A Held Item Contract binds a piece of gear to a single Aniimo species and switches on that species’ enhanced signature skill. Without the contract, the item still gives its stats and Core Effect to anyone, but the skill upgrade never fires. Forming one takes a maxed gold item and a scarce material, and the bond is permanent.
Quick answer: Raise a gold-quality Held Item to 15, equip it to the chosen Aniimo, select Form Contract, and spend 10 Marks of the Strong: Breezy Plains. This creates a permanent, one-time pact.
Requirements before you form a contract
Only fully upgraded legendary gear can take a pact. Have all of the following ready before you open the menu.
- A gold-quality (Legendary) Held Item must reach level 15, its maximum level, to activate the Tier 2 Advanced Effect and make Form Contract available.
- The Aniimo you actually want the buff on, since the enhancement locks to that creature’s species.
- You need 10 Marks of the Strong: Breezy Plains; this consumable is unavailable through Credits or Glimmer purchases.
To reach 15, use Held Item Cores or feed Held Items of equal or lesser quality. Chests, Elite Training objectives, and Alpha Aniimo provide Cores. Items matching the target’s quality give more levels per use, but they consume gear more quickly than Cores.
How to form the contract
You get only one chance to make a contract, with no way to reverse it. Choosing the wrong Aniimo consumes the Marks without providing a refund.
How to confirm it worked
After you pay, the item’s panel shows the pact as active and lists which species’ signature skill it now boosts. Equip that item on any member of the same species and the enhancement applies, since the bond is to the species rather than the individual creature. Put it on a creature of a different species and you keep the base stats and Core Effect, but the skill upgrade stays off.
What the contract changes
A pact never touches the item’s own numbers. Those stats work on any Aniimo whether or not a contract exists. What the pact controls is the signature skill enhancement, which can rework how a skill behaves, add new effects, or raise its power for the contracted species.
Inferlupa’s Unbroken Flameruff Spirit is a clear example of a signature skill in this system. It is a Dark skill that costs 20 EP, carries 60 power, and fires a spirit that ricochets between targets to raise BREAK efficiency against them by 10% per stack, up to 3 stacks, for 20 seconds. A pact on the right item strengthens skills like this for every Aniimo of that species.
Where to get Marks of the Strong: Breezy Plains
Marks of the Strong are scarce, limiting contracts to the amount you gather. Capturing Alpha Aniimo and turning in the report at an Outpost’s Research Console is the primary source. Each Alpha report awards Marks, so hunting more Alpha bosses lets you create more pacts.
- Reporting captured Alpha Aniimo at an Outpost Research Console (primary source).
- Elite Training progress rewards.
- Certain in-game events.
Who to spend a contract on
Because Marks are so limited, check the skill enhancement text for a species before committing. Some creatures gain a dramatic rework, while others barely move. Prioritize your main DPS first and postpone the rest until Marks are flowing in steadily.
- Favor species whose enhancement meaningfully changes damage or control, such as the Electric Mantis evolutionary form.
- Skip low-return picks like Helmet Warrior, whose bonus barely affects combat.
- Do not contract an Alpha version of an Aniimo. Alphas already carry enhanced skills, so a pact wastes Marks.
Collect all 10 Marks before doing anything else, make sure the Aniimo belongs on your team for the long term, and only then create the pact. An item cannot be unbound and the material cannot be recovered, so choose the species before opening Form Contract.
