TRIAL OF THE BOW: SEPT 9 CHALLENGE PREVIEW

Version 1.5 launched on September 2, 2026, and its first challenge event follows one week later. Trial of the Bow opens September 9, and it is the event most directly tied to the version headline operator.

Trial of the Bow turned out to be a target-shooting minigame, not a combat trial. Typhoeus’s Archery Range sits in a warehouse Andre converted into a fletching workshop, and you clear its stages with five craftable arrow chips. The range is permanent. Only the Trial Mission reward track is time-limited.

Archery challenges in the Snowy Forest range, built around the version headline operator.

TL;DR - Key Points

• Trial of the Bow opens September 9, 2026, one week into Version 1.5 Phase 1.
• It is a target-shooting minigame, not a combat trial. Confirmed at launch.
• The Archery Range is permanent. Only the Trial Mission reward track expires.
• You do not need to own Typhoeus. The gate is her side mission, confirmed at launch.
• The story stays playable after the event. The rewards do not, so play it live for the track.
• Prep is simple: clear the Wuling arc, keep materials banked, learn her kit.

What Trial of the Bow Actually Is

The setup is straightforward. After the search for Chief Engineer Andre brings the Endministrator into the Snowy Forest outside the Yinglung Pass, Typhoeus leads a detour into the forest archery range. The quarry is a set of special Sami arrows, which the preview frames as Sami craftsmanship found a very long way from Terra Sami territory. Our Sami and Collapsals breakdown covers why that detail matters for lore readers.

Structurally it is a challenge event, the combat trial slot of the version. Phase 1 gives you the region, the area boss, and this event. Phase 2 (September 24) switches genres entirely with the Suiming puzzle city, covered in our Suiming time loop breakdown and the full version calendar.

Do You Need Typhoeus

Answered at launch: no. The only unlock requirement is completing her side mission, A Winter Dream Fogged Deep in the Woods, which is itself gated on main-story Chapter II progress. There is no ownership check anywhere in the event data.

The reason is that the mode is not a combat trial at all. It is a target-shooting minigame where the arrows are driven by craftable devices called arrow chips, not by her battle skill. Our full Archery Range guide covers all five chips, the nine stages and the complete reward list.

Her kit is still worth knowing for the rest of the version. Our Typhoeus build guide covers that loop with launch testing data, our Typhoeus teams guide ranks the squads around her, and our Typhoeus pull analysis walks the Winter Hunt decision with the numbers before the banner closes on September 30.

Story Permanence Versus Rewards

The part Endfield did confirm: the story remains playable after the event period ends. This matches their consistent handling of narrative events, and it removes the usual fear of missing story content because you were busy during a short window.

The rewards are still time-limited. That split is the whole planning advice for this event: the story will wait, the track will not. If you can only do one thing in the opening days, clear the reward stages first and read the story later.

How to Prepare Before September 9

Short list, because the event is narrow and most prep carries over from the version launch.

1. Clear the Wuling story arc. The 1.5 main story resumes directly after the Wuling confrontation, and the Snowy Forest gating follows from it. If you are behind, this is the highest value thing to finish. See our Snowy Forest prep for the rest of the pre-launch checklist.
2. Keep materials banked. A new operator plus a new region means ascension and gear costs landing at the same time. Do not empty your reserves the day before a challenge event.
3. Bank Wuling Stock Bills. This one only became clear at launch: upgrading the Archery Range to its max level costs 470,000 Wuling Stock Bills across three tiers, and the top tier is where the real stages live. See the Archery Range upgrade path for the per-level costs and gates.
4. Settle your Winter Hunt plan. The banner runs to September 30, so there is no rush, but knowing whether you are pulling before the event starts changes whether you practice with your own copy or a trial.

What We Now Know

Every open question on this list closed on launch day. The short version:

1. No Typhoeus needed. The gate is her side mission, not her presence on your account.
2. Nine simulation stages plus four repeatable Daily Exercise tiers, scored on a 3-star goal system rather than par times.
3. 1,200 Oroberyl total, 900 from limited Trial Missions and 300 from permanent stage first-clears, alongside 255,000 T-Creds and 8 Mark of Perseverance.
4. Entry requirement is main-story Chapter II progress, which unlocks the side mission.
5. Modifiers exist but are not combat modifiers. Daily Exercise rolls chip modifiers that reshape your arrows, and they reshuffle every day.

The one thing the preview got most wrong: this is not a combat trial. It is a target-shooting minigame with five swappable arrow chips, and the range stays permanently playable after the event window closes. Our Trial of the Bow Archery Range guide has every stage, chip, modifier and reward, including the chip pairings the game itself names for the four hardest stages.

Also worth doing: redeem the September 2026 codes before the 100 Oroberyl code expires on September 9, since that free currency lands the same day the event opens.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Trial of the Bow start in Arknights: Endfield? September 9, 2026, one week after the Version 1.5 launch. It is Phase 1 content, so it arrives alongside the Snowy Forest region and the Winter Hunt banner rather than in the September 24 second wave.

What is Trial of the Bow? Confirmed at launch: it is the limited-time Trial Mission track attached to Typhoeus’s Archery Range, a target-shooting minigame in Andre’s converted warehouse in the Snowy Forest. You clear stages with five craftable arrow chips rather than with a combat team. The range itself is permanent and only the Trial Missions expire.

Do I need Typhoeus to play Trial of the Bow? No. Confirmed at launch: the only unlock requirement is completing her side mission A Winter Dream Fogged Deep in the Woods, which is gated on main-story Chapter II progress. There is no ownership check, because the arrows are driven by equippable arrow chips rather than by her combat kit.

Does the Trial of the Bow story stay after the event ends? Yes. Endfield confirmed the story remains playable after the event period ends, consistent with past narrative events. Rewards are still time-limited, so play it live if the reward track matters to you.

How should I prepare for Trial of the Bow? Clear the Wuling story arc so the Snowy Forest is unlocked, then finish her side mission to open the range. Bank Wuling Stock Bills, because upgrading the Archery Range to max level costs 470,000 of them, and the best stages only unlock at the top tier. No combat team is needed.

Endfield Hub is a fan-made resource for Arknights: Endfield and is not affiliated with Hypergryph or Yostar. Updated September 9, 2026 with the launch details. Full stage rules, chip data and rewards are in our Archery Range guide.