Sparkling Cubes: how to get them and catch rates

The catch itself is certain. A Sparkling Cube has a guaranteed 100% catch rate, so if you throw one at a spawned Prismana, you capture it.

The shiny result is less tidy. The cube is the item built for Sparkling captures. Premium Anipods like it are described as guaranteeing that the captured Aniimo is its Sparkling (shiny) variant, and Sparkling Crystals exist to make cubes that guarantee shiny Prismana Aniimo. Capturing a wild Aniimo with a Gleam Cube is likewise said to guarantee a shiny. The strongest version says anything caught or hatched with a cube becomes the Sparkling variant with sparkling Prismana quality. That covers Prismana and egg incubation, and it turns an Alpha, even one hatched from an Alpha egg, into a Perfect Sparkling Alpha.

That version is not settled. The cube's effect is also put at a 99% chance of a standard gleaming variant. Another version gives only a chance at the sparkling attribute, a chance of hatching one, or simply an easier shiny capture. Until that is resolved, spend cubes on targets where you would be happy with a guaranteed catch even if the shiny didn't happen.

Perfect stats are unsettled in the same way. In one version, cubes have always guaranteed perfect potential since the launch update, for catches (Prismana included) and on eggs, where the cube overrides a guaranteed elite potential and raises it to perfect. In the other, the result may be only elite, or not guaranteed to be elite at all. Both versions agree on one point: a cube does not lower quality.

Don't confuse the cube with the Aniipod Ultra. The Ultra is the top of the standard Aniipod line and improves your odds on tougher targets, but whether it guarantees a catch is unsettled. The Sparkling Cube is an upgraded version of the Ultra, and the assured catch belongs to the cube. The tiers and crafting guide covers the rest of that line.

You can earn cubes without spending money. They come from the story, main quests, exploration, the launch mail rewards and occasional in-game events. They were also handed out as free global launch rewards, so check your mail if you haven't claimed yours.

Two free routes are worth chasing on purpose. The first is the Prismana Pact event, which ends with a Sparkling Cube. You unlock it by registering 10 different Prismana Aniimo in the index.

The second is the seasonal Stamp Shop, where the cube is listed as the Shiny Cube. This version yields Sparkling eggs, which makes it the route to a Sparkling egg rather than a wild capture. It unlocks once you have spent 2,500 stamps on items in the Stamp Exchange, so your earlier stamp purchases count toward it.

Gift of Blessing is another option. Crafting seasonal effect items or cubes there costs 49 petals each.

The easiest way to get a Sparkling Cube is to turn in 100 Sparkling Crystals at an outpost vendor. That is what Sparkling Crystals are for: you use them to craft or buy cubes. The cube's price is 1,500 Glimmer or premium currency, which you pay by buying 100 Sparkling Crystals and exchanging them at Outpost vendors.

It is not settled which vendors sell cubes directly. One option is the vendor Joff, who sells them for Glimmer under the item exchange menu at outposts. Another is the item exchange vendor at the headquarters. Standard outpost shop vendors may not sell cubes at all. If the ordinary shop list doesn't show them, try the item exchange menu.

Cubes can be bought with real money, and a few purchases include them. The Companion Collection bundle contains two Sparkling Cubes, along with one Prismana Orb, one Prismatic Stone and one Capability Fruit. The top paid Companion Handbook tier costs about $20/£20 and adds an extra Sparkling Cube. That tier also includes a Rare Anipod, energy batteries, Glimmer, an avatar frame, skins and other cosmetics.

Lumen Crystals can buy Sparkling Cubes and Anipod Ultras, but at a markup. If you can get to the crystal exchange, it is the better deal.

The Mysterious Vendor is the long shot. It sells a daily changing selection of discounted goods: catching items, upgrade materials, training supplies and a limited stock of growth fruits. Every so often it also stocks rare items, including Sparkling Cubes for 3,000,000 in-game currency. Its stock changes daily, so check it every day.

05Where to start

Claim your launch cubes, then work toward the Prismana Pact reward and the Stamp Shop unlock. After that, make the 100 Sparkling Crystal exchange your regular source and check the Mysterious Vendor every day. The catch is guaranteed but the shiny is not fully settled, so use cubes on targets where a guaranteed capture is worth it on its own.