Read this first. Two creatures (Lunara and Helion) sit outside Aniimo’s numbered roster: they’re the game’s two special starters, and the opening quest lets you keep exactly one. Every number on this page is the game’s own. The public index still has no page for either.
Community = reported by beta players, not stated by the game’s data or by Pawprint.
The 30-second answer
Same stats. All four protos (Lunara, Helion and their combat forms) share one statline: HP 100 · BREAK 64 · ATK 116 · P.DEF 72 · M.DEF 72 · REGEN 90.
Same Core Skill bonus. Solar Grace and Lunar Power both grant +30% final damage when you’re not attacking with an advantageous element. The “Helion hits harder” story came from a beta tooltip that printed 20% for Lunara while the underlying value was already 30%. It’s gone.
Same ultimate. Both ultimates are 167 power, cost a full charge, transform the starter for the rest of the fight and add +15% Damage Amp.
What differs is the kit: Helion is a 3 m melee brawler with a pull, a stun and a self-heal; Lunara is a 12 m ranged caster who can attack while flying, marks targets to lower their Light Resistance and heals a trickle on every marked hit.
Neither is stronger on paper. Pick the range you like and the role your team lacks. You cannot release the one you choose, and you never get the other.
Identity card
LunaraHelionElementLightLightCombat styleRanged, magical, large areaMelee, physical, small areaBasic attack range12 m, castable while flying3 mCombat form (via ultimate)FennelunSoleonDex entryHidden from the handbook (launch number 99996; beta filed her as #9997)Hidden from the handbook (launch number 99998; beta filed him as #9998)GenderOne fixed genderOne fixed genderHomeland abilitiesLight 3 · Hauling 3Light 3 · Hauling 3ReleaseCannot be released (in the game’s release ban)Cannot be released (in the game’s release ban)Bond Pact seal (the beta-to-launch egg)Ineligible (“special”)Ineligible (“special”)French nameLunara (form: Fennelune)Hélion (form: Soléon)
The game’s own one-line pitches: Helion is “adept at close combat and striking targets in a small area with impressive burst potential”; Lunara is “adept at ranged combat and striking enemies in a large area. Their impressive recovery ability enables them to sustain prolonged battles.” Both are documented in full on the Lunara and Helion pages.
Stats: identical, and retuned at launch
The beta line was Break-heavy and fragile. Launch moved the pair toward an ordinary DPS profile with more bulk. ATK didn’t move.
StatBetaLaunchChangeHP90100+10BREAK8564−21ATK116116=P.DEF6572+7M.DEF6572+7REGEN8390+7
Both starters and both forms carry exactly this line, so evolving mid-fight changes your kit and your size, not your numbers. How each stat works is in the stats guide.
The two Core Skills
Each starter carries one Core Skill outside its six combat skills. Here is the game’s text, with the values it actually resolves to.
Lunar Power (Lunara): “When not attacking with an advantageous element, final damage increases by 30%. Casting a skill or Ultimate grants 4 stacks of [Silver Moon Mark]. Each basic attack hit consumes 1 stack, deals 100% extra damage, and restores 0.5% HP.”
Solar Grace (Helion): “When not attacking with an advantageous element, final damage increases by 30%. Every 4 basic attacks grants [Solar Halo], enhancing the next skill.”
Two things to keep straight:
The 30% is equal. Both buffs hold the same value in the launch data. Lunara’s “impressive recovery” is this skill: 0.5% HP per marked basic attack, about 2% HP per skill cast. A trickle, not a sustain engine.
In Egg Heist both bonuses drop to 15%. The launch build added a second value to each Core Skill that applies under Egg Heist’s balance buff. Outside that mode, it’s 30%.
Every skill, side by side
Power / EP cost / cooldown, in the order the game lists them. The third and fourth skills unlock later; the signature skill has an enhanced version you unlock by upgrading it.
SlotLunaraHelionBasic attackATK · 6 · ranged (12 m), works while flyingATK · 6 · melee (3 m)SignatureMoon Impact · 45 / 15 EP / 1 s. Drops a full moon; +10% small-area damage around targets carrying [Fox Mark]. Enhanced: pulls the target in first, area bonus 20%.Light Bombardment · 62 / 20 EP / 1 s. Dive and Holy Light explosion; +30% damage while holding Ring of the Golden Sun. Enhanced: with [Solar Halo], +30% damage and restores 4% HP, 75% chance not to consume the Halo.SecondLumin Bolts · 55 / 20 EP / 1 s. Three missiles that prefer different targets; applies [Fox Mark]: −5% Light Resistance per stack, up to 3, for 10 s.Holy Roar · 30 / 10 EP / 1 s. On hit, +6% Light Damage Amp for 20 s, up to 3 stacks; [Solar Halo] applies all 3 at once.Third (unlocks later)Lunar Eclipse · 60 / 20 EP / 1 s. Massive additional BREAK damage based on the Aniimo’s level (1.5× Break rate).Holy Storm · 60 / 20 EP / 1 s. Spins up a storm that pulls targets to its centre, high BREAK damage based on the Aniimo’s level (1.5× Break rate); with [Solar Halo] the final hit stuns for 1 s.Support (unlocks later)Moon-Washed · 18 s cooldown. Restores 20 EP.Sun-Kissed · 18 s cooldown. Restores 20 EP, 25 with [Solar Halo].UltimateSelene’s Judgment · 167 · full charge. Massive damage nearby, evolves into Fennelun, +15% Damage Amp until 10 s after leaving combat, grants 4 Silver Moon Mark.Helios’ Judgment · 167 · full charge. Massive damage nearby, evolves into Soleon, +15% Damage Amp until 10 s after leaving combat, grants Ring of the Golden Sun.
Read across the rows and the design is plain. Lunara’s kit is about marking and spacing: every mark is a team-wide Light Resistance cut, her area damage grows on marked targets, and she stays at range. Helion’s kit is about rhythm: four basic attacks earn a Halo, the Halo upgrades whichever skill you cast next (a stun, a triple stack, a bigger EP refund, or a heal on the enhanced dive), and the pull on Holy Storm is the pair’s only crowd control.
One thing we no longer claim: the beta data listed how much ultimate charge each skill generated (Helion’s skills did, Lunara’s didn’t). The launch build removed that field from the data, so “Helion transforms more often” can’t be shown any more. We’ll re-measure it in-game rather than repeat it.
The combat forms: Fennelun and Soleon
Casting the ultimate transforms the starter rather than evolving it: the game’s awakening buff reads “increasing damage dealt by 15%. Lasts until 10s after leaving combat.” The form keeps the same statline, moves to a bigger size class, and its skill list is the same one plus the enhanced signature. That’s why Fennelun and Soleon have no roster slot of their own: they’re not extra Aniimo, they’re your starter at full tilt. The launch data does give each form its own hidden dex number (99995 Fennelun, 99997 Soleon), which is how the handbook keeps their flavour text separate.
How the choice works
The character-selection screen (“Choose Your Aniimo”) offers exactly one of the two. Beta players and outlets describe it as an opening-quest moment where you meet two talking Aniimo and choose which one to save, the other going to your rival Community. The game’s data confirms the mechanics around it:
The choice is a one-shot flag. A follow-up quest then asks you to raise your starter to level 15. (The launch build’s English text for the Lunara version of that objective says “Helion” by mistake; the French is correct.)
You cannot release a special starter. Both starters and both forms are on the game’s release ban list.
They were ineligible for the Bond Pact seal (the one egg carried from the beta to launch), tagged “special” alongside a handful of other exceptions.
At Home, both bring Light 3 and Hauling 3 (the beta’s Artisanship is gone).
What changed from beta to launch
Everything the launch build touched on these two, so you can tell current facts from July videos:
Statline retuned (table above): more HP and defences, much less BREAK.
Lunar Power’s tooltip now says 30%, matching the value it always had.
Both Core Skills gained the Egg Heist clamp (15% inside that mode).
Homeland abilities: Light 1 + Artisanship 1 became Light 3 + Hauling 3.
Dex numbers moved from #9997 / #9998 to 99996 (Lunara), 99998 (Helion), and the forms got their own (99995, 99997).
Wording: “damage” became “Damage Amp” on Holy Roar and both ultimates; Holy Storm and Lunar Eclipse now say their BREAK damage scales with the Aniimo’s level. Sun-Kissed and Moon-Washed got their own icons instead of a placeholder.
Per-skill ultimate-charge values were removed from the data (see above).
”Five starters”? No.
If you’ve seen a video titled “all 5 starters explained,” that framing traces to a single fan video and isn’t official. The game offers a two-creature choice (Lunara or Helion), and the only two Aniimo the opening-choice quests point at are Helion and Lunara. There’s no basis for five, so we don’t repeat it.
Our take
Pick by range and role, because that’s all that differs. Take Helion if you want to be in the fight: melee, a pull and a stun for crowd control, a self-buff that stacks to +18% Light Damage Amp, and (once the signature is enhanced) a 4% heal on the dive. Take Lunara if you want to fight from 12 m, keep attacking while flying, and hand your whole team −15% Light Resistance on the target. Your long-term squad is built from the full Aniilog anyway (weigh picks with the tier list, plan a squad in the team planner); the starter is the one Aniimo you’ll never lose, so choose the playstyle you’ll enjoy for a hundred hours.
What to read next
Beginner guide : the confirmed ways to level fast from day one.
Combat guide : roles, the two modes and Break.
Stats guide : what HP, BREAK, ATK, P.DEF, M.DEF and REGEN actually do.
Aniilog : the full Aniimo database (90+ numbered and growing), filterable and sortable.