Arknights Moonlit Waters Guide: All-Out Attack and SR-EX Teams
Arknights launched the Moonlit Waters crossover side story on September 4, 2026 at 12:00 server time, with an unlock requirement of clearing Main Story stage 1-10. The stage list runs SR-ST-1, SR-TR-1, SR-1 through SR-8, and SR-EX-1 through SR-EX-8. The event adds a knockdown rule and a field-wide All-Out Attack, plus handover tiles that let two operators share a tile and cuts redeploy time sharply. PRTS lists the total Travel Plan reward pool at 1530 plus bonus materials, and the Campus Store trades for RMA70-12, Grindstone, Manganese Ore and Oriron Cluster. This guide covers the mechanics, three SR-EX squads, and the sane way to spend sanity.
Arknights Moonlit Waters Overview: Dates, Unlock and Stage Layout
Moonlit Waters is a crossover side story set in Laterano during the Dark Hour, about visitors from Tartarus spending two days in the holy city .
Event dates and unlock condition
The event opened September 4, 2026 at 12:00 and requires clearing Main Story stage 1-10. A login event called the Same Night, Same Road also started on September 4, so log in daily and claim the free rewards .
Stage structure and sanity costs
SR-ST-1 is pure story with no combat and no sanity cost, and SR-TR-1 teaches the new mechanics. Real stages start at SR-1 with a recommended level of 20 and a cost of 9 sanity, climbing through SR-8, with SR-EX-1 to SR-EX-8 as the challenge tier. Sanity costs follow the standard side story curve, so check the in-game stage screen for exact numbers.
First-clear rewards and medals
First-clear rewards stack into the Travel Plan. SR-1 to SR-8 pay between 40 and 100 each, the SR-EX tier pays 60 to 100 each, and the cumulative clear missions at 15, 45 and 85 runs pay 80, 100 and 120. A medal set is attached to the event, and collecting it means full three-star clears plus bonus conditions.
Arknights Moonlit Waters All-Out Attack: How Knockdown Works
The All-Out Attack is the real damage source here. One field-wide hit often removes more than half a boss health bar, provided every enemy is down at once.
Physical and arts weakness versus elemental weakness
These enemies have enormous health pools, so brute force does not work. Each one carries a damage-type weakness: if the weakness reads physical or arts, dealing enough damage of that type knocks it down; if it reads elemental, you have to trigger an elemental burst on it. A pure physical squad stalls completely against elemental-weakness enemies, so bring an operator who can apply or trigger elements.
Why attack power scales the payoff
When every enemy on the field is down, your side fires one All-Out Attack that deals heavy true damage to all enemies, and the damage scales with the attack power of your deployed operators . True damage ignores defence, so attack buffs convert directly into damage. Hold your attack buffs for the knockdown window instead of popping them while clearing trash.
Arknights Moonlit Waters Handover Tiles: Overlapping Deployment
Tiles marked with a handover icon allow two operators to overlap. The swapped-in operator gets a sharply reduced redeploy timer, which anyone who has played Stationary Security Service will recognize.
How handover resolves
It is not a swap in the usual sense. Two operators share one tile, the outgoing operator leaves after the handover completes, and the incoming operator's redeploy counter is compressed (source: PRTS combat environment notes). That means one damage slot can cycle in and out several times in a single run to align with All-Out Attack windows.
When handover is worth it
It pays off most when waves are separated and each wave has a different weakness: clear a physical wave, hand over, then bring in an arts dealer for the next wave. If a map has no handover tiles, keep two damage dealers rotating normally and do not burn sanity chasing a perfect loop.
Arknights Moonlit Waters SR-EX Teams: Three Configurations
These three squads are examples, not requirements. The goal is coverage across physical, arts and elemental weakness sources.
| Squad | Core setup | Weakness covered | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical burst | High-attack melee or sniper as main DPS, one attack buffer, two medics | Physical-weakness enemies | Stages such as SR-EX-1 and SR-EX-4 |
| Arts melt | Single-target arts damage core plus a splash arts sub-DPS, with debuff support | Arts-weakness enemies | Stages such as SR-EX-2 and SR-EX-6 |
| Elemental trigger | Specialist or caster with an elemental burst plus a fast-redeploy slot | Elemental-weakness enemies | Stages such as SR-EX-3 and SR-EX-8 |
How to run each squad
The physical burst squad lives and dies on its attack buff, so fire the burst inside the knockdown window. The arts squad must land its debuff before unloading; dropping a nuke without the resist debuff wastes the cooldown. The elemental squad wants to trigger its burst while enemy health is still high, because earlier knockdowns mean earlier All-Out Attacks.
Level requirements
No stage requires maximum potential. Per the PRTS recommended levels, elite 1 max-level operators with skill level 7 cover the SR-EX tier, so invest in elite 1 rather than chasing elite 2 when sanity is tight. If a stage keeps timing out, check the weakness type before assuming a level problem.
Arknights Moonlit Waters Tarot Cards and Campus Store
A tarot branch sits inside the event. Clearing SR-ST-1 unlocks the community feature, and collected cards reveal spreads for rewards.
Tarot spread rewards
The initial spread is 01 The Flow, which needs three cards. Later spreads including 02 The Gun, 03 The Crepe, 04 The Gate and 05 The Halo unlock alongside SR-2 through SR-5 progress. Completing them opens an All Revealed Extra tier of free materials.
Campus Store priorities
The store splits into purple, grey and unlimited sections. In purple, take Data Supplement Instrument (10 for 15 tokens) and Electrode Unit (10 for 12 tokens) first, since both gate module and mastery upgrades. Grey tier: Device (25 for 4) and Guard Chip (5 for 6). In the unlimited section, buy RMA70-12 (40), Grindstone (35), Manganese Ore (30) and Oriron Cluster (25) against your actual shortfall, and leave LMD at 20 per token for leftover tokens.
Arknights Moonlit Waters Sanity and Resource Planning
Sanity is the binding constraint. Rewards cluster at first clears and the store, so material farming returns drop off fast.
Order of operations
Clear SR-ST-1 through SR-8 for Travel Plan rewards, then run the SR-EX tier for medals and challenge rewards, then dump leftover sanity into the material nodes behind your unlimited-store purchases. SR-1 costs 9 sanity per run, which makes early clears unusually efficient.
Should you farm rerun materials
RMA70-12, Grindstone, Manganese Ore and Oriron Cluster are all chronically tight. Event token prices beat routine farming, so buy only what you lack. Do not stockpile materials you will not use just because tokens look cheap.
Arknights Moonlit Waters FAQ
Q: What is the unlock requirement?
A: Clear Main Story stage 1-10. The event opened September 4, 2026 at 12:00 .
Q: What determines All-Out Attack damage?
A: The attack power of your deployed operators. It triggers once when every enemy is down and deals heavy true damage .
Q: Why does my physical squad leave elemental enemies standing?
A: Elemental weakness requires an elemental burst to knock down; physical damage does nothing to those enemies.
Q: What do handover tiles actually give me?
A: Overlapping deployment with a sharply reduced redeploy timer, useful for multi-wave weakness swaps.
Q: What should I buy first in the Campus Store?
A: Data Supplement Instrument at 10 for 15 tokens and Electrode Unit at 10 for 12 tokens, then unlimited-section materials you need.
Come discuss in the Gghubs comments.
Arknights Moonlit Waters Action Checklist
- Clear Main Story 1-10 to unlock the event, then claim the Same Night, Same Road login rewards.
- Finish SR-ST-1 and SR-TR-1 to learn the knockdown and elemental burst timing.
- Build three squads by weakness type and push SR-1 through SR-8 for Travel Plan rewards.
- Buy Data Supplement Instrument and Electrode Unit first, then fill unlimited-store gaps.
- Run SR-EX-1 through SR-EX-8 last for medals, and spend remaining sanity on material nodes.