Hypergryph has been developing Arknights: Endfield for over 3.5 years now and concluded the first Beta test. On 27th of November at 22:00 UTC-5 a second Beta test will take off and there are a lot of changes in gacha mechanics, base building, open world, combat mechanics, and even operator archetypes.
Arknights: Endfield is an open-world 3D action RPG gacha with Factorio-like elements based on Hypergryph's Arknights - 2D tower defense strategy game's universe. It is expected to be released in early 2026, so let's see what developers have changed so far and how the final game might look like.
Beta II Launch
The Second Beta test will launch on PC, Android and iOS. Registration is done via a recruitment survey on the official website. This will be a limited-access, data-wipe test which means all your account progress in case you qualify will be reset after Beta II concludes. That is why if you plan on spending any money on this game, obviously wait until release and keep in mind that with LootBar you can get cheaper top ups.
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Reworked Story & New Region: Wuling
One of the most significant upgrades in Beta II is the rebuilt main storyline. Developers revised large portions of the narrative, introducing animated cutscenes, branching dialogue, and finally - your dialogue choices will have an impact leading to different outcomes. That is something that definitely differentiates Arknights: Endfield from similar titles like Genshin or Wuthering Waves.
There is also a new region to explore - Wuling, a marriage between traditional Eastern architecture and futuristic industrial sci-fi. Speaking of exploration - your team mates have voicelines that might let you know from time to time when you are near a treasure or collectible and there is a Crate Detector, a limited item that will show you nearby crates that you might have missed. Your companions can also pick up items for you, a very nice QoL feature.
Combat System & Characters
In Beta II Specialist class was removed and now we have Vanguard and Striker classes. Vanguards restore skill points to the team while strikers seem to be able to consume elemental statuses on enemies in order to inflict big bursts of damage. There are 9 new operators across all rarities. Among the 6- stars, we have Ardelia (Eyafjalla from Arknights), Pogranichnik (obviously Hellagur) and Last Rite. There is one new 5-star - Alesh and a squad of 5 4-star characters - Antal (12F), Fluorite (Gavial lookalike), Estella, Catcher and Akekuri. All these 4-stars are supposed to be pretty strong and instrumental in building your teams. That brings the initial character count to 24 total.
When it comes to combat we have 6 classes - Guard, Vanguard, Caster, Defender, Striker and Supporter - and 5 elements - Physical, Heat, Electric, Cryo and Nature although Physical might not really be an element as it is pretty much the opposite of Arts. In Beta II Physical and Arts statuses were reworked. Within Physical now there is Lift, Knock Down, Crush and Breach. Lift and Knock Down stagger enemies and apply Vulnerable stacks while Crush and Breach capitalize on those stacks dealing more damage the more stacks were present. Arts Inflictions happen when same element is applied twice and can stack up to four times while Arts Reactions trigger when 2 different elements collide.
When it comes to combat mechanics - dodges can now be performed twice consecutively. Perfect dodges restore skill points and diminish stamina consumption and you can dodge mid-combo without interrupting it. Enemies can be staggered and hit in different parts of their bodies for varying amounts of damage.
Base Building - Automated Industry Complex
In Arknights: Endfield you can farm, process and produce different materials using automation. You can set up various facilities, connect them with conveyor belts and return later to reap profits. If you don't enjoy this part of the game, you can use other player's blueprints to set up your base without actually designing it yourself. There was a big controversy regarding blueprints and a heated discussion about whether they should be allowed in the game as some people thought of them as cheating, but another way of looking at them is to treat them as guides - you can look up online video guide on how to solve a puzzle in the game, but you don't have to. Blueprints are the same, you don't need to use them, but you can if you don't enjoy this part of the game.
Endfield Gacha system
You can obtain operators in 3 different banners - New Horizons, Basic and Chartered Headhunting. In New Horizons, to pull, you spend special currency that you earn in-game via, e.g., exploration. In Basic Headhunting, you pull for a standard pool of operators, and in Chartered, you can obtain limited operators. You get a 6-star operator in 80 pulls on every banner, but on a limited banner, you are guaranteed to get a featured operator within 120 pulls. Also featured operator stays in the pool of possible operators for 3 banners, so you can still get that operator while losing 50:50 later on.
Other than operators, you can pull for weapons in Arsenal Issue. You get 6 6-star weapons in 4 pulls and a featured weapon in 8 pulls. Then from 10th pull onward (including 10th pull) every 16 pulls gives you Arsenal Offering Crate - let's you choose off-banner weapon. From the 18th pull onward, every 16 pulls you make, you obtain a featured weapon. You earn weapon pulls by, e.g., pulling for operators, and you can use them for pulling or exchanging directly for weapons.
Once Arknights: Endfield releases, you might want to recharge your account with some extra Headhunting Tickets, so prepare yourself now and set up an account on LootBar for cheaper top-ups.
Other features and QoL improvements
There is Photo Mode - a free-camera mode that hides the UI and lets you take pictures of scenery and your operators.
In co-op you can build structures e.g. ziplines in other players' worlds and they will stay there helping them in exploration.
The Dijang - your base hub - can now showcase your achievements, badges, weapons and operators for other Endministrators to see.
The new friend system lets you invite other players so they can visit and see your Dijang.
Battle Pass is quite different from other similar games. Here, you not only get basic rewards for reaching milestones and extra rewards if you buy a battle pass, but also there is a way to get extra rewards without paying, by spending only Origeometry and you can perpetually obtain extra rewards from every following battle pass as long as you can max it out while it's active every time.
Conclusion
Arknights: Endfield Beta Test II brings many improvements and changes based on first Beta Test feedback. Combat and dodge mechanics have been reworked for smoother experience, there are 9 new operators, some changes to gacha system, a generous battle pass encouraging long term engagement possible to obtain for free, new region, base-building blueprints and a photo mode.
Recruitment is now open and Beta Test II starts on 27-th of November. The game will launch early 2026 on PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5. While you wait for release, boot up your Arknights (og tower defense), check current banner, and if you are missing some pulls, consider cheaper Arknights Top Up.
