
The fastest way to level up in Anime Zero is Story Mode on Nightmare. Solo timed runs show it pays roughly 118,800 XP per hour, far ahead of Hard, as long as you clear in about two minutes. If Nightmare drags, drop to Hard. Here’s the quick ranking I’d follow on the way to Level 500.
| Mode | Clear Time | XP per Run | XP per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story Nightmare | 2:13 | 4,390 | 118,800 |
| Story Hard | 1:47 | 2,065 | 69,500 |
| Spirit’s Bathtub (Raid) | 3:34 | 3,866 | 65,000 |
| Shadow Gate (Raid) | 3:05 | 1,806 | 35,100 |
| Story Medium | 1:32 | 888 | 34,700 |
| Story Easy | 1:17 | 489 | 22,900 |
Nightmare pays 4,390 XP per run, but the rate only holds if you stay near two minutes. If you die or bosses stall you past three or four minutes, the hourly rate collapses and Hard wins. My rule: farm Hard until your clears feel effortless, then push Nightmare, and fall back the moment survival slows you down. Medium and Easy only make sense while your build is still weak.
Nightmare takes only 26 more seconds per run than Hard but pays about 2.1x the XP (4,390 vs 2,065). Medium versus Easy shows the same pattern: 15 extra seconds for nearly double XP (888 vs 489). Higher difficulty barely adds time, so always judge stages by XP per hour, not XP per run. These figures come from solo runs on one build, so your rate will vary with damage.
Not for leveling. Spirit’s Bathtub gives 65,000 XP per hour and Shadow Gate only 35,100, both below Story Hard. Run them for evolution and crafting materials instead. Shadow Gate also caps you at 10 attempts, refilling every three hours, so treat it as a material supply.
Infinite Mode pays the lowest active XP rate, so don’t grind it by hand. Use it when you’re away: loop an Endless Waves lobby on Nightmare with an auto-clicker on the Retry button while your character auto-casts. On mobile, set several auto-clicker points or use a cloud Android device. Slow, but free progress. Use third-party tools at your own risk.
Pro Tip: Traits are tied to a specific weapon, so only reroll on the weapon you’ll actually farm with. Fortune is easy to land (12.63% roll chance), but I’d chase Deadeye or Supernova first if your clears are slow.
Milestone rewards unlock every five levels, and your rank changes every 25 levels. Level 500 (Immortal III) pays 5M Coins, 500 Trait Rerolls, 30,000 Gems, 7 Suncores, 7 Forbidden Fruits, and 18 Magic Pendants. Claim them from the Milestones button in the left menu.
Story Mode Nightmare, about 118,800 XP per hour, if you can clear it in roughly two minutes.
Only when Nightmare clears take much longer than two minutes. Hard gives about 69,500 XP per hour.
No for active play, yes for AFK farming.
There are 500 levels.