Arknights: Endfield is finally out after 2 Closed Beta Testing phases. Now, most players are evaluating whether the game is a “money sinkhole” like Genshin Impact or if it's just as generous as the original Arknights.
Pity System
The Pity System in any gacha game keeps players in the game and also drains their wallets. It is the single most important mechanic in any gacha game, other than gameplay. Hence, it's important to understand how it works and how it compares to other gacha games.
|
Gacha System |
Arknights: Endfield |
Arknights |
Genshin Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Max Star Rate |
0.8% |
2% |
0.6% |
|
Soft Pity |
50/50 at 80 Pulls for Operator Banner *Does carry over |
+2% Chance after 50 Pulls |
More than 50/50 after 74 Pulls |
|
Hard Pity |
120 Pulls *Does NOT carry over |
Guaranteed at 99th pull (Standard Banner) 300 Pull (Limited Banner) |
90 pulls |
Understanding the carryover in Endfield
The carryover mechanic in Endfield is made to sound complicated, but it's extremely simple to understand. Endfield uses two counters for the pit system: a soft counter and a hard counter. Both count simultaneously and reset simultaneously, but only the soft has a real carryover.
Below are a couple of examples.
In this scenario, you didn't pull a 6 Star, but you pulled 79 times. The next banner, you will have a guaranteed 50/50 on your next pull. BUT you can fail the 50/50 multiple times.
|
Banner A |
Banner B | |
|---|---|---|
|
Total Pulls |
79 |
1 |
|
Soft Pity |
79/80 |
80/80 |
|
Hard Pity |
79/120 |
1/120 |
In this scenario, you did pull a 6 Star on the 81st pull for Banner A and pulled once for Banner B.
|
Banner A |
Banner B | |
|---|---|---|
|
Total Pulls |
81 |
1 |
|
Soft Pity |
0/80 |
1/80 |
|
Hard Pity |
0/80 |
1/120 |
Reset Mechanics
Soft Pity: Resets every 6 Star operator; the featured operator has increased chances during the 50/50.
Hard Pity: Resets every new banner AND when you get the featured operator.
|
Pulling Strategy |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Feature |
Soft Pity (80) |
Hard Pity (120) |
|
Reset |
Every 6 Star |
Featured Operator |
|
Strategy |
Building Pity (Risky) |
Hoarding (Safer) |
|
Carry over |
Yes |
No |
Is it F2P-friendly?
To accurately judge the viability of F2P friendliness, it's important to know how much premium currency a player can earn per day vs the cost of pulls. Furthermore, Endfield will be compared to the original Arknights, which was widely considered to be F2P-friendly.
|
Arknights: Endfield |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Source |
Strictly F2P |
Light Spender |
|
Dailies |
200/day |
200/day |
|
Weekly |
500/week |
500/week |
|
Battle Pass T1 |
~600/patch |
~600/patch |
|
Monthly Card ($5) |
0 |
200/day + 900 Bonus |
|
Total Oroberyl (30 Days) |
~8,600 Oroberyl (~17 Pulls) |
~15,500 Oroberyl (~31 Pulls) |
|
Arknights |
||
|
Source |
Strictly F2P |
Light Spender |
|
Dailies |
100/day |
100/day |
|
Weekly |
2600-3000/week |
2600-3000/week |
|
Certificate Store |
600/reset |
600/reset |
|
Monthly Card ($5) |
0 |
200/day |
|
Total Orundum (30 Days) |
~12,600 Orundum (~21 Pulls) |
~18,600 Orundum (~31 Pulls) |
Verdict
Based on the data present and comparisons to industry standards. Arknights: Endfield is NOT STRICTLY F2P friendly. The separate pull counter puts pressure on players to spend money for that extra bit of Oroberyl to get the guaranteed Rate Up operator. Compared to its predecessor, the cost of getting the featured operator is significantly costlier for how much Oroberyl you can earn per day. The original Arknights needs less currency for pulls while having a much more forgiving pity system, and players can earn more currency per day.
However, it isn't a money sinkhole. Assuming a player spends $5-10 a month on Endfield, it becomes significantly easier to achieve the guaranteed 6 Star than in other gacha games.
