⚠️ Pre-launch article — based on beta and official previews. Updated regularly as new information is released.
What Kind of Game Is Ananta?
Ananta is a free-to-play open-world urban action RPG developed by Naked Rain (NetEase Games). Think of it as a stylish, story-driven game set in a futuristic modern city — you explore Nova City on foot (and rooftop, and wall, and rail), fight enemies threatening the city, and collect a roster of unique characters by progressing through the story.
If you’ve played games like Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves, the structure will feel familiar: open world to explore, characters to collect, a main story to follow, and live-service events that rotate regularly. What sets Ananta apart is its urban aesthetic, its fluid parkour traversal system, and its grounded modern city setting rather than a fantasy world.
Characters in Ananta also have distinct roles and career paths. A police officer climbs the ranks through law enforcement scenarios; a courier earns experience by completing deliveries across the city. Your character’s job shapes how you interact with Nova City day to day.
First Things to Do When the Game Launches
The opening hours of a live-service game matter. Here’s the smart order of operations:
- Finish the prologue and early story missions. Characters are unlocked by story progress in Ananta, so the story is the progression — there’s no separate pull currency to farm.
- Check your mailbox first. If pre-registration rewards exist, they land there. Naked Rain hasn’t detailed them yet, so treat the size of any launch bundle as unknown until day one.
- Complete the beginner tutorial quests. These unlock core systems and typically reward upgrade materials and in-game resources.
- Explore Nova City early. One-time exploration rewards are among the best sources of upgrade materials. Get into the habit of clearing areas thoroughly.
Enemies and Combat
Nova City’s streets are far from safe — enemies ranging from common street-level threats to powerful elite units and massive bosses stand between you and your objectives.
Key things to know about combat:
- Read the enemy, not a weakness chart. Ananta has no announced element or damage-type system — anything you’ve read about elemental weaknesses is imported from other games. What has been shown is telegraphed attacks and enemies you can disarm, so pattern reading is the skill that will actually transfer.
- Enemy types: Common enemies are found throughout the open world and respawn regularly. Elite enemies are tougher encounters worth seeking out for better drops. Bosses are set-piece fights that drop the rarest materials.
- Drops for progression. Defeating enemies drops upgrade materials used to level up your characters’ skills and stats. Farming specific enemies for specific drops is a core loop in the mid and late game.
Nova City Traversal and Parkour
One of Ananta’s standout features is how it feels to move. Nova City is built vertically as much as horizontally — expect rooftops, scaffolding, elevated rail systems, and urban canyons to navigate.
Core traversal mechanics:
- Sprint and dash — Basic ground movement with a short-cooldown dodge dash.
- Wall-running — Certain surfaces allow brief wall traversal, letting you reach elevated areas quickly.
- Grappling / Grind rails — Rail-grinding is confirmed from beta footage. Grinding along rail infrastructure in the city is both fast travel and just satisfying to do.
- Gliding — A controlled descent mechanic for getting down from heights without fall damage.
- Character-specific movement skills — Some characters have unique traversal abilities tied to their kit. This is one reason to consider variety in your team beyond just combat stats.
The key to moving well in Ananta is chaining these mechanics together. You’ll go from competent to flowing with practice — the traversal system rewards learning it, not just button-mashing through it.
Character Collection and Team Building
You build a team of characters that you switch between in combat. Understanding the basics:
Team size: You can switch between a team of four characters during major battle events and boss fights, and the team as a whole can equip an extra ability such as crowd control or telekinesis. No role system (Attacker, Support, and so on) has been officially announced — see the team building guide.
Character progression: All characters are unlocked through story progression. Focus on upgrading the characters you use most rather than spreading resources thin.
Synergy over raw power: Two characters whose abilities combo together will outperform two independently strong characters with no synergy. When choosing your team, look for characters whose skills set each other up.
Upgrade priority: Focus on upgrading your main damage dealer’s skills first, then your support. Spreading resources thin across too many characters early is one of the most common beginner mistakes.
Top 5 Tips for New Players
1. Push the main story first. Your character roster expands as you progress through the narrative — advancing the story quickly gives you more team options early.
2. Log in every day. Daily login bonuses and daily missions are your main source of upgrade materials and in-game rewards. Missing days compounds over time.
3. Explore everything. Nova City rewards curiosity. Hidden areas, environmental puzzles, and off-the-beaten-path chests contain one-time rewards, and in a game with no banners to save for, those go straight into making your team stronger.
4. Learn one character deeply before expanding. It’s tempting to try everyone, but mastering the mechanics of your main character — their combos, dodge cancel timings, and skill rotations — will make all content significantly easier.
5. Check AnantaDex regularly. We’ll be publishing detailed character guides, tier lists, and redeem codes throughout the launch period. Bookmark us and check back often.
Welcome to Nova City. It’s going to be a wild ride.
Next steps: Combat Guide, Traversal Guide, and grab free rewards on our Codes page.
Before you start, it helps to know who you’re playing: the Captain is Ananta’s protagonist and your starting character. Check whether your machine is ready with the system requirements, and see why we don’t publish a tier list yet.