Reverse: 1999 beginner advice: the worst thing you can do right now is see four rate-ups and rush to empty your stash. The best thing is to drain the free resources 4.0 has not finished handing out and push the pull decision back to mid-November. More than a month is plenty of time — rushing to hand in your paper is exactly how people end up picking wrong.
Why that conclusion? Walk the timeline, the four slots, and the end-of-version resources with me one by one, and you will be able to work out for yourself how your account should move.
The parade banner runs to November 30, far longer than a standard one
The current version number is 4.0.0, and the official site lists September 24, 2026 as the update date. The Suitcase Parade self-select summon window runs from 05:00 on October 26 to 04:59 on November 30, 2026 — more than a month, far longer than a standard banner. That length is no small detail; many of the judgments below rest on it.
What is the difference between a self-select banner and a regular rate-up?
A regular rate-up banner is "one character with boosted odds"; a self-select banner is "four characters, and you pick one to boost." The difference sounds small, but what actually changes is who holds the initiative: the upside is you do not have to wait for a rerun schedule, and the cost is that a wrong pick means waiting for the next window. Either way you are spending Unilogs — in one case someone decides for you, in the other you make the call. Which would you rather have?
When does 4.0 end?
Officially, the exact launch date of 4.1 has not been announced. Going by 4.0 launching on September 24 and the usual roughly six-week version cycle, 4.1 falls in early November (an estimate, not an official statement). One detail here is easy to miss: the parade banner runs to November 30, so it spans the version update, which a standard limited banner does not. In other words, you do not have to finish choosing in the self-select banner before 4.1 arrives.
Four rate-ups: first ask which piece your roster is missing
The four rate-ups are A Knight, An-an Lee, Melania, and Voyager. Four portraits lined up side by side make it easy to get cross-eyed, but there is really only one question to answer: which piece is your current team missing most?
A Knight: if you lack a main DPS, look here first
A Knight is a high-damage DPS whose kit revolves around his own crit and damage amplification. If your account lacks a main DPS, prioritize him. The value of a self-select banner is that it fills the piece you are missing most, not that it grabs the strongest one. That single word of difference leads to very different outcomes: one is patching the roof, the other is swapping in a brighter bulb. If the roof is leaking, a brighter bulb will not help.
An-an Lee and Melania: check whether their teammates are already on your roster
An-an Lee is a utility DPS who excels at generating extra value inside a specific archetype; Melania is a Spirit support whose value runs high when your team lacks a buffer. What these two slots share is that their value drops once you step outside the matching archetype. So before you pull, ask yourself one question: do you have the teammates who can make full use of her? Without the supporting archetype, what you bring home may just be a good-looking card.
Voyager: worth more to new accounts, older accounts can take their time
Voyager leans toward support and utility. For an older account with a fully built team, the improvement she brings is limited; for a new account, or one with large gaps in its archetypes, her flexibility is actually better. There is really no such thing as "the later a character releases, the stronger they are" — only "the better a character fits your existing team, the more they are worth." Newer is not better; better-fitting is better.
4.1 preview: a murder in the manor and two new faces
That covers what is inside the banner; the noise outside it deserves a look too, because 4.1 has already shown its face. The 4.1 PV "A Death at Romenel Manor" went live on October 24, 2026, and its subject is a murder investigation at a manor. Two new six-stars appear in the trailer: Persa (Star) and Evelyn (Beast).
What is confirmed, and what is not
Judging from the PV and the trailer, Evelyn is a Beast character in a detective role, and Persa draws on Perchta from Central European folklore. Their specific skills and numbers have not been announced, and this article will not speculate on numbers. That needs to be said plainly, or it quickly turns into word of mouth: "I heard she is strong."
How many pulls should you set aside for 4.1?
Going by 4.0's rhythm, a preview livestream runs before 4.1 launches, and that is when the banner order becomes clear. The reason we do not recommend emptying your stash now is that neither 4.1's character strength nor its banner order has been announced — pulling early means betting on undisclosed information. Two things are worth doing right now: hold on to your Unilogs, and drain the free resources 4.0 still has left. Do not empty your stash over one "I heard 4.1 is strong" — how many times have you heard that this year?
These three things at the end of a version are more urgent than pulling
Set the pulling question aside for now. The easiest way to lose value during a version handover is to switch versions with resources left uncollected.
Event shop, Artificial Somnambulism, dailies and weeklies
First, clear out the 4.0 event shop — its exchange items usually close once the version ends; second, take the current Artificial Somnambulism and Deep Dream rewards; third, collect every daily and weekly reward. None of these need pulls, they cost you nothing but login time and not a single Unilog, and they buy back the capital for your next pull — a bargain you only get a few times a year. Once these three are done, look back at the self-select banner and you will feel much more at ease.
Artificial Somnambulism: clearing it with two teams is enough
Artificial Somnambulism is a permanent high-difficulty mode split into two tiers, Shallow Dream and Deep Dream, with rewards tied to Clear Drops. The current setup is whatever is in the game: floors and buffs rotate with each version, and official announcements do not list the current configuration, so the in-game tab is the most accurate source. The trap during a version handover is building your team on last season's impressions — the buffs have changed, and the old team-building logic may no longer hold.
Deep floors require rotating multiple teams; forcing them with a single team gets you stuck in the middle. The community's standard approach is to prepare two: one built around a fully invested main DPS, one filling in with general-purpose supports. In 4.0, the Insight and Afterglow archetypes are the two mainstream lines — pick one and get it into shape first instead of wanting both.
When you are stuck on a floor, first check whether your levels are too low rather than whether your team is wrong. If Insight levels, Psychube upgrades, and Resonance are not maxed out, swapping teams will not carry you either; conversely, if the basics are maxed and you are still stuck, that is when it is worth studying positioning and skill order. A lot of the time it is not the team that is failing — it is that we are too eager to swap characters.
Finally, set your pulling rhythm
The self-select banner runs to November 30, and 4.1 is expected in early November (estimate). The two overlap in time, and that overlap is exactly what gives you room: if you want to pull for 4.1's new characters, you can push the self-select decision to mid-November; if you are set on filling in an older character like A Knight, the self-select window is longer than the 4.1 banner, so it takes priority. Same window, two rhythms — which one you choose depends on what your team lacks.
String the paragraphs above together and only one sentence remains: what is genuinely valuable at the end of a version is time. The banner runs to November 30, so you have all the time in the world to hesitate; the event shop closes, the current Somnambulism rewards pass, and they are truly gone — that is where the countdown actually is. Rather than staring at four portraits and comparing them over and over, go pick up the Clear Drops you can get for free, one by one. Once 4.1's banner order is announced and you have currency in hand, you will feel secure — and when you come back to this choice then, you will find it is not so hard.
Reverse: 1999 4.0 FAQ
When does the Bounty of the Lake self-select banner end?
A: It ends at 04:59 on November 30, 2026, having opened at 05:00 on October 26. The four rate-ups are A Knight, An-an Lee, Melania, and Voyager.
Which pick in the self-select banner is the best value?
A: Missing a main DPS, pick A Knight; team short on a Spirit support, pick Melania; an established older account should prioritize Voyager's flexibility, while An-an Lee depends on whether you have the matching archetype.
When does 4.1 launch?
A: The exact date has not been announced; going by 4.0's September 24 launch and the usual roughly six-week cycle, it falls in early November. Refer to official announcements.
Who are the new characters in 4.1?
A: The official PV "A Death at Romenel Manor" went live on October 24, showing two six-stars in the trailer, Persa (Star) and Evelyn (Beast). Skills and numbers have not been announced.
Reverse: 1999 action checklist and source cross-reference
- Clear out the 4.0 event shop first — it usually closes once the version ends.
- Take the current Artificial Somnambulism and Deep Dream rewards, and collect your Clear Drops in full.
- Push the self-select decision to mid-November and settle it once 4.1 banner information is public.
- Do not empty your Unilog stockpile ahead of time — keep at least one full spark for 4.1.
- Collect dailies and weeklies in full; they are the easiest thing to miss during a version handover.
For an overall strength comparison, check the criteria in the Reverse: 1999 character tier list, then look at GameHub's breakdown of Insight and Psychubes.