Arknights: Currency and Shop Guide

Lat Update: 5/11/22 - updates to [Headhunting Data Contract] and [Headhunting Parametric Models] section

Hello Doctor shoppers!  In this guide we will discuss the major shops and currencies  in Arknights, where to get them, and tips on the best deals! So get those Arts coupons handy, your Originium shopping carts ready, and let’s shop! (If you prefer video guides over written ones, see our video companion at the end!)

Originium is the games rarest resource, being awarded only for first-time 3-Star stage clears and through real-world money transactions.  Since it might be a bit confusing to new players, Originium and Originite Prime are the same thing and the game uses them interchangeably.  “The yellow one”, as it is often referred to, can be used to purchase the following items:

• Operator Outfits

• Certain Packs

• One Origiumium can be exchanged for your current maximum amount of Sanity(stamina)

• One Originum can be traded for 180 Orundum.

Tips

• Most players that don’t want to spend much money will save their Originium for Operator Outfits.

• If you don’t care about your Operators being teased by the enemy because they don’t have the newest outfits, then the player can feel free to spend their Originium on Sanity or pulls.

• If you aren’t sure what to do with your Originium, save it until you are sure.

• For people willing to spend, priority usage is typically Outfits > Stamina > Pulls.

Orundum (the red one) is used to pull the gacha.  Each pull costs 600 Orundum (3.3 Originium), and 10 pulls costs 6000 (33.3 Originium).  Orundum is obtained from the following:

• Daily mission reward

• Weekly mission reward

• Annihilation Mode

•  Produced through the Factory

• Exchanged from Originium (1 Originium for 180 Orundum)

Tips:

• Through Daily Missions (100), Weekly Missions (500) and weekly Annihilation Mode (1200 - 1800), players can obtain 6,000 Free Orundum every 14 days.

• Plan ahead and save for Operators you like or that can help your team.  Check out our Banner List to see what was available and when for the CN server.

Commendation Certificates (CC) are earned through Side Missions, Weekly Mission, log-in Rewards, and Headhunting or Recruiting Operators.  1 CC is earned when a 1 or 2 Star duplicate is pulled and 5 CCs are earned for a duplicate 3 Star. Once an Operator has reached their maximum potential, their Tokens (gained when pulling a duplicate) can be traded in for additional Certificates (using the button in the lower left hand corner of the image above).  The player gains 1 CC for trading in the Token of a 1 or 2 Star Operator, and 5 for trading the Token of a 3 Star Operator. 30 CCs are earned when pulling a duplicate 4 Star Operator. The in-game image showing certification awards can be found here.

There are 3 stages of items for purchase.  All items in a stage must be purchased in order to continue to the next stage.  Every 30 days the items are replenished, and the player returns to stage 1. First Stage items can be seen in the image above, and the stage requires 1490 CCs to clear.

Second Stage Items can be seen in the following images:

NOTE: Coagulating Gel and Integrated Device initial monthly stock is 10

7700 Commendations are required to clear Stage 2.  In Stage 3 players can only purchase LMD and Orundum:

Tips

• The 3* and 4* Recruitment Exchange Permits can be used to select a specific currently recruitable 3 or 4 Star Operator.  They should typically only be used to fill an immediately necessary gap in a Roster, and should typically not be used to increase Potential unless it is the players strong personal preference.

• Recruitment is a good source of Commendation Certificates. Use our Operator Recruitment Guide for the best chance of Recruiting high rarity Operators.
• Relative purchase efficiency for Tier 2 materials can be seen here, courtesy of Moe:

Notes:

• Green > Orange > White > Red
• It is generally agreed that Headhunting Permits and materials cannot be directly compared.  The player needs to make their own determination on how they value HH permits compared to developing their current Operators.

Distinction Certificates (DC) are earned through login rewards and Headhunting or Recruiting Operators.  1 DC is earned the first time the player pulls any unit.  The first 5 times a player acquires a duplicate 5 Star they are awarded 5DCs.  For all duplicates thereafter of that Operator, the player receives 8 DCs. For 6 Star Operators, the first 5 duplicates provide 10 DCs, and additional duplicates award 15 DCs.  Trading in Operator Tokens for 4 Star, 5 Star, and 6 Star Operators rewards 1, 5, and 10 DCs, respectively.  The in-game image showing certification awards can be found here.

Notable items that can be purchased with DCs include:

• 1 6-Star Operator (rotates with every Standard Pool Banner)

• 1 5-Star Operator (rotates with every Standard Pool Banner)

• Up to 38 Headhunting Tickets (refreshes monthly)

• Relative purchase efficiency for materials can be seen here, courtesy of Moe:

Tips

• The most common use for DCs is exchanging them for rare Operators.  Which Operators to purchase is up to the preferences and needs of each individual player.

• Plan ahead and save the Operators you want.  You can see which 5 and 6 Star Operators are likely to be coming based on the banners for the CN version, which can be seen in our Banner List. The 5 Star Operator that will be purchasable with DCs is the one in the middle of the group of 5 Star Operators.  The 6 Star Operator that will be in the shop is the one slightly further back than the other (or smaller text).

• If in doubt of how to spend your DCs, save them, as they are very hard to gain after the first few weeks of playing.

• Headhunting Permits can be purchased up to 5 times each month. Each purchase unlocks the next set, with each set being a better deal in terms of DC cost per Permit. Players should only buy the Permits if they can purchase all sets in the given month, at a total cost of 258 DCs for 38 Headhunting Permits.

• Recruitment is a good source of Distinction Certificates. Use our Operator Recruitment Guide for the best chance of Recruiting high rarity Operators.

Shop Vouchers (SV) are earned through login rewards, Pinboard Missions, Daily Missions, Weekly Missions, and the Tough Siege Supplies stage.  Shop contents do not expire or rotate often or on a set schedule.  CN has had only 1 rotation since launch.  Shop rotation will likely be announced officially before it occurs.

Notable items that can be purchased with SVs include:

• 5 Star Operator Breeze.

• 4 Star Operator Ethan.

• Chip Catalyst: Used to make Dualchips for Elite 2 Promotion.

Tips

• It is not necessary to farm Shop Vouchers if there is not something specific in the shop you are trying to quickly acquire. SVs  are rewarded regularly for free through login, daily mission, and weekly mission rewards. 

With the coming of W on December 30th, 2020, two new stores were added for the newly introduced "Spark System".

Headhunting Data Contract Store

• Each pull on the limited banner will earn 1 [Headhunting Data Contract].

• During the banner duration+ 3 days, 300 [Headhunting Data Contract] can be traded for 1 copy of a rate-up 6 star, and 75 can be traded for a rate-up 5 star.
• After that, [Headhunting Data Contract] will be converted into [Headhunting Parametric Model] at the rate of 1:6.[Headhunting Parametric Model] do not expire.

[Headhunting Parametric Models] Store

• [Headhunting Parametric Models] may be given to players as rewards, but are typically earned through conversion of [Headhunting Data Contract] .
• When a limited banner ends, [Headhunting Data Contract] will be converted into [Headhunting Parametric Model] at the rate of 1:6.
• [Headhunting Parametric Model] do not expire.

Content and efficiencies (Source). If you find the images below a bit confusing, a TL;DR would be: in the "sanity/cert (buy)" column, the higher the number the better.

Intelligence Certificates are earned during Retrospection (Rerun) events by returning players instead of limited rewards that can only be earned once (like Furniture, Skins, and Operators).  The shop contents are permanent, with more being added for each rerun event.

Here is an example from the Milestone rewards from the [Heart of Surging Flame Retrospection]

The exact contents that are added for each rerun event can be found on the following page:

Friend Credits (FC) are gained in the following ways:

• Support Units: using a friend Support (gives 30 Credits per day), or a friend using your Support (gives 20 Credits per day)

• Dorm Ambiance: FC is given each day based on the sum of the Ambiance of all of the Dormitories, with a maximum of 50 Credits per Dorm. 

•  Reception Room: 

  • Every new clue found grants 20 Credits, no limit.

  • Receiving clues from friends grants 15 Credit for first, 10 for second, 5 for third.  30 Credit Max per day.

  • Delivering Clues to friends grants 20 Credits.  No limit.

  • Visiting a friend having a Clue Exchange grants 30 Credits (Max 10 times per day).  Clue Exchange grants 210 Credits after it is over.

  • Recycling a Clue grants 5 Credits.  No limit.

The FC Store often has discounts on items for purchase, and store content refreshes daily.

Notable items that can be purchased with FCs include:

• 4 Star Vanguard Operator Courier. (Unlocks as you spend more FC)

• 4 Star Medic Operator Gavial.  (Unlocks as you spend more FC)

• 4 Star Defender Operator Dur-nar.  (Unlocks as you spend more FC)

Tips

•  Friend Credits have a daily storage limit of 300. Any excess Credit expires the next day, so be sure to use it!

• Relative Friend Credit efficiency of items can be seen here, courtesy of Moe

Furniture Parts (FP) can be produced in the Workshop or gained from recycling Furniture.  They are also obtained through Login rewards, Daily Missions, Weekly Missions, Side Missions, and from the Supplies mission Resource Search.  This one can be a little confusing, since the currency icon in the shop shows this:

But the icon image on the other pages show this:

Rest assured, these are the same things. Some pieces of furniture can only be purchased with Furniture Parts, while others can be purchased with either Furniture Parts or Originium.

Notable items that can be purchased with Furniture Parts include:

• Furniture! Furniture is placed in your Dormitory to make it a comfy place for your Operators to live, and to increase the Ambiance, which has various benefits.  See our RIIC Base Guide for more information.

Tips

• Players should save Furniture Parts to purchase limited event Furniture.

• It is not necessary to purchase Furniture with Originite Prime.  Originium should not be spent on Furniture unless it is for player preference.

• Be aware of the maximum possible Ambiance for your Dormitories when purchasing Furniture to ensure efficiency.

Check out the following page for all current and future Furniture Themes

Possibly the most important Store for the Waifu/Husbando lovers out there, this is the shop where you pick out the skins to get your Operators looking and feeling their best.  Skins typically require Originite Prime for purchase. 

Tips

• This tip was said earlier, but it bears repeating here: Players who do not want to freely spend should save their Originium for skins.

For a List and Art of all current and future Outfits, see the following pages:

Pretty self-explanatory, this is the shop where players can purchase Originium (Originite Prime).  

Prices per pull for gacha

As we remember from earlier, 1 Originium can be traded for 180 Orundum. Thus, 1 pull = 600 Orundum = 3.33 Originium.  10 pulls = 6000 Orundum = 33.3 Orginium

Thus, for the different packs available:

• $.99 = 1 Originum = 180 Orundum = .3 = $3.30 per pull.
• $4.99 = 7 Originium (6 + 1 Bonus) = 1260 Orundum = 2.1 pulls = $2.38 per pull
• $14.99 = 24 Orginium (20 + 4 Bonus)  = 4320 Orundum = 7.2 pulls = $2.08 per pull
• $29.99 = 50 Originium (40 + 10 Bonus) = 9,000 Orundum = 15 pulls = $1.99 per pull
• $49.99 = 90 Originium (66 + 24 Bonus) = 16,200 Orundum = 27 pulls = $1.85 per pull.
• $99.99 = 185 Originium (130 + 55 Bonus) = 33,300 Orundum = 55.5 pulls = $1.80 per pull.

Price per Sanity (Stamina) Recharge

1 Originite Prime can be spent to gain Sanity equal to your current maximum Sanity. 

Thus, for the different packs available:

• $.99 = 1 Originum = 1 refresh = $.99 per refresh
• $4.99 = 7 Originium (6 + 1 Bonus) = 7 refreshes = $.71 per refresh
• $14.99 = 24 Orginium (20 + 4 Bonus)  = 24 refreshes = $.62 per refresh
• $29.99 = 50 Originium (40 + 10 Bonus) = 50 refreshes = $.60 per refresh
• $49.99 = 90 Originium (66 + 24 Bonus) = 90 refreshes = $.56 per refresh
• $99.99 = 185 Originium (130 + 55 Bonus)  = 185 refreshes = $.54 per refresh

Tips

• The first time only buying each pack gives double the Originium.  It is by far the best deal, depending on how much you are going to spend over the time you play, to buy each pack once.

• The cheapest package to get at least 1 full pull is $4.99, the cheapest to get at least one full 10 pull is $29.99

• Orundum cost efficiency comparison (pack details are in the section below)

In the Packs Store the player will find a few different packs available for purchase with varying currencies.  The offerings include:

• Monthly Card: Price: $4.99 for 30 days. Awards the following:

  • 6 Originite Prime on purchase

  • 200 Orundum each day for 30 days

  • 1 Emergency Sanity Potion each day for 30 days (60 Sanity)

The Monthly Card can be purchased multiple times, extending the number of days remaining on the card, up to a maximum of 90 days (the rewards themselves do not stack).  The 6 OP are awarded on every purchase

• Starter Pack: Price: $.99.  One-time only purchase, does not expire.  Includes the following:

  • 4 Star Operator Gummy

  • Headhunting tickets

  • LMD

  • Battle Records

• Starter Headhunting Pack: Price: $19.99.  One-time only purchase, does not expire.  Includes the following:

  • 2 10-roll Headhunting tickets

• Starter Upgrade Pack: Price: $9.99.  One-time only purchase, does not expire.  Includes the following:

  • 13 Originite Prime

  • 40000 LMD

  • Multiple Battle records

  • Operator Skill and Enhancement Materials

• Starter Furniture Pack: Price $9.99. One-time only purchase, does not expire.  Includes the following:

  • 6 Originite Prime

  • 2400 Furniture Parts.

• Monthly Headhunting Pack: Price: $25.99.  Can be purchased once each month.  Includes the following:

  • 42 Originite Prime

  • 1 Ten-roll Headhunting ticket

• Weekly Growth Pack: Price: $9.99.  Can be purchased once each week.  Includes the following:

  • 80000 LMD

  • Multiple Battle Records

  • Multiple Skill Summaries

  • 10 Carbon Sticks (for Base building)

  • 360 Furniture Parts

• Pro Enhancement Pack: Can be purchased every 5 player levels, up to level 40, then every 10 player levels after that.  Requires Originite Prime for purchase, with the cost increasing with every pack.  Packs include:

  • Orundum

  • LMD

  • Battle Records

  • Furniture Parts

  

• Enhancement Packs: Are available every 5 player levels, up to 70, and are FREE!  Packs include:

  • LMD

  • Battle Records

  • Skill Summaries

  

Recommendations

What we consider the good value picks:

• Enhancement packs are FREE.  Don’t forget to pick them up.

• Monthly Card. for $5 a month, only 17 cents a day, less than a cup of coffee, you can help a starving child yourself to 6 Originium, 1 10 pull, and 1800 Sanity every month. The cheapest price for buying a 10 pull directly would be $18, so the monthly card is at least 72% off the price of a 10 pull with free Sanity and OP included.  

• Starter Pack:  $.99 for one of the cutest tanks.  And you get other stuff too. Nuff said.

• Monthly Headhunting Pack: Gives an equivalent of 22.6 pulls, at $1.15 per pull. Compared to the best value Originite Prime package, that is a savings of at least $.65 per pull, so an overall savings of $14.69.

• Starter Headhunting Pack: This pack gives 20 pulls at $.99 per pull. Compared to the best value Originite Prime package, that is a savings of at least $.81 per pull, so an overall savings of $16.20. The down-side compared to the monthly pack is that it is not in OP form, so cannot be used to purchase skins or stamina.

These we consider average value picks:

• Starter Upgrade Pack: The 13 Originate Prime you get would cost $7.02 if you purchased the best value OP pack directly (more if you get a cheaper pack). So for maximum $3 more, you get some farmable enhancement materials as well. Might be worth it if you are going to buy OP anyway, but might not be as well. The earlier this is purchased in the players career, the better it is.

• Pro Enhancement Pack: If you are planning on trading Originite Prime for Orundum to roll the gacha anyway, you might as well purchase the Pro Enhancement Packs.  You receive the normal amount of Orundum as you would in a straight conversion, plus some extra goodies on top.

Notes

• To date on the CN server, only two additional packs have been added to the store.

For those that prefer watching video over written guides, here is our recommended video companion from Zak (Peacecow)!