How to do AFK lost (shiny) hunting with a macro controller
Disclaimer
- This method is based on a glitch. It is uncertain as to whether using this method would cause other problems in the game. Please keep in mind that manipulating bugs or glitches comes with a risk.
- The following guide may contain spoilers for players still early in the game.
- I wrote this guide based on playing the Nintendo Switch version (1.0.0.3) on Nintendo Switch 2. The controller I have been using for this method is the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller for Switch/Switch 2. This method might not work on PC or with other macro controllers. It is very likely that adjustments will need to be made in order for this method to work on Switch 1, due to the game’s poorer performance and longer loading time on the older console.
- It is possible that the glitch for this method to work will be patched later on.
- Although this method allows for away-from-keyboard (AFK) and automated lost hunting, I DO NOT recommend leaving the game unattended for longer than 15 minutes. The Switch version of the game is known for having crash issues after long playtime due to memory leaks. When I was testing this method, the game would almost certainly crash after it ran for about 20 minutes or so. And it would always happen right at the moment when the game was autosaving. The crash happening while using this AFK method would increase the risk of corrupting your game data or save data.
If you don’t like to exploit glitches or be spoiled, please stop reading the rest of this post.
Preparation
A 8BitDo controller compatible with Nintendo Switch/Switch 2. The current macro is built using the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller for Switch/Switch 2.
Mystical Relic. >!You will need electric power and water power infused into your Holoken to obtain Mystical Relic in the Area 01 cave. This means you will need to complete the story of the path you chose at the beginning and the main quest of the second city in the path you did not choose.!<
The standard version of the animon you are lost-hunting for.
A spare animon you do not need, as a (pseudo) sacrifice to perform the ritual. Any animon is fine. It does NOT need to be the same as the animon you are lost-hunting for.
Why and How It Works
(No need to read this part if you are not interested. You can jump to the next part.)
The Mystical Relic currently has a glitch. Normally, after selecting the primary animon you want to reset (or reincarnate?), the system will then ask you to select one to three sacrifices to perform the ritual. The game allows you to deselect a selected sacrifice and choose another one before you select the third sacrifice. Once you have selected three sacrifices, the game will automatically turn to the green screen showing your primary animon and the three sacrifices and ask you to confirm performing the ritual. If you only choose one or two sacrifices, you will need to press the “go back” button (the B button in the case of Switch or Switch 2) to enter the green screen and start the ritual. The glitch is that after selecting the first sacrifice and then deselecting it, you will be able to press the “go back” button immediately without actually selecting any sacrifices. And then the game will turn to the green screen showing only the primary animon you want to reset. In other words, the glitch allows you to perform the ritual without using any sacrifices.
Some dataminers found that an animon being reset through Mystical Relic has a 1 in 1000 chance to turn into its lost form, which is significantly higher than the base odds of 1 in 8192. If the primary animon and all three sacrifices are of the same species, the chance will go up to 1 in 400. (An in-game newspaper states that it is 1 in 100. But the developers have confirmed that this number is a mistake and will be corrected in future patches. The method of sacrificing three animons of the same species is supposed to have a 1 in 400 chance of turning your primary animon to its lost form.) I am not sure about the lost odds of the glitch. So far, I have obtained 17 lost animons using the glitch. On average it took me about 480 attempts to get one. So, my (unproven) theory is that because no sacrifice is selected for the ritual, the system (mis)recognizes the ritual as having animons of the same species, and so the chance is likely to be boosted to 1 in 400.
If the primary animon you want to reset is already in its lost form, its lostness will always remain no matter how many times you reset it. On top of that, the moment your animon is reset, the game autosaves. This means the moment your animon turns into its lost form, you will never lose it unless you actively release it from your box. This feature, together with the glitch that does not require any real sacrifices, allows you to leave the game unattended to a certain degree while it automatically and repeatedly resets your primary animon via the Relic.
Macro Setup
For a more detailed guide on how to set up a macro to your 8BitDo controller, please watch this video by Austin John Plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMRCvp_FOmQ
Below is a screenshot of my macro setup. Intervals between buttons are based on the loading time of the current Switch version of the game (1.0.0.3) running on Switch 2. It takes into consideration the laggy performance when switching between screens and pages on the main menu. Because the game’s performance is even worse on Switch 1, some of the intervals may need to be increased for the macro to work on Switch 1.
To ensure the macro runs smoothly, please do the following:
- Please go to a place with stable performance and nothing going on in the background, like inside Kapan’s house or a Lumen Club. I tested the macro in a wild area with heavy rainstorm. The performance was worse and it messed up the sequence of the macro.
- Place the primary animon you want to reset in the first spot of your team. I recommend not to put any other animons in your team to avoid longer time required for the game to switch between screens.
- Place the spare animon (i.e., the pseudo-sacrifice) in the first cell of your current space box. Again, try not to put too many animons in this box to avoid longer screen-switching time. Make sure to leave your Quick Anispace screen while you are viewing this particular space box. In this way, every time the game enters Quick Anispace, this particular box with your spare animon is the one that shows up.
- The macro assumes that Mystical Relic is placed as the fifth item on your bag’s special item page. In other words, it is the last item in the first row of your special item page. I have not finished the game yet and have not obtained all special items. So, I am not sure whether Mystical Relic would always occupy the same place on the special item page. If it is not your fifth special item, you will need to adjust the macro. The first four blue and concrete buttons of the macro (->, ->, ->, ->) are for the cursor to get to the Relic while you are on the special item page, which might need to be changed if your Relic is not your fifth special item.
The procedure is simple. Once you are prepared, put on a hard save before you start. Then go to your bag, and then to special item. The orange cursor should be placed on the first item, which is your Holoken. Leave it that way. You can now start the macro. I recommend setting a timer of 15 minutes. Start your timer as you start the macro. Turn off the macro and quit the game after 15 minutes if your animon still has not turned into its lost form. Restart the game, restart the macro, and restart the timer. Repeat this process until you get your lost animon. In this way your game will not crash because of prolonged play time.
Below is a video demonstration of the sequence, which also shows my lucky moment of getting a lost Vortail.
https://reddit.com/link/1v0kowm/video/7tb0rpw695eh1/player
Good luck!