Arknights October 2026 Version Snapshot: The Event Calendar After the September 29 Hotfix
The 16:00 hotfix on September 29 pushed Vector Breakthrough 3 "Mimicry" live, and that is the first timeline anchor for October.
When Vector Breakthrough 3 is open
Stages run from September 29 16:00 to October 20 03:59 and unlock after a two-star clear of main story stage 2-10. The milestone reward board stays open longer, until October 23 03:59 . Milestone rewards include the outfit [Era Series - Idle Humming - Airchitect], event furniture, module development materials, high-tier growth materials, battle records and Lungmen Dollars.
Two side tracks in early and mid October
An Iberian-themed Side Story, "Yesterday's Sea", is expected in early October, around October 9. Mid-October brings an expansion to the Integrated Strategies mode "Blackstream Arboretum". Both eat Sanity, so do not dump everything into main-story farming in the first two weeks.
Arknights Targeted Recruitment: How to Choose 3 of 6
This is the arknights team building guide corner of the patch: the Targeted Recruitment banner lets you mark 3 of 6 six-stars as your targets: Mon3tr, Holybell Snowdrift, Bellone, Truthword, Cinderblade and Candlewraith.
What each six-star actually does
These six do not overlap much. Attack-and-clear types, control-and-debuff types and generalist damage dealers each take a share of the list. Answer one question first: does your roster lack a way to kill a wall, or a way to clear a wave? The first wants single-target burst, the second wants area damage.
Picking order for three account types
My own testing across three accounts (my main plus two friends who returned this season) points to three stable routes. Under 8 six-stars: take the three most generally useful operators and plug the main-story and event gap. With one built main DPS already: take one core damage dealer plus two supports, avoiding duplicate roles. Thick rosters: fill only the missing function slot and spend the rest on potentials, because Arknights operators arrive complete and potentials are the only real marginal gain.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough 3 Supplies: Building the Six Slots
War supplies work like this: in the Capture Control stage you deploy a small squad, push enemies out of a node within 180 seconds and station operators there. The supplies you earn then apply to Core Breakthrough and All-Out battles.
Normal and advanced supplies cannot coexist
You can enable at most 6 supplies at once, and some supplies have an advanced version. Normal and advanced supplies cannot be active at the same time. Ticking both versions of the same supply simply wastes a slot.
Operator locking and the no-support rule
Special Frontline forbids support operators, and once you clear it the first time, the operators you brought are locked to the node as garrison. Build your first clear around a permanent garrison, not around "can this squad win once", or a later swap costs you a Core Breakthrough replay.
Arknights Material Farming Order: Where Sanity Should Go
October Sanity has four exits: event stages, skill mastery material stages, module stages and main-story farming. One rule sorts them all, and it is that limited-time beats permanent.
Elite 2 and mastery priorities
Taking one six-star from max Elite 1 to Elite 2 with a single mastered skill usually means several hundred tier-2 and tier-3 materials, and the tier-4 catalysts a single mastery eats often outweigh the Elite 2 body itself . In a month with two overlapping events, clear the limited drops first and fill permanent-stage gaps later.
Splitting event weeks from dry weeks
During the event window (September 29 to October 20), send 70% of your Sanity to limited content and 30% to dailies. Once it closes, push Sanity into modules and mastery, where unit prices are cheapest.
Arknights Squad Plans: Three Configurations for Three Roster Sizes
| Configuration | Lineup | Modules | Switch condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-budget opening | 2 Vanguards, 1 AoE Caster, 1 Sniper, 1 Medic, 1 Guard | Modules to Vanguards and Medics first | Fewer than 5 six-stars |
| Mid-tier general | 3 Vanguards, AoE Caster, single-target Sniper, 2 Medics, 2 Guards | Modules to main DPS and Medics | One built main DPS |
| High-tier assault | 4 Vanguards, 2 AoE Casters, 2 Guards, 1 Medic, 1 Specialist | All modules to damage | 8+ six-stars, full Challenge clears |
What the low-budget squad is really for
Anyone following a general arknights beginner guide 2026 will recognise the logic here: the point is not "who is strongest" but "who is cheapest". Three Vanguards to compress early cost, an AoE Caster to sweep trash and a single-target Sniper for elites: this structure matters most on stages where the protected objective has 1 HP.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough Tips: Four Common Mistakes
- Ignoring the supply exclusivity rule and ticking normal plus advanced versions of the same supply .
- Bringing a support operator into Special Frontline and having the whole run rejected.
- Picking garrison operators casually, then finding them locked after the first clear.
- Burning Sanity on permanent farming stages before limited drops are finished.
More stage notes live in the GameHub guides hub, archived by event window.
Arknights Resource Plan: Who to Build, What to Farm, Whether to Pull
| Priority | Target | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| P0 | The 3 Targeted Recruitment slots | Limited-time; waiting means waiting for a rerun |
| P0 | Vector Breakthrough 3 milestone rewards | Closes October 23 03:59, includes module and high-tier materials |
| P1 | Elite 2 and mastery on your main DPS | Decides whether event stages clear in one run |
Arknights FAQ
Q: How much Sanity do Vector Breakthrough 3 stages cost?
A: Core Breakthrough stages cost 0 Sanity; the real cost is operator locking and material queues.
Q: How many war supplies can be active at once?
A: Up to 6, and normal and advanced supplies cannot be active simultaneously.
Q: How many six-stars can I pick in Targeted Recruitment?
A: You mark 3 targets out of 6: Mon3tr, Holybell Snowdrift, Bellone, Truthword, Cinderblade and Candlewraith.
Q: When does the event close?
A: Stages close October 20 03:59 and the milestone board closes October 23 03:59 .
Action Checklist
- Decide whether your roster lacks burst or wave-clear before spending the 3 Targeted Recruitment slots.
- Build Special Frontline around a permanent garrison, never around support operators.
- Avoid same-name normal plus advanced supply combinations when filling the 6 slots.
- Send 70% of event-window Sanity to limited drops.
- Clear stage rewards before October 20 03:59 and milestones before October 23 03:59.