Auto-chess combat

How it works

Combat in Honkai: Nexus Anima follows an auto-chess format built on a hexagonal grid. Before each battle, players place their Anima on the lower half of the hex grid. Once deployment is set, the fight plays out automatically. Anima execute their attacks, abilities, and movements without player input during the round. The strategy happens before the battle starts: choosing which Anima to deploy, where to position them on the hex tiles, and which Kardia leaders to bring.

A key difference from games like Teamfight Tactics: Nexus Anima uses pre-built decks rather than random unit rolling. Players select their Anima team before entering a fight from their collection. There's no shared pool, no rerolling for units mid-match, and no economy-based purchasing between rounds. You bring the team you've built and trained, position them on the hex grid, and the fight plays out.

The hex grid

The battlefield is a hexagonal grid divided into two halves: the player's deployment zone on one side, the enemy formation on the other. Hex grids allow six directions of adjacency rather than four, which creates more positioning options than a square grid. An Anima can be surrounded by up to six neighbors, and abilities that affect 'adjacent hexes' or 'within 2 hexes' scale differently than they would on a rectangular board.

Positioning on the hex grid directly affects combat outcomes. Frontline Protectors absorb damage from nearby enemies. Ranged Blasters in the back can hit multiple targets in a cone. The hex layout means flanking angles matter. A unit positioned at the side of the grid can sometimes bypass the front line entirely.

Deployment

Players can deploy up to 9 Anima simultaneously on their side of the grid. The enemy formation is visible before deployment, so players can adjust their lineup to counter specific threats. Tanks and melee fighters go in the front row to absorb damage, while ranged damage dealers and support units sit in the back.

Assistance slots

In addition to the 9 deployed Anima, players have 6 assistance slots for bench Anima. These Anima don't fight directly but can still contribute to Aspect synergy counts. This means a team of 9 deployed + 6 bench can activate synergies using up to 15 units' worth of Aspect and Trait tags, even though only 9 are on the field. Building around this (putting Anima on the bench purely for their synergy contribution) is part of the team-building depth.

Heat Coins

Heat Coins are an in-battle currency earned as fights progress. Players spend Heat Coins between rounds to temporarily upgrade their deployed Anima. Boosting stats, unlocking stronger ability tiers, or triggering special effects. The system adds a layer of decision-making during multi-round encounters: do you spend Heat Coins early on a quick power spike, or save them for a bigger upgrade in later rounds?

Synergies

The depth of the system comes from synergy stacking. Each Anima belongs to one of the Aspects and one of the Traits. When you field multiple Anima sharing the same Aspect or Trait (including bench units in assistance slots), you unlock escalating buffs at the 2/4/6/8 thresholds. More units of the same type means stronger bonuses.

For example, the Satiation synergy at higher tiers triggers an ability called "Summon Bountiful Seed", which recovers 12% of an allied Anima's Health, boosts ATK and MP, and stacks up to 5 times. This kind of compound buff rewards players who commit to a focused Aspect composition rather than spreading units across many different types.

Kardia and Exclusive Principles

Players bring three Kardia characters into each battle. Kardia don't fight on the field themselves; they act as commanders providing off-field support. The lead Kardia generates an Exclusive Principle a unique battle ability that activates automatically. Different Kardia have different Principles, so the choice of leader shapes your strategy as much as your Anima composition.

The two non-leader Kardia contribute their Talisman equipment bonuses to the team instead. This means all three Kardia slots matter, even though only the leader's Exclusive Principle activates.

Blue energy bar

Each Anima has a blue energy bar that fills during combat. When full, the Anima unleashes its ultimate ability. Energy generation rate varies by Anima. Some fill quickly for frequent ultimates, others build slowly toward a single devastating attack. Managing which Anima get their ultimates first through positioning and Kardia buffs is part of the strategic layer.

Augments

Mid-battle, players are presented with augment choices. Power-ups divided into four categories: Synergy, Upgrade, Combat Power, and Economy. These work similarly to the augment system in Teamfight Tactics. The augments aren't tied to specific units; they're presented as choices at certain rounds, letting players adapt their strategy as the fight progresses.

Roles on the battlefield

Each Anima's Trait determines its combat behavior:

Design intent

HoYoverse has described the combat as having a low skill threshold, designed for casual players. There's no manual unit control during fights, no frame-perfect timing, and no twitch reflexes required. The skill expression comes from team building, positioning, synergy planning, and Heat Coin management. The game is entirely PVE, no competitive PVP mode exists, which removes the pressure of chasing meta compositions.

Beta feedback indicated some players found the combat too simple in early stages. The DevTalk response promised reworked Kardia combat models and skills, suggesting deeper strategic options are planned for launch.