Arknights 6th Anniversary: The Ultimate Ato Event Guide & Reward Walkthrough
Arknights celebrates its 6th Global Anniversary with the launch of a major new event, headlined by the debut of the Limited Operator Ato. This guide covers everything you need to know about the anniversary festivities and helps you decide whether to pull on the new limited banner.
Arknights 6th Anniversary Event: Ato – Everything You Need to Know
The 6th anniversary campaign is now live, featuring a series of celebratory events and activities. The centerpiece is the release of a new limited-time Anniversary Side Story, Ato. The overall celebration runs from January 16th to February 7th, with the special rate-up banner for Ato available from January 16th until January 30th.
Free Limited Banner Pulls for the 6th Anniversary
As part of the 6th Anniversary celebration, simply logging in during the event period will grant you free opportunities to pull on the limited banner. This banner features two brand-new 6★ Operators: the Limited Defender Hoshiguma, the Breacher, and the 6★ Supporter Haruka.
Upon logging in, you will receive a free 10x Headhunting Permit, allowing you to perform a full multi-pull on this limited banner at no cost.
Daily Free Single Pulls
Additionally, by logging in daily during the banner period, you can perform one free single pull each day. If you log in every day, this amounts to up to 14 free pulls over the course of the event.
Please note that these free pulls are limited banner pulls and can only be used on the current limited banner. Be sure to log in during the event period and use them before they expire.
Special 6th Anniversary Login Campaigns
In addition to the free pulls, two special login campaigns will be held during the anniversary:
The first is a one-time account login reward that grants a 6★ Operator Selector Ticket and a free outfit voucher. The selector ticket includes four highly useful 6★ Operators suitable for both new and veteran players:
- Surtr (Guard)
- Bagpipe (Vanguard)
- Eyjafjalla (Caster)
- Saria (Defender)
Log in once during the event to claim these rewards.
Second Login Event: Daily Lottery Draw
The second anniversary login event features a daily lottery draw, where players can obtain Orundum for 14 consecutive days. Each day, you may select two lottery tickets; the reward will be determined by the higher Orundum value between the two tickets, ranging from 300 to 800 Orundum per ticket. If you are fortunate, you can acquire up to 10,000 Orundums throughout this event.
6th Anniversary Side Story: Ato
Alongside the anniversary celebration, a limited-time Side Story event – Ato – will be available. During the event period, clear various stages to earn event-exclusive currency, which can be exchanged for valuable resources in the event shop.
Event Rewards & Free Operator
Completing event stages for the first time will grant a substantial amount of Originium Prime. By clearing all first-time stage clears and challenge stages, you can obtain up to 38 Originium Prime, equivalent to 6,080 Orundum or 10 pulls.
Additionally, the event shop offers 3 Headhunting Tickets for 450 event currency, which can be farmed from event stages. By completing event missions, you will also receive a free welfare Operator: the 5★ Vanguard Matsukiri.
Welfare Operator: Matsukiri
Matsukiri is the free 5★ Vanguard available during the Ato event. He belongs to the new “Strategist Vanguard” subclass, showcasing the full mechanics of this branch while holding his own in battle with a solid and versatile skill set.
In essence, Strategist Vanguards specialize in manipulating the DP cost of operators in the waiting area. They can significantly reduce the DP cost of specific operator types while increasing the cost of others. This subclass has access to a special marker on the deployment grid, and can swap the DP costs of operators placed on the left and right sides of the marker—making high-cost operators cheaper to deploy, and low-cost operators more expensive.
Matsukiri’s Role & Kit
Matsukiri serves as a Defender- and Supporter-focused Vanguard. His talents and skills enhance the operators of these classes:
- His talent boosts the ATK of deployed Defender and Supporter operators.
- His skills allow him to generate DP while also reducing the DP cost of Defender/Supporter operators and increasing their Max HP.
Arknights 6th Anniversary Limited Banner – Should You Roll?
Alongside the anniversary events, a special Limited Rate-Up Banner will be available, featuring two new 6★ operators:
- Hoshiguma the Breacher (Limited 6★ Defender)
- Haruka (6★ Supporter)
Hoshiguma the Breacher
Hoshiguma is a Limited 6★ Defender of the Arts Protector archetype. She excels at dealing Arts damage to multiple enemies within her range while providing strong sustain for allies. She can block enemy attacks and redirect lethal damage taken by allies to herself, making her a durable frontline protector.
Hoshiguma’s defining ability is her third skill, which greatly expands her attack range to hit both ground and air enemies with Arts damage. While active, she gains a large increase to ATK and Max HP, and can attack up to 3 enemies within range.
The skill’s unique mechanic triggers when manually deactivated before its duration ends. Upon early manual cancellation, Hoshiguma will:
- Deal 4× damage per hit to enemies in range
- Become undefeatable for 11 seconds
- Redirect any lethal damage taken by allies within her range to herself
After 11 seconds, she automatically retreats.
Talent – Unyielding Stance
When receiving lethal damage, Hoshiguma does not retreat immediately. Instead, she accumulates damage up to 200% of her Max HP before being forced to retreat. She also gains substantial ATK and RESIST stats, enhancing both her survivability and damage output.
Haruka – Abjurer Supporter
Haruka is a 6★ Abjurer Supporter, a subclass that normally attacks enemies when skills are inactive and switches to healing when skills are active. Haruka excels at providing massive healing and granting allies a powerful Sanctuary buff, significantly reducing incoming damage.
Her unique trait allows her to bypass the usual Abjurer restriction, enabling her to deal damage to enemies even while healing allies.
Haruka’s strength lies in her second and third skills, each serving distinct and powerful roles.
- Skill 2 (Sustained Support): This is her primary “set-and-forget” skill. It allows her to heal one additional ally within range and apply the Sanctuary effect to more targets. Whenever she heals an ally with this skill active, she also deals Arts damage to up to 3 enemies within range, with the damage scaling based on the amount of healing done. Its automatic nature makes it her most commonly used skill.
- Skill 3 (Burst & Control): When activated, this skill expands her attack range, reduces her attack interval, and significantly increases the potency of her Sanctuary effect, dramatically reducing damage taken by allies. Furthermore, enemies attacking allies under this enhanced Sanctuary effect will be Levitated and take Arts damage from Haruka, enabling synergy with other operators that capitalize on the Levitate control effect.
Should You Roll?
Pull Rating: 8/10 for both Hoshiguma the Breacher and Haruka
Both operators excel in their respective roles: Hoshiguma provides formidable Arts damage and unparalleled survivability, while Haruka offers exceptional damage mitigation and healing.
They are not, however, considered “must-pull” operators. While they bring excellent utility to a wide range of content, their absence does not significantly hinder an account’s progress. Other operators can fulfill similar functions, albeit often less efficiently or powerfully in certain scenarios.
Consider rolling on this banner if:
- You lack a durable, high-damage Arts tank.
- You need a powerful defensive supporter for challenging content.
- You value Limited Operators, as Hoshiguma will be harder to obtain in the future.
Conclusion
That covers all the essential details of Arknights’ 6th Anniversary celebration. From the limited-time story event Ato and its valuable rewards to the powerful new operators Hoshiguma the Breacher and Haruka, this anniversary offers a wealth of content and opportunities. Whether you choose to invest in the banner or focus on the generous free rewards, we hope this guide helps you make the most of the festivities.