ARKNIGHTS

INTEGRATED
STRATEGIES 2 –
CRIMSON
SOLITAIRE
BASIC GUIDE
BY @F0RGINGSTEEL
DISCLAIMER :
I do not claim that I am an expert in Arknights nor am I claiming that I am a veteran playing Arknights (i’m not),
My only purpose here is to provide basic guides to Newbie / Returning / Players that didn’t have the chance to
experience Ceobe’s Fungimist (IS1).
This guide is made solely based on my experience playing IS1 and IS2 in CN.
Thank you very much I hope this guide helps you through the whole event.
GAMEPLAY INTRODUCTION

 Roguelike or what most people call as Integrated Strategies is a RNG heavy event, it doesn’t need sanity, and you
can’t restart your battle incase you failed the run.
 If in worst case you lost your connection mid-run, you auto failed the stage. You can however
pause a run BEFORE or AFTER the battle by clicking on back button and save for another time.
(think of it like a save/load or checkpoint features)
 Stages, relics, operators you get is totally random.

 It might seem scary at first but it’s actually a very fun event. Since it doesn’t need your sanity.

 No matter if you win or lose, you will still get a reward from clearing one run.

 In contrast with IS1 Ceobe’s Fungimist, IS2 Crimson Solitaire is a permanent event that will last around 7-8 months
long. Each month has corresponding rewards with the most prized reward most players has been waiting for is the
Phantom L2D skin. (totally free!)
GAMEPLAY INTRODUCTION
 There is a total of 5 Chapter you need to clear to win a run with each
of the chapter has unique bosses and enemies also stage mechs.
 You can choose a total of 3 difficulty mode before you start a game.
Depending on the difficulty, the game will give you a buff and/or debuff.
 Example, Castle Sightseeing or easy mode give you :
 The "Silent Squad" will protect the team the whole way.
 Starts with the "Silent Squad" Collection (friendly HP +45% and ATK/DEF +35%).
 Halved rewards.
 Progressions in this mode do not contribute for unlocking new Collections and Squads.
 LAYOUT INTRODUCTION

 Do you see the ingame layout above?

 Blue indicate your HP
 Yellow indicate your Hope points
Hope points is used to recruit Operators.
6* Operators requires 6 Hope
5* Operators requires 3 Hope
4* Operators requires 1 Hope
1* - 3* Operators requires 0 Hope
 Green indicates your Ingots
Ingots is used to buy things in shop (I will introduce this later)
RELICS
INTRODUCTION
Relics or Artifacts are items that
is available in Integrated
Strategies.
These items provides Buffs, and
sometimes if you are unlucky
enough you will get relics that
gives you Debuffs instead.
ABOUT RELICS…
 It is particularly easy to get relics. Sometimes the game will reward you with relics after a battle ends, or during what
I usually call a “Chance” stage.
A “Chance” stage is usually indicated by a Gear and it appear green-blue ish in each level. In contrast with Battles
stage whose color is Yellow or Red depending if it’s a Boss battle or not.
 Aside from “Chance” stage and the end of battles, you can also buy relics with Ingots in Mr. Cannot’s shop which I
will introduce in Shop section of the guide
 As I were saying, relics has buffs or debuffs. Before making a purchase in shop or taking “Chance” stage, be sure to
read the relic stats carefully.

 FUN FACT : Most relics has written Arknights lores on the description. Be sure to read it if you are interested
in the lores!
“CHANCE” STAGE
Other than battles, there is what
I usually call a “Chance” stage
(others may call it different, I just
called it Chance lmao)
What “Chance” stage do is to
give you a chance to earn
rewards by defeating certain
bosses or by pure chance in
gambling by giving them your
Ingots / HP / Hope points.
Depending on your luck, you may
encounter trap Chance stage
too. Read the description
properly before deciding.
“CHANCE” STAGE ADDITIONAL NOTES :

 “Chance” stage usually has different cutscenes. Again, please read the description and choices properly before
deciding.
 You might encounter Gopnik and Duck Lord in here. They are a very strong bosses. Gopnik, for example will punch
your Operators to death and Duck Lord will run very fast to avoid attacks from your Operators. However, they don’t
cost any HP in case you failed to eliminate them. If you managed to do it, they will give you extra Ingots for reward.
Gopnik and Duck Lord will sometimes appears in normal battles too.
CUTSCENE THAT WILL DIRECT YOU TO GOPNIK AND DUCK LORD’S CHANCE
STAGE :
SHOPS
Shop’s spawns is totally random,
but you can almost enter Shop
every time you cleared Level 2.
In shops, you can buy Relics and
Recruitment Tickets
Things prices are varies. You can
buy things Mr. Cannot sells with
Ingots that you earned after each
battle ends.
TACTICAL PROP

Sometimes Mr. Cannot will also

sell Tactical Props.
Just like relics, they will give you
buffs too.
For example, buying TP-1 will
give your Operator recharge your
Operator’s SP if you put it around
them. (applies to one Operator
only)
However, do note that you can
only buy one Prop per run.
Buying another prop will replace
the current prop you are having
START OF THE RUN
In the start of each run, you will be
provided with (what I usually call) a
“mode”.
Each mode has different buff and
debuff.
For example, the first one is called
“Command Unit”, it will give you 4
HP per battle.
Depends on the RNG too, you can
choose a random buff the mode
provided.
OPERATORS
RECRUITMENT
Before the start of a run you will
be provided with 4 choices of
recruitment tickets in which can
be classified in 4 categories.
• Choice A: Vanguard x1, Sniper
x1, Specialist x1
• Choice B: Defender x1, Caster
x1, Sniper x1
• Choice C: Guard x1,
Supporter x1, Medic x1
• Choice D: 3 Random tickets
and one Premium ticket.
You can also borrow support
from your friends on the start of
the run.
WHAT DOES
PREMIUM TICKET
DO?
What Premium ticket does is to
give you an Operator – in most
cases – you don’t have or raise
or big chance it’s Elite Operators,
For now the Elite Operators
provided is Stormeye (Sniper),
Pith (Caster), Touch (Medic) and
Sharp (Guard).
Each is strong in their own class
and archetype.
OPERATORS LEVEL
 The Operators you recruited will stay on E1 max level and skills

 You need to recruit them again to be able to promote them to E2. After you recruit them for the second time, they
will become stronger in terms of ranks, levels and skills. And of course this is depending on your current rooster. You
can’t promote a unit to E2 in IS that you don’t promote in your base.
For example, I can’t promote Projekt Red to E2 because she’s still E1 in my base.
 To be able to promote them, you require Hope points.
6* Operators need 3 Hope
5* Operators need 2 Hope
4* Operators need 1 Hope
Premium Ticket Operators need 0 Hope
MONTHLY FIXED
TEAM
Monthly Fixed Team is a mode
where you get to use a fixed
team to clear a run.
You have to clear a run or at
least reach Chapter 3 to be able
to earn the fixed team rewards
and read the chat logs between
the Operators of the fixed team.
The first month will be filled by
Mudrock, Vigna and Warfarin.
ON THE START AND
END OF THE BATTLE
The battle starts, the stage you will
get is (again) depends on RNG. But
you can always check the stage
through the Eye of Priestess.
After the battle ends, regardless if
you have succeeded or not
(assuming that you don’t lose your
HP to 0), you gain Ingots and EXP.
Every time you managed to raise
your level, you gain Hope.
REPERTOIRE
Repertoire is a temporary buff
whose effect is unknown until it
is acquired. It will only be active
during the current Area. Only 1
can be active at a time. In case
the stage give you another
Repertoire, you have the chane
to replace the current Repertoire
you have
Example: Light of Heria - In the
next Emergency Battle, a random
elite operator will be temporarily
added to your Squad.
TREASURE
In battles, you will sometimes
encounter Treasures. You have to
protect Treasures from passing
enemies by putting Operators in
front of it or by defeating them
before the enemies passed by it.
Treasures will give you additional
Ingots rewards if you managed to
protect it.
REWARDS SYSTEM
The Rewards system allows you
to level up using Candle, and
awards various items as well as
several special rewards.
The system's leveling cap will be
increased every month with a
new unique reward every month
until the six months of Crimson
Solitaire have passed and the
new season arrives.
 REWARDS SYSTEM ADDITIONAL NOTES :

 Regardless if you failed a run or not, you will get Candles. So don’t worry if you haven’t won a run, you will most
probably can level up without winning. But yes, if you win, you will get more Candles to level up too.
 Rewards changes per month. On the first month, the reward will be a new Operator, Shalem and his tokens. You will
however need to level up until level 50 to get his full pot.
 The progress of the Candles collecting is saved. So you don’t need to restart from 0 to earn the reward.
 HALLUCINATION

 When entering a new Chapter in Crimson Solitaire, a Hallucination may be triggered, which affects gameplay in
various ways that could be beneficial or detrimental for you.
 The odds of a Hallucination triggering depends on the difficulty level and increases in every passing Chapter, and
sometimes two Hallucinations can occur in one Chapter.
 For example of Hallucination,
Imagination : Enemies receive a 10% buff to their HP, ATK, and DEF.
Survival : Friendly units lose 50 HP every second but have their ATK and ASPD increased by 50% and 50,
respectively; enemies lose 100 HP every second but have their ATK and ASPD increased by 150% and 50,
respectively.
And many more.. You can check what kind of Hallucination you received by reading the description
BEHIND THE SCENES
Behind the Scenes are divided
into five tiers with each having
eight upgrades and one Talent
that are unlocked by acquiring
certain upgrades in the same
tier. All upgrades and Talents
stack additively with each other.
What this do is to give you
additional buff.
For example, upgrading talent A-
1 in Tier I, Increases the ATK of Example : Tier IV Behind the Scenes Buffs
friendly units by 1%.
It might seem to be a small buff
but by keeping on upgrading the
talent, the bonuses will stacks.
STORY ENDING
The story can ends into multiple
endings depending on the relics
you choose and whether you
clear the final boss or not.
A certain relic can deliver you to
a Secret Ending so be sure to
read them carefully.
OPERATORS RECOMMENDATIONS
DISCLAIMER : THIS IS PURELY BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE. DO NOT BE SALTY IF YOUR FAVE IS NOT HERE, YOU
CAN CERTAINLY BRING EVERYONE IF YOU WANT TO,
 Hard Carries : Thorns, Eyjafjalla, Ch’en the Holungday, Ling

 DPS : SilverAsh, Surtr, Mountain, Mudrock, Kal’tsit, Goldenglow, Blaze

 Every 3* operators. They are very recommended to recruit in the beginning of every run since they costed only 1 HP

 Personal recommendation : Jaye, Sussurro, Mulberry/Honeyberry, Click, Scene

 Every Elite Operators recruit like Sharp, Stormeye, Pith and Touch

 Most used Operators based on Crimson Solitaire site :

ADDITIONAL NOTES :

 You can check the relics list in Crimson Solitaire official website. It’s in Chinese but it’s easily translateable.

https://ak.hypergryph.com/is/crimsonsolitaire
 it is not necessary to win a run every time as you will still get Candles regardless if you won the run or not.

 If you have any question, do not hesitate to shoot me a DM or reply in the post I will answer as best as you can

 Do not hesitate to provide advises in the reply section of the post, it might help other players too.