Major Story Events (Limited-Time)

These are the flagship events of Arknights, introducing new story chapters, operators, and often unique gameplay mechanics. They are the primary source of new 6-star and 5-star operators through limited banners and provide the most substantial material farming opportunities.

• Structure: Major events usually consist of several stages released in phases:
  • Story Stages (S-X): These stages are fundamental. Progress through them to unlock subsequent stages, delve into the event narrative, and earn initial clear rewards. Each first clear typically grants Originium.
  • Farming Stages (F-X): These are the workhorses of any event. Designed for efficient farming of event-specific currencies and essential materials, they are where you'll spend the majority of your Sanity. Look for stages dropping high-demand items like Grindstone, Integrated Device, Oriron Cluster, Keton Colloid, or Sugar Pack. The specific materials vary per event, so always check the drop tables.
  • Challenge Stages (CM-X): Unlocked after clearing their corresponding normal stages, these offer increased difficulty with specific handicaps (e.g., "Attack Speed -50% for all ranged units," "Only 3 deployment slots available"). Clearing them grants additional Originium and sometimes unique medals for your profile.
  • EX Stages (EX-X): These are the pinnacle of event difficulty, often featuring unique mechanics, powerful boss enemies, and stringent deployment limits. They are released in the second week of the event. Clearing them provides high-value first-clear rewards, including rare promotion materials (e.g., D32 Steel, Polymerization Preparation) and sometimes event-exclusive furniture pieces.
• Event Shop: All major events feature an event shop where you can exchange event currency (e.g., Event Tokens, Commemorative Coins, Information Fragments) for valuable items. This is your primary goal for farming.
  • Must-Buy Items:
    • Event-Exclusive 5-star Operator: If available, always prioritize acquiring the event-exclusive 5-star operator and all their Potentials. These operators are often powerful and can only be obtained during the event.
    • Data Packs: These are crucial for skill upgrades. Each event typically offers a limited number of Data Packs for specific skill levels (e.g., T3 Data Packs for M3).
    • Headhunting Permits/Tickets: These allow you to pull on banners without using Originium or Orundum. Always a high priority.
  • High-Priority Materials: After securing the must-buy items, focus on rare promotion materials that are typically bottlenecks for E2 promotions and skill masteries. These include:
    • D32 Steel
    • Keton Colloid
    • Polymerization Preparation
    • Tungsten Carbide
    • Grindstone Pentahydrate
    • Optimized Device
    These materials have notoriously low drop rates in regular stages, making the event shop an invaluable source.
  • Secondary Materials: Once the top-tier materials are secured, consider farming for LMD, Battle Records, and less rare but still useful materials like Sugar Pack, Device, Oriron, or Manganese Ore if your inventory is low. Always check the efficiency of farming these in the event shop versus regular stages.
• Strategy:
  1. Clear all Story Stages first: This is your initial objective. It unlocks all farming stages and provides a steady stream of Originium for Sanity refreshes if needed. Don't worry about perfect clears; just get through them.
  2. Identify optimal farming stage: Once farming stages are open, check community guides (e.g., Arknights Toolbox, Aceship) or the in-game drop rate display to find the most efficient stage for the materials you need most. Focus your Sanity here. Often, the highest-numbered farming stage (e.g., F-8) offers the best currency-to-sanity ratio and good material drops.
  3. use Bonus Operators: Many events feature specific operators who grant bonus event currency when included in your squad. These are often new operators from the accompanying banner, but sometimes older operators also receive a bonus.
     • How it works: Each bonus operator in your squad increases the amount of event currency you earn per clear. The bonus stacks multiplicatively or additively depending on the event, but the general principle is "more bonus operators = more currency."
     • Finding them: The event description or the event shop interface will clearly list which operators provide a bonus. New 6-star and 5-star operators from the concurrent limited banner almost always provide a bonus.
     • Maximizing efficiency:
       1. Include them in your main farming squad: If they are strong enough, deploy them as active combat units.
       2. Deploy them as "trophies": If a bonus operator is under-leveled or not suitable for the stage, you can still include them in your squad and deploy them in a safe, non-combat tile (e.g., a backline tile with no enemies, or a tile that is never attacked) just for their bonus.
       3. Borrow from friends: You can borrow a support unit from a friend that is a bonus operator. This counts towards your bonus! This is especially useful if you don't own the new banner operators.
       4. Squad Composition: Aim to fill as many squad slots as possible with bonus operators without compromising your ability to clear the stage efficiently. Even a small bonus adds up over hundreds of Sanity spent.
  4. Don't overfarm: While event shops are incredibly efficient for certain materials, be mindful of your Sanity. Only farm what you truly need, especially if the drop rates for a specific material aren't significantly better than regular stages or if you already have a healthy stock. Prioritize the unique event operator and their potentials, then the rarest promotion materials.
  5. Sanity Management: Use Sanity Potions strategically. It's generally recommended to save them for major events where the material efficiency is highest. Consider using Originium for Sanity refreshes only if you are close to clearing out the most valuable items from the shop and have extra Originium to spare (or are a whale).