Gryphline held a special broadcast today (the 11th) ahead of the Arknights: Endfield 1.2 update, 'Dawn of Spring.' Producer Hai Mao and Combat Designer Lua appeared on the stream to introduce the new version and upcoming improvements.

Zhangfang Joins the Roster: Version 1.2 'Dawn of Spring' Deepens the Wuling Story

In version 1.2, Adasir and Nefaris, who have been indirectly threatening Wuling City, take center stage. The main story follows the Administrator and their team as they confront Adasir, who infiltrates the Sudon area to manage the Great Rift, while Nefaris leads subordinates to incite erosion and assault Wuling City.

Zhangfang, the head of Wuling City previously seen only in cutscenes and as an NPC, joins the roster as a playable character. As a 6-star Electric Striker, Zhangfang possesses high attack power and skills that deal continuous Electric damage. The chain skill 'Breath of Change' triggers when the Main Control Operator attacks an enemy afflicted with Electric status using a powerful strike or execution, creating a formation that deals Electric damage. If the enemy is already in an Electric state, it converts to 'Shocked,' increasing the damage taken.

The battle skill 'Call of Thunder' consumes the enemy's Shock status to increase damage ratios and generates up to three 'Azure Thunder Swords.' These swords then home in on the target, dealing Electric damage via lightning strikes, followed by a large burst of additional Electric damage. Up to nine swords can be summoned on the field at once, and they disappear after a set duration.

Using the ultimate skill 'Storm of Judgment' allows Zhangfang to enter the 'Heavenly Realm' state, enhancing all skills. Specifically, battle skills gain the ability to apply Electric status, and the first use of a battle skill will unconditionally generate three Azure Thunder Swords without consuming skill gauge or Shock status. The chain skill's area of effect is modified, and cooldown recovery speed increases fourfold. Zhangfang will be available via pickup from the update on April 17 until May 22.

From May 14 until the end of the version, a special headhunting event, 'Festival of Radiant Light,' will run independently of standard rules. This event does not affect other headhunting pools and features Levatein, Adelia, Gilberta, and Fogranich as pickup characters. During this period, Levatein's weapon 'Dragon Pearl Flame' and Gilberta's weapon 'Path of Mission' will be added to the Armory Requests.

New Acid Sediment-related Industry, Decorations, and Quality-of-Life Improvements

The Administrator and the Angel disciples enter an erosion-covered experimental zone to purify the area using technologies like spray drones, working to restore the Archangel protecting the city. In line with this, more advanced cultivation technology and industrial nodes will be unlocked.

First, a new base, the 'Heart Restoration Room,' will be added to the Sudon area. To utilize the Acid Sediment found there, the 'Acid-Resistant Pump 3' and a new 'Refiner' facility will be introduced. By dissolving Red Copper in Acid Sediment and processing it through the Refiner, players can create 'Revolution Copper,' a high-tier material used to craft Revolution equipment parts. These parts are required for the new Bone Crusher, Pioneer, Swordsman, Azure Wave, and Cultivation Flow equipment sets.

With the introduction of Acid Sediment, a new 'Expansion Reactor' allows for more complex reaction formulas to be processed at once, streamlining production lines. As the version 1.2 story progresses, players will be able to produce 'Heavy Cultivation'—which has higher durability than standard cultivation—at the Heavenly Furnace. By combining this with Acid Sediment in a reactor, it can be converted into 'Liquefied Heavy Cultivation,' which removes erosion faster and aids in exploration. Additionally, a 'Purification Node' will be added to process and remove contaminated water.

Further quality-of-life facilities have been added. These include 'Multi-Pipe Entrances,' which allow for the mass transport of liquid resources after a one-time connection, and an increase in the maximum number of Heavenly Furnaces to 8 (with plans to increase to 12 later). New combat equipment will also be unlocked to help clear various challenges more easily.

Three new decorative items for the field have been added: Pear Blossom Landscaping, Dragon Bubble Pillar, and Balloon Professor. Pear Blossom Landscaping can be obtained through main missions, while the other two can be purchased via Material Management. More decorations will be added in future updates. Additionally, the levels of some Storage Nodes, Material Management Terminals, and Environmental Observation Terminals have been increased, expanding management authority.

Ultimate Skill Timers, Facility 'One-Click' Management, and Other QoL Improvements

New series are added to 'Shadow Milestone' and 'In Search of Eroded Legacies.' Shadow Milestone will feature 'Turbid Current Realization' and the event 'Traces of Memory: Filthy Flow,' while 'In Search of Eroded Legacies' will open Water Wheel Zones 5 & 6.

The 'Integrated Support: Savior in My Hands' event will also begin, offering limited-time production formulas. By crafting requested items and submitting them to the Wuling base, players can earn Wuling Management Rights and Support Achievement Points to exchange for various materials. Additionally, the 'Wuling Special Chef' material supply event starts on May 14, where players can submit specific dishes made through farming, gathering, or crafting to earn rewards like Oroberyl.

Regarding the 'Our Dreams Carved in Space' project, an attendance event starting April 24 and a commemorative photo event will award space-themed Pelika tokens. The process of launching applicants' IDs into space is currently in preparation, with details to follow. During the photo event, the central screen of the Steelworks and certain objects will feature space-themed designs. The Morning Star Waiting Platform will also temporarily dock in space, offering clearer views. Participation rewards include a model of the platform, profile frames, and Oroberyl.

Attendance events will run for both halves of the version 1.2 update. Players can also earn rewards by entering the Sudon and experimental zones to clear protocol points and open treasure chests. Furthermore, if an operator is leveled up to a certain threshold, character growth materials will be refunded—even if the operator was already leveled past that point.

Optimization of the Steelworks' central control hub now allows for the management of all facilities, such as cultivation and manufacturing rooms, without needing to visit each area individually. The Recycling Center now features remote resource collection. Other improvements include direct links to equipment crafting from the operator page and direct access to high-tier growth selection boxes when upgrading skills. Transport request filtering and key customization for controllers have also been added.

In combat, a graph showing the remaining duration of persistent ultimate skills has been added, and a combat timer now appears in the top-left corner during boss challenges. We plan to add more 'Sanity Consumption Permits' to regional material management to improve farming efficiency. Protocol Passes will also provide additional Sanity Consumption Permits in the Originium distribution and protocol customization cycles.

Map markers will now include tags for pipe-related information, and connections will be maintained when moving between pipe entrances within the Integrated Core Zone, making layout construction easier. Blueprint sharing has been updated to include the blueprint name in the text.

Contingency Contract in Endfield? Future Update Teasers

Finally, a roadmap for future versions was revealed. First, 4 Sanity Consumption Permits will be added to the daily rewards for the monthly subscription. Users who purchased the subscription before the update will receive additional permits based on their previous claim history, plus a bonus of 120 permits. A special gift event celebrating the subscription renewal will also offer 200 Oroberyl, 1 Emergency Sanity Booster, and 4 Sanity Consumption Permits daily, which can be claimed alongside the renewed subscription rewards.

Improvements to equipment growth were also mentioned. 'Batch Precision Forging' will be added to reduce the effort required for forging multiple items at once. Temperament combination is also being optimized; when a perfect temperament is rolled for a target weapon, it will be automatically locked and tagged as 'Perfect Combination,' making it easier to check for 'end-game' sets. Mission lists will now include recommendation tags to help players quickly navigate to the latest version events. Regional construction will also feature a 'Summary of Important Tasks' tab to reduce the need to run around the field.

'Reserve Power' will be added to Integrated Industry, providing temporary power when a region's supply is depleted to facilitate facility recovery. In the Wuling region, the cultivation power supply and relay within the Integrated Core Zone can be connected to external sources to save on power facilities.

In addition, 'Contingency Contract,' the high-difficulty challenge content from the original 'Arknights,' will also appear in Endfield. Similar to the previous game, it is being prepared as content where players must select various constraints and then use skill and operator combinations to overcome them. There will also be a 2-operator team battle event that provides special buffs when only two operators are deployed. Following this, illustrations for three new operators, including 'Miv,' were also revealed.

News regarding media franchises and collaborations followed. The comic 'When Flowers Bloom,' covering the early stories of Zhangfang and Wuling, is currently under production review. The comic 'Fighting! Endfield,' which covers the cheerful daily life at the Steelworks, will continue its serialization. The GS25 collaboration teased in the last broadcast will run from April 16 to June 15.

Arknights: Endfield version 1.2 'Dawn of Spring' will be updated on April 17, with patch notes to be released via the official lounge later.