the most common reason accounts stall.
Which units should I not waste resources on?
Anything absent from the official tier list — the wiki states plainly that an unranked unit is not worth considering. That includes True Saint (Holy) despite being Exclusive, and every Rare and most Epic units apart from Stone Alchemist. Never spend Trait Crystals on a unit you will replace.
Which trait should I roll on my best unit?
Unbound for most of the roster, but there are four exceptions worth knowing before you spend Trait Crystals: Puppet wants Optics, Cursed Student wants Forsaken, Salmon Sorcerer wants Primordial and Flame Emperor wants Draconic.