DragonSword: Awakening How to Farm Fragments of Afterimage

What Are Fragments of Afterimage?

Fragments of Afterimage are endgame crafting currency used to unlock and max Exclusive Karma cards — hero-specific modifiers that add signature ability bonuses. Basic Karma uses different materials; Afterimage fragments gate the expensive Exclusive tier documented in our Karma & Ascension guide.

Unlock the Tower of Trials

You cannot farm Whirling Thoughts until the Tower of Trials unlocks. Complete Cerese's Bond Quest in Chapter 3 — the magic knight captain's personal storyline opens the Tower entrance after main campaign milestones. Read our Tower of Trials guide for Moon Key entry and floor strategy.

Whirling Thoughts — Tower-Only Drop

Whirling Thoughts drop exclusively from Tower of Trials clears. The Tower splits into three variants:

• Tower of Gale — stun-focused floors
• Tower of Amplitude — airborne-focused floors
• Tower of Crushing — knockdown-focused floors

Each variant tracks separate reward tables. Clear floors within the 90-second timer for full rewards. Completing all floors across variants yields roughly 160+ Whirling Thoughts and 2,600+ Fragments of Memory per variant when optimized — plan ailment teams in the Team Builder before pushing depth.

Transmute at Shanoa the Alchemist

Visit Shanoa the Alchemist at Orbis Royal Castle to transmute Whirling Thoughts into Fragments of Afterimage:

1 Whirling Thoughts + 100 Fragments of Memory + 100,000 gold → 1 Fragment of Afterimage

Memory fragments come from Tower clears, exploration chests, Merc Corps milestone rewards, quest first clears, and — after Patch 1.0.4 — higher-tier World Boss drops (Octavia, Ravanis, Balpedin grant 50 Fragments of Memory per kill).

How Many Do You Need?

Exclusive Karma cards require roughly 7 Fragments of Afterimage each — Hero Quest exclusive cards cost about 6. To max every Exclusive Karma slot you need approximately 128 total Fragments of Afterimage across the roster. Prioritize your main DPS and support heroes before collecting for the full roster.

Farming Priority Loop

1. Spend Moon Keys on Tower variants matching your current ailment team strength.
2. Hit the 90-second clear threshold on floors you can reliably finish — partial clears waste Whirling Thought efficiency.
3. Bank Fragments of Memory from World Bosses and Regional Missions while climbing Tower.
4. Transmute in batches at Shanoa when Memory and gold reserves allow — avoid transmuting before you commit to a specific Exclusive Karma target.

Pair this loop with Daily Regional Missions for Memory income and Hero Upgrade priorities so Afterimage spending aligns with your active trio.