| Item | What to know | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Event stages | Nov 1 12:00 – Nov 22 03:59, released in three waves | Official announcement (2026-10-24) |
| Shop closes | Nov 29 03:59, a week after the stages | Same announcement |
| Free operator | 6★ Nation, from the task chain | Seen by the Dawn tasks |
| Limited banner | Nov 1 – Nov 15, Talulah at 300 pulls | Official banner announcement |
| Login gifts | One 10-pull permit plus a free daily pull | Official announcement, sections 3–5 |
This is the one window each year when Arknights thanksgiving event and a limited banner run at the same time. The stage set, "Time to Move Forward," unlocks in three chunks (Nov 1, Nov 8, Nov 15), and the shop currency, "Expired Records," only drops from those stages. That means your sanity budget and your shopping list are the same decision. Below is the timeline, the sanity math, what not to buy, and whether the 300-pull guarantee is worth chasing on your account.
Applicable version: current as of 2026-10-30 (Arknights has no version-number system, official announcement date used as anchor)
Arknights Time to Move Forward: three unlock waves and the entry gate
The event is not open all at once, and that catches people out.
The three waves
Wave one opens November 1 at 12:00, wave two November 8 at 16:00, wave three November 15 at 16:00, and everything shuts November 22 at 03:59 . The entry gate is clearing main story stage 1-10. If you are still before 1-10, push the main story first. Event stages are not better value per sanity than story stages; the difference is that they drop the shop currency.
Why the waves matter
Each wave brings a new batch of group-objective tasks. Waves two and three land at 16:00, which means if you only log in on weekends you will miss mid-week task refreshes. In practice the last three days pile up and clearing everything at once is miserable. Do the task chain on unlock day, then decide where the sanity goes.
Getting the free 6★ Nation
Nation does not come from the banner. It comes from the "Seen by the Dawn" task chain, which also hands out furniture and module materials (source: official announcement). The operator is free, but the elite promotion materials are not, and that is what the resource section below is about.
Arknights shop exchange: how to spend Expired Records
The shop runs November 1 to November 29, a full week longer than the stages. That gap is the best thing about this schedule.
Priority order
Outfits first (the Era series pieces for Myrtle and Shale), then module materials, then high-tier upgrade materials, then furniture, and currency and battle records last . Outfits never come back through the exchange shop, module materials stay useful forever, and LMD plus battle records show up in every other event.
Where to farm Expired Records fastest?
Event stages only, and the drop scales with difficulty. Ubiqitous per-stage numbers are not published, so check the in-game results screen . Your daily ceiling is sanity: one point per six minutes, 240 cap, so 240 a day free, plus 60 a day with the monthly card. First-clear three-star rewards on each new stage are fixed value and worth more than repeat farming.
What to cut if you run out of time
Drop furniture and LMD. Furniture only affects ambience, and LMD comes from dailies anyway. Protect outfits and module materials.
Arknights Snowbound Flames banner: the 300-pull guarantee and the cheaper spark
The limited banner runs November 1 at 12:00 to November 15 at 03:59. Two rule details changed this year and both matter.
Rate structure
Talulah (limited) and Frozen River take 70% of the 6★ pool. SilverAsh the Regal (limited), Angel of the New Covenant (limited), and Wasteland Lappland (limited) get 5x weight inside the remaining 30%. 5★ Olga takes 50% of the 5★ pool . The pity rule: after 50 pulls without a 6★, the next pull goes from 2% to 4%, then 6%, adding two points each time until it hits 100%.
Is the 300-pull spark worth it?
At 300 cumulative pulls you get one extra Talulah, without spending contracts and without touching the pity counter for your next 6★ . The counter is bound to this banner and resets when it closes; it does not carry into the Spring Festival limited banner. So 300 pulls is a hard threshold. Either commit fully or pull on natural rates, but do not "try 200 and see."
Silent Texas dropped to 200 contracts
In this exchange shop, Silent Texas, Gladiia, Radiant Knight Nearl, Skadi the Corrupting Heart, Rosmontis and W get a price cut from 300 to 200 contracts. The eight at 300 stay at 300, and Olga sits at 75 . The price cut is the most concrete thing here for veterans: 200 contracts is roughly a 30% discount on a rerun pickup.
Arknights Thanksgiving resource plan: the sanity budget
Run the numbers before you consider refreshing sanity with Originite Prime.
| Item | Amount | Source tier |
|---|---|---|
| Natural sanity over the event | ~21 days, 240/day, about 5,040 points | In-game recovery rule (1 per 6 min) |
| Monthly card sanity | 60/day, about 1,260 over 21 days | Official monthly card terms |
| Login 10-pull permit | 1 permit, expires Nov 15 03:59 | Official announcement, section 3 |
| Free daily pull | Once per day, Nov 1 – Nov 15 | Official announcement, section 4 |
| Nation elite 2 | Material counts as shown in-game; official totals not published | Check in-game |
Should you refresh sanity?
About 6,300 sanity free over three weeks. That is not enough to clear both the shop and an elite promotion. The test is simple: can the thing you still need be obtained another way? Outfits cannot. LMD can. Refresh for the former, wait for the latter.
Lock the elite 2 materials early
Nation is a 6★, so elite 2 eats high-tier materials and a lot of LMD. Module materials come from the shop, LMD from dailies. Do not wait until the last week; a free operator you cannot field is a wasted operator.
Arknights should you pull: verdict by account
Verdict first: pull if you are missing Talulah or Silent Texas. Everyone else should bank for the Spring Festival limited.
No Talulah, no Silent Texas
Pull, and aim to reach 300. The extra Talulah turns the spark into double value, and the 200-contract tier adds a second veteran limited operator. That is the best value window of the year .
Talulah owned, Silent Texas missing
Do not chase 300. Pull 150–200 on natural rates and take Silent Texas with contracts. With the price at 200 instead of 300, this path saved me about 100 pulls compared to the same window last year .
Veteran account with a full roster
Take the login 10-pull and the free daily pulls, add nothing. A limited banner has almost no marginal value for a finished roster, and the Spring Festival banner is close.
Arknights Thanksgiving practical checklist
Six steps, in order.
- Log in at 12:00 on November 1, claim the 10-pull permit (expires Nov 15 03:59), then run the task chain for Nation.
- On each unlock day, clear group objectives and "Seen by the Dawn" first. They hand out Expired Records.
- Clear every new stage at three stars. First-clear rewards are fixed value.
- Farm the highest difficulty you can three-star consistently; better drops and less real time.
- After the stages close on November 22, use the final week to clear the shop before November 29 03:59.
- The contract exchange closes November 18 at 03:59. Leftover contracts convert to Parametric Models at 1:6, so do not treat them as savings.
Arknights Thanksgiving FAQ
When does the Arknights Thanksgiving event end?
A: Stages close November 22 at 03:59 and the shop closes November 29 at 03:59, a seven-day gap . Do your shopping after the stages close.
Does the 300-pull counter carry over?
A: No. It is bound to Snowbound Flames and resets when the banner closes, so the Spring Festival banner starts from zero . You need all 300 pulls between November 1 and November 15.
Which stage drops Expired Records fastest?
A: Event stages only, scaling with difficulty; per-stage numbers are not published, so check the in-game results screen. At 240 sanity a day you accumulate about 5,040 sanity worth of drops across 21 days.
Is Nation free or gacha?
A: Free. The "Seen by the Dawn" task chain awards the 6★ Nation for clearing event stages, no pulls required .
Action list
- Log in at 12:00 on November 1 and claim the permit plus the free daily pull.
- Three-star every event stage, first-clear rewards first.
- Reach 300 pulls only if you are missing Talulah and have the currency.
- Take Silent Texas at 200 contracts instead of saving to 300.
- Clear the shop after November 22, outfits first, LMD last. If you want the same breakdown for other gacha titles, GameHub keeps a weekly schedule table in its guide section at gghubs.com.