Key takeaways
- Relic Forge — Main Hub, left of the Card Library. Unlocks at Account Level 12 after the tutorial quest “Fragments of the Old World.” Handles tier 1 and tier 2 recipes.
- Elemental Altars — four separate altars (Ember, Tide, Verdant, Gale) inside the Elemental Sanctum. Each unlocks individually once you clear the corresponding Chapter 4 stage on Hard. Handles tier 3 element-locked recipes.
- Astral Observatory — rooftop of the Hub, reached via the Spire elevator. Unlocks at Account Level 30 and a 12-star clear of Astral Spire Floor 20. Handles tier 4 mythic recipes.
- Guild Workshop — inside your guild hall. Requires Guild Level 5 and a personal contribution of 10,000 guild gold. Handles tier 5 co-op recipes.
Anime Card Collection currently has fourteen craftable relics spread across five tiers and four crafting stations: the Relic Forge in the Main Hub, the four Elemental Altars unlocked after Chapter 4, the Astral Observatory at Account Level 30, and the Guild Workshop at Guild Level 5. The single most important thing to know before you spend anything is that the tier-3 and tier-4 recipes are gated by weekly materials, not stamina — so a relic you could theoretically farm in two days actually takes two to three weeks. A quick note on numbers: ingredient counts occasionally shift by a unit or two after a balance patch, so read the final cost on the crafting screen before you commit a rare drop.
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What a relic is and where each station lives
A relic is a permanent, non-card equipment slot that attaches to your deck rather than to an individual card. You equip up to three per deck, and their stats stack with card bonuses. Relics are not pulled from banners — they can only be crafted, which is why the recipe list matters more than your gacha luck.
- Relic Forge — Main Hub, left of the Card Library. Unlocks at Account Level 12 after the tutorial quest “Fragments of the Old World.” Handles tier 1 and tier 2 recipes.
- Elemental Altars — four separate altars (Ember, Tide, Verdant, Gale) inside the Elemental Sanctum. Each unlocks individually once you clear the corresponding Chapter 4 stage on Hard. Handles tier 3 element-locked recipes.
- Astral Observatory — rooftop of the Hub, reached via the Spire elevator. Unlocks at Account Level 30 and a 12-star clear of Astral Spire Floor 20. Handles tier 4 mythic recipes.
- Guild Workshop — inside your guild hall. Requires Guild Level 5 and a personal contribution of 10,000 guild gold. Handles tier 5 co-op recipes.
All relic craft recipes, tier by tier
Tier 1 — Apprentice relics (Relic Forge, Account Level 12)
| Relic | Materials | Gold | Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cracked Signet | 40 Relic Shards, 20 Primordial Dust, 1 Blank Frame | 1,200 | Relic Forge |
| Novice’s Charm | 60 Relic Shards, 30 Primordial Dust, 1 Blank Frame | 1,800 | Relic Forge |
| Apprentice Blade Shard | 75 Relic Shards, 35 Primordial Dust, 2 Blank Frames | 2,400 | Relic Forge |
Tier 2 — Adept relics (Relic Forge, Account Level 22)
| Relic | Materials | Gold | Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duelist’s Emblem | 120 Relic Shards, 60 Primordial Dust, 3 Elemental Cores (any element), 2 Blank Frames | 6,000 | Relic Forge |
| Scholar’s Codex | 150 Relic Shards, 80 Primordial Dust, 2 Verdant Cores, 2 Binding Thread | 7,500 | Relic Forge |
| Vanguard Plate | 180 Relic Shards, 90 Primordial Dust, 3 Ember Cores, 1 Catalyst Resin | 9,000 | Relic Forge |
Tier 3 — Elemental relics (matching Altar, Chapter 4 Hard cleared)
| Relic | Materials | Gold | Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emberheart Relic | 300 Relic Shards, 150 Primordial Dust, 8 Ember Cores, 4 Binding Thread, 1 Catalyst Resin | 24,000 | Ember Altar |
| Tidecaller Relic | 300 Relic Shards, 150 Primordial Dust, 8 Tide Cores, 4 Binding Thread, 1 Catalyst Resin | 24,000 | Tide Altar |
| Verdant Oath Relic | 320 Relic Shards, 160 Primordial Dust, 8 Verdant Cores, 5 Binding Thread, 1 Catalyst Resin | 26,000 | Verdant Altar |
| Galewind Relic | 320 Relic Shards, 160 Primordial Dust, 8 Gale Cores, 5 Binding Thread, 1 Catalyst Resin | 26,000 | Gale Altar |
Tier 4 — Astral relics (Astral Observatory, Account Level 30)
| Relic | Materials | Gold | Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astral Crown | 800 Relic Shards, 400 Primordial Dust, 15 Elemental Cores (any mix), 6 Astral Sigils, 5 Binding Thread, 3 Catalyst Resin | 90,000 | Astral Observatory |
| Starlit Aegis | 850 Relic Shards, 420 Primordial Dust, 16 Elemental Cores, 7 Astral Sigils, 6 Binding Thread, 3 Catalyst Resin | 96,000 | Astral Observatory |
| Voidbound Talisman | 900 Relic Shards, 450 Primordial Dust, 18 Elemental Cores, 8 Astral Sigils, 6 Binding Thread, 4 Catalyst Resin | 110,000 | Astral Observatory |
Tier 5 — Co-op relics (Guild Workshop, Guild Level 5)
| Relic | Materials | Guild Gold | Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concord Relic | 500 Relic Shards, 200 Primordial Dust, 4 Guild Seals, 10 Binding Thread | 40,000 | Guild Workshop |
| Rally Banner Relic | 650 Relic Shards, 260 Primordial Dust, 6 Guild Seals, 12 Binding Thread | 55,000 | Guild Workshop |
Unlock order, and why the sequence matters
- Reach Account Level 12 and finish “Fragments of the Old World.” This opens the Relic Forge. Do it before you spend dust on card upgrades — a tier-1 relic out-stats roughly two weeks of card leveling at that stage.
- Clear Chapter 4 on Hard, one element at a time. Each Altar unlocks separately, so pick the element your main deck already uses. Unlocking an Altar you can’t feed with cores is wasted progress.
- Push Astral Spire to Floor 20 with 12 stars. You need the star count, not just the floor, so three-star earlier floors rather than racing upward. The Observatory will not open on floor count alone.
- Join a guild and reach Guild Level 5 before Account Level 30. Guild Seals accrue slowly and are shared across the roster, so starting early means tier 5 is ready when you want it instead of three weeks later.
Which relic should you craft first?
| Your situation | Craft first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 12–21, free to play | Novice’s Charm | Cheapest dust cost; salvages back 70% of shards if you outgrow it |
| Level 22–29, mixed element deck | Duelist’s Emblem | Accepts any Elemental Core, so no single domain grind |
| Level 30+, clearing Spire weekly | Astral Crown | Highest raw stat line; the Sigil gate is the only real limiter |
| PvP / speed decks | Galewind Relic | Priority and turn-order bonuses matter more than flat attack |
| Raid and boss content | Emberheart Relic | Sustained damage-over-time scales against high-HP bosses |
| Active guild member | Concord Relic | Best thread-to-power ratio in the game; seals come from guild raids you already run |
The real cost: a worked stamina calculation
Take the Emberheart Relic. Ember Cores drop at roughly one per four runs of the Ember Core Domain, and a run costs 8 stamina — so each core is about 32 stamina, and eight cores is 256 stamina. Relic Shards come in at about 15 per run, meaning 300 shards is 20 runs, or 160 stamina. Add it up: 416 stamina, roughly 1.7 days of natural regeneration at the 240-per-day cap.
Now do the Astral Crown. Fifteen cores is 480 stamina and 800 shards is another 432 — about 912 stamina, or 3.8 days. That sounds like the hard part, and it isn’t. Astral Sigils drop two per weekly Astral Spire clear, and you need six, so the recipe is gated at three calendar weeks minimum no matter how much stamina you buy. The lesson: budget your weekly clears first, then farm filler materials around them. Catalyst Resin follows the same logic — it regenerates one every 48 hours to a cap of five, so three resin is a hard 96-hour wait unless you’re pulling from the guild raid stipend.
What wears out, and the mistakes that cost you materials
- Catalyst Resin is the consumable that never comes back. Salvaging a relic returns roughly 70% of its Relic Shards and Primordial Dust, but zero Resin, zero Sigils and zero Guild Seals. Never craft a tier-3 relic “just to try it.”
- Blank Frames cap at three per day from daily missions. If you’re planning a tier-2 relic, bank frames for four days first rather than crafting one frame at a time and stalling.
- Binding Thread comes from dismantling duplicate cards. Burning 5-star duplicates for thread is the single most common long-term mistake — the thread is recoverable elsewhere, the duplicate is not.
- Enhancement is separate from crafting. Relics enhance from +1 to +10 using Primordial Dust, and attempts above +7 fail without a Stabilizer, which costs a full Catalyst Resin to make. Most players should stop at +7 and put the dust into a second relic.
- Don’t craft tier 2 within three levels of tier 3. A Vanguard Plate built at Level 28 is a 9,000-gold placeholder you’ll salvage a week later at a 30% loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many relics can I equip at once?
Three per deck. They attach to the deck rather than to individual cards, so swapping a card does not remove its relic bonuses. Most players run one offensive, one defensive and one utility relic rather than stacking three of the same type, because the stat scaling has diminishing returns past the second copy of any single effect.
Can I craft a relic twice?
Yes, but duplicates cannot be equipped in the same deck. A second copy is only useful for a separate deck in PvP or guild war modes, or as salvage fodder. If you don’t run multiple competitive decks, stop at one and spend the materials on the next tier up instead.
What is the fastest way to get Astral Sigils?
Astral Spire weekly clears, which award two Sigils per completed run and reset every Monday. There is no stamina-efficient alternative — the Sigil drop table is weekly-locked by design. Guild raid rewards can occasionally include one, but the rate is low enough that you should not plan around it.
Should I salvage tier-1 relics once I reach tier 3?
Generally yes. Salvage returns about 70% of the Relic Shards and Primordial Dust invested, and tier-1 relics fall off hard once your deck passes Account Level 30. The exception is if you actively run a beginner-bracket PvP mode with equipment restrictions, where a cheap tier-1 relic may still be your best legal option.
Do element-locked relics work on off-element decks?
They equip and their flat stats apply, but the elemental bonus effect only triggers when at least two cards of that element are in the deck. Running an Emberheart Relic on a Tide deck gives you roughly 60% of its value. Match the relic to your dominant element or skip the tier entirely.
Is the Guild Workshop worth pushing for?
Yes, if your guild is active. The Concord Relic costs no Catalyst Resin and no Astral Sigils, which makes it the only mid-to-high tier relic that isn’t bottlenecked by weekly locks. In a guild running raids consistently, it’s usually the second relic most players build after their first tier-3.
