Beginner

Arknights Endfield Beginner Guide for New Accounts (October 2026)

What a new Arknights: Endfield account unlocks and when, how Sanity and dailies work, and which beginner rewards are still open.

By: K. Talos Updated: 2026-10-17 11 min read

The facts below were checked on 2026-09-28 against the sources listed at the end of this page. Game updates can change them, so check the in-game screen before you spend. If something no longer matches, tell us.

A new Arknights: Endfield account opens its systems through main story missions and Authority Level, not by days played. Headhunting is usable by the Valley Reboot quest in Chapter 1, Process I. The Operational Manual and Daily Tasks come with Westward into the Vale. OMV Dijiang and the Weekly Routine open around Authority Level 15, in Chapter 1, Process II. Wuling, the second region, needs Authority Level 43. The unlock table below gives each gate and where it comes from.

Version numbers such as 1.3 or 1.5 on this page are Game8's labels; Gryphline's own notes go by update name only. Plenty of beginner advice still online was written for the January launch, before several of the systems below were added or changed.

What should a new account do first in Endfield?

Pick a server first. Gryphline's help centre says data isn't shared between the Asia and Americas / Europe servers, though on one server the same account works across PC, Android, iOS and PS5. PS5 assigns the server from your PSN region.

The story opens with a two-part prologue, Process: Cold Start and Process: Awakening. Chapter 1, Process I then starts with Break the Siege, where Chen Qianyu joins for free. Gryphline's notice for the October 2026 [Rejuvenation] banner also names it as the entry condition. The banners open in the current version are listed further down this page. Game8's reroll guide says Headhunting is available once you reach the Valley Reboot quest, before your first TP point.

Your first team doesn't depend on pulls. The Endministrator (6★ Guard) and Perlica (5★ Caster) start with you, Chen Qianyu (5★ Guard) joins in Break the Siege, and Wulfgard (5★ Caster) is a main mission reward; Game8 names Westward into the Vale. Ardelia comes on day 3 of the beginner sign-in. Each has a page in the operator index.

Combat is real-time, with up to four operators in a team. Game8 says a dash just before an enemy attack lands is a Perfect Dodge, which "restores Skill Points and Stamina, which are essential during combat." That Stamina is a combat bar, not the Sanity you spend on stages.

When do Dijiang, dailies and Wuling unlock?

Authority Level is your account level. The wiki says it "can only be increased by obtaining Operational EXP", and it tops out at 60. There is no separate "Combat Level". Chapter 1 has four mission series, The Broken Lands, The Turbid Heavens, Path of Ascension and Smoking Embers, and Game8's mission pages place them in Processes I to IV. Requirements and unlocks below come from those same pages, except where a row names another source.

Mission	Where it sits	Requirement	What it opens
Process: Cold Start, Process: Awakening	Prologue	None	The opening story
Break the Siege	Chapter 1, Process I (first mission)	Prologue	Chen Qianyu joins; entry condition for the Chartered and RE-Factor banners
Valley Reboot	Chapter 1, Process I	Authority Level 2 and Break the Siege	The Core AIC Area in the Hub, your first factory area. Headhunting is open by this point
Rally and Unite	Chapter 1, Process I	Authority Level 2 and Valley Reboot	Andre walks you through setting up the AIC factory
Westward into the Vale	Chapter 1, Process I	Rally and Unite; no level requirement	Operational Manual (PowerPyx) and Daily Tasks; Wulfgard as a reward
Building an Outpost	Not given (Valley IV)	—	Sanity spending, per GameWith; the Refugee Camp outpost in Valley Pass
Paving the Way	Chapter 1, Process II	Fort Showdown; no level requirement	Top View Mode, blueprints and Basic AIC Tier II
Maintenance Progress	Chapter 1, Process II	—	OMV Dijiang (Game8)
Mystery in the Building	Chapter 1, Process III	Walk in the Park	Basic AIC Tier III
Work Preparation	Chapter 1, Process IV	Authority Level 43 and Conference of the Four	Leads straight into Arrival at Wuling
Arrival at Wuling	Chapter 2, Process I	Work Preparation at Authority Level 43	The Wuling region and Chapter 2
A Breeze Away	Chapter 2, Process II	—	Wuling's Core AIC Area

Two quests are called Work Preparation. The Wuling gate is the Process IV one, in the Smoking Embers series. The Process II one needs Authority Level 15.
Dijiang. Game8 ties it to Maintenance Progress; GameWith to Authority Level 15 plus Chapter 1, Process II. Both land in Process II.
Building an Outpost. No source places it in a specific chapter or Process, or where it falls in the order.
Only two chapters. The September update added [Wuling - Snowy Forest] and [Wuling - Suiming] but no new chapter, and its notes don't say how to reach them. The October update, [Sanctuary of Ink], added [Wuling - Si's Painting], and its notes list main missions up to Chapter II Process VIII: Paint with Fresh Ink, still inside Chapter II.

How does Sanity work in Arknights Endfield?

Sanity is the energy you spend to collect rewards from repeatable stages. It's Endfield's own term: Gryphline's update notes hand out items such as [Sanity Usage Permit] and [Emergency Sanity Booster]. The wiki describes it as the mechanic "which allows players to obtain rewards after clearing a Protocol Space, RE-Crisis or Severe Energy Alluvium."

Regeneration. 1 Sanity every 7 minutes 12 seconds, which is 200 a day. The wiki and GameWith give the same rate.
Cap. It starts at 125 and rises with Authority Level; the wiki lists 360 at level 60. Game8's Sanity page describes a rise of 5 per level and calls the level-60 figure unknown, so trust the number in your own game.
Overflow is lost. GameWith: "It will not recover beyond the cap, so be sure to spend it before it's full."
Refills. GameWith's table gives 40 Sanity each for Sanity Syrup, Emergency Sanity Booster and Strawberry Crepe. Boosters expire; GameWith says after 10 days, the wiki says weekly.
[Sanity Usage Permit] isn't a refill. GameWith says it doubles the Sanity a run costs and doubles the rewards.

GameWith's Protocol Space page lists these stages:

Stage	Sanity per run	What it gives
Operator Progression (separate stages)	40	Operator EXP, promotion materials, T-Creds or skill materials
Weapon EXP	40	Weapon EXP items
Weapon Tune	40	Cast Die, Heavy Cast Die
RE-Crisis	None on first clear	—
Energy Alluvium	None on first clear	Essence

Game8's advice for a new account: "We recommend spending your Sanity on Protocol Space: Promotions and Protocol Space: Operator EXP first to get materials to level and promote Operators." GameWith adds that spending Sanity is the fastest way to raise Authority Level, at 6 Operational EXP per point by its table; ordinary field enemies give none.

Don't plan around a sweep button. GameWith's Protocol Space page doesn't describe any auto-clear. The only [Skip] in the update notes came with At the Wake of Spring (1.2). It covers a single story fight against [Ereignis] and appears only after you've spent a certain amount of time in that fight.

Daily Tasks, the Weekly Routine and the 04:00 reset

Dailies reset at 04:00 server time. That's UTC+8 on the Asia server and UTC-5 on Americas / Europe, per GameWith and Game8.

Daily Tasks in the Operational Manual

The wiki calls the Operational Manual "a system that integrates various features, such as Activity Nodes, Daily Tasks, and Tactical Training." The daily goal is Activity Points. Game8: "You can earn a total of 100 points to obtain all the rewards for Dailies." Its September list includes logging in, spending 60 or 120 Sanity, collecting a Dijiang cabin product or clue, and buying Elastic Goods once at Stock Redistribution. In Sketches of Lost Heirlooms (1.3, June 2026), Gryphline raised the points some tasks give, simplified some requirements and "added new types of Daily Tasks". Point tables from before June predate that change.

Weekly Routine

The Weekly Routine is a tab in the Event Center. Dexerto says it opens at Authority Level 15; GameWith says Authority Level 15 plus Chapter 1, Process II. Game8 says it resets every Monday at 04:00 server time. Gryphline adjusted some Weekly Routine missions on 12 March 2026, so January checklists may not match what you see.

Other things worth a daily check

Dijiang. Since At the Wake of Spring (1.2), the [Control Nexus Task] in OMV Dijiang - Control Nexus collects products, sets up production, and claims and fills clues in one click.
The AIC. Game8's daily list includes "Visit your AIC to collect any materials or items that are in production." Electric Mining Rigs and a powered Protocol Stash already send items to the Depot, so the visit is also a chance to spot a stalled line.
Rare Ore. These sites hold the minerals used to tune weapons. Game8 says each can be gathered a limited number of times before it refreshes with the daily reset.
Outposts. Each outpost builds up Stock Bills over time up to a limit, then stops until you trade.

Which beginner rewards can you still claim?

Permanent

Gryphline's 1.3 notes refer to New Horizons and Authority Level Rewards as "beginner events". Two more permanent events were added after launch, so January guides don't mention them.

Event	Available	What it gives
Awakening Sign-In	Permanent; 14 days, starting when the Event Center unlocks	12 Chartered HH Permits across the 14 days, Ardelia on day 3, and the 6★ weapon Dreams of the Starry Beach on day 10 (wiki, edited August 2026)
New Horizons	Permanent, for new accounts	The beginner banner, covered in the next section
Authority Level Rewards	Permanent	Permits and Oroberyl at set Authority Levels. Sources list different levels for the 10-permit bundles, so check the in-game list
[Beginner's Chartered Tribute]	Permanent since [Old Deep Water Dies, by Rising Tide It is Denied] (12 March 2026)	"Complete specified missions to acquire a total of [Chartered Headhunting Permit]×10."
[Operator Progression Booster]	Permanent since [At the Wake of Spring] (17 April 2026)	Progression materials back for reaching set goals, including [Arms INSP Set], [Protoprism], [Advanced Combat Record] and [T-Creds]

Gryphline doesn't list which missions count for the Tribute, but missions you've already finished can be claimed from the event screen. Game8 says Break the Siege is the entry condition. Game8's Booster goals cover operator levels, skills, talents and a weapon upgrade.

Limited-time items and update compensation

As of 17 October 2026, in the [Sanctuary of Ink] version, these are the limited items worth knowing about on a new account. End times are server time: UTC+8 on the Asia server, UTC-5 on the Americas / Europe server.

What	Ends (server time)	Notes
[Rejuvenation] Chartered Headhunting	5 November 2026, 11:59	Limited banner with Si as the rate-up 6★. Open once you finish Break the Siege. Takes Spirit's Restoration HH Permits, Chartered HH Permits or Oroberyl
[Spirit's Restoration] Sign-In	5 November 2026, 11:59	Sign in on 7 days in total; rewards include [Spirit's Restoration HH Permit]×5, which work on [Rejuvenation]
[All the Inky Hues] Guide Event	5 November 2026, 12:00	Missions in the [Si's Painting] area of Wuling, with rewards including [Oroberyl]×1200. Wuling needs Authority Level 43 (see the unlock table above)
[Sanctuary of Ink] maintenance compensation	—	Not for new accounts. The condition is "Create a character before the update"

Later banners and events are announced on Gryphline's news page; the in-game Event Center shows what's open on your account.

How should a new account use the New Horizons banner?

New Horizons is the beginner banner. The wiki's summary: it "guarantees one 6★ operator from the standard roster, and a 6★ weapon selector within 40 pulls. Once 40 pulls have been spent and the 6★ weapon selected, the banner disappears from the Headhunting menu." Game8 (page updated January 2026) and GameWith (February 2026) list the five 6★ it can give as Ember, Lifeng, Ardelia, Last Rite and Pogranichnik.

Its permits come only from the main story. The wiki's beginner reward panel counts 4 New Horizons HH-10× Permits, the full 40 pulls, and Game8 and TheGamer count one of them in hand when Headhunting first opens. So the guarantee lands as you push the story, not all at once when Headhunting opens. The selector holds five 6★ weapons: Oblivion, Sundered Prince, Thermite Cutter, Former Finery and Valiant. Game8 notes you can cancel the pick and leave the box in Valuables until you know what your team needs.

Pull counts at the start, pity rules and which standard 6★ the big guide sites favour are in the reroll guide.

The AIC factory versus OMV Dijiang

They're two separate bases. The AIC (Automated Industry Complex; Gryphline's notes say "AIC Factory") is the factory you build on the ground in each region. It opens in Valley Reboot. Its lines take mined ore and put out refined materials and parts, the components used to craft gear, batteries, and goods to trade at outposts. OMV Dijiang is, in the wiki's words, "a spacecraft in geostationary orbit above Talos-II" and Endfield Industries' headquarters. It opens around Chapter 1, Process II at Authority Level 15.

For a new player, the difference that matters is where upgrade materials come from. GameWith says Dijiang's Manufacturing Cabin makes "'Combat Records' for character leveling, and 'Arms Inspector' for weapon upgrades", and the Growth Chamber grows "Fungi for Character Promotion, Vitros for Skill Enhancement, and Rare Minerals for Weapon Tuning." Game8's material pages don't list the AIC as a source of Protodisks or weapon EXP items.

Production lines, outposts and blueprints are in the AIC factory guide. Thermal Banks and grid limits are in the power guide.

How do operator promotion and weapon tuning work?

Operators

Level and Promotion. The wiki: "The maximum Level an Operator can reach is 90, but there are several Level caps along the way. Upon reaching a Level cap, the Operator needs to be promoted first, before they can be leveled again." The stages are Promotion I to IV. Game8 notes that characters and weapons both start with a level cap of 20.
Promotion materials. Game8 says Protodisks promote operators, raise their level cap and unlock Talents. They come from Protocol Space: Promotions, missions, exploration chests and events.
Skills. In the Combat section of the Ability Matrix you upgrade Basic Attack, Battle Skill, Combo Skill and Ultimate.
Potential. "Operators have six stages of Potential, starting at 0 and ending at 5."

Weapons

Weapon progression is called Tuning. The wiki: "All Weapons start at Tuning Stage 0 with an initial level cap of 20. Once a Weapon has reached its level cap, it can be tuned using Tuning Materials to raise the level cap and also improve the Weapon's Skills."

Tuning Stage	Level cap	Materials listed by the wiki
0	20	—
1	40	Cast Die, Kalkonyx, T-Creds
2	60	Cast Die, Auronyx
3	80	Heavy Cast Die, Umbronyx
4	90	—

Cast Die comes from the Weapon Tune stage; rare minerals come from Dijiang's Growth Chamber and Rare Ore sites. Weapon Potential and Essences, which enemies drop, improve weapon skills further.

Gear

Each operator wears four pieces: armour, gloves and two accessories. Three or more from one set trigger a set effect. Gear is crafted in Gear Assembly from Component items and Stock Bills, and most recipes come from Authority Level rewards. Gold-quality gear can be raised with Artificing, which the wiki describes as increasing base stats "by a fixed and predetermined amount."

Sanity vs Stamina, offline production and newer beginner events

Stamina for stages. If you've seen stage runs described as costing Stamina, the in-game name is Sanity; even GameWith's Authority Level page calls it Stamina. In combat, Stamina is the bar that a Perfect Dodge refills.
Offline production. If you've read that the factory keeps working while you're logged out, that comes from January guides such as games.gg and outputlag. Neither Gryphline's update notes nor the wiki's AIC page says so. The factory guide sets out what is and isn't known.
Newer beginner events. [Beginner's Chartered Tribute] (March) and [Operator Progression Booster] (April) came after the January guides, so those guides don't list them.

Questions no source answers yet

A day-by-day plan. No source ties Authority Level or story progress to a number of days.
Exact daily and weekly reward amounts. The published lists predate the 1.3 daily changes and the March weekly changes.
How long mail and login rewards last before they expire.
Which missions count for [Beginner's Chartered Tribute], and which mission opens the Event Center.
How to reach [Wuling - Snowy Forest] and [Wuling - Suiming].
A Steam release date. Gryphline hadn't announced one as of 28 September 2026.

Sources

Pages accessed 25 to 28 September 2026; the [Sanctuary of Ink] and [Rejuvenation] notices on 17 October 2026.