Arknights: Endfield‘s Release Special Program has officially ended, giving us one last look into the game ahead of its launch next week!
The release date itself was already known, but this broadcast focused on giving us all the major information we need to know before the launch, showcasing final gameplay, core systems, characters, and what you can expect when Endfield goes live. This also includes every post Beta Test changes, so here is what you are getting on day one!
First, take a look at the latest trailer that was revealed:
A Beautiful and Wide Open World
Talos-II is the world you are going to explore in this Arknights: Endfield. It is a world where beauty and danger coexist. After more than a century of exploitation, the Civilization Band restored order. But beyond the High Walls, there is a wide, unexplored wilderness. Disasters often hit Talos-II, but humanity is still fighting for survival!
You will awake in a completely unfamiliar place, with almost no memories. You are in Dijiang, the base of Endfield Industries, and the Endmin’s later command nexus. Dijiang is the place where many operators live and work, and a home they are willing to share with you.
Endfield Industries is an organization that spent years at the frontier of development. The Protocol-Originium teleportal tech, the Automated Industry Complex, controllable distribution of Originium, and the only orbital spacecraft of Talos-II, Dijiang, are the result of Endfield’s science and technology, and a part of the future in Talos-II.
The Endministrator
New threats are here, and you, the player, are the Endministrator of Endifeld Industries! After a ten-year-long slumber, you are awakened once more. You will learn about your identity and duties. Your goal will be to save the Civilization from the brink of collapse once more.
This time, the plan is also to build the Protocol Automaton-Core (PAC), deploy it in important regions of the Civilization Band to fight against the Blight.
Your awakening is also part of a big plan named the Zeroth Directive, and the one who commissioned it happens to be you. But you will learn more about all this once you get to play!
Of course, you will encounter many threats on your journey, including hostile entities that are not exactly like living creatures called Aggeloi, spawned by strange devices called Ankhors. They are inorganic structures, but have a clear goal in mind and are really dangerous. But you will soon learn that they are not the biggest problem.
Other factions are making their move, such as the Landbreakers.
Release Region
The release will let you explore and experience the first two maps of Hongshan that offer a direct introduction to the entire region. But more will be added in the future!
You will have access to the first two regions of Hongshan: Valley IV and Wuling. As the plan starts, something happens at the first stop, Valley IV.
Communication blackouts are spreading, and the Hub Base has failed to respond. Meanwhile, powerful Aggeloid energy signals are also detected. There is no time to prepare, Endmin will have to go investigate!
After that, it will be time to head to Wuling and discover the Hongshan tech!
Meet Your Operators
For the release, you will not start your journey alone. You can obtain Operators that will help you fight the Blight! Here are the 6-Star Operators that will be available at launch:
- Laevatain – Striker that focuses on dealing group damage. Attack, create heat inflictions, and ignite the battlefield.
- Yvonne – She specializes in solidifying enemies. Her battle and combo skills can quickly apply Solidification and give her Ultimate Energy. When she casts her Ultimate, she can deal massive single-target damage.
- Gilberta – Support with Arts and Physical abilities. She excels in crowd-controlling large groups of enemies.
Here are the other Operators you can also encounter:
Release Optimizations
After going through all the Beta II feedback, here is everything that was adjusted, changed, or added for the release of the game:
- Visual effects and overall performance
- Story cutscenes optimized with polished cutscenes
- Dialogue segments in Operator Story will no longer be disrupted by memo beacons and other facilities
- A few cutscenes in Valley IV and Wuling received improvements
- Map exploration camera angles adjusted
- Objects that might block the camera angle have been made semi-transparent
- No longer random sequences of camera zooms, making exploration more comfortable
- Visual effects improved (for example, walking on snow during the Prologue and environment wetness effects)
- Quite a few special effects received an overhaul
- Improved Audio Effects
- Sound conveyance and audio effects have been adjusted
- Ambient feedback is a lot clearer
- Combat Optimizations
- Improved combat with most basic skills and combo skills no longer resets the basic attack sequence
- Enhanced on-screen visual feedback effects when the controlled operator gets hit, making them look more obvious
- Early Game Progress
- The Authority Level requirements for some main missions were adjusted
- Other Early game changes
- Optimized a few early game experiences in Valley IV
- Enhanced guides for several interactables in the world
- Gameplay related to storage crates will get more obvious tips
- Special effects are given to long-eared bunnies that lead you to treasures
- Added a weekly routine activity for the official release
- Refreshes each week
- Consistent source for obtaining Arsenal Tickets for free
- You will have various tasks, and you do not need to complete them all to max out your weekly rewards. You can choose the activities you enjoy doing
- Optimization for character progression
- Overall progression experience has been improved
- Lowered material raid difficulty
- Increased early game progression materials
- Increased progression gatherables
- Adjusted operator and weapon level caps
- Lowered enemy levels and trial difficulty at Exploration Level 7
- Improved Gear Artificing
- Improved the overall UI display
- Changes made to Storage Crates
- Gameplay Optimizations
- On PC, you can now pick the 120 FPS option, NVIDIA DLSS super resolution, and frame generation technology
- Ray-tracing was added to a number of scenes in certain IOS devices
- Controller mode for mobile devices has been added
- Controller experience optimized for all platforms
More optimizations have been made, but they will be shared later on!
Banners
There are different types of banners you can pull on in Arknights: Endfield:
- Basic Headhunting – Your base banner with permanent 6-star operators
- New Horizon Headhunting
- Requires HH Permits that can be acquired entirely through gameplay progression
- Guarantees a 6-Star operator from the Basic Headhunting upon completion
- Grants a bonus New Horizon Weapon Supply to get one 6-Star weapon of your choice
- Chartered Headhunting
- High-rarity operators can appear in this one. One specific 6-Star will be featured on this banner
- Guaranteed within 120 pulls
The operator featured on the Chartered Headhunting banner will also appear in the next two Chartered Headhunting banners. This means that Laevatain can still be obtained on the next two Chartered banners.
For the release of the game, the first three Chartered Banners will appear in the following order:
If you are lucky enough, you will also have a chance to get Yvonne and Gilberta during the first banner as a surprise release “gift”.
Every headhunting attempt also gives you Arsenal Tickets that can be used to get weapons. The Arsenal Tickets can be spent on Arsenal Issues that give you 10 Weapons at once. You can also use the tickets to directly purchase 5 or 6-star weapons.
Protocol Pass
To get rewards, you also have the Protocol Pass. This is basically the Arknights: Endfield’s version of a Battle Pass. As always, it contains a free reward tier and a paid one. However, this one also contains a third pass where you can spend Origeometries to unlock the Originium Supply Tier.
The rewards of various tiers have been improved since the last beta.
Release Rewards
To celebrate the release, the Endfield team has prepared a few freebies for everyone with a few redemption codes:
- RETURNOFALL
- ALLFIELD
You will have to redeem them in-game after launch, and before January 29, 2026!
AIC Factory
The Automated Industry Complex is one of the most important gameplay features of Endfield. To make it simple, the AIC is sort of like your outpost of basic needs. You will have to build, craft, produce, and create there!
You can use the AIC to create your own automated production lines. You will start with small production lines, and gradually build your own industrial complex. The AIC will then endlessly produce gear, medication, and other various materials that you will need for your exploration and combat.
You will have plenty of quality-of-life features, such as complete blueprints for those who do not want to spend hours building. Those are unlocked as you progress through the game.
With blueprints, you can quickly build, delete, copy, or move entire production lines. You can also save and share your own blueprints.
As you continue your exploration, you will reach outposts in each region that can add unique features to your AIC. For example, Wuling is full of mountains and rivers, so the factory will revolve around pumping and processing fluids, and mass production of a unique material called Xiranite. Each outpost has unique features, designs, and demand for specific things, so you will have to design each AIC to meet the region’s actual needs.
Additional Content
The following content will also be available at launch:
- Operator Story Event
- Laevatain
- Wulfgard
- Daily Logs and Encounters
- Dijiang Special Spaces
- Etchspace Salvage – Explore different areas and complete various commissions for rewards. This is a permanent feature.
- Delver of the Cryptic – Spatial sets of challenges. Each one has a number of Protocol Spaces. Complete them to get a one-time reward. This is also permanent.
- Umbral Monument – Offers a series of more difficult challenges. Unlike Beta test II, this is now also a permanent feature. Time challenges were also added to it.
More content will be added in the near future, such as more zones, operators, events, and plenty of unique features, so get ready! The adventure starts on January 22, and you can pre-download on January 20, 2026 (UTC +8).
For more guides and information about the game, check out our latest news!
