Echoes of Mana: Complete Beginner’s Guide (Tips + Do’s and Don’ts)
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).Echoes of Mana is a great ACGN gacha game by Square Enix that has a fast-paced combat system and an engaging storyline.
And like most gacha games, it has several mechanics and game modes that can get a bit complicated for new players.
But this is our definitive guide to the game to help get your account off to a running start!
Starting Out (Rerolling)
Upon reaching a certain point in the tutorial, you’ll be able to pull in the gacha for the first time through your Tutorial Summons.
You can only pull 3★ Units here, however, so the one you’ll get will be largely inconsequential. Feel free to choose whatever 3★ Unit you like!
For the “true” rerolling process, you’re going to have to progress on the tutorial a bit more, claim your mail rewards, then pull on whatever banner is available on the Harvest page.
If you’d like to start over again, simply go to the Title Screen through the Menu then click Delete User Data.
TIP: Most 4★ Units in the gacha are viable, but the best ones for beginners are Pure DPS or Bruiser Units like Earth Sword Duran, Light Sword Sumo, Fire Boomerang Popoi, or Water Staff Angela.
For a smooth early game, it’s recommended for you to have at least two 4★ Units — perhaps even three if you don’t mind spending a bit more time rerolling.
Echoes of Mana Game Modes
Like most gacha games, Echoes of Mana has a variety of playable Game Modes. They are as follows:
Main Quests
The Main Quests are Echoes of Mana’s version of story quests or campaign quests. You can progress through the main storyline here.
The Main Quests are further divided into four types of quests, namely:
- Stage Quests – Quests that are divided into 1 to 3 stages where you progress linearly.
- Scout Quests – Quests where you can explore a whole map.
- Story Quests – Quests that let you go through the story and require no combat to clear.
- Boss Quests – Quests where Mid Bosses and Main Bosses await. They’re by far the hardest Quests to clear.
There are also three difficulties for Main Quests — Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. Each difficulty gives away Spirit Crystals as clear rewards.
TIP: Progressing through the Main Quest should always be a priority not only because it unlocks game modes, but also because it provides you with a ton of starting Spirit Crystals.
In Scout Quests, keep in mind that you can find Chests that contain either precious resources or enemies. Finding these Chests is highly recommended
Also in Scout Quests, there is a structure called the Golden Statue that fully heals your party’s HP and MP. Whenever you’re running low on any of them, simply find a Golden Statue and you’re good!
Event Quests
Event Quests are more or less just like Main Quests. There’s a story, a ton of battles, and a whole lot of clear rewards for you to take.
The only difference is that Event Quests are time-limited and cannot be cleared again once they’re gone unless they’re rerun sometime in the future.
Most Events also come with an Event Points Shop where you can exchange the Event Points you have collected from farming Event Quests.
TIP: Like for almost every game out there, clearing Event Quests in Echoes of Mana is highly recommended.
When it comes to farming Event Quests, it would be more efficient to clear them in Hard and Very Hard difficulty.
And you can also go Co-op if you’re having a hard time clearing Event Quests!
Training Quests
If you want to power up your Units ASAP, then Training Quests should be your next priority after Main Quests.
Here, you can farm all sorts of Equipment and Training Materials that will allow you to strengthen your Units further.
Training Quests are further divided into two types of Dungeons, namely:
Item Dungeons
The Item Dungeon is made up of several Dungeons that’ll provide you with unique drops.
- Altar Vigil Dungeons – You can farm Mana Board Materials for all elements (except Luna and Dryad) here.
- Echoing Maze – You can farm Memory Gem Upgrade Materials here.
- Daily Training Quest – You can farm Lucre, Memory Gem Upgrade Materials, and Experience Tomes here.
TIP: You can only enter Daily Training Quests three times per day, so choose which resources you need to farm first before clearing anything.
Gear Dungeons
Finally, we have Gear Dungeons which provide you with all types of Equipment that’ll further boost your Units’ raw stats.
They’re also made up of three difficulties and two types of stages — one drops Armor Equipment (Helmets, Chest Pieces, Gauntlets) while the other drops Accessories (Necklaces, Rings, Boots) instead.
TIP: It’s advisable to only farm Gear Dungeon Quests in Very Hard difficulty because doing so guarantees 4★ Equipment drops.
Also, please keep in mind that you can ask for help from fellow players via Co-op if you’re struggling to clear any stage!
High-Level Quests
High-level Quests, hence the name, are only unlocked after clearing several Main Quest chapters and progressing to a certain point in the game.
This game mode is only recommended for experienced players with at least three Units that are decently powered up.
Twillwool Tower
The Twillwool Tower is divided into several Floors. Each Floor lets you earn all kinds of rewards by beating enemies in two to three stages.
Every 10 Floors, you will encounter Boss Stages that’ll give you even more rewards when cleared — most notably Experience Tomes (L) which are fairly hard to come by.
TIP: If you want to conserve your Stamina, it’s advisable to only enter this tower once you’ve cleared several Training Stages to power up your characters via Leveling and Unlocking Panels.
Echoes of Mana Combat Guide
Combat in Echoes of Mana can be very fast-paced and intense. So you’re going to have to learn a few tricks if you want to excel.
While in combat, you can either Dodge, use Basic Attacks, Skills, Special Techniques, or Mega Spirit Attacks.
Your enemies, on the other hand, can use Telegraphed Attacks and Charged Attacks in addition to their Basic Attacks.
To elaborate further on how each of them works, here’s a brief explanation for each mechanic:
- Basic Attacks – Normal Attacks that restore over 5% to 10% of the ST Meter per enemy hit.
- Skills – Attack, Buff, or Debuff skills that restore 30% of the ST Meter per enemy hit (if the Skill is an AoE attack).
- Dodge – Allows you to travel a short distance quickly to avoid attacks.
- Special Techniques – Also called ST. It is usable once the ST Meter is full. Each Unit has a unique Special Technique.
- Mega Spirit Attacks – Useable only after three Special Techniques have been executed. Deals tremendous amounts of AoE damage.
- Telegraphed Attacks – Commonly executed by Bosses. These are high-damage attacks that are marked with red highlights on the ground. Use your Dodge to avoid them!
- Charged Attacks – Indicated by a prompt and a purple Break Meter appearing under the Boss. You can deplete the Break Meter by attacking the Boss while they’re charging.
The Boss will be stunned if the Break Meter is successfully depleted. Otherwise, the Boss will unleash a devastating and unavoidable AoE attack against your team.
TIP: One of the best things you can practice to clear Quests more easily is Stacking.
Stacking is done by setting enemy aggro to a specific Unit, letting the enemies group up by following that Unit, then finally unleashing your AoE Skills.
Doing this will allow you to fill up your ST Meter faster and, by extension, let you use Mega Spirit Attacks more frequently.
You can also Swap any of the three Units in play. Feel free to do it whenever the secondary Unit’s ST Meter is full or if your primary Unit is about to die.
How To Power Up Units
There are a total of four methods of powering up your Units in Echoes of Mana. They are as follows:
Level Up
Leveling up a Unit increases their overall stats — allowing them to take and deal more damage, use more Skills, and resist more magic attacks.
To level up your Units, you’ll need Experience Tomes.
We also created a detailed leveling guide right here if you want more suggestions on how to grind levels.
Using Gears
Gears can increase a Unit’s specific stats with Main Stats, Bonus Stats, and Set Effects.
To level up your Gears, you’ll need Altena Alloys.
TIP: There is no specific Quest where you can farm Altena Alloys exclusively, but you can obtain them as loot from Gear Dungeon Quests amongst many others.
Mana Board Panels
Unlocking Panels in the Mana Board allows you to boost any of the Unit’s given stat.
To unlock panels, you’ll need elementally compatible Panel Unlock Materials for the specific Unit you’re trying to power up.
TIP: Each Unit has a different stat/group of stats that need/needs to be unlocked first.
Try to envision your Unit’s preferred role before unlocking their panels. For DPS units, INT, STR, LCK, and MP will be your go-to stats. For tanks or bruisers, it’ll be HP, CON, and SPR.
Ascend, Unleash, and Awaken
Ascend, Unleash, and Awaken will allow you to increase a Unit’s Maximum level. Here’s a brief explanation for each of them:
- Ascend increases the host’s max level. Ascending requires other Units or Knitwit Icons with a rarity level that’s similar to the host’s.
- Unleash increases the host’s max level and Unleash level. Increasing the Unleash level unlocks Support Skills and levels up a Unit’s Skills. Unleashing requires duplicates of the Unit or Benevodon Spirit Icons of the same rarity.
- Awaken can only be done on a Unit with max Level (LVL 99), max Panel Unlocks, max Unleash, and 5★ Rarity. Awakening a Unit requires Awakening Orbs.
How Memory Gems Work
Memory Gems are yet another way to power up your Units. When equipped, they will give your Units raw stat boosts and unique Passive Skills that’ll help them through all sorts of situations!
You can also level up Memory Gems as well as Unleash them with duplicates — just like how it is for Units.
TIP: You will be able to farm a lot of level up materials for Memory Gems (Echo Blooms) so don’t hesitate on investing in 3★ Memory Gems too.
In fact, some 3★ Memory Gems are actually better than 4★ ones — especially since they’re much easier to Unleash!
The Stamina System
Compared to most gacha games, Stamina in Echoes of Mana is a bit different and is divided into two types — AP and SP.
Your AP is consumed when clearing Main Quests, Event Quests, and High Level Quests.
Your SP, on the other hand, is consumed when doing Training Quests in both the Item Dungeons and Equipment Dungeons.
TIP: You can increase your AP and SP capacity by leveling up your account. You can also restore your AP or SP about 10 times a day via AP Potions, SP Potions, or Spirit Crystals.
Both your AP and SP will also recover every time you level up. Don’t forget to take advantage of this, especially in the early game!
General Tips
To help you progress through the game more easily and efficiently, here are several tips that all beginners should keep in mind!
Farm Event Quests Regularly
Event Quests should always be cleared whenever they come around simply because they not only give you bonus Spirit Crystals, but also tons of other lucrative rewards.
By farming specific Event stages, you can also get Event Points which you can exchange for valuable items like EXP Tomes, Echo Blooms, Knitwit Icons, and Benevodon Spirit Icons!
Do Your Dailies
Daily Missions will be one of your main sources of Spirit Crystals once you’ve depleted the ones you get as rewards from Regular and Special Missions.
Keep in mind that by simply clearing Daily Missions, you will eventually be able to save up for 20 Harvests per month. Not bad at all!
When in Doubt, Refer to the Newbie Bingo Missions
If you’re feeling lost and don’t know what to do next, all you need to do is visit the Newbie Bingo Missions and check what Missions you have yet to complete.
These Bingo Missions can provide new players a pretty solid “guide” on how things should be done in order, although do keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to rush through anything.
After all, it’s more advisable to just set personal goals and do the Bingo Missions at your own pace for the sake of enjoyment!
Buy-Out the Recovery Items in the Lucre Shop
The Lucre Shop sells Candy and Chocolate — both of which are highly invaluable simply because of the current lack of proper 4★ Healers in the game (or the difficulty of getting one).
On that note, you should always buy these two whenever they’re available. The Lucre Shop resets once per week, so make sure to get them before each reset!
You can set these recovery items for use during combat through the Items Button located on the Party Page.
Echoes of Mana Checklist (Do’s & Don’ts)
Do’s:
- Do focus on clearing Main Quests first
- Do farm Training Quests regularly
- Do use Stacking in Combat
- Do you Daily Missions consistently
- Do buy recovery items in the Shop
- Do invest in Units with different elements
- Do invest your power-up materials wisely
Don’ts:
- Don’t miss any Event Quests
- Don’t pull on every Banner if you’re F2P
- Don’t use Full Auto in combat unless you have a much higher Battle Power than what’s required
- Don’t use 4★ dupes when Ascending
- Don’t use Spirit Crystals when leveling up Mana Board Panels
- Don’t troll in Co-op Quests