After my time in the first closed beta test all the way back in January, I was keeping my eye out for any news on when a second beta test for Arknights: Endfield would go live. I had my fair share of nitpicks, such as the controller support and the UI for the stamina bar, but I still enjoyed my time with the game ultimately.
Today, we got an announcement that sign-ups are live for the second Closed Beta test. Based on the live stream, it seems that the second beta test is built from the ground up with more implications of how the story will be handled, as well as a brand new region.
This new region is Wuling, and it is the region you can explore in the second beta test. Also added to this new beta test is photo mode. Thank goodness! Trying to get a picture felt like a hassle in the first one. I know not everyone cares about photo modes, but when you want to capture animations or backgrounds as a creator, it is a godsend. The base building mode makes a return and is even able to have other players build upon each other’s bases.
Gacha
There was a lot more in the live stream, but the next thing I want to cover is what we learned from the gacha system. As I noted in the preview, the gacha system is the headhunting banners. You can use permits to attempt to get 4-star, 5-star, or 6-star characters. There is a pity system that they acknowledged with the 80th headhunt being a guaranteed 6-star character, and the 120th headhunt being a guaranteed featured unit in the Chartered headhunt. Even when the featured unit is gone, they will show up in the next two banners afterward. This is great if you are looking to grab a specific unit. When the second banner after the featured operator is done, they will leave the character pool, but not permanently. There is no guarantee when, but it is good to know that characters aren’t going to be gone from the pool forever.
They mention that the second beta test should have better controller support so here is hoping I won’t have to be stuck using the keyboard and mouse controls.
Arknights: Endfield is in active development for PlayStation 5, PC, and Mobile devices. Fans can sign up for the second beta test on the official GRYPHLINE website.
Source: Press Release
