Arknights Endfield Gacha System Explained: Pity, Rates & Banner Guide 2026

Jumping into Arknights: Endfield and confused about how the gacha works? You’re not alone. This action RPG spinoff introduces a dual-banner system with separate currencies for characters and weapons, plus a pity mechanism that’s both generous and punishing depending on your strategy. Here’s everything you need to know about pull rates, guaranteed drops, and how to maximize your Oroberyl as a free-to-play player.

Arknights ‘s Gacha System Quick Reference

How Character Banners Work: The 50/50 System

Arknights: Endfield uses a classic 50/50 gacha system on limited character banners (Chartered Headhunting). When you hit a 6-star operator, you have a 50% chance of getting the featured character and a 50% chance of pulling a different 6-star from the current rotation pool. Unlike some gacha games, losing the 50/50 doesn’t guarantee your next 6-star will be the featured operator—each 6-star pull is an independent 50/50 roll.

Base Pull Rates: Before pity kicks in, your odds are 0.8% for any 6-star, 8% for 5-star, and the remaining 91.2% for 4-star operators. These rates increase dramatically once you hit soft pity at 65 pulls, where the 6-star rate jumps by 5% per pull. By pull 80, you’re guaranteed some 6-star—but not necessarily the featured one.

The 120-Pull Hard Guarantee: This is your safety net. If you haven’t pulled the featured limited operator by 120 pulls, pull #120 forces them to appear. The critical caveat? This 120-pull counter does NOT carry over between banners. If you spend 100 pulls chasing Laevatain and don’t get her, then switch to the next limited banner, you start from zero. This makes banner hopping extremely punishing for F2P players.

Smart Limited Banner Strategy

The math is brutal but clear: you need roughly 60,000 Oroberyl (120 pulls × 500 per pull) to guarantee a featured limited operator. Realistically, expect to pull two 6-star operators minimum in that span—one at the 80-pull pity, then the guaranteed featured at 120. Plan accordingly and never start pulling on a limited banner unless you can commit to hitting 120 if necessary.

Beginner Banner: New Horizons Headhunting

Every new player gets access to the New Horizons banner, which offers two massive benefits: 20% discount on 10-pulls (4,000 Oroberyl instead of 5,000) and a guaranteed 6-star within 50 pulls. The available 6-stars are Ardelia, Pogranichnik, Last Rite, Ember, and Lifeng—all solid standard operators perfect for starting your account.

This banner uses special permits earned through story milestones rather than Oroberyl, and it disappears permanently once you pull your guaranteed 6-star. For new players, this is your best value in the entire game—take advantage of it immediately. For detailed beginner guides, check out Game8’s complete gacha breakdown.

Standard Banner: Basic Headhunting & The 300-Pull Selector

The Basic Headhunting banner features all standard (non-limited) 6-star operators at equal rates with no rate-ups. You’re still guaranteed a 6-star by 80 pulls, but unlike limited banners, there’s no featured operator and no 120-pull guarantee for specific characters.

The big draw here is the 300-pull milestone reward: after 300 total pulls on Basic Headhunting, you receive a selector that lets you choose any standard 6-star operator for free. This is a marathon goal designed for long-term players, but it ensures you can eventually secure your favorite standard operator regardless of RNG.

F2P Tip: Only pull on Basic Headhunting with free permits earned from events and missions. Never spend premium Oroberyl here—save it exclusively for limited banners where you can guarantee specific operators within 120 pulls.

Weapon Gacha: Arsenal Issue Explained

Here’s where Endfield gets interesting. Weapons use a completely separate currency called Arsenal Tickets, which you earn automatically every time you pull for operators. A 6-star operator pull grants 1,500 Arsenal Tickets, a 5-star gives 500, and a 4-star provides 40. This means pulling for characters passively funds your weapon pulls—a surprisingly F2P-friendly design.

Weapon Pull Costs: One Arsenal Issue (10-pull) costs 1,980 Arsenal Tickets. You cannot perform single pulls—only 10-pulls. Each 10-pull guarantees at least one 5-star or higher weapon, with much better rates than character banners: 4% for 6-star weapons, 15% for 5-star.

Weapon Pity System: You’re guaranteed any 6-star weapon by 40 pulls, and the featured 6-star weapon is guaranteed at 80 pulls. Additionally, milestone rewards kick in at specific pull counts—reaching 100 pulls grants a 6-star weapon selector box, then the system alternates between featured weapon guarantees and selector boxes every 80 pulls thereafter (180 pulls, 260 pulls, etc.).

Should You Pull Arsenal Issues or Buy Directly?

Many weapons can be purchased directly from the shop using Arsenal Tickets, bypassing RNG entirely. A 6-star weapon costs roughly 2,580 tickets (about 8-9 character pulls worth). However, featured limited weapons cannot be bought directly—you must pull Arsenal Issues to obtain them.

The optimal strategy for F2P players: save Arsenal Tickets for featured weapon banners when your main DPS operator’s signature weapon is rate-up, then pull to the 80-guarantee. For standard weapons, check the shop rotation first before gambling. For comprehensive weapon acquisition strategies, visit TechnoSports’ weapon guide.

Understanding Soft Pity: The 65-Pull Threshold

Both character and weapon banners feature soft pity starting at pull 65 (except New Horizons). This mechanic increases your 6-star pull rate by 5% per pull after the threshold. So at pull 66, your 6-star chance jumps from base 0.8% to 5.8%, then to 10.8% at pull 67, continuing upward until you hit the hard guarantee at pull 80.

In practice, most players pull their 6-stars between pulls 65-80 rather than waiting for the absolute hard pity. This makes the “expected cost” for a 6-star somewhat lower than the worst-case 80-pull scenario, but you should always budget for the full 120 pulls when chasing limited operators since the 50/50 can easily fail multiple times.

The Chartered System: Limited Operators Stay Longer

One unique aspect of Endfield’s limited system is the “Chartered” mechanic. When a limited operator debuts on their banner, they remain in the off-banner pool for the next two limited rotations after their release. This means if you lose the 50/50 on the current banner, you have a small chance to accidentally pull the previous limited operators who are still “Chartered.”

For example, if Laevatain is the current rate-up and you lose your 50/50, you might pull an operator from the previous two limited banners instead of going deep into the standard pool. This softens the blow of losing 50/50s compared to games where off-banner means ancient launch operators nobody wants.

Potential System: Duplicate Operators

Pulling duplicate operators increases their Potential level (max P5), which unlocks stat boosts and utility improvements. Each operator’s Potential provides different benefits—some gain deployment cost reduction, others boost talent effectiveness or stats.

For limited operators, the system includes a safety net for whales: after pulling the featured operator once (either naturally or via the 120 guarantee), a second counter begins at 240 pulls. Reaching it grants a special token exchangeable for one duplicate of that operator. In the absolute worst-case scenario, maxing a limited operator’s Potential through pure safety nets requires approximately 1,200 pulls—clearly whale territory.

F2P Reality Check: Don’t chase Potentials. Getting one copy of multiple limited operators far exceeds the value of maxing a single operator’s Potential as a free-to-play player. Potentials are nice bonuses when they happen naturally, not goals to actively pursue.

Certificates & Exchange Systems

Duplicate pulls generate Certificates that can be exchanged in the shop. Gold Certificates come from duplicate 5-star and 6-star operators, while Green Certificates come from 4-stars. These can purchase additional Headhunting Permits, upgrade materials, or other resources.

Similarly, duplicate weapons generate AIC Permits exchangeable for weapon-related materials. This dupe-to-resource conversion system ensures nothing is completely wasted, though the exchange rates aren’t generous enough to make actively pulling for dupes worthwhile.

Currency Breakdown: What to Spend Where

Oroberyl (Red Crystals): Your main premium currency. Costs 500 per single pull or 5,000 per 10-pull on character banners. Save this exclusively for limited character banners where you can reach the 120 guarantee.

Origeometry: Another premium currency primarily used for Battle Pass purchases and certain shop items. Can be converted to Oroberyl if needed, though the rates may not be favorable.

Headhunting Permits: Free tickets for character banners, earned from events, missions, and certificate exchanges. Use these liberally—they don’t expire and reduce your Oroberyl spending.

Arsenal Tickets: Weapon currency earned passively from character pulls. Since you can’t spend Oroberyl directly on weapon banners, managing this separate economy becomes crucial for optimizing your weapon roster.

F2P Pull Income: How Much Can You Save?

Based on Version 1.0 launch rewards and ongoing content, active F2P players can expect to accumulate roughly 80-100 pulls per patch cycle (approximately 6-8 weeks) through daily missions, events, exploration rewards, and story compensation. This puts the 120-pull limited guarantee within reach if you save diligently for 1-2 banner cycles.

New players benefit from massive one-time rewards: story missions, achievement milestones, and exploration completion can net several thousand Oroberyl in the first few weeks. Use this initial windfall to establish a core roster of 6-star operators, then transition to selective limited banner pulling.

For the latest pull income calculations and banner schedules, bookmark Icy Veins’ gacha guide and TechnoSports’ Endfield hub.

The Verdict: Friendly for Savers, Brutal for Collectors

Arknights: Endfield’s gacha system is exceptionally friendly if you save hard and commit fully to specific banners, but absolutely brutal if you spread resources thin. The 120-pull guarantee is achievable for F2P players who plan 1-2 patches ahead, and the separate weapon currency means you’re not constantly choosing between characters and their best gear.

However, the non-carrying 120 pity and independent 50/50 rolls on each 6-star make impulse pulling extremely punishing. If you’re a collector who wants every limited operator, prepare to either open your wallet or experience severe FOMO as banners rotate past.

Bottom Line: Pick 1-2 favorite operators per year, save everything for their banners, commit to the full 120 pulls if necessary, and enjoy a relatively generous gacha experience. Try to pull casually on every banner? Prepare for disappointment.

FAQs