Aniimo Binding Oath: All 3 Vine Core Locations (Full Walkthrough)

Binding Oath is a Journey quest picked up in Mistwoods, and it turns into a three-part scavenger hunt almost immediately. After a talking Hummin drags you underground, the quest log splits into three Vine Core objectives spread across opposite corners of the area — one buried in ruins, one out in the swamp, and one behind a wall of brambles in a cave.

Quick answer: The three Vine Cores are in the eastern ruins, the western swamp, and the northern cave of Mistwoods. Collect all three, then hand them to Ron at Twisted Roots.

Starting Binding Oath at Twisted Roots

The quest begins in Mistwoods, one of the 14 areas that make up Breezy Plains. Open the map, track Binding Oath, and follow the marker forward until you reach a deep pit. Dropping in takes you to the Twisted Roots underground area.

Down there, the cutscene A Century-Old Promise plays and the strange Hummin turns out to be a boy named Ron. Once it ends, the objective updates from “A talking Hummin?” to gathering three Vine Cores, and all three markers appear on your map at once. Climb the massive roots and terrain to get back to the surface — there is no separate exit to find.

Activate the fast travel point at Twisted Roots before you leave. You have to come back here to hand in the cores, and teleporting saves the entire climb.

What you need before collecting the Vine Cores

Two of the three cores are gated behind Aniimo abilities rather than combat, so check your battle party before you set off.

A Fire Aniimo such as Flameruff to burn the brambles at the northern cave.
An Electric Aniimo to light up the plants and pathways inside that cave.
A climbing or gliding Twining option for the ruin walls and the cliffs above the swamp.
Aniipods, since wild Aniimo around level 36 to 46 patrol the route.

Mistwoods also has its own environmental quirks. Glimmer Trees light the path when you interact with them, and swamp pools slow you down badly if you wade straight through instead of gliding or hopping over.

All 3 Vine Core locations in Mistwoods

Vine Core	Where it is	What it needs
Eastern ruins	Chamber under the ruin roof	Wall climb, roof entry
Western swamp	Hill in the misty swamp	Glide from the cliffs
Northern cave	Deep inside the cavern	Fire and Electric Aniimo

Each core is a glowing vine flower you interact with using the F Touch prompt, and each one triggers its own short cutscene. A chest sits beside all three, so grab the loot before you move on.

Eastern ruins Vine Core

Track the eastern marker and head for the ruins. Wild Aniimo gather near the stone stairs on the approach, including a level 36 Hexxin you can catch on the way past.

Binding Oath quest tracker showing Track the target while approaching the Mistwoods ruins — The Binding Oath tracker points you toward the ruins on the eastern side of Mistwoods. Image: Pawprint Studio

Do not walk into the lower ruin chamber at ground level. A singing Hexxin in there knocks you out instantly and respawns you outside the ruins.

Climb the outer stone walls instead. Work your way around the outside of the structure until you reach the opening in the roof above the chamber.

Drop through the roof and touch the glowing flower below. The cutscene Magic Sound Duet plays, the eastern ruins Vine Core goes into your inventory, and a chest in the same chamber can be opened straight after.

F Touch prompt highlighted on the glowing vine core with the Binding Oath objective active — The F Touch prompt on the glowing flower is what collects each Vine Core. Image: Pawprint Studio

Western swamp Vine Core

Leave the ruins and travel west across the terrain toward the second marker. The route climbs before it drops, so you end up on high cliffs looking over the mist.

Glide down from the cliffs into the swamp below rather than descending on foot. That drops you close to the marker and skips most of the contaminated pools.

Find the glowing flower on the small hill rising out of the swamp and touch it. The cutscene Dream of a Lifetime plays and the western swamp Vine Core is yours, with another chest sitting nearby.

Northern cave Vine Core

Head northeast through the forest and rocks toward the final marker. The cave entrance is sealed by a thick bramble wall you cannot break with normal attacks.

Open the party management menu and put a Fire Aniimo into your battle party if one is not already there. Flameruff works for this.

Aniimo combat menu with a creature selected in Battle Party 1 and Level Up and Training options — The Combat screen is where you swap an Aniimo into Battle Party 1 before the cave. Image: Pawprint Studio

Summon the Fire Aniimo and burn the brambles down, then step into the cavern. Just inside, the Mysterious Pathfinder’s message reads What you need is Light.

Switch to an Electric Aniimo. Its charge wakes the light-sensitive plants along the walls, which reveals the path deeper into the dark.

Follow the lit route to the glowing vine flower and touch it. The cutscene Mistlight and Starlight plays, the northern cave Vine Core is collected, and there is a chest directly behind the flower.

Character touching the glowing vine core deep inside the northern Mistwoods cave — The third Vine Core waits at the end of the lit path inside the northern cave. Image: Pawprint Studio

The cave keeps going past that point. The deeper tunnels hide extra chests, a Lumin Amber: Breezy pickup in the ruins section, and a level 46 Wisptis you can fight and catch. None of it is required for Binding Oath, so skip it if you only want the quest done.

Fighting a level 46 Wisptis in the cave with the Give Vine Core to Ron objective on screen — With all three cores in hand, the objective switches to Give Vine Core to Ron. Image: Pawprint Studio

Hand in the Vine Cores and finish with Selens

Open the map and teleport back to the Twisted Roots waypoint. Walk up to Ron and confirm the delivery of all 3 Vine Cores, which starts the cutscene The Inheritor of the Vow.

Speak with Ron again once the scene ends. The objective then changes to finding Selens on the surface.

Teleport up to the Mistwoods waypoint and talk to Selens. The cutscene The Real Promise plays and Binding Oath is marked complete.

You will know it worked without checking the log. Rewards drop as soon as the final scene ends, and an incoming communication request from Dr. Lewis arrives for Promotion: Legacy’s Protection.

The Rigged Maze Sanctum sits along this same stretch of Mistwoods and holds an optional chest. It is a worthwhile detour between collecting the cores and returning to Ron, but it has nothing to do with completing the quest.

Binding Oath quest rewards

Reward	Amount
Safaris	1,000
Credits	22,500
Idyll Ancient Coin	200
Glimmer	30
Sparkling Crystal	3
Binding Oath	1

Binding Oath itself is an Epic mission item rather than a currency. It is a perfume Ron made with Glimmer Fruit, also called the Beautiful Voice Perfume, and it gives a lovely singing voice to whoever uses it — a fitting payoff for a hundred-year-old promise that gets kept by someone other than the person who made it.