Quote Originally Posted by A_Magical_Unicorn_Rider View Post
It's best that you do the shield BEFORE the sword when going from Animus to Novus. Apparently they screwed up and you can't get alexandrite from FATEs if you upgrade your sword first.

As for atma to animus, you can do either one at any time you wish. Most people go for the shield first, since it only requires 2 books to do. But I did the sword first because I wanted to get the harder part out of the way.
Ha. I ended up just upgrading both at the same time, getting the best stat bonuses out of the way (VIT/STR) and leaving the cruddy ones for last. And interesting info about upgrading the sword, thanks. The drop rate from FATEs is so atrocious it's pretty much not worth it; you spend less time on it simply by farming myth unless you get extraordinarily lucky. I think I farmed six hours to get a single one.