GRYPHLINE studio held a special live broadcast dedicated to the upcoming release of the action-adventure action role-playing game with strategy elements Arknights: Endfield. During the stream, the developers talked about the changes that occurred after the end of the closed beta testing, as well as the content of the release version. For those who don’t want to watch the hour and a half recording, we’ve put together a summary below with all the important information:
- The broadcast opened with a musical performance by the rock band STARSET, who performed a new composition especially for the game, after which presenters Light Zhong, RUA and invited guest Zc officially greeted the audience. They outlined the main purpose of the broadcast, which was not just to celebrate the imminent release, but also to report in detail on the work done to improve the game after the second beta test in order to prepare the End Administrators for landing on the planet Talos II fully armed.
- It was said about the setting and plot. The action takes place on the planet Talos II, where humanity has taken refuge in the so-called “Belt of Civilization” – the only safe zone protected by walls from wild areas torn apart by disasters and gravitational anomalies. The player takes on the role of the Administrator, a legendary figure and leader of the Endfield company, who awakens on the Dijiang orbital ship after a ten-year hibernation to face the consequences of his past decisions and a new threat.
- An important element of the plot is the mysterious “Zeroth Directive” – a plan to save civilization, the order to begin which was given by the main character himself before his “sleep”. Now, after awakening, the Endmin must regain control of the situation by placing Protocol Automation Units (PBAs) in dangerous areas to contain the destructive substance of Blight that creates monsters, and restore the connection between the present and the future, relying on technology and loyal operatives.
- The first chapter of the story will take players to Valley IV, a region where a critical communication failure occurred and anomalous activity of Aggels (inorganic constructs created by anchor devices) was recorded. The player will not only fight, but also undertake engineering tasks, including rebuilding a destroyed base, establishing power supplies, and building outposts, turning the wilderness into a functioning springboard for the company’s further expansion.
- The antagonist faction “Earthbreakers” is presented in detail, who in Valley IV represent an organized military force, and not just disparate gangs. Led by the charismatic leader Neferit, who has united the clans of the Bonecrushers, the Pack and the Sand Pirates, this group is pursuing its own, as yet unknown, but clearly ambitious goals that go far beyond the usual looting and pose a serious threat to the plans of Endfield.
- The developers showed a new region called Wulin (part of the Hongshan territory), which will become available in the release version. This is a picturesque area with unique oriental aesthetics, architecture and flora. The locals have adapted to life near the anomalies, developing their own technologies to contain disasters, and players will be immersed in exploring their culture and secrets across two expansive maps available from launch.
- The combat mechanics of the operative Levatein are analyzed in detail. He is a stormtrooper who specializes in dealing area-of-effect heat damage with his two-handed sword, Loki. Its gameplay is based on accumulating Melting Fire charges through the Smoldering Fire skill, which allows you to activate the powerful Boil combo and set enemies on fire. The ultimate ability “Twilight” summons an energy copy of the sword, multiplying normal attacks and turning it into a machine for destroying groups of opponents.
- Introduced Support Operator Gilberta, who uses Gravity Arts and deals natural damage. Its uniqueness lies in its control of the battlefield. The Miraculous Staff skill allows her to enter a state of concentration, pulling enemies into one point, and her super skill creates a vast gravitational field that not only slows down opponents, but also applies a debuff that increases the damage they receive from Arts, making her indispensable for elemental teams.
- The third character disassembled was the engineer Yvonne, who deals cryogenic damage and can freeze enemies (the “Freeze” status). She actively uses her assistant drones in battle: the “Brrr-brrr-bomb” skill causes a freezing explosion, the combo summons the “Giga-Freezer” bot to deal area damage, and her ult activates the boost mode with the “Technocrumb” bot, allowing her to deal colossal damage to targets immobilized by the cold.
- To help beginners and those who want to understand the mechanics more deeply, the Game Tools system has been introduced into the game. This is a built-in knowledge base where you can find recommended team compositions, equipment options and theoretical calculations from other experienced players, which eliminates the need to constantly search for guides on third-party resources.
- A tremendous amount of work has been done on the visual component of the game based on feedback from beta testers. The detail of clouds has been significantly improved (especially when viewed from orbit), and the effects of wet surfaces and puddles during rain have been improved. The most important change was the object transparency system. Now, if a wall, tree, or scenery element blocks the camera during combat or exploration, that object becomes translucent, providing the player with a clear view at all times.
- The combat system has become smoother and more responsive. The developers have removed the reset of the chain of auto-attacks when using skills (now the animations smoothly flow into each other), and also increased the visual and sound feedback from receiving hits by the controlled character (shaking, effects) so that the player clearly understands when his character receives damage and can react in time.
- Significantly rebalanced progression in the early stages of the game to lower the barrier to entry. Strict influence requirements for accessing story missions have been removed, the difficulty of dungeons containing leveling materials has been reduced, and in the open world, vibrant visual effects have been added for resource chests and hidden objects to make them easier to spot from afar.
- A new Weekly Routine system has been introduced, designed to reduce routine and give players a stable source of currency (oroberil) and materials. Players are presented with a list of tasks for the week, from which they can freely choose only those activities that they like (for example, only battles or only construction), and at the same time take all possible rewards without feeling obligated to do everything.
- The technical part of the game has been taken to a new level. The PC version has support for a frame rate of 120 FPS, NVIDIA DLSS scaling technologies and frame generation for maximum smoothness. On iOS devices, ray tracing will be available in some scenes, and mobile versions have received full native support for gamepads with an adapted interface.
- The recruitment system (gacha) is divided into two independent streams. Operator and “arsenal supplies” (weapons) banners using different ticket types. There is a guarantee system for characters: 80 attempts to get any 6-star operative and 120 attempts to be guaranteed to get exactly the target character from the banner.
- A mechanic has been introduced to reward players in the gacha – “Emergency Recruitment”. If a player makes 30 recruitment attempts in a special event banner, he receives a bonus of 10 free spins. These free attempts do not consume currency and do not count towards the guarantor counter. Just a nice bonus that increases your chances of success.
- The weapon gacha has become more friendly, with a guaranteed 6-star weapon now occurring every 40 attempts. Additionally, every 10 deliveries, the player is given a special “Weapon Suggestion Box” from which a specific weapon can be selected from a list, allowing for gear to be collected in a targeted manner rather than relying solely on luck.
- The gameplay demo showed a zipline system in the Wulin region. Players can place their own starting and finishing points, creating their own logistics routes to quickly move between mountains and lowlands.
- The process of working with the AIC (Automated Industrial Complex) was demonstrated in detail using the example of a mission to drain a giant pond. To pump out 40,000 cubic meters of water and get to the treasure at the bottom, the developers built a complex network of water pumps, laid pipes and supplied electricity from generators in real time, showing that solving problems in the game requires an engineering approach.
- The power of automation in combat is demonstrated. Players can build defensive towers and lure enemies into their range. The presenters emphasized that the “true strength of the Endadministrator” lies not only in personal skill, but also in the ability to use Endfield technologies, allowing turrets to destroy opponents without the direct participation of the hero.
- It was mentioned about the “Drawings” function for construction. Players can save successful factory layouts, copy them to quickly duplicate production lines, and share blueprint codes with other players. This will allow the community to share efficient designs and make base building easier for those who don’t want to design everything from scratch.
- We talked about side activities and end-game content. The game will feature personal story quests for operatives (at the start – the stories of Levatein and Wulfgard), a photo mode with tasks for photographing landmarks, as well as permanent modes “Twilight Monument” (time trials with bosses) and “Riddle Research” (solving spatial puzzles in rifts).
- Plans for plot development after release have been revealed. The story will not end at the starting content, but will continue in the Qinbo camp on the outskirts of Wuling. Endmin must investigate the disappearance of his friend Tantan and confront the Earthshatter plot. The developers promised that in the next two updates after release they will add a new map, new companions and continue the story arc.
- In total, players can receive up to 135 recruitment attempts at release (including currency, tickets, and event rewards). Rewards include a free 6-star Operator Ardelia (for logging in), a free 6-star weapon (crate pick and event rewards), and 40 Rookie Banner Spins with a guaranteed 6-star character.
At the end of the broadcast, a large-scale marketing campaign and multimedia projects were announced: the launch of a real satellite into space with engraved names of the players, the release of a prequel manga about Perlika’s past, comedy comics, the opening of temporary stores with merchandise around the world (USA, France, Japan, Korea) and cooperation with the SKPORT platform to provide players with wiki tools and bonuses.
Arknights: Endfield will be released on January 22, 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and mobile devices.