How to Get Glimmer and Lumen Crystals

Glimmer is distinct from Lumen. You spend it in the Glimmer tab of the premium shop without needing real money, and you exchange it with vendors and NPCs for valuable items, cosmetics and materials. It also buys items that normally require real money, which is why it is treated as the game's main premium currency even though you never pay for it.

Lumen Crystals are obtained only with real money: shop top-ups, the Monthly Pass and event bundles. They are spent in the in-game cash shop. The full breakdown of every currency has its own article on this site; for this guide, the short version is that Glimmer is what you grind and Lumen is what you buy.

Almost everything you do pays some Glimmer. Story progress, quests and missions, daily tasks, events, elite training, boss battles, chests, puzzles, branch activities, the battle pass and the Holo Battle Simulator all feed it.

Not all of those are equal. Daily tasks and events are the most efficient to farm, so they should be the first thing you clear each session. Holo Battle is worth a regular slot too, because it pays Training EXP and XP alongside its Glimmer. You are levelling and earning currency in the same run.

Chests and puzzles are one-off rewards. Once you have opened and solved what is near you, that source is spent. Daily tasks and events keep paying.

Free Glimmer income slows sharply as progression advances, notably past roughly level 58 to 60. A lot of the early income comes from things you only finish once, and by that point many of them are behind you.

That changes how you should spend. Glimmer earned early is the easiest Glimmer you will ever get, and it is easy to burn on small purchases while it feels plentiful. If there is something expensive you know you want, save toward it while income is still high.

For a sense of how big the expensive targets get: entering the legendary Iresallis (Aris Halis) event in the beta required Glimmer, with legendary pity estimated at 4,500 to 6,000 Glimmer. A sink that size is hard to reach on post-58 income alone.

Glimmer can acquire higher-tier Aniipods, which is the main reason most players hoard it. A few shop prices give you a scale to work with:

One Glimmering Drift Shadow costs 200 Glimmer in the shop. A pack of 10 Glimmering Driftshadows costs 1,800 Glimmer, so the pack is the cheaper way to buy them if you want several.

Sparkling Cubes cost 1,500 Glimmer or premium currency. They are acquired by purchasing 100 Sparkling Crystals and exchanging them at Outpost vendors. How those vendors work is covered in this site's shops and vendors guide.

Lumen Crystals can buy Sparkling Cubes and Anipod Ultras, but at a markup. If you are buying Lumen only to turn it into those items, Glimmer is the better value where you have it.

The better reason to top up is the bonus. Purchasing premium crystals awards bonus Glimmer, and first-time purchases yield a higher bonus than repeat purchases. Specifically, your first purchase of a premium currency amount grants a bonus equal to the amount bought, paid in secondary currency. If you plan to spend at all, the first purchase is the one to think about, because the repeat bonus is smaller.

Lumen also buys cosmetic bundles outright. The Laurel Moon Blessing pack, for example, costs 280 Lumen Crystals and includes the Floral Moon Jukebox furniture item alongside the Laurel Lantern and Moonbound Journey accessories. Bundle prices have their own article on this site.

The monthly pass lasts 30 days. It grants 6,000 Companion XP, bonus daily login rewards with 5 days of retroactive catch-up, and extra battle pass experience. The catch-up means a few missed days do not cost you those rewards.

The currency it pays is not settled. The premium currency granted immediately on purchase is given as both 330 and 333 Lumen Crystals. The total is described in several ways: that upfront grant plus 3,000 crystals spread across the 30 days; 3,000 Glimmer, 300 premium currency and 330 Lumen Crystals distributed daily; and only 330 premium currency in total. Check the in-game store listing before you buy rather than counting on the larger figure.

07Where to start

If you play for free, clear daily tasks and events every session, run Holo Battle for the Glimmer and the EXP, and save for big purchases before level 58 to 60, when income drops off. If you spend, make your first premium purchase count, because it pays the biggest bonus. Don't use Lumen on Sparkling Cubes or Anipod Ultras when you have the Glimmer for them, since Lumen costs more for the same items.