The anima is obtained through items from various activities and quests.
The anima in World of Warcraft Shadowlands comes in the form of objects that drop all over the Shadowlands. Whether you're doing world quests, looting chests, clearing dungeons, or assassinating your opponents in PvP, there's a good chance you'll get some Anima from your efforts. The chances of falling are different for different activities, but there are several ways to earn anima on a regular basis. Just remember: anytime you want to bank your Anima items and convert them into Anima to spend, you will need to interact with your Covenant's Sanctuary Upgrades NPC, where you will have the option to drop all of those items into your stash. Anima (this tops out at 35K Anima).
First off, Anima Drops come in three flavors in Shadowlands: Uncommon, Rare, and Epic. Uncommon Anima items give 5 Anima, 35 Rare, and 250 Epic. As alluring as Epic-grade Anima items are, they're also the most difficult to farm. They'll likely have a chance of dropping into high end Mythic level content later, but for now both lower and lower level Mythic only drop rare items. So the only reliable source of Epic Anima items at this time is the small number of quests that reward them.
This means that if you plan to farm Anima in Shadowlands, you will want to collect some uncommon and rare Anima items. These are much easier to acquire than Epic Anima Drops, especially if you don't mind exploring. World Quests can reward 1-4 Rare Anima Items, and Dungeon Bosses sometimes drop one or two Rare Quality Items. Sometimes you kill a mob and a quest will get you a rare Anima item on drop, so there's little harm in killing regular mobs.
Also, be sure to grab your daily calls: those reward chests with Anima items, and these quests tend to require you to complete the World Quest. There are also quests that grant several Rare Anima items upon completion, like the weekly dungeon quests in Oribos which also reward the reputation of the Covenant faction. Keep an eye out for these quests and be sure to clear them. Additionally, the Daily Dungeon and PvP Finder Queues offer up to one rare item for each available option (except Arena).
Shadowlands chests will always contain a handful of unusual Anima items (although chests marked on the map tend to hold more than standard chests). Usually these add up to match the anima of a single rare item, so chests are well worth looting if you come across them. Otherwise, if you want to maximize your Anima farm, you'll want to at least clear the marked chests from the map.
Rare monsters also drop uncommon Anima items, so if you come across one in the wild, it's worth killing it. Granted, at our current item level you'll want a party to help you take down most of these enemies, so set a pin on your map and share the location in the general chat. Since rare monsters tend to drop pets and mounts in Shadowlands, players will flock to your location. That, and they probably also grow Anima.
What is Anima used for in Shadowlands?
Anima has several uses in Shadowlands. One of your weekly Renown quests will require you to farm 1000 Anima to complete, and any Anima items you have on hand before entering this quest will not count. That's not a hard number to hit even with an occasional squeal, assuming you've at least completed your daily calls and completed some world quests that rewards Anima. Outside of this quest, Anima has little effect on your progress.
Anima is also used to purchase Sanctum upgrades (the Teleport Network, Anima Conductor, Adventure Table, and Sanctum Feature), cosmetics and more from the Renown Provider, to power the Anima Leader, and to send companions on missions to the adventure table. Sanctum upgrades should be your first priority when it comes to farming Anima, but they also require Redeemed Souls which are locked behind a weekly quest.
Stock up on what you need for your next weekly Sanctum upgrade, then grow some more to make the following weeks easier, have a cushion for later cosmetic purchases, or take a break. You can technically farm Anima from your Adventure table, but the cost / reward ratio isn't the best. This is an option, but you'll want to upgrade your companions for Soul Ash missions that spawn at higher levels.
