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How to burn vines and reach hidden nests in Aniimo
Fire opens thorn-sealed chests and melts ice, and the right twined Aniimo gets you up to nests on cliffs. Here is which abilities do which job.
The short version
- Thorny vines that seal some open-world chests have to be burned away, and Emberpup's fire ability does exactly that.
- Flameruff and Scorchhowl both learn Fire Bolt, a ranged fireball that ignites flammable objects and is the usual way to reach chests you cannot otherwise get to.
- Ice blocking your way has to be melted with a fire element Aniimo's abilities.
- Some wild eggs sit in nests you can only reach by twining with an Aniimo whose flight, climbing or swimming suits the obstacle.
- Twining works outside combat, and what it lets you do depends entirely on which Aniimo you are twined with.
A lot of what you find in Aniimo's open world is locked behind the landscape rather than behind a key. A chest wrapped in thorny vines. A path choked with ice. An egg sitting in a nest halfway up a cliff. None of these are solved by fighting. They are solved by twining with the right Aniimo and using what it can do.
Twining merges you with an Aniimo so you can use that creature's abilities. Certain forms and abilities then interact directly with world objects, which is how you bypass obstacles, solve environmental puzzles and reach areas that are otherwise closed to you.
This guide covers the two jobs that come up most: burning and melting things with fire, and getting yourself up, across or over to places your own legs will not take you.
Burning vines and opening thorn-sealed chests
Some open-world chests are sealed by thorny vines, and the only way in is to burn them away. The same goes for vines that block paths through the environment. Emberpup can use its fire ability to burn those down, which makes it one of the first Aniimo worth having on hand for exploring.
Fire does more than clear vines. Fire-type Aniimo have a field ability that burns obstacles such as wooden barriers and trees, and it also activates fire-based environmental puzzles. Many world puzzles need fire used this way, so if you hit a barrier made of wood or plant matter, fire is the first thing to try.
When the target is out of reach, you want range. Flameruff and Scorchhowl both learn Fire Bolt, a ranged fireball skill that ignites flammable objects in the world. It is commonly used to reach otherwise inaccessible chests: you set the obstacle alight from where you stand rather than having to get next to it first.
Melting ice
Ice works on the same principle as vines. Certain obstacles in the world, ice among them, must be melted using a fire element Aniimo's abilities. There is no way around this with a different element, so a fire Aniimo on your team saves you walking back later.
The practical upshot is simple. Between vines, wooden barriers, trees, fire puzzles and ice, fire covers more world obstacles than any other single thing covered here.
How twining changes the way you move
Twining can be activated outside combat, and the exploration and movement options it gives you vary depending on the active Aniimo. Each Aniimo provides its own distinct physical traversal ability while twined. Across the roster, those include sprinting, climbing vertical walls, swimming, diving, gliding, flying and burrowing underground.
That matters because the world is built to use them. It has multiple biomes, distinct Aniimo habitats, underground caves, and water you can cross by swimming. Which of those you can get through comfortably depends on who you are twined with.
For plain speed, look at Hustle. Helion has an exploration Mobility ability called Hustle that increases sprint and movement speed while consuming stamina. Emberpup also has an active traversal ability called Hustle, which enables sprinting for rapid movement across the map. That gives Emberpup both a fire ability for obstacles and a sprint for getting between them.
Reaching nests on cliffs, ledges and across water
Some wild eggs sit in nests that can only be reached by twining with an Aniimo whose pathfinding ability suits the obstacle in the way. Flight, climbing and swimming are the examples. A nest on a cliff face wants a climber or a flyer; a nest past water wants a swimmer.
Twining with a flying or climbing Aniimo lets you climb cliffs and fly vertically. Celestis is capable of both climbing walls and flying or gliding, so it covers more of these cases on its own than a creature that only does one.
Two other abilities help with awkward heights and gaps. Nimbi's Puff Up lets it jump higher for extra vertical traversal and perform a single horizontal dash in mid-air, which is useful for a ledge that is just out of reach. Pawney's mobility skill, Hookshot, stretches Pawney's arm toward the centre of the view and pulls Pawney to whatever it hits, either a wall or an enemy. Aim it at a wall and it becomes a way up or across.
Water puzzles and sanctums
Fire is not the only element the world asks for. Certain Aniimo field abilities, such as water abilities used on environmental water puzzles, let you interact with and solve those puzzles, and they are required to reach specific overworld areas. If an area seems closed and nothing burns, check whether it is a water puzzle instead.
Sanctums lean on the same idea: they are puzzle mini-dungeons that restrict you to twining with select Aniimo to solve a series of environmental puzzles for a chest at the end. They have their own guide on this site.
Twining to talk to wild Aniimo
Twining also changes how wild Aniimo treat you. You must twine with an Aniimo of the corresponding family, such as an Emberpup, to understand and converse with certain wild Aniimo. Some wild Aniimo in the open world offer quests that can only be started by twining into an Aniimo of that same species.
While twined, you can also attract a small number of wild Aniimo of the same species to follow you. So the Aniimo you pick for exploring is not only about what it can burn or climb. It also decides which of the locals will talk to you.
Where to start
Keep a fire Aniimo within reach. Emberpup handles vines and sprints, while Flameruff or Scorchhowl add Fire Bolt for chests you cannot get near. Pair it with a climber or flyer such as Celestis for cliff nests. When something blocks you, work out what kind of obstacle it is (plant, ice, water or height) and twine with the Aniimo that matches it.
Parts of this page were re-checked against the released game on 20 September 2026. The rest has not been re-confirmed since release.
