Arknights CN: Third Anniversary Datamine - Limited Operator, Event Theme, New Modules, and More!

Q:  What is this?

A:  In the recent Ch10 patch, a lot of data was included that HG probably didn’t want included.  Initially, people missed this data because there was so much new data involved.  Ironically, most of it was noticed when HG released a bug fix patch a day later.  In this smaller patch they removed much of the data which highlighted it in file diffs on sites like github and made the unreleased information much more visible.

The result is people have dug through the changes and discovered a number of hints and clear references to what is most likely the 3rd Anniversary event and operators on CN.  This article will discuss the information known at this time.  It involves some of the new operators (particularly the upcoming limited alter) as well as new mechanics, modules, and some other upcoming juicy bits of information.

Please keep in mind, none of this information is confirmed.  Everything could change, or it could be not released at all.  Some of it is conjecture and may be incorrect or misinterpreted.  It could also be accidentally loaded very early for a future event and not used until some later date (which has happened before!).  Until it is officially announced on the livestream on the 23rd, we don’t know anything for sure!

NOTHING HERE IS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED!

Q:  Is this information a “leak”?  Is it illegal?

A:  No.  Although this information is stuff that Hypergryph didn’t want to reveal yet, it was all released by official sources on public channels.  A “leak” (to me at least) involves someone releasing private data.  In this case, all of the data was available from official channels in plain text.  All but one piece of information comes from the game data itself which is readily available in plain text (Android APK files are just glorified ZIP files, and most gamedata is held in plain-text JSON).  Most of the “data-mining” involved is simply interpretation.  The one exception is the header image and event name.  However even this was released on an official social media channel, albeit accidentally and quickly removed.

Q:  Are there story spoilers?

A:  Not directly, no.  Obviously knowing the characters involved can reveal some insights into what the event is about, however all data is mechanical in nature.  We don’t know any lore or story details beyond the character’s probable involvement.

Q:  Is this information confirmed?

A:  Absolutely not.  Everything here is subject to change and could theoretically not happen at all.  It could even be a red herring planted by HG (though that is very unlikely)!  The only thing known for sure is that this information is in the datafiles.  It could be removed, changed, or updated prior to release.  We don’t know when in development this stuff was, and have only a few indications of dates.  However, given what we know of the game and how HG likes to run things, odds are a majority of it is probably accurate.

Take everything here with a grain of salt.

Q:  I heard there was a leak about Closure and Anita.  Why isn’t that included?

A:  That leak was confirmed to be fake.  Someone released it shortly after the datamining frenzy began.  There was a lot of early confusion about what was real, what was conjecture, and what was straight fake.  The “leak” involving Closure and Anita was quickly confirmed to be completely fake.  There is no indication of either in the data files (though that doesn’t exclude the possibility either).

Credits

A lot of people have been involved in this data.  My contribution here is only the FAQ above and compiling it into a Gamepress article as well as touching up some of the write-ups.

Much of the information below was originally compiled by /u/wewechoo over on reddit.  I’ve reposted it here with only minor alterations and formatting (and a few editor comments) based on his reddit post which you can find here:  https://www.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/u4t5s5/nga_translation_third_anniversary_datamine/  This was done with his permission of course.

Special credit to /u/MJYW too who as far as I’m aware was the first to discover the module information.  His post can be found here https://www.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/u48dtk/possible_info_on_next_batch_of_modules_in_cn_and/

See wewechoo’s post for further credits on the sources of the data.  Much of it was compiled from a now deleted Tieba post by CN user HJHK258 (a very reliable and accurate source of previous datamines).

An accidental mistake by HG caused their content creator website to display the event banner, revealing the name for the third anniversary's event. This has since been removed.  This banner can be seen at the top of the article here.

The name from the banner, Stultifera Navis, is Latin for "Ship of Fools" a satirical allegory first created by Plato.  The most famous treatment of the already popular trope was by the humanist and theologian Sebastian Brant in 1494.  Many of the datamine references strongly indicate the event is Iberian, similar to the Under Tides event (if not a direct sequel), so this is likely a reference to the allegorical backdrop of the event and the handling of the seaborn threat.  However that is speculative and it may just be an appealing marketable name.

Third Anniversary Limited Banner Operators

Editor’s note, this section was rewritten by TacticalBreakfast since the original post refers to a different post as well as to clarify some speculation.

There is one file which details information about module quests related to killing enemies.  There are two entries in this file which refer to operators not currently in the game.  This likely reveals two upcoming units:  A Specter Alter and Irene.

Specter Alter

In the module quest data file, there is an entry for an operator “ghost2”.  “ghost” is Specter’s in-code name and simply adding a 2 is how HG has handled other alters (for example Lava in the same file is referred to as “lava2”).  Given that we know the theme of the event will likely be Under Tides, it stands to reason that Specter will be the limited alter for the third anniversary.

There has been lots of speculation that this Specter Alter will be a Dollkeeper (same as Bena and Kazemaru).  However the evidence supporting this is purely speculative.  As far as I’m aware, it comes from the fact Dollkeepers appear to be getting a module this patch as well (see point 3) and there is not yet a 6* Dollkeeper.  There is no direct evidence that Specter Alter will be one though.

Irene

In the same data file, there is a reference to an “irene”.  Again, given the theme of the event, this is almost certainly the junior Inquisitor of the same name who appeared in the original Under Tides event.  Her quest is to kill enemies with any skill, same as Kafka.  Because of how that quest is formatted, there is a separate entry for each skill.  There are entries for three different skills, indicating she will be a 6*.  However it is not clear if she will be the non-limited gacha, or possibly a welfare OP (like Gladiia).

We know little else, however.  Based on the formatting, all of her skills deal direct damage of some sort.  HJHK258 speculates she is a Swordmaster (dual strike guard) because of this direct damage, a hallmark of the archtype (plus the rapier she uses in game art).  This is still speculative however.  All we know for sure though is that she has 3 damage dealing skills and a module.

Interestingly, her S3 appears to be split in two, possibly indicating a Charged or Overdrive effect.

New Modules

Editor’s note, this section was rewritten by TacticalBreakfast since the original post refers to a different post and to clarify some speculation.  Full credit here goes to /u/MJYW on reddit who was the first to discover this.

Archetypes possibly getting new Modules

The same file which reveals the two new units also reveals the probable next archetypes to receive new modules.

• Dollkeepers - Bena, Kazemaru
• Duelist Defenders - Eunectes, Aurora

Units possibly getting a second Module

More interestingly though, there is evidence in another file that some units will be getting a second module.  In a file which details information about “equipment” (e.g. modules), 3 units have a reference to a third piece of equipment (the first is the default, e.g. no module, while the second is the already released module).  Only these three units have a third piece of equipment in the file.  This possibly indicates that these 3 units will be getting a second module.

• Magallan
• Skadi (guard)
• Passenger

New Mechanisms

Editor's note, this section is largely copied verbatim from wewechoo’s post.  Original credit for this goes to HJHK258 on NGA with credit to wewechoo and Altina from RIHQ for translation work

Operator-related Mechanism

The following are a list of new effect/mechanisms for operators, most likely for the new operators, or new modules.

New Status Effect - Levitate

• When inflicted with the Levitate status, it changes the enemy's state to Levitate state
• When entering Levitate, shift will be cancelled
• Enemies under Levitate are considered as aerial units and is unable to move, attack, or be blocked. They are also immune to Shift. Levitate cannot apply to aerial units, and the duration of Levitate is halved on enemies with weight 4 and above

New Mechanism

• When deployed for the first time, increases max HP, ATK, DEF, RES, ASPD, and Block Count

New Enemy Targeting Logic

• Prioritizes Slumbering units, from highest Weight to lowest Weight

Faction-related Mechanism

The following are a list of new effect/mechanisms for operators/enemies. It is currently unknown which faction utilizes them.

New Effect - Purify

• Immediately removes all debuffs that can be affected by [Resist] (including: Stun/Freeze/Burn etc).

New Mechanism

• Exchanges HP percentage with another unit

New Trigger Logic

• Triggers when receiving a debuff that can be affected by [Resist]. Effect is triggered before elemental value reaches 0

Enemy-related Mechanism

The following are a list of new effects/mechanisms for enemies.

New Spreadable Tile Effect - Sea Mark

• Enemies on tiles with Sea Mark will gain various bonuses
• Sea Mark automatically spreads to neighboring tiles over time. The spread is limited by a cooldown
• Certain enemies are able to spread Sea Mark to neighboring tiles
• However, the spread can be stopped by placing something on it.

New Summon Mechanism

• Records all tiles that meets certain conditions within a certain range of itself for a certain duration of time.
• Afterwards, summons enemies on those tiles (has a limit)

New Enemy - BounceEnemy

• Has a collision box
• Has a certain elasticity
• Can collide with enemies or walls. Upon collision, a sound will be played
• Does not have a collision box when being pulled

New Enemy - 退行的猎食者 (Regressed Predator)

• Type: Seaborn, Elite Melee enemy
• HP: 4500, ATK: 450, DEF: 50, RES: 0, ATK interval: 3.0s, Movement Speed: 1.0, Weight: 1
• Cannot be blocked on tiles with Sea Mark
• When defeated, leaves [Corpse]
• [Predetermined Evolution] - Gains 80% Physical and Arts Dodge. This effect is nullified when afflicted with abnormal conditions
• Note: It is currently unknown what [Corpse] and [Predetermined Evolution] means

New Mechanism

• Modifies the Block Count of an enemy under certain conditions

Others

Editor’s note, this is mostly wewechoo’s writing, but there are some minor fixes here from TB, plus I added two topics wewechoo missed in the original post, and moved the date discussion to its own section.

Annihilation Skip

• Consumes skip tickets (skip tickets are similar to Sanity potions, they have an expiry date) to skip Annihilation
• By using the tickets, you can skip past the battle process to get the rewards directly
• Skip function is only available in Annihilation.

Monthly Card/Sanity Potion Update

• The end date time for the sale of monthly card has been changed.  The original showed a negative time (e.g. no expiration).  After converting the new time, it is due to end on May 1st, 2022. It is highly suspected that the monthly card system will undergo an update.
• Additionally, new types of Sanity Potions has been added into the game. The new types gives 80/120 Sanity respectively

New Game Mode (Abyssal-related)

• A completely new game mode
• From the looks of it, it seems like a roguelike
• There are different points on a map that you can explore, and there's a talent tree that you can expand

New Homescreen BG

• Anniversary
• Yan
• Iberia

Skadi the Corrupting Heart - Bloodline of Combat skin

• There are filepath references to a BoC skin for Skadi Alter.  However nothing further is known.

CE-6 and LS-6

• This is not actually a datamine, however it has been noted with the ch10 release that the layout for the CE and LS supply stages has changed.  The “curve” of the stages has been lowered and there is now room for a possible sixth stage on the screen.  The other supply stages remain unchanged, however.  This indicates they are possibly adding a CE-6 and LS-6 with the anniversary.

Upcoming Dates

Two different dates have been datamined for possible upcoming events.  However they appear to conflict and it is not clear how things exactly will fall.  Credit to /u/PM_ME_DMS for noting the difference in the original reddit thread.

There is a reference to all Supply stages opening on May 19th.  Anniversary events are typically three weeks long, and May 19th is exactly three weeks after the current Horn banner ends.  Supply stage openings also only occur during Contingency Contracts.  Most likely this means the Third Anniversary event will begin on April 28th and Contingency Contract #9 will start on May 19th.

However PM_ME_DMS notes that elsewhere the data for the Under Tides medals are also updated.  The medals TEMP status ends on May 30th and their PERM status begins on June 8th, indicating the likely start and end dates for the Under Tides rerun.  He also notes that the Darknight’s Memoir Record Restore also has a date of May 30th.  These dates would conflict with the above CC#9 dates which would end up June 2nd.  

It’s not clear how this conflict will be resolved.