Endfield's 1.4 Quest Has ONE Big Problem
But don't worry, it can still be fixed and avoided in the future.
I mentioned in my first Endfield post that my reasons for enjoying this game don’t have much to do with the OG Arknights franchise or its sci-fi plot.
Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it when it does well (or not so well). In fact, the latest 1.4 patch is packed with a lot of storytelling improvements and I’ll even write about them here for a bit.
But of course, that means there will be spoilers ahead. So, do turn back if you’re playing Endfield and still have yet to clear 1.4 content.
1.4’s High Points
The patch has been touted as something of a culminating arc, where our protagonists finally enter the Wuling Exclusion Zone. This was the site of an enormous rift disaster that has impacted the lives of every main Wuling character (as well as those from the neighboring Qingbo Stockade).
We’ve had a decent buildup to this moment in previous patches, with the introduction of Arcane as well as more background info on groups like the Yinglung Task Force.
This kinda contrasted with the tough chew I’ve had during the Power Plateau chapter of Valley IV. I could better appreciate the sense of mission and the weight of the stakes to close the Very Large Rift because I wasn’t pushed through a massive infodump like much of Valley IV’s story was.
There was also a more balanced focus between other characters and the Endmin. On the Endmin’s side, we got some nice tidbits about their past with the Sui Proxy (and my soon-to-be next banner pull). Various points of the plot were also dedicated to the much better lore drops that are in such huge contrast to the Valley IV blabfest. (Side note: Man, I really wish I could revisit that big-arse sword we found underground.)
And on the side of the other characters, we got to learn more about Arcane (the patch’s featured heroine). HG definitely did a spectacular, emotionally-rocking job of showing who she really was beyond the stoic birb woman impression she gave when she was first teased.
It always amazes me how a character can start off looking like a side-tagonist, only for them to have such deep ties to the main conflict. Arcane’s story in 1.4 really struck me with the way it visually represented her struggle with trauma, survivor’s guilt and the deep character flaws it created in her. It’s also interesting that she finds closure in not just one, but two cinematic cutscenes that really drove the message home.
Other characters also get their share of the spotlight, including Da Pan and Lifeng. The snippets of their own past with Wuling’s great disaster was light enough yet interwoven seamlessly into the main quest’s progression.
So, overall, the whole thing was a clear improvement upon the previous major patch. I have noted the similarities between Arcane’s story and Zhuang’s, but I also can’t help concluding that the flaws in the latter are why the latter flies on very high notes. There was more showing than telling, and HG definitely did not hold back anymore with the visuals themselves.
My One BIG Problem
Right, so here’s the part where I talk about the thing I mentioned in my deliberately click-baity title.
I’ve already made it clear that the one thing that got me into Endfield was the fun promise of free factory game shenanigans mixed with waifu gacha enjoyment.
It’s this very motive that drives me to better appreciate the lore and plot of the game, as well as tolerate it when it flubs.
When the dev log for 1.4 was released, the highlight of it for me was the introduction of gases and how they tied to a much-needed QoL improvement. Up until then, one of the literally biggest challenges of Wuling’s factory endgame was its central Xiranite production line taking up way too much space.
In fact, I’m not even going to put a picture of what my previous setup looked like just to show you how averse I am to recreating that hefty mess (nope, not even for content). Just imagine a bunch of utilities that ate up ¼ of the largest AIC area in Wuling, while eating ¾ of all the other small ones.
You can imagine my sweet relief when I saw just how far I was going to shrink it all with 1.4’s upcoming changes.
There was just one problem.
For some godsforsaken reason, HG thought it would have been best to lock this QoL change behind the very end of its main quest.
This made no sense to me.
Seriously, I wasn’t even in a rush to see what the final factory outputs were going to be. I just wanted to shrink my Xiranite production line.
And even as I was grateful for being able to teleport with conduits and fool around with them in the rift sealing sidequest, it still made no sense.
I would have been content not producing Pyrolite parts or even not accessing Xiragen. I was not waiting entire patches for these things.
A QoL improvement is a different story.
Gacha gods help us if HG decides to make this a friggin’ habit. I will certainly be putting this on the next survey, even if I have to write it all with my PS5 controller! No matter how great the story, it’s a cardinal sin of game design to put a much-desired QoL change behind the entire length of it.
These changes are meant to ease things during the journey, and not simply at its end. This was like the equivalent of having the keys of the amusement park bathrooms locked behind a to-ride list.
Granted, this ties to my concern with Endfield having moments of neglect when it comes to its factory. Nowhere in the entire main quest or sidequest was there a lore justification locking the gas dispersal features that allowed me to streamline my Xiranite facilities. It was just simply “You must have closed the Very Large Rift to unlock this feature.”
What the hell HG?
(In hindsight, they could have at least explained that gas dispersal was something they derived from the Yinglung Pillars, but not even that could really justify the lock reaching all the way till the patch’s culminating boss fight.)
Another minor quibble of mine is just the weird math of the current gas outputs. Like liquids, you need containers before you can store gas. But unlike liquids, you can’t just increase production by putting up another pump.
That means you really gotta calculate your gas usage carefully. Meanwhile, any surplus you have left is definitely being wasted. This is a bit of a shame, because Xiragen gas has waaaaaay more valuable uses compared to Acid or Water.
I’m just going to expect these getting addressed in the next patch. But while I can be as patient as I am ranty (yes, it’s weirdly possible with me), this is still a bit of a callout to Hypergraph about the factory.
Please, do not ever lock a QoL feature like this again. 1.4’s story is great, and you do not wanna hamper the experience with this kind of glaring inconvenience.
Do better now!!
Alas, I still have to manually type these CTAs. That said, do hit that subscribe button if you’re looking for some extra gacha gaming thoughts here on Substack. I shall do my very best to deliver, lol.