Shadowlands Anima guide: What it is, and how to get it

Want to know how to get Anima in WoW? Then you're in the right place. World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion is here, and already maximum-level characters are scrambling to collect a new currency called Anima.

In this afterlife-themed expansion pack, Shadowlands Anima is the essence of souls. A precious resource, Anima is used to upgrade your Covenant Sanctum (your home base for the expansion). You have four WoW Covenants, or factions, to choose from when they reach maximum level. Each has its own Sanctum, and your Anima goes toward building its power and conveniences.

Here I'm going to take you through some WoW Anima farming methods, to make your Sanctum the envy of all the Shadowlands. So, let's get into it.

How to farm Anima in WoW

World quests

One of the biggest sources of Anima is the world quests that spawn throughout Shadowlands zones. If you followed my WoW Shadowlands guide, you’ll have completed the side quests and areas that unlock the maximum number of world quests available. Many of these reward Anima.

Opening chests

Chests in Shadowlands work much as they did in previous expansions. Open them, and you’ll typically receive one or several items such as supplies, armor, trash that sells for a good amount of gold, pets or toys, plus some currency. In Shadowlands, that currency is Anima.

Killing rare monsters

Rare monsters throughout the Shadowlands drop Anima, as well as toys, pets, mounts, and armor upgrades. Be aware that rare loot tables are not spec-specific. Even if you get an armor item from a rare, it may not be something you can use. But they almost always drop a varying amount of Anima, and that never goes out of style.

Completing dungeons

Dungeon bosses drop Anima tokens. The size and amount depends on difficulty and random chance. Most dungeons can’t be spammed endlessly at this point. Heroic dungeons can be completed once a day if you aren’t using the random dungeon finder, and Mythic 0 difficulty dungeons are completable once per week.

As a result, this won’t be a huge source of Anima until Mythic Plus difficulty dungeons open in December.

Weekly callings

Each Covenant has weekly quests that offer higher levels of reward, including Anima. You’ll get these quests directly inside your Sanctum, and they will send you to other zones to complete world quests or dungeons. Finishing these quests will reap more significant Anima rewards.

How to use the WoW Anima you gather

You should deposit Anima frequently, as it takes up space as items in your bags until you do. An NPC in your Covenant Sanctum (the same one you visit to do Sanctum upgrades) has an interface that includes a circular blob which slowly fills with Anima as you deposit it. To get there, use the dialog option, 'Show me the Sanctum'.

Directly below the blob is a Deposit Anima button. Clicking it once depletes and removes all Anima items from your bags, putting them into the reservoir and making your Anima ready for use via the same UI.

What Shadowlands Anima is used for

Anima upgrades generally lead to fun items and quality-of-life improvements. If you’re looking for something that will increase your character’s power, you don’t need to worry about maxing out Anima upgrades right away. There are some things you’ll get with upper-level Anima upgrades (upgraded Adventures can reward Soul Ash, the currency for making legendary items) but they’re not too overpowered.

Note you’ll have a quest from your Sanctum to collect Anima for the week. This doesn’t require you to spend it, but does offer a reward of Renown (your Covenant’s reputation measure that allows you to unlock new levels of talents/abilities on your Soulbind characters, directly affecting your player power). Even if you do nothing else, you’ll want to complete that quest.

Your first upgrade when you hit maximum level should always be to create your adventure table. This is where you’ll send your Soulbind characters and other troops on missions to collect, yes, more Anima, plus other gear upgrades and valuable items.

Next, you’ll probably want your transportation network, which will give you fast travel to the far reaches of your home zone. How you get there varies based on which Covenant you’ve chosen, but they all will transport you faster than flying-then-running. Sadly, they only work in your own faction’s world zone.

After that, you’ll want the Anima Conductor, which sends Anima to specialized points in your zone to unearth new fights, treasure chests and other opportunities for rewards including pets, toys and cosmetic items.

Finally, unlock your Covenant’s special events, ranging from the gothic tea party thrown by Venthyr members to the Queen’s Conservatory garden for Night Fae looking for extra treasures. These rewards are weekly (for the most part) offering some of the coolest cosmetic perks for your chosen Covenant.

Ongoing Anima uses

Initial upgrades are inexpensive: 1,000 Anima and one soul collected from the Maw. Later, they become more difficult to come by. But even when you’re finished, you’ll still use Anima for other things.

Notably, you should be using small amounts of Anima to send your Soulbinds on missions at the Adventure table and to redirect Anima via the Anima Conductor. Once you’ve redirected that Anima ten times, you can reinforce a connection, keeping it active permanently.

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