The special Arknights Special - The Long Return shows Kal'tsit's return with a concept animation produced by Yostar Arcus. It tells how she watched civilizations rise and fall until the cycle stopped and drew her into nothingness. Even with her endless life taken and her body left frail, she came back with a greater hope. For players, the special lands alongside Critical Phase Transition, which started on October 14.

Arknights Special - The Long Return, Kal'tsit's concept animation · Watch on YouTube

What starts now

Critical Phase Transition is the launch event for Main Theme Episode 17 and runs until October 28, 2026 at 10:59 UTC. It opened on October 14 at 15:00 UTC. It also brings the Celebration part together with the story.

During the event, the requirement to enter Episode 17 drops to having cleared main story stage 3-8. After October 28, the requirement goes back to clearing 16-19. So if you still haven't reached 3-8, you have until then to get in without walking the whole path first.

Getting into Episode 17 early

Extreme Mode for Episode 17 opens on October 21, 2026 at 23:00 UTC. It only becomes available after Episode 17 is unlocked, so go in before that if you don't want to miss the hard part this week.

Episode 17 stages use Kal'tsit and the Doctor's story, and the event's first-clear rewards aren't lost when the event ends. If you start now, you keep the progress.

Official cover for Episode 17: Critical Phase Transition
Official cover for Episode 17: Critical Phase Transition

Kal'tsit Esperanta in the Sealed With Time banner

Kal'tsit Esperanta is the character's new form, and she arrives in the limited banner Sealed With Time, a Celebration Limited Headhunting. During the event, Kal'tsit Esperanta, Closure, Crackborne, GALLUS² and Viy get 50% extra Trust, except in Annihilation.

If you want Kal'tsit Esperanta without leaning on luck alone, there's a free path: she can be claimed for free after 300 pulls on Sealed With Time. Since the banner is limited, that count has to be done inside the event period, before October 28.

For us here at Gacha Focus, the call is simple: if you already have a strong team for Episode 17, pull what fits your Orundum and don't spend more than you need. If you don't have Kal'tsit yet, you can still get her through the free path.

What else is running until November

The Recommended Monthly Card is active from October 8 at 11:00 UTC until November 16 at 10:59 UTC. It gives 200 Orundum and an emergency Sanity Booster every day, with 30 claims in total. The daily claim resets at 11:00 UTC, but each server has its own reset.

While the event runs, the Unlicensed Clinic Store takes Factory scrip. You get them by completing missions on the item list, and you can spend them in the store until November 4 at 10:59 UTC.

There's also the Emergent Pulse Project video contest. Submissions run until November 4 at 11:00 UTC. Voting goes from November 6 to 13, and results come out on November 13 at 10:00 UTC.

Official cover for the Emergent Pulse Project
Official cover for the Emergent Pulse Project

What to do now

  • Log in and grab the Monthly Card daily claim before the reset.
  • Clear main story stage 3-8 to unlock Episode 17 during the event.
  • Spend your Factory scrip before November 4 at 10:59 UTC.
  • If you want Kal'tsit Esperanta, use the free 300-pull path on Sealed With Time before October 28.
  • Go into Extreme Mode after October 21 at 23:00 UTC.

The event ends on a fixed date, so anything you leave undone by October 28 at 10:59 UTC may need another route later.