Arknights Endfield 1.2 Puts Players Between a New Electric Star and Four Returning Operators

Arknights: Endfield’s 1.2 update creates a genuine dilemma for anyone watching their headhunting currency. On one side sits Zhuang Fangyi, a new 6-star Electric Striker built to spam skills and keep Electrification rolling. On the other, the Fest of Brilliance rerun brings back four limited operators at once, letting players pick which one gets a rate-up. The banners overlap for about a week, which means the choice isn’t hypothetical. You have to commit.

Here is what runs when, what each operator does, and where the math lands on whether to pull or hold.

Two banners, one patch, overlapping schedules

Phase 1 of 1.2 is already live. The Thunder of Renewal character banner features Zhuang Fangyi alongside the 4-stars Rossi (Physical Guard) and Tangtang (Cryo Caster). Her signature weapon, the Arts Unit Lone Barge, appears on the Drifting Raft Issue weapon banner. Both banners run until May 22, 2026.

On May 14, Phase 2 begins. The Fest of Brilliance rerun banner goes live with four 6-star operators: Pogranichnik (Physical Vanguard), Gilberta (Nature Supporter), Laevatain (Heat Striker), and Ardelia (Nature Supporter). You pick one to receive the rate-up, which makes targeting a specific operator much more reliable than a standard banner. Two weapon banners drop alongside it. Smelting Forge Issue carries Forgeborn Scathe (Sword), Laevatain’s signature. Swift Walker Issue carries Delivery Guaranteed (Arts Unit), Gilberta’s signature.

Both weapon banners share a secondary pool of 6-star weapons: Valiant (Polearm), Wedge (Handcannon), Detonation Unit (Arts Unit), Oblivion (Arts Unit), White Night Nova (Sword), and Exemplar (Greatsword).

What Zhuang Fangyi actually does

Zhuang Fangyi is an Electric Striker who leans hard into Electrification, the element’s status effect. She cycles her skills faster than most operators in her class, which means she can keep the debuff active through long fights. That makes her the centerpiece of mono-Electric teams built around reaction damage. If you already run Electric units, she is a direct power spike. If you do not, she is a reason to start building that roster.

Her weapon, Lone Barge, is an Arts Unit that boosts her damage output further. The weapon banner also includes Wedge, Chivalric Virtue, Oblivion, Eminent Repute, Exemplar, and JET as the other 6-star options.

The rerun roster is stacked

The Fest of Brilliance banner gives players a choice of four limited operators, and each fills a different role. Pogranichnik is a Physical Vanguard who generates deployment points and holds the front line. Laevatain is a Heat Striker built for single-target burn damage. Gilberta and Ardelia are both Nature Supporters, though Gilberta leans more toward offensive buffs while Ardelia provides sustain. Newer players who missed the original run can grab one of these without waiting for a dedicated rerun banner.

Forgeborn Scathe (Laevatain’s sword) and Delivery Guaranteed (Gilberta’s Arts Unit) are the signature weapons on the Phase 2 weapon banners.

Pity and the 50/50, explained plainly

Chartered Headhunting banners follow the same base rates as the permanent banner. A 5-star drops every 10 pulls, and a 6-star drops every 80 pulls. The featured character has a 50 percent rate-up. That means your first 6-star has a coin-flip chance of being Zhuang Fangyi. If you lose that flip, the next 6-star is guaranteed to be her.

After 120 pulls, you earn a bonus token for the featured character. You can get up to three tokens for every 160 pulls, which helps with potential duplicates or the shop exchange.

Weapon banners work differently. A 6-star weapon is guaranteed within four pulls, with a 50/50 chance for the featured weapon. If you lose that roll, the guarantee kicks in after eight more attempts.

Should you pull or should you wait

Pull for Zhuang Fangyi if you need a top-tier Electric DPS and do not already own her. She will not enter the standard pool immediately, so this is the only guaranteed shot for a while. She is also the right choice if you are building an Electric team from scratch.

Pull on the Fest of Brilliance rerun if you missed Laevatain, Gilberta, Pogranichnik, or Ardelia the first time. The pick-one rate-up system is generous compared to standard banners, and all four operators have defined roles in Physical, Heat, and Nature compositions.

Skip both if you already have a strong Electric DPS or are saving for version 1.4. Unconfirmed leaks point to two new operators, Arcane and Liino, in that update. Limited currency makes it hard to justify pulling on every banner.

Skip the weapon banners unless you pulled the matching character. Signature weapons matter, but the off-rate 6-star pool is large enough that chasing a specific weapon without the guarantee is expensive.

How to earn pulls during 1.2

Chartered HH Permits come from events and the Bond Quota Exchange, where 25 Bond Quotas buy one permit. Dedicated HH Permits appear in check-in events. Arsenal Tickets, used for weapon pulls, drop from headhunting and the battle pass. Save 1,980 tickets to buy an Arsenal Issue, which is a 10-pull bundle for the weapon banner.

Active redemption codes also give free currency. Check the current code list for Arknights: Endfield before the banners expire.

Team building notes

Zhuang Fangyi fits best in mono-Electric teams that stack Electrification for reaction damage. Pair her with other Electric operators to maximize uptime on the status effect. If you pull Pogranichnik from the rerun, he slots into Physical teams as a vanguard that generates resources while fighting. Laevatain works as a Heat carry, and Gilberta or Ardelia provide support for Nature-focused lineups.

The 1.2 banner lineup rewards focus. Pick the operator that fills a gap in your roster, check the pity counter before you pull, and ignore everything else until 1.4 arrives.