If you’re a long-time Arknights franchise fan, you know Hypergryph never misses a chance to lean into silly, self-aware humor for seasonal gags. The Arknights Endfield April Fools event is no exception, blending the game’s signature sci-fi setting with absurd jokes that feel equal parts out of character and perfectly on brand for the studio. I’ve covered every Arknights April Fools drop for the past four years, so I’ve broken down everything you need to know to get the most out of this limited-time run, even if you only have 10 minutes to spare before it’s gone.
What Makes the Arknights Endfield April Fools Event Stand Out From Franchise Traditions?
If you’ve never participated in an Arknights Endfield April Fools event before, you might be confused at first when all your serious sci-fi characters start telling dad jokes and wielding absurd weapons. Unlike previous Arknights mainline April Fools drops that were simple 2D browser games, this event runs directly in the Endfield client, using the full open world map you’re used to exploring for regular missions. All event content is 100% free to access even if you haven’t unlocked all Endfield regions yet, so new players can join in the fun right after completing the tutorial.
You also don’t have to worry about messing up your main progress, because no content from the event affects your regular save file – all the silly modifiers disappear once the event is over, and your characters go back to their usual loadouts. I was shocked when I logged in on April 1 and found my entire squad was equipped with rubber chicken weapons instead of their usual guns and swords. It’s the kind of dumb joke that lands perfectly if you’ve spent dozens of hours grinding serious story missions in Endfield.
All Limited-Time Rewards You Can Earn During the Event
A lot of players skip April Fools events thinking rewards are just useless cosmetic fluff, but this year’s drop has actual permanent value that carries over to your regular gameplay. You don’t have to spend a cent to get all rewards, either – Hypergryph didn’t lock any content behind paywalls or battle pass tiers this year, which is a nice change from other gacha game seasonal events. The full reward list includes:
That’s not all, either. There’s a hidden reward if you complete the silly side quest where you have to collect 100 rubber ducks scattered across the Endfield open world. That reward is a special furniture set for your base that plays a silly quack sound every time you interact with it. I spent 45 minutes hunting all the ducks down, and I can confirm it’s worth it just to mess with friends who visit my base. Just note that all rewards disappear 24 hours after the event ends, so make sure you claim them from your in-game mail before it’s too late.
The Best Hidden Easter Eggs You Don’t Want to Miss
Hypergryph is famous for sneaking tiny, easy-to-miss details into all their events, and this April Fools drop is no exception. Most players only complete the main quest and miss all the little jokes the devs added just for fun. All NPC dialogue is rewritten for the event to make jokes about the game’s most common player complaints, like how annoying it is to farm for rare upgrade materials, or how long some story cutscenes run. For example, the blacksmith NPC will complain that he’s tired of players asking him to craft the same 5-star weapon 12 times in a row.
There’s also a secret area you can access if you jump off the highest cliff in the first starting region, which leads to a small room with a developer note thanking players for supporting the game through its early access run. Another fun detail: if you leave your game idle for 5 minutes during the event, your character will start doing a silly dance instead of the usual idle animation. I almost missed that one because I’m always rushing between objectives, but I saw it when I got up to grab a snack mid-play session. If you play the event co-op with a friend, you can throw rubber ducks at each other to temporarily stun them, which is a fun way to mess around if you’re not in a hurry to complete objectives.
Tips to Get the Most Out of the Event in Under an Hour
I know most players don’t have hours to spare for silly seasonal content, so I’ve tested the fastest paths to get all the best rewards without wasting time. Prioritize the main event quest first – it only takes 15 minutes to complete, and gives you 80% of the total rewards right away, including the Orundum and stamina refills. You don’t have to do all the side quests if you’re short on time, but the rubber duck hunt is worth doing if you have an extra 20 minutes to spare for the permanent furniture set.
Also, make sure you log in every day of the event, even if you only stay for 2 minutes to claim the daily login rewards. Some players assume you can get all rewards in one day, but there are daily drops that you can’t get if you skip a day, including half of the total Orundum payout. If you’re playing on mobile, turn off auto-save for event screenshots in your settings, because the game will automatically take silly photos of your character doing dumb stuff and save them to your device – I learned that the hard way when I found 30 blurry photos of my character making a funny face in my camera roll. Don’t take the event too seriously, either. The whole point is to have fun, so don’t get frustrated if you can’t find all the hidden easter eggs, most of them are just for jokes anyway.
At the end of the day, the Arknights Endfield April Fools event is a nice break from the usual serious grind of open world missions and gacha pulls. It’s clear the developers put a lot of love into the little details, and the permanent rewards make it worth checking out even if you’re not usually a fan of silly seasonal content. Even if you only have 10 minutes to log in, you’ll walk away with free premium currency and a fun weapon skin you can show off to friends for months to come. Don’t wait too long to check it out, though – it’s gone as soon as April ends, and most of the content won’t come back next year.