Illusion Connect · Beginner

Beginner guide

How F2P-friendly the game is, how gear works, the tips that matter most, and the gacha basics.

Pre-launch draft. Compiled from the original global version ahead of the Illusion Connect: Re relaunch. Rankings and details will be refined as the live meta settles.
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Illusion Connect · Eden of Gaming beginner coverage

Is it free-to-play friendly?

Yes, with patience.

Every character can eventually be obtained through shard farming and free daily SSR shard rewards. The catch is star levels: raising a unit's stars gives a massive power boost, and the main shard farm (Arcana) is gated by time-based progression. You get everyone eventually, but fully maxing units takes patience.

Is it time-consuming?

No. It works great as a side game.
  • Sweep with single and multi-run options, and no sweep tickets are required.
  • Once a stage is cleared with 3 stars, farming it becomes near-instant.
  • Daily activities take about 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Three free stamina claim windows each day, so logging in occasionally is recommended.

The real challenge is hitting 3-star clears on hard stages, which need proper team setups and strategy.

Important beginner tips

The moves that save the most resources in your opening weeks.

Join a guild immediately Guild contributions earn points for contribution summons.
Don't waste early resources You feel rich early, but resources vanish later, especially the crystals needed for leader upgrades.
Upgrade your house quickly Improving the house and furniture increases passive resource generation.
Use arena tickets constantly Arena is one of the best diamond sources: 3 wins = 10 diamonds, 10 wins = 30 diamonds total.
Save Blue Mirror Crystals Extremely valuable for starring up core units. Don't spend them randomly.
Don't force 3-star clears Progress the story first to unlock features and modes. Perfect clears can come later.
Affection gifts matter Only give affection items to characters who highly prefer them, shown by a double-heart icon.

How the gear system works

Gear comes in four rarities, and the system is refreshingly deterministic.

N Raw stats only.
R Raw stats only.
SR Adds passive skills and special traits. Duplicates easily early, so it often out-performs SSR during progression.
SSR Passive skills and special traits, but harder to duplicate early on.

The good news:

No random stat rollsNo RNG substats

Upgrades beyond certain levels require duplicates. Because SR gear is easier to duplicate early, it is frequently stronger than SSR gear while you are progressing.

Where to farm gear:

Exploration ModeArcana Mode

Both modes also award exchange currency used for universal SSR gear duplicates.

How many banners are available?

Illusion Connect ties banners to account age, so different accounts can see completely different banners. What is available depends on when your account was created.

How are the summon rates?

Standard & Rate-Up
2%SSR rate
100 pullsPity

Many rate-up banners feature two SSRs, so you have a 50% chance for the specific featured unit you want.

Selected
3%SSR rate
70 pullsPity

1 featured SSR plus 3 selected SSRs. More expensive, but a guaranteed SSR within 20 pulls and the guaranteed featured unit at 70.

Paid-only offers

A few strong units sit behind cheap paid offers. Even after buying them you still need extra shards or duplicates to raise their stars.

  • Phoebe. Available through a cheap starter pack.
  • Kasumi. Available through a premium purchase package.
Next

New account? Start with the reroll guide before you bind, then check the tier list.

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