Arknights: [Rewinding Breeze] Farming Strategy. What Should You Farm?

Surtr is finally here (well, almost), along with the event that introduces her, Rewinding Breeze (RB). I hope all you Doktahs will get what you wanted from the banner (unless you won't pull on it for any reason you have), but let's get to the farming analysis.

For this event, there are only two standout faming stages, FA-7 and FA-8 that are more efficient than permanent stages. Upon inspecting Moe's spreadsheet, FA-7 is 0.1% more efficient than FA-8, but should you really choose FA-7 over FA-8? For now, let's compare them to the stages that we currently have.

First, let's look at the drop rates for the main materials and compare them to the permanent stages with the best drop rates. According to Penguin Statistics, FA-7 is only slightly better than 3-1, our current stage with the highest drop rate for Aketon, while FA-8 is much better than 7-18, especially if you pay attention to the Sanity required per Oriron Cluster. If drop rate is the main factor you're considering, then FA-8 is the clear winner.

Comparing RB with Other Events

Next, we can compare RB with other events. For the two materials in question, we've had a past event that offered each material. Twilight of Wolumonde (ToW) offered Aketon, and Darknights' Memoir (DM) offered Oriron. With DM being more recent than ToW, chances are that you're running lower on Aketon than on Oriron. FA-7 may seem like a better choice to farm because of this, but let's dig deeper.

We can look at future events that CN had to see if they can help us decide which stage is a better choice. When it comes to both Aketon and Oriron, the next event that offers both of these materials from its stages is Mansfield Break (MB), with MB-7 and MB-8 offering Aketon and Oriron, respectively, at much better drop rates than RB's stages.

In my previous posts, I've typically recommended farming priority based on how far away one event is from another, but with MB offering both materials that we're focused on, it won't sway the recommendation to one material or another. Let's move on to the next comparison for these materials.

Comparing RB and Shops

What's notable about the two materials in question is that Aketon is a consistently more efficient purchase than Oriron in the permanent shops we have. If you check the Green Cert and Credit Shop tabs of Moe's spreadsheet, Aketon (and its lower tier equivalents) is actually the most efficient purchase out of all the options, with only Coagulating Gel being better value for your green certs, but Gel isn't in high demand yet.

With the option of stocking up on Aketon through these shops, FA-8 seems like a better choice due to FA-7 having better alternatives.

Before I get to the conclusion, I'll talk about something I haven't mentioned in this post yet: RB's drops being more diluted than the past several events.

As RB is a Special Operation (minor) event rather than a Public Affairs (major) event, event stages don't drop just the main materials, but the drop rates are diluted with EXP drops. This is important to keep in mind, since the past several events have dropped only the main materials, so you'll be acquiring these materials at a slower pace than you may be used to from other events.

With EXP cards taking up a significant portion of the drop rates, you may feel less inclined to farm RB's stages, since you feel like you don't need EXP much anymore. If you do feel that you don't value EXP as much anymore, I suggest taking a look at this Reddit post and our Operator Planner to see how much it costs to get an Operator to E2 max.

The EXP and LMD costs have a significant jump when trying to max anyone, so EXP drops would certainly help out in the process. Unless you don't have plans to max anyone, I suggest that you do farm RB's stages.

With all that considered, FA-8 is the better choice over FA-7 in the long term. The alternative sources of Aketon are much better than the other sources of Oriron that we have, but FA-7 is still a decent farming stage.

I'd recommend you to take a look at a planner like the one available on this site, or click on the materials below, and stock up on enough Aketon to last until MB comes, taking into account the Aketon we can get from the green cert shop. Based on CN's schedule, we're at least 3 months away from MB coming to us. Once you reach your target for Aketon, then stock up on Oriron from FA-8 until the event ends.

Happy farming, and good luck on Surtr's banner!