With Ardashir’s plots at the Stockade foiled, the mysterious villain now sets his sights on Wuling City itself in Arknights Endfield 1.2 ‘At the Wake of Spring’. But between the Xiranite Array and its chief guardian, Viceroy Zhuang Fangyi (Molly Zhang, Daemons of the Shadow Realm), the city has weathered many threats. However, it looks like Ardashir may have found the crack in the city’s armor for him and Nefarith to exploit.
There are some striking choices made with the narrative approach to this update. Several key directions are pursued that will surprise seasoned veterans of live service gacha games. The biggest surprise is the choice to withhold Fangyi, the latest premium character offered in the game, until the bulk of the story has played out.
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This choice surprises when viewed through the lens of the “gacha game mentality,” but makes perfect sense for the story. As the leader of her city, Fangyi cannot chase down individual threats when danger looms on all sides. That Arknights Endfield 1.2 allows her to be held back for when it makes sense for her to appear shows a dedication to strong storytelling, rather than pushing the game’s latest selling point. And it’s not like she doesn’t get her moments later anyway.
Arcane and her role in the story are excellently implemented in Arknights Endfield 1.2.
While Fangyi remains behind, The Endministrator (Chloe Eves, Zenless Zone Zero), Perilica (Jane Jackson, Wuthering Waves), and Chen (Rebecca Hanssen, Stellar Blade) strike out to stop Ardashir’s attempt to disable the Marker Stone, which serves as the heart of the Xiranite Dam, holding back the Æther Rift below Wuling. They are joined by a HAS special operative, Arcane, who is tasked with restoring the Marker’s function and seeing that The Endministrator doesn’t come to harm.
How Arknights Endfield 1.2 sets up Arcane within the group, and the role she ultimately plays in the story, are excellently implemented. The largely stoic soldier’s past with Chen and her determination to see her mission through, whatever the cost, is used to great effect. Her personality chafes against the core group enough to create some interpersonal tension, while not enough to make it feel unreasonable for them all to get along.
Another important thing that Arcane brings with her is confirmation that Endfield doesn’t have the market cornered when it comes to exceptionally powerful operators. Aracne is presented as being on par, if not stronger than, most operators the game has shown us thus far, despite having no connection to Endfield and no interest in joining up. It always strengthens a setting when the hero’s group isn’t the only competent force for good in the story.
Once Ardashir is dealt with, Arknights Endfield 1.2 shifts its attention back to Wuling City.
The journey into the Marker Stone that takes up the front half of Arknights Endfield 1.2 is well-paced, as it builds up tension with the mystery of what Ardashir seeks to accomplish. The heavy air of the unknown is amplified by the often surreal visual elements of the stone’s interior. Magical Ink Spirits and reality-bending moments keep the location visually striking and incredibly memorable.
The confrontation with Ardashir delivers enticing moments as the antagonist continues his attempts to sway The Endministrator from their chosen path. With the added details that are gleaned about Ardashir’s past, more questions arise about who he is and what he ultimately seeks to accomplish.
Once Ardashir is dealt with, Arknights Endfield 1.2 shifts its attention back to Wuling City proper as the bastion is beset by Nefarith and the Blight Tide. As the Xiranite Array buckles under the pressure of the assault, the Endminister and their allies must rush around the city, securing the critical fortification while defeating foes.
Both phases of the battle bring challenging gameplay and epic visuals in Arknights Endfield 1.2.
The way Hypergryph sets up this sequence is spectacular. So as not to undercut the scope of the city and the battle that engulfs it, nor to belabor the journey with tons of needless running, Perlica calls down a series of Zupline installations across the city to allow for swift passage.
While being able to move around quickly would be enough, the bird’s-eye view you get as you zip across the city is never wasted. Fires rage, structures have collapsed, and civilians and combatants alike are seen everywhere. The true scope of the danger and how many will suffer if Wuling falls are delivered with impact in each zipline ride.
Further pushing the importance of the fight are all the familiar faces Arknights Endfield 1.2 pulls out to aid in the city’s defense. Lifeng, Da Pan, Mi Fu, and Tangtang all show up to lend a hand, in often dramatic, though in one case, comical ways. Nothing brings cheer like seeing the squad come together to protect each other.
With the scope of the battle laid out with such force, having a suitably epic final confrontation was a narrative element that couldn’t be fumbled. And it is not. The fight against Nefarith is epic. Both phases of the battle bring challenging gameplay and epic visuals.
The epilogue is the one place where the story in Arknights Endfield 1.2 stumbles a bit.
A small detail that shows just how much thought went into the final fight is Fangyi’s role. She had to be present at the big showdown; however, it was likely that anyone who had pulled the Tiansi would also want to use her in their party. Rather than force a team on the player that includes Fangyi, the game shifts her into a support role that largely keeps her off-screen, but still lets her presence be felt as she can be called on to counter some of the foe’s biggest attacks. A perfect compromise that works whether the player opts to run the new character in the fight or not.
The cinematic following the battle is brilliant and full of flair. The characters’ clash is depicted through stunning visuals that pull all the elements of the battle for Wuling into focus. One cannot help but feel awed by the sheer power characters like Nefaritth, Fangyi, and The Endminstrator wield. Once the battle is done, Arknights Endfield 1.2 spends the rest of its time in an epilogue-style story centered on The Endminisitrator and Fangyi. As the two work together to strengthen Wuling’s security against future threats, Fangyi is shown to be struggling with repeated visions of something grave befalling her.
This epilogue is the one place where the story stumbles a bit. Despite much of it bringing charm and a few moments of genuine feeling, the way Fangyi’s character arc goes feels off. The decision she makes, and the consequences it could entail, feel painfully shortsighted, leaving little in the world to justify it.
Rather, it feels like a manufactured decision to try to emotionally invest the player in the character. Happily, there is little damage done to the character’s larger personality, allowing her to be the same warm and charming dignitary players have known since 1.0.
Arknights Endfield 1.2 delivers a ton of great content.
The story may stumble slightly with Fangyi, but no such complaint can be made about her playable kit. The Electric main DPS brings a ton of power to her teams, whether in her base form or in her transformed, Empryean of Truth state. Perhaps best of all, Fangyi’s two best partners, Perlica and Archlight, are very free-to-play friendly. With the former being the first character given to players in the game, and the latter being a five-star, making her extremely easy to acquire.
The final elements of Arknights Endfield 1.2 that were live at the time of writing are some nice secondary updates. A new free monthly pass grants players more rewards for logging in, and new AIC elements introduce new assembly lines and resources, which work well into the factory gameplay, giving players something to do with the newest AIC location the game gives them.
Arknights Endfield 1.2 delivers a ton of great content. Despite an impactful hiccup with the story’s epilogue, the bulk of the experience shines. Great characters, huge battles, and elegantly realized scope and stakes craft an immersive experience that only further reinforces how important the world of Talos-II is to the story it hosts.
Arknights: Endfield is available now for mobile, PC, and PlayStation 5.
