This guide breaks down the key points of Arknights 2026 into five sections: version overview, stage structure, auto-battle squads, headhunting priorities, and resource planning.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 Event Window and Rewards
Dates and unlock requirements
Stages open 2026-09-29 16:00 and close 2026-10-20 03:59, with the Milestone Board open until 2026-10-23 03:59. You only need to clear Main Story 2-10 to enter . Resource Collection stages are open all day during the event, so LMD and battle records can be farmed whenever you want.
What the Milestone Board pays out
Milestone rewards include the outfit "Lazy Humming" (Era series), event furniture, module upgrade materials, high-tier growth materials, battle records, and LMD . Push the milestone bar to the outfit tier first, because module materials and furniture are event-limited.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 Stage Structure
Core Breakthrough and its twelve floors
Core Breakthrough is split into 12 floors that stack more checkpoints as you climb. Floors 1 to 7 fold to auto-clear squads, while the threats from floor 8 onward usually need a manual burst window on floor 12 .
Simulated Ecology mechanics
The theme this time is Simulated Ecology, and the examiner units are rebuilt from Elite Operator combat data. Every stage carries the same hard rule: the protection objective has 1 HP, so the run ends the moment a single enemy walks past your line. That single change pushes the whole guide toward control and sustain instead of raw DPS, and it is why a three-squad plan beats one over-invested squad.
Special Frontline stages
Special Frontline runs parallel to Core Breakthrough. Visible stages this rotation include SP01 "Gravity Crisis", SP02 "Fire in the Heart", SP03 "Museum Pieces", SP09 "Popular Tour", and SP10 "Dead End Backyard" . Each one tests a single mechanic, so read it before picking operators.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 Auto-Clear Squads
Vanguard and Guard slots
Cheap vanguards open the field, then value guards hold the first wave: Myrtle, Texas, and Ines for early deployment, with Lappland, Mountain, and Blaze up front.
| Squad | Operators | Skills | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose auto | Myrtle + Lappland + Saria + Exusiai + Nightingale | Permanent or auto-trigger | VEC-01 to VEC-07 |
| High-ground burst | Texas + Logos + Wis'adel + Purestream Eyjafjalla + Virtuosa | Logos and Wis'adel manual | VEC-08 to VEC-11, SP01 |
| Boss-cracking | Ines + Ulpianus + Gladiia + Hoederer + Ethan | Manual burst skills | VEC-12, SP02, SP09 |
Casters and snipers
Put a high-attack-speed caster on the high ground first. Logos handles burn and area control, Wis'adel covers high-HP targets, and Gnosis-style slows fill gaps. Snipers come second here because this rotation spawns multi-target waves where area damage wins over single-target burst.
Medics and specialists
Every stage has a protection objective with 1 HP, so one leak ends the run and support slots matter more than raw damage. Nightingale supplies resistance, Ethan handles crowd control, and Gladiia's module level 3 gives Ulpianus damage reduction plus healing, the most overlooked piece of the setup.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 Practical Tips
- Confirm the 1 HP protection objective before deploying; never leave a gap to save one operator.
- Prepare operators at E2 level 60 with skill mastery 3 and module level 1; module level 1 is the best value upgrade for common picks.
- Auto-clear squads should only carry permanent or auto-trigger skills. If you are manually firing three or four skills, the squad does not fit the stage.
- Read VEC-12's spawn order first and hold burst skills for the second high-threat wave.
- If a floor stalls, farm lower floors for Milestone currency, convert it into module materials, then come back stronger.
Arknights Targeted Selection Banner: How to Spend Your Picks
Reading the 2% six-star rate
Targeted Selection runs 2026-09-29 16:00 to 2026-10-13 03:59 and counts as a standard banner. You pick 3 six-star and 3 five-star operators, and the only six-stars you can pull are your three picks . Six-star rate stays at 2% with your picks covering 100% of six-star outcomes; five-star rate is 8% with picks covering 60%.
Which operators to pick
The six-star pool is Mon3tr, Silent Snowdrift, Bellone, Zhenyan, Dusk-forged Blade, and Candela; the five-star pool is Dubridge, Jixing, Xunlan, Mingjiao, Xiangshi, and Replay . The rule is simple: fill the weakest slot in your roster, not the collection.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 Stamina and Pack Planning
Using all-day Resource Collection
Resource Collection stays open around the clock, so LMD and battle records can wait . Spend first on event-limited items: outfit, furniture, then module materials.
| Priority | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milestone Board rewards | Outfit and module materials are event-limited |
| 2 | Targeted Selection pulls | Closes 2026-10-13 03:59 |
| 3 | Module and high-tier materials | Direct power gains |
| 4 | LMD and battle records | Farmable in all-day Resource Collection |
Pack value order
Event packs run 2026-09-29 16:00 to 2026-10-20 03:59. Treat packs as a shortcut for module materials rather than for pulls: the module bundles exist because the event itself hands out modules through the Milestone Board, and topping that up is what shortens a fresh account's climb from VEC-07 to VEC-12. If you already cleared the board, skip the module bundles and spend the equivalent on the LMD box instead. The Rhodes Island Data Pack Bundle gives 24 module data blocks, 30 data supplements, and 90 data patches; the Advanced Training Pack includes a Senior Operator Training Invitation, which instantly promotes one six-star to E2.
Arknights Vector Breakthrough #3 FAQ
Q: When does the event end?
A: Stages close 2026-10-20 03:59 and the Milestone Board closes 2026-10-23 03:59, three days apart, so spend milestone currency early.
Q: Can new players clear it?
A: Yes. You only need Main Story 2-10, and the first seven floors fold to E2 level 60 operators with module level 1.
Q: How should I use the Targeted Selection picks?
A: With a 2% six-star rate and picks covering 100% of six-star outcomes, spend all three picks on roster gaps .
Q: Where is the fastest source of module materials?
A: Milestone rewards are the main source this rotation, followed by the 24 module data blocks and 30 supplements in the Rhodes Island Data Pack Bundle.
Q: Do I need to clear floor 12 to get the outfit?
A: No. The outfit sits on the Milestone Board, which is fed by any stage that drops milestone currency, so farming earlier floors still unlocks it before 2026-10-23 03:59 .
Action Checklist
- Update the client, then start the VEC stages that opened on 2026-09-29.
- Clear VEC-01 to VEC-07 with the all-purpose auto squad to bank milestone currency.
- Read SP01, SP02, and SP03 mechanics before locking support slots.
- Spend Targeted Selection picks before 2026-10-13 03:59.
- Take the outfit, furniture, and module materials from the Milestone Board first.
- This guide is revised after each event window on GameHub.