Is Arknights free-to-play friendly? (2023)

Arknights is a tactical RPG and tower defense game that saw its worldwide release on January 16, 2020. The most compelling part of the title is its immersive storyline set in the dystopian world of Terra. You take on the role of the doctor in a world where Oriopathy disease is the greatest threat. The doctor controls operators to fight against bad guys while trying to find a cure for the disease.

Each operator falls into one of these classes: Caster, Defender, Guard, Medic, Sniper, Specialist, Supporter, and Vanguard. Operators act as towers and are placed in the tiles to fight incoming enemies. You can upgrade these characters, and pull new ones using the game’s gacha. Most gacha titles require players to spend real money for these upgrades, but Arknights is free-to-play friendly.

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Why Arknights is one of the most free-to-play friendly gacha games out there

Arknights is a free-to-play friendly gacha game because it does not require players to spend real-life money in order to complete the content.

The title divides operators into eight classes ranging from 3- to 6-Star. There is no need to worry about getting high-level characters to defeat difficult bosses. You can complete the game’s content and events using only 3-Star operators that are easy pulls from its gacha.

However, you should level up 3-Star operators to make them powerful enough to complete the content. In most mobile gacha titles, you must perform summons, upgrade weapons, and other in-game items to make the characters stronger. However, that is not the case in Arknights, where leveling up your operators is enough to increase their power.

You have two methods to acquire operators: through the in-game gacha system and the Recruitment feature. The probability of pulling 6- and 5-Star operators from the game’s gacha is 2% and 8%, respectively. These rates are generous compared to other mobile gacha titles, where these chances are merely 1%.

Additionally, there is a sure chance of obtaining a 6-star character within the first 10 pulls on every new banner. Furthermore, if you do not acquire a 6-star within 50 pulls, their pull rate increases by 2% for every successive turn. For instance, you will have a 4% chance in the 51st turn, a 6% chance in the 52nd turn, and so on unless a 6-star appears. The rate resets once you pull one, readjusting the probability to 2% and repeating the cycle.

There is another time-based option to get characters in the game, and it is called Recruitment. Firstly, you must have a Recruitment Permit, obtainable from daily or weekly missions. Along with the permit, you also need LMD, which you can obtain by logging in daily or completing daily and weekly quests.

You must then choose tags and assign search time that extends up to nine hours. The more search time you take, the higher your chance of obtaining high-level operators.

There are two in-game currencies in Arknights: Orundum and Originite Prime. While Orundum is for pulling operators, Originite Prime restores Sanity, the game’s stamina. You can exchange one Originite Prime for 180 Orundum, but it is hard to get.

One Orundum allows you to pull 60 characters, and a generous amount is obtainable by Annihilation activities, as well as completing daily and weekly missions. Additionally, you can obtain Orundum from the game’s base-building mechanics, but it requires investing a lot of time in farming.

As of this writing, Arknights does not have PvP mode. It only features the main story and occasional side stories that you can unlock. There is no pressure to unlock high-tier characters since it only has PvE mode.

The generous nature and reward system definitely makes Arknights one of the most free-to-play-friendly gacha games in 2023. The title has also been adapted into several anime television series like Arknights: Perish in Frost, Arknights: Prelude to Dawn, and Lee's Detective Agency.