Arknights: Endfield Contingency Contract — Rules, Test Criteria & Rewards Explained

Contingency Contract is Arknights: Endfield's recurring high-difficulty challenge mode: a free event where you stack optional difficulty modifiers ("Test Criteria") onto a fixed combat encounter and climb toward higher score records for better rewards. The most recent run, [Contingency Contract: Re-Ignition Experimental Operation], was live from June 19, 2026 and closed with the [Homecoming] version update in July 2026.

Because the mode returns in future versions with the same core rules, this guide walks through how it works — availability, Test Criteria, Criteria Sets, cycle missions, the Secret Sanctuary shop and the Sanctuary Rating — using the official Re-Ignition announcements as the verified reference. Everything below is taken from those announcements and from EndfieldDex's own data files, not from speculation.

If you are new to the term: Contingency Contract is a direct descendant of the mode of the same name from the original Arknights, adapted to Endfield's real-time combat. Where Arknights players stacked "risk" tags on a fixed map, Endfield players stack Test Criteria on a fixed 4-wave fight — the higher the stack, the better the record and the better the reward track.

What is Contingency Contract and how do you enter it?

Per the official release details, Contingency Contract is a free, high-difficulty challenge mode in which you "freely combine Test Criteria of varying difficulties to complete combat challenges." Key structural facts from the Re-Ignition run:

• Combat format: each challenge comprises a total of 4 waves. Defeat all enemies to clear. If you fail, the challenge must be re-attempted from the beginning — there is no mid-run checkpoint.
• Participation criteria: complete the main mission [Chapter I Process II: Paving the Way] and reach Authority Level ≥30.
• Run dates (Re-Ignition): opened June 19, 2026 at 12:00 (server time) and ended when version update maintenance began — for Asia (UTC+8) that was the [Homecoming] maintenance on July 16, 2026. Americas/Europe server time is UTC-5.
• Phase 2: an event content update went live June 26, 2026 at 12:00 (server time), adding new Test Criteria while keeping all basic rules, rewards and the Sanctuary Rating unchanged.

All combat challenges and contract missions close when the event ends, so the mode is strictly limited-time — but the ruleset carries across runs, which is why learning it once pays off every time it returns. For context on where Re-Ignition sat in the patch cadence: it opened on June 19 while the [Sketches of Lost Heirlooms] version (released June 5, 2026) was live, and closed when the next major version, [Homecoming], landed on July 16, 2026.

Test Criteria, Key Criteria and Criteria Sets

The heart of Contingency Contract is its self-imposed difficulty system. The official notes define the rules precisely:

• Three difficulty tiers: every Test Criteria has a difficulty level of 1, 2 or 3. Your Total Test Criteria is the sum of the difficulty levels of all criteria you select.
• Criteria Sets: as you reach higher Total Test Criteria records, Criteria Sets for different regions unlock over time. These sets gate which criteria you can actually pick.
• Locked Criteria: some criteria are locked. You must select the specified Key Criteria to unlock them.
• Day-8 additions: after launch, new Test Criteria were added on day 8 of the event. They still could not be selected while their Criteria Set remained locked.
• Phase 2 batch (June 26): five criteria were added and auto-unlocked: [Team: Encumbered], [Ambient: Time Limit III], [Edit: Flashfreeze], [Ambient: RE-Construct I] and [Ambient: RE-Construct II].

Judging by the names, the Phase 2 batch is a good preview of the modifiers you will see in future runs: a team-wide restriction (Team: Encumbered), a timer (Ambient: Time Limit III), a Cryo-flavored combat edit (Edit: Flashfreeze) and two "RE-Construct" ambient conditions. Exact in-game effects are only visible once a Criteria Set is unlocked, so in a live event, aim to push your Total Test Criteria record early — that is what unlocks more of the menu.

A sensible approach for any run: first clear the base challenge to learn the enemy waves, then complete a run with at least one difficulty-1 criteria to activate the Sanctuary Rating, and finally push your Total Test Criteria upward over the following days as new cycle missions arrive. The mode is forgiving in one respect — failing a challenge simply means restarting the 4 waves from the beginning, so experimentation costs nothing but time.

Cycle missions, the engraved medal and Sanctuary Rating

• Cycle missions: a new cycle mission was added every 3 days during the event, 7 in total. All missions remained available to complete until the event ended, so nothing was permanently missable within the run.
• Engraved medal: meeting specified in-game conditions during the event awarded an event-exclusive engraved medal (the Re-Ignition run's medal is recorded as "Re-Ignition" in EndfieldDex's item database).
• Sanctuary Rating: successfully clearing a challenge with a Total Test Criteria of at least 1 activated the event-exclusive Sanctuary Rating, displayed on your Friends screen. The rating was only active for the duration of that event.

Because the medal and rating are event-exclusive, there is no catch-up after a run ends — another reason to plan your clears before the final maintenance.

Rewards and the Secret Sanctuary exchange

Rewards were delivered on two tracks, both confirmed in the official announcements and matched to items in EndfieldDex's database:

• Mission goals: completing mission goals during the event earned [Portrait: Ancient Contract], [Portrait Frame: Contingent Inscription] and [Vitrified Coins] — the event currency.
• Secret Sanctuary: the shop was open June 19, 2026 at 12:00 through July 23, 2026 at 04:00 (server time). Spend Vitrified Coins there to exchange for [Sticker: Contingency Contract], [Oroberyls] (the game's premium currency) and [Advanced Progression Selection Crate I], among other goods.
• Currency cleanup: once the Secret Sanctuary closed, all unused Vitrified Coins were cleared. They do not carry over to future events.

Since Contingency Contract is a combat showcase, a deeper roster helps you adapt to whatever criteria a run throws at you. Browse all 31 operators and their elements on the characters page, and if you are chasing specific operators or weapons to round out your roster, the headhunting tracker and banner schedule keep you on top of current banners and pity. New to the gacha side of Endfield? The headhunting guide explains the permit and pity systems.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: official announcements — [Contingency Contract: Re-Ignition Experimental Operation] Release Details (June 18, 2026) and Content Update Notes (June 25, 2026), mirrored in the news archive; item names cross-checked against EndfieldDex's item database. See more in the guides hub.