Picking your first guardian in Aniimo feels simple until you realize the choice is permanent. Helion and Lunara share identical base stats, the same Light element, and the same DPS role, so the decision comes down entirely to how you want to fight. One rewards patience and positioning from a distance. The other rewards aggression and the confidence to stay in the middle of every fight. Here is everything you need to know before you commit.
What are the key differences between Helion and Lunara?
The short answer: Lunara is a ranged attacker who kites enemies, applies debuffs, and heals herself through her damage. Helion is a melee attacker who pulls enemies together and detonates them with burst combos. Both sit at a 514 total attribute score across all six stats, so there is no hidden numerical advantage waiting for you on either side of the selection screen.
The stat sheet is genuinely identical:
Aniimo Helion vs Lunara: Which Starter Should You Pick?
Both arrive at the Nova stage with no evolution line to climb, meaning neither one is a starter you outgrow. They are finished damage dealers from the moment you pick them.
One trait both starters share is worth flagging early: each gains +20% final damage when fighting off-element. Light is only super effective against Dark and Wind, so for the majority of the game your starter collects that 20% bonus by default. It is quietly one of the strongest passive advantages either guardian carries.
Why Lunara is the safer pick for most players
Lunara's entire kit is built around staying out of reach while steadily dismantling enemy defenses. Her basic attack fires projectiles at range, which means you are learning dodge timing from a position where incoming hits are easier to avoid. That alone makes the first several hours more forgiving.
Her skill set amplifies that safety with genuine utility:
- Lumin Bolts fires three Light projectiles that prioritize different targets and apply Fox Mark, cutting the target's Light Resistance by 5% per stack, up to three stacks lasting 10 seconds.
- Moon Impact drops area damage on a marked enemy, dealing an additional 10% area damage around the target when Fox Mark is active.
- Lunar Eclipse pours heavy extra BREAK damage onto a target, excellent for filling the break gauge and triggering stuns.
- Moon-Washed restores 20 EP, keeping her rotation going without relying on teammates.
Aniimo Helion vs Lunara: Which Starter Should You Pick?
The trait doing the most work is Lunar Power: every skill or Ultimate grants four stacks of Silver Moon Mark, and each basic attack hit spends one stack for 100% extra damage plus 0.5% of max HP back. That self-sustain is folded directly into normal damage output, so you are not choosing between offense and survival.
Fox Mark also benefits your whole team, not just Lunara. A 15% Light Resistance reduction on a target is a meaningful team-wide damage increase if you are running multiple Light attackers alongside her.
Where Lunara demands more from you
Her best output requires setup. Fox Mark needs to be active, Silver Moon Marks need to be spent efficiently, and you get more out of her by alternating skills with basic attacks rather than burning everything at once. Against spread-out targets that flexibility feels excellent. Against a single tough enemy, the rotation clicks naturally. The ceiling is high, but the floor requires some attention.
Why Helion rewards aggressive players
Helion is built around one idea: drag the fight to a single point and detonate it. His melee positioning is a genuine commitment, but his kit compensates with crowd control, burst, and EP recovery that keeps the pressure constant.
His skills:
- Holy Storm spins through all surrounding enemies and pulls them toward the center of the storm. This is the skill that defines Helion's playstyle.
- Light Bombardment launches him into the air and crashes down with a holy explosion. With Ring of the Golden Sun active, this deals 30% more damage and restores 4% HP on hit, with a 75% chance not to consume the ring.
- Holy Roar increases his own Light Damage Amplification by 6% per stack, up to three stacks for a total of 18% over 20 seconds.
- Sun-Kissed restores 20 EP, or 25 EP when enhanced by Solar Halo.
Aniimo Helion vs Lunara: Which Starter Should You Pick?
The Solar Grace trait grants a Solar Halo buff every four basic attacks, enhancing the next skill. That rhythm rewards players who stay disciplined in their rotation rather than mashing abilities as they come off cooldown.
The honest risk: Helion has identical defensive stats to Lunara but fights at close range, so he absorbs more punishment without any extra base durability to compensate. The crowd control from Holy Storm and the healing on Light Bombardment offset this, but a new player will need to understand dodge timing faster with Helion than with Lunara.
How do their personalities affect the game?
Beyond combat, each starter has a fixed Personality that cannot be changed, unlike most other Aniimo in the game.
Helion is ENFP (Energetic, Nimble, Faithful, Playful), granting:
- ATK +2%, BREAK +2%
- Crit Rate +5%
- M. DEF +6%
- DMG Reduction +4%
Lunara is ISTJ (Instinctive, Practical, Tenacious, Judicious), granting:
- REGEN +4%
- DMG +4%
- P. DEF +6%
- HP +4%
These bonuses broadly reflect their combat roles. Lunara's ISTJ buffs lean toward sustained output and survivability. Helion's ENFP buffs push toward aggressive burst with the Crit Rate bonus.
Personality also shapes how each starter interacts with the story and world around you. Helion's dialogue is boisterous and energetic. Lunara's is composed and logical. This guardian travels with you for the entire game, so how much you connect with their personality is a legitimate factor in the decision.
What happens when they evolve into Fennelun and Soleon?
Early betas had the starters permanently evolve into Fennelun (Lunara's evolved form) and Soleon (Helion's evolved form), which replaced the original design entirely. Beta 3 changed this to a temporary battle transformation triggered by the Ultimate ability, and that is what shipped at launch.
- Lunara casts Selene's Judgment: deals massive damage, transforms into Fennelun until combat ends, gains 15% extra damage, and restores four Silver Moon Mark stacks.
- Helion casts Helios' Judgment: transforms into Soleon, gains 15% extra damage, and activates the Ring of the Golden Sun, which boosts Light Bombardment, adds healing on it, and has a 75% chance not to be consumed when it fires.
Neither starter has an evolution line in the Aniilog. Fennelun and Soleon exist as in-combat transformations only, with identical stats to their base forms. The power gain is written entirely into the Ultimate's own text. There is nothing to farm toward and no evolution level to hit.
Can you get both starters?
No. The launch build has no method to own both Helion and Lunara on a single save. Neither starter has a habitat listed in the Aniilog, which means there is no wild spawn, no region, and no capture route. The opening cutscene is the only source for either of them.
Pawprint Studio has indicated the possibility of another method being added later, and the story does reference an item called the Ancient Prism that may eventually allow you to obtain the starter you did not choose. Nothing in the current game delivers this. Treat the decision as permanent.
The good news for completionists: neither Helion, Lunara, Fennelun, nor Soleon have Aniilog entries, so missing the other starter does not leave a gap in your collection.
For everything else you need before jumping in, check out our guide on Aniimo pre-registration and launch rewards to make sure you have claimed every bonus available at launch.
Which starter should you pick?
Answer these in order and stop when one fits:
- New to action combat? Take Lunara. Ranged attacks are naturally forgiving while you learn dodge timing.
- Want fights to end in one explosion? Take Helion. Nothing in Lunara's kit is built for that.
- Building a Light-heavy team? Lunara's Fox Mark shreds Light Resistance for every attacker you bring, giving her team value that extends beyond her own damage.
- Already attached to one of them? Take that one. The stats are tied, so the bond is the only tiebreak the balance team never touched.
Both starters are placed in A tier on early DPS rankings, close enough to S that the first balance patch could shift things. Whichever you pick is a real damage dealer for the full game, not a training wheel you swap out at level 30.
For the full picture on what awaits you at launch, the Aniimo release date and start times guide has exact regional times across all platforms. And if you want to keep building your knowledge of Idyll, the complete Aniimo strategy guides collection covers everything from trophy hunting to team composition.