Awakening System Guide in NTE: Neverness to Everness

TL;DR

The Awakening system lets you unlock up to 6 Awakening Levels per character using Mind Shards (duplicate copies).
Unlike most gacha games, you can freely choose which Awakening effect to activate first — there is no fixed order.
At 3 Awakening Levels, a character unlocks their first Resonance Effect. At 6 Awakening Levels, they unlock the second.
Mind Shards come from pulling duplicate characters on gacha banners, buying character cards in the Warp Exchange, or through City Tycoon progression (for Chiz).
Each S-Class duplicate from your 2nd to 7th pull gives 1 Mind Shard + 40 Warp Pieces.
A C0 character (no dupes) is strong enough for all endgame content. Awakening is a power boost, not a requirement.
Awakening selections can be re-specced at any time at zero resource cost. Experiment freely.
Always prioritize your main DPS’s first Awakening — it gives the highest combat return per shard spent.

The Awakening system is how Neverness to Everness (NTE) handles character duplication upgrades. In most gacha games, duplicate copies follow a fixed power-up chain. NTE does something different — it gives you six power-up slots per character and lets you choose which ability to activate in any order. That flexibility changes how you think about investing in dupes.

This guide explains the full Awakening system from the ground up: what it is, how to get Mind Shards, how Resonance Effects work, the best Awakening priorities per character, and how to get the most out of every shard you earn.

Table of Contents

What Is the Awakening System in NTE?

Awakening is NTE’s character duplication upgrade system. When you pull a character you already own from a gacha banner, that extra copy is automatically converted into a Mind Shard for that character. Spending Mind Shards unlocks Awakening Levels, which in turn activate special power-ups — called Awakening Effects — that directly strengthen the character in combat.

Each character has six Awakening Levels available, requiring one Mind Shard each. Unlocking all six takes six duplicate copies of the same character. At full Awakening, a character has access to all six of their unique power-up effects simultaneously, plus two powerful Resonance Effects at the milestone checkpoints.

The Awakening system is separate from other character progression methods like Cartridges and Modules, Arc weapons, leveling, and Esper Ability upgrades. Each of those systems strengthens characters in different ways. Awakening is the only one that unlocks entirely new mechanics and passive abilities tied to that specific character’s kit.

How to Unlock Awakening Levels in NTE

Awakening Levels are unlocked by spending Mind Shards. Each Mind Shard comes from a duplicate copy of the same character. Here is how to get them.

Method 1: Pull Duplicates from Gacha Banners

The most common source of Mind Shards is pulling the same character again from the Scarborough Fair banners using Dice. When you already own a character and pull them again, the game automatically converts the duplicate into:

1 Mind Shard for that character
40 Warp Pieces (for S-Class characters, applies to your 2nd through 7th duplicates)

This means every time you pull an S-Class character you already own, you are effectively advancing their Awakening by one level and earning Warp Pieces you can reinvest into the Fair Exchange shop. For the full details of how the gacha system works and how to save Annulith efficiently, check the Scarborough Fair gacha system guide for NTE. You can also build your Annulith reserves faster by following the tips in the guide on how to get Annulith fast in NTE.

Method 2: Buy Character Cards in the Warp Exchange

The Warp Exchange tab inside the Fair Exchange shop allows you to spend Warp Pieces to purchase Character Cards for specific characters. Each Character Card, when redeemed, counts as a duplicate and generates a Mind Shard. This costs 720 Warp Pieces per Character Card.

Warp Pieces are earned by pulling duplicate S-Class characters (40 per duplicate) and from other gacha activity. This creates a useful feedback loop: every unwanted duplicate or repeated S-Class pull funds future Awakening progress on your preferred characters through the exchange.

Method 3: City Tycoon Progression (Chiz Only)

Chiz is a unique case — she is the only character in NTE who can reach full Awakening entirely through City Tycoon progression. As you advance your City Tycoon Level, you earn Chiz’s Mind Shards as milestone rewards. No gacha pulls are required at any stage. By the time your City Tycoon Level reaches 18 and you unlock Chiz herself, all her Awakening materials are already earned through gameplay.

This makes Chiz the most resource-efficient S-Class character in the game for F2P players. You invest City Stamina and progression time instead of Annulith. For more on the City Tycoon system and how to advance it, see the City Tycoon guide for NTE.

How Awakening Levels Work — The Slot System

This is the most important thing to understand about NTE’s Awakening system: it does not work like most gacha games.

In typical gacha titles, Awakening upgrades unlock in a strict, fixed order. You must take upgrade one before upgrade two, upgrade two before upgrade three, and so on. You have no choice in which power-up you get first.

NTE does something completely different. Each character has six Awakening Effects available — think of them as a pool of six unique power-ups. When you unlock your first Awakening Level, you can choose any one of those six effects to activate. When you unlock your second, you choose another. The order is entirely up to you.

Think of Awakening Levels as unlocking empty slots rather than climbing a fixed ladder. Each Mind Shard you spend opens one more slot. You then fill that slot with whichever effect best suits your current team, content, and playstyle. And critically — you can change your selections at any time, at zero cost. If a new boss requires a different setup, swap your Awakening Effects before the fight and swap back afterward. There is no penalty for changing.

What Are Resonance Effects?

Resonance Effects are bonus power-ups that trigger automatically when a character reaches specific Awakening milestone counts. They are separate from the six individual Awakening Effects and represent the biggest single power spikes in the Awakening system.

First Resonance Effect: Unlocked at 3 Awakening Levels (3 Mind Shards spent). Usually a powerful passive like a conditional damage boost, a skill multiplier increase, or a team-wide buff enhancement.
Second Resonance Effect: Unlocked at 6 Awakening Levels (all 6 Mind Shards spent). A larger bonus that significantly expands the character’s ceiling. This is the full Awakening state.

Each character’s Resonance Effects are unique to their kit. For DPS characters, these are often multiplier increases on their core damage skill or Ultimate. For support characters, they typically amplify their buff uptime or strength. For survival characters, they may extend shield duration or reduce incoming damage further.

The first Resonance Effect at 3 Awakenings is the most impactful milestone per shard invested. Going from 0 to 3 Awakenings gives you three active power-up slots plus the Resonance passive. Going from 3 to 6 adds three more slots and the second Resonance. For most players prioritizing their main DPS, reaching 3 Awakenings first before investing in other characters gives the best return.

Awakening Priority — Who to Awaken First

Resources in NTE are limited, especially early in the game. Knowing which characters to invest Mind Shards in first prevents you from scattering resources across a wide roster and ending up with nothing fully built.

Priority 1: Your Main DPS

Always Awaken your primary damage dealer first. More damage means faster content clears, which means faster resource farming across every system in the game. Even a single Awakening Level on a strong DPS provides a direct power boost that makes your daily Anomaly Zone runs, commission bosses, and endgame Beyond the Rails content faster and more efficient.

If you are running Nanally, her first recommended Awakening is Call Me the Boss, which triggers a Follow-up Attack whenever you deal damage during her Redirect Skill effect. This adds an extra damage instance to one of her most active windows and provides a clean DPS boost from a single shard. Adding more Awakenings increases ATK on each follow-up, extends the Redirect Skill and Underboss durations, and multiplies her sustained and burst DPS simultaneously. If Nanally is your main carry, push her to three Awakenings first for the Resonance Effect before spreading resources to supports.

Priority 2: Your Primary Support

After your main DPS, Awaken your primary support. For most teams, this is Sakiri. A single Awakening on Sakiri further increases her team-wide ATK buff, making her even more valuable per rotation cycle. Since her ATK buff scales with investment, one dupe on Sakiri provides long-term account value that compounds as your DPS characters get stronger over time.

For players using Haniel as their primary buffer — since she is a free A-Class character — her Awakenings come from A-Class duplicate pulls, which are more frequent than S-Class duplicates. Invest in her Awakenings whenever you pull her copy from normal exploration or event rewards.

Priority 3: Chiz (Free and Easy to Fully Awaken)

Since Chiz’s Mind Shards come entirely from City Tycoon progression, she has a guaranteed path to full Awakening that costs zero pull currency. Prioritize City Tycoon advancement and her Awakening takes care of itself. Once fully Awakened, Chiz is a significantly stronger DPS with all her Grain mechanics unlocked — which also boosts her passive Fons farming efficiency for your daily routine.

Other Characters: Awaken Based on Your Active Team

Beyond your main DPS and support, Awakening priority comes down to which characters you actually use. Here are the general principles.

Jiuyuan at A1 (1 Awakening) is especially valuable because it adds team healing capability, making her a more self-sufficient unit and reducing the need for a dedicated healer in some compositions. Her A2 increases settlement damage ratio by 100% on marked targets, and A6 deals massive bonus damage to enemies who cast skills while marked.
Baicang rewards Awakening investment significantly because his HP management mechanic becomes less punishing and his DoT output scales more aggressively with each level.
Daffodil at any Awakening Level boosts her Break damage and plunge mechanics, both of which are core to her kit and team contribution in Discord teams.
Fadia improves meaningfully at A1 — her damage redirection and invulnerability mechanics become more reliable with even one Awakening Level, increasing her survivability value for the whole team.
Adler is an A-Class character whose Awakening materials come from A-Class pulls. Since these are more frequent than S-Class dupes, getting a few Adler Awakenings happens naturally over time without requiring targeted farming.

Best Awakening Effects Per Character

Since the Awakening system lets you freely assign effects to any slot, choosing the right first Awakening is critical for maximizing your first Mind Shard’s impact. Here is a quick reference for the top priority first Awakening for each major character.

Nanally — Call Me the Boss

Triggers a Follow-up Attack whenever you deal damage during the Redirect Skill effect. More hits, more damage instances, more synergy with her Underboss kit. Full build and Awakening breakdown in the Nanally build guide for NTE.

Mint — Task Force Operation

Resets the Redirect Skill’s cooldown on a Critical Riposte. Mint relies on high-frequency Redirect Skill usage to maintain her DPS output, so cooldown resets directly increase her damage ceiling. Additional Awakenings stack Crit DMG bonuses and Skill multipliers on top. See the Mint build guide for NTE for the full priority list.

Esper Zero — Undecided Factors

Increases Zero’s ATK stat, which directly scales their Ultimate damage — the primary source of Zero’s combat output. Since Zero’s Ultimate is the main damage window, ATK stat investment here is the most direct boost possible. After that, prioritize Anomalies Record for Crit bonuses on the Divide by Zero skill. For the full Awakening order, see the Esper Zero build guide for NTE.

Skia — Mobility and Damage

Skia’s Awakening Effects focus on increasing sustained damage output and improving his on-field presence during his Ultimate window. Since his Ultimate is AoE-centered on his own position, Awakenings that extend the damage window or boost its output are highest priority. See the Skia build guide for NTE.

For full Awakening breakdowns on every character in the current roster, refer to the individual build guides:

Is A0 (No Awakenings) Enough for All Content?

Yes. A character with zero Awakenings — referred to as A0 or C0 — is fully capable of clearing all endgame content in NTE with the right build, team, and playstyle. The game is designed so that player skill, team synergy, and proper gear investment matter more than duplication levels for most content.

Awakening is a power boost, not a progression gate. Every Awakening Level you add makes a character noticeably stronger, but the base kit at A0 is already functional for Beyond the Rails, High Risk Commissions, and all Anomaly Hunts. This makes NTE more F2P-friendly than most gacha titles, where certain content tiers are effectively locked behind multiple dupes.

For casual and semi-casual players, the recommended approach is to get your main DPS to 1–2 Awakenings naturally through banner pulls and Warp Exchange spending over time, rather than chasing full Awakening aggressively. The first Resonance Effect at 3 Awakenings is the major milestone worth targeting eventually, but it is not urgent for day-to-day progression.

How to Re-Spec Awakening Effects

One of the best features of NTE’s Awakening system is that you can change your Awakening Effect selections at any time at zero resource cost. There is no material cost, no currency fee, and no cooldown. You simply open a character’s Awakening menu, deselect an effect, and replace it with a different one.

This means you can optimize your Awakening loadout per boss fight, per content type, and per team composition without any penalty. For example, you might run Nanally with her Follow-up-focused Awakening Effects for Beyond the Rails AoE content, then swap to single-target damage Effects before a commission boss fight, and swap back after. All of that costs nothing.

Take advantage of this. Do not treat your Awakening selections as permanent commitments. Experiment, test different combinations, and re-spec freely as you learn which effects perform best for the content you are clearing.

Awakening vs Other Character Progression Systems

Awakening is powerful, but it sits within a broader character progression framework. Knowing where it fits relative to other upgrades helps you invest resources in the right order.

The general priority order for character development in NTE is:

Character Level and Ascension first — the largest base stat gains come from leveling. This is always the first priority before any other upgrade system.
Arc (weapon) equip and upgrade second — equipping and leveling an Arc provides significant ATK boosts and passive effects. Free S-Rank Arcs from Anomaly Commissions are particularly valuable here.
Esper Ability upgrades third — upgrading your character’s core skills increases their multipliers and effectiveness. The materials come from Anomaly Pilgrimage runs each week.
Cartridges and Modules fourth — equipping the right Cartridge set and upgrading Modules provides substantial stat bonuses and set effects. See the Cartridges and Modules guide for NTE for farming details.
Awakening fifth — once the above systems are in reasonable shape, Awakening provides meaningful additional power through its unique effects and Resonance bonuses.
Bond Level (Affection) last — raising Bond Level to 10 gives a small stat boost for the corresponding character, but this is the lowest-impact upgrade per resource invested.

This does not mean Awakening is unimportant — the first Awakening Effect on a strong DPS has an immediate and noticeable combat impact. But if you are choosing between leveling your main DPS to max or getting them one Awakening, always level first. The stat gain from full leveling outweighs one Awakening Effect at early and mid game stages.

Tips for Getting the Most From the Awakening System

Save Warp Pieces for Character Cards on your main team. Rather than spending Warp Pieces on random items in the exchange shop, target Character Cards for the one or two characters you are actively building. At 720 Warp Pieces per card, consistent banner activity generates enough pieces to buy a meaningful number of cards over time.
Push Chiz’s Awakenings for free. City Tycoon Level 18 gives you a fully Awakened S-Class character at zero Annulith cost. Prioritize City Tycoon advancement early so this comes online faster.
Do not spread Mind Shards across too many characters. A fully-built main team with concentrated Awakening investment outperforms a wide roster of half-built characters. Pick your core four characters and deepen them before branching out.
Unlock the first Resonance Effect before going wide. Getting one character to 3 Awakenings and unlocking their Resonance Effect is usually more impactful than spreading 3 single Awakenings across three different characters.
Re-spec for every major fight. Since re-spec is free, always check whether a different Awakening configuration would be better suited for a specific boss before starting a high-difficulty encounter.
Track your Warp Pieces balance daily. Warp Pieces accumulate from every S-Class duplicate and from some event rewards. Periodically check the Warp Exchange to see if you have enough for a Character Card rather than letting pieces sit unused.

More Helpful NTE Guides

NTE Tier List and Best Characters — who is worth investing Awakenings in
Best Team Compositions for NTE
How to Get Annulith Fast in NTE — fund your banner pulls for more Mind Shards
Scarborough Fair Gacha System Explained
How to Get Cartridges and Modules in NTE
NTE Daily and Weekly Routine Guide
City Tycoon Guide for NTE
Anomaly Zones Guide for NTE
How to Get Fons Fast in NTE
Neverness to Everness Redeem Codes
Every Playable Character and How to Unlock Them

NTE is available on Android via Google Play and on PlayStation via the PS Store.

Final Thoughts

The Awakening system in NTE is one of the most player-friendly dupe systems in the gacha genre. The free re-spec, the flexible slot selection, and the A0 baseline being fully functional for endgame content all point to a system designed around long-term satisfaction rather than artificial scarcity.

The two things that matter most are: investing in your main DPS and primary support before spreading resources wide, and getting each key character to 3 Awakenings for the first Resonance Effect before pushing to the full 6. Beyond that, the system rewards consistent play — every banner pull, every Warp Piece earned, and every City Tycoon level up builds toward stronger Awakened characters over time. Stay consistent, target your spending, and your roster will grow steadily stronger each patch.