Aniimo Thornblade Guide: Locations, Evolution, Skills & Best Team

Thornblade looks like someone gave a pile of thorny branches a sword and said, “Good luck out there.” Somehow, it works. This Grass DPS Aniimo is already sitting at the Nova stage, and its whole game plan revolves around critical hits, Sword Dance stacks, and getting into melee range before things get unnecessarily complicated.

In this Thornblade guide, we’ll cover its location, evolution line, forms, skills, best build, stat priorities, held item, and team. We’ll also break down how to use Sword Dance, when to press Thorny Defense, and how to turn Thorny Rain into a proper burst window.

Thornblade Overview

Attribute	Details
Stage	Nova
Element	Grass
Role	DPS
Total Base Stats	509
ATK	121
HP	96
DEF	74

Thornblade is a Grass-type DPS with a critical-hit-focused kit. Its high ATK gives it strong offensive potential, while its Sword Dance mechanic lets it build stacks and boost the damage of its basic attacks. With defensive skills that can counter incoming attacks and useful mobility, Thornblade can deal burst damage while staying flexible in combat.

Thornblade Location

Thornblade can be found in the Sea of Flowers. The earliest one you can encounter is guarding a chest. It is buried in the ground next to the chest and three Budsquires.

The location alone does not guarantee that Thornblade will appear. Weather and time of day also affect which Aniimo spawn. The game's data records two Thornblade spawn points in the Sea of Flowers, although these are areas rather than exact coordinates.

Thornblade Evolution

Thornblade belongs to a branching evolution line:

Budsquire → Thornblade Budsquire → Melloblum

Thornblade is one of the evolution paths from Budsquire. Depending on the evolution requirements, Budsquire can evolve into Thornblade or Melloblum.

Thornblade also has four documented forms:

Basic Form	Thunderstorm Form	Prismana Form	Towerwood Form

Thornblade Sparkling and Umbral Variants

If you're hunting for a Sparkling Thornblade, using a Sparkling Cube guarantees the Sparkling result when catching one. You can also use Sparkling Sigils on a Thornblade you already caught to turn it into Sparkling.

The Umbral version is different. It is a rarity roll rather than another form, with a 1 in 3,000 rate. Umbral Thornblade also has Perfect Innate Potential, but its Umbral appearance disappears after evolution or transformation.

Thornblade Best Skills

For a standard Thornblade build, the recommended skills are:

Skill	Type	Power	BREAK
Thorny Defense	Grass	75	33
Thorny Impact	Grass	57	20
Elegant Waltz	Grass Ultimate	172	43

Thorny Defense and Thorny Impact are the key parts of the setup because they support Thornblade's critical-hit focused playstyle. Both provide critical rate benefits while giving Thornblade different ways to approach combat.

Thorny Defense	Thorny Defense puts Thornblade into a defensive stance and reduces damage taken by 20%. It also counters attacks while active. If Thornblade is attacked right as the skill is activated, it gains 30% Critical Rate for 10 seconds. The skill has 75 Power, 33 BREAK, a 6-second cooldown, and costs 20 EP. Basically, the enemy attacks you and Thornblade responds with, “Excellent choice.”
Aqua Defense	Enters a defensive stance, reducing damage taken by 20%. If attacked during the stance, counterattacks the target. If attacked at the moment the skill is cast, applies [Lockdown] to the target for 12s.
Thorny Impact	Thrusts toward the target. On hit, increases this Aniimo’s Crit Rate by 15% for 15s.
Thorny Rain	Thorny Rain rapidly attacks a target up to three times. Each use has 30 Power and 13.3 BREAK, with a 1-second cooldown and 10 EP cost. It becomes much more interesting after Thorny Defense and Thorny Impact have been used. With the Critical Rate boosts active, its three rapid attacks have opportunities to turn into a burst damage sequence.
Elegant Waltz	Elegant Waltz is Thornblade's innate Ultimate. It repeatedly stabs a target with its thorn blade. It has 172 Power, 43 BREAK, an 8-second cooldown, and requires 100 SP.

Thornblade Trait: Sword Dance

Thorny Heart	Increases Grass damage by 12%.
Sword Dance	Each skill used grants 1 stack of [Sword Dance], up to 4 stacks, lasting 15s. Each basic attack costs 1 stack of [Sword Dance] to deal 180% extra damage.

Sword Dance is the mechanic you really want to pay attention to. It creates a simple loop:

Use skills → build Sword Dance stacks → basic attacks consume stacks → enjoy the extra damage

Because Thorny Defense and Thorny Impact can also increase Critical Rate, the two mechanics work naturally together.

Thornblade Best Build

Stat Priority

The recommended stat order is:

ATK > REGEN > BREAK > HP > P.Def > M.Def

ATK directly supports Thornblade's damage output, while REGEN helps it maintain HP and EP during combat.

Best Personality

The listed personality combination is:

E N T P

Getting the complete combination may be difficult, so E or N should be the main priority. Thornblade benefits from the additional ATK, Break, and Critical Rate associated with these choices.

Best Held Item

Ferocious Fang is the recommended Held Item.

Its core effect gives equipped Aniimo 0.7 additional ATK per level. Its listed effects include ATK +2 at Tier 1 and Damage Amp +10% at Tier 2. The Damage Amp effect doubles when ATK is above 15.

The in-game build also lists Ferocious Fang as Thornblade's recommended held item, with Damage Amp +10% at Legendary quality.

Thornblade Best Team

The recommended Grass DPS setup uses:

DPS	Regen	Support	Break
Thornblade	Leafy	Melloblum	Tuckin

The team is built around Thornblade's Critical Rate and Sword Dance mechanics.

Melloblum provides Rose Garden, which increases critical damage. Leafy provides Lotus Bloom for increased Grass elemental damage, while Vitality Bloom helps with HP and EP sustain. Tuckin contributes Break utility through its Prank Master trait.

If you need a replacement for Tuckin, Shrubclaw can take the Break slot. Verdant Beam and Leaf Slash are listed as useful additions for damage.

How to Play Thornblade

The basic rotation is pretty straightforward.

1. Start With Your Support Setup

Use Melloblum's Rose Garden to increase critical damage.

Then use Leafy's Lotus Bloom to increase Grass elemental damage.

2. Swap to Thornblade

Use Thorny Impact and Thorny Defense.

This builds Sword Dance stacks while also setting up Thornblade's Critical Rate.

3. Spend the Sword Dance Stacks

Once the stacks are ready, use basic attacks to consume them.

Each stack gives a basic attack 180% extra damage, so this is where the earlier skill usage starts paying the bill.

After spending the stacks, use Elegant Waltz.

4. Refresh HP and EP

After Thornblade finishes its damage sequence, swap back to your Support or Regen Aniimo.

Use the available skills to restore HP and EP before setting up the next cycle.

Final Thoughts

Thornblade is basically a walking pile of sharp problems. Build Sword Dance stacks, boost its Critical Rate, spend those stacks with basic attacks, then throw Elegant Waltz into the mix. The important part is keeping the rotation moving instead of randomly mashing skills and hoping the thorns solve everything.

If you want to keep upgrading Thornblade and need more resources, you can also check out Aniimo top up options through LDShop. It is a convenient way to handle your game purchases, with fast delivery, secure transactions, and support for players who would rather spend less time fighting payment screens and more time collecting Aniimo.