To get Joker in Anime Vanguards, unlock Lunar Bridge Floor 9, keep clearing it until Phantom Thief drops at the 10% rate or through the 10-clear pity, then buy Phantom Letter from the Lunar Bridge shop to evolve him into Phantom Thief (Jester).
Joker is one of the headline Secret units from the 25th Hour (Update 14.5), and unlike a gacha pull he’s earned entirely by grinding a single dungeon floor in Anime Vanguards. The whole route lives inside the Lunar Bridge dungeon: farm Floor 9 for the base unit, then spend dungeon currency to evolve him. Here’s the full path from your first clear to a fully evolved Phantom Thief (Jester).
Who Joker is in Anime Vanguards
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Joker | Community nickname for the unit, from its Persona 5-inspired look |
| Phantom Thief | The unit’s actual in-game name and its base form |
| Phantom Thief (Jester) | The evolved, stronger version of Phantom Thief |
The unit everyone calls “Joker” is officially named Phantom Thief — a Secret-rarity unit whose design is built on the Persona 5 protagonist and his masked alias. His upgraded version is Phantom Thief (Jester), the stronger form you evolve into once you own the base unit. Both arrived together in the 25th Hour (Update 14.5), so if you’re seeing the name for the first time, it’s a recent addition rather than an older event unit.
Lunar Bridge farming requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Lunar Bridge dungeon |
| Floor | Floor 9 (shown as Act 9) |
| Rarity | Secret |
| Drop rate | 10% per clear |
| Pity | Guaranteed on your 10th clear |
| Evolution item | Phantom Letter |
| Shop cost | 500 Controller Tokens |
Key Everything for this unlock happens inside one dungeon, so the requirements are short. Lunar Bridge is the update’s headline dungeon, running 11 floors that each end in a demon boss and pay out Controller Tokens — the currency you’ll spend later on his evolution item. Phantom Thief himself only comes from one specific floor, and the pity system means a guaranteed drop is never far away.
Bank Controller Tokens while you grind Floor 9 so you can buy Phantom Letter (500 tokens) the instant Phantom Thief drops, instead of grinding the shop separately afterward.
How to unlock, farm, and evolve Joker in Anime Vanguards
Follow the Lunar Bridge route below to grind the base Phantom Thief and then turn him into Phantom Thief (Jester).
Head to the Dungeons section
Open the Dungeons area in the lobby to bring up the dungeon list.
Enter the Lunar Bridge dungeon
Select Lunar Bridge from the menu to begin working through its stages.
Clear earlier acts to unlock Act 9
Progress through the earlier Lunar Bridge acts until Act 9 becomes available.
Farm Act 9 for Phantom Thief
Each Act 9 clear carries a 10% chance to drop Phantom Thief.
Lean on the pity if the drop won’t come
If the 10% roll keeps failing, your 10th completed Act 9 clear guarantees Phantom Thief.
Buy Phantom Letter from the dungeon shop
Open the Lunar Bridge Dungeon Shop and purchase Phantom Letter for 500 Controller Tokens.
Evolve Phantom Thief into Phantom Thief (Jester)
Open the Evolve menu, select Phantom Thief, and apply Phantom Letter with the Essences and Gold the screen lists.
The Evolve screen lists the exact Essence and Gold totals needed alongside Phantom Letter, and those amounts have shifted between game builds — so follow whatever the menu shows on your account rather than committing to a fixed recipe in advance.
Video help
What to farm after evolving Joker
Once Phantom Thief (Jester) is in your roster, Lunar Bridge is still worth running. The dungeon keeps handing out Controller Tokens, which are useful for future shop purchases, and it’s also where you chase his exclusive Memoria, Life Will Change. That Memoria is tied to the same Lunar Bridge progression and gives the evolved unit an extra damage boost, so it’s the natural next goal rather than a whole separate project.
Farming mistakes that slow down your Joker grind
The most common time-waster is grinding the wrong floor. Phantom Thief drops only from Floor 9 — other Lunar Bridge floors feed different Secret units like Apathetic Savior (Door) and Investigation Leader (Truth), so any run outside Act 9 does nothing for your pity count.
It’s also easy to mix Phantom Thief up with those other Update 14.5 units, since they all come from the same dungeon and released together. Double-check that the reward listed on the stage is Phantom Thief before you settle in for a long grind.
Finally, skip any older Update 14 “Extermination Event” guidance. Those dungeons, units, and codes belong to a previous patch and don’t apply to this farm — the Joker route is entirely a 25th Hour (Update 14.5) Lunar Bridge activity.
Related Anime Vanguards guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Joker drop before your 10th Floor 9 clear?
Yes. Every clear rolls the 10% chance independently, so he can drop on your first run or any run after that. The 10-clear pity is just the safety net that guarantees him if the roll never lands, and the pity counter is visible on the stage info screen before you start, so you can always see how close the guaranteed drop is.
Are Phantom Thief and Phantom Thief (Jester) the same unit?
They’re the same character at two different upgrade stages. You obtain the base Phantom Thief from Floor 9, then use Phantom Letter to turn that unit into Phantom Thief (Jester) — you don’t collect them as two separate drops.
Do you need codes to get Joker?
No. Joker is purely a Lunar Bridge Floor 9 dungeon drop, with no code required at any point. Active codes in the game hand out other rewards, but none of them grant Phantom Thief or shortcut the farm.
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