Introduction

This post is a detailed breakdown of some of the new mechanics introduced with IS#3. Paragraphs in italics (often at the start of each section) are flavor text, taken from official teasers.

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Light

A bright light may guide you to powerful enlightenments that can be used to protect you from the ocean. However, your light value will be reduced through certain encounters, or when you take objective damage during battles. The lower your light value, the easier it is to get lost within the ocean; but perhaps, getting lost isn’t all bad?

On the map interface, your Light value is always displayed on the top of your screen. By default, adventures begin with the maximum Light amount of 100. This amount can decrease due to the following:

• Starting an adventure on a higher difficulty level
• Certain choices on some encounters
• Collectible effects
• Losing Life Points in battle (-5 Light per battle)
• After a battle, if your final Life Point amount is less than half your max Life Point amount, 5 Light will be deducted.

When on the map interface, you can tap on your Light amount to view a description. The following is what will appear:

Light Value	Name	Description
100	Luminous	The light radiates, and shadows cower.
50-99	Flickering	The candlelight sways; light and shadow interweave.
1-49	Dim	Behind a speck of light, the shadow follows.
0	Extinguished	No more flame, no more light.

As Light decreases, smoke effects start appearing on the borders of your screen, gradually becoming more and more distinct. When your Light is Dim, the BGM on the map interface changes.

When your Light is Flickering, you will be able to see hidden nodes and paths, which become more apparent as Light decreases. When Light drops to 50 or less, you can access the hidden nodes by using a Key.

Notes:

• The arrows on hidden paths are hollow.
• It is also possible to access hidden paths when Light is Luminous (or Flickering), but with a lower probability.

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Dice

Die Rolls are a brand new addition to this Integrated Strategies adventure. When encountering certain events, the die will automatically be cast, meaning you have accepted fate’s guidance.

By default, you start with a 6-sided die. This can be upgraded to an 8-sided or 12-sided die through a certain starting squad and a certain Collectible. By upgrading your die, you increase the probability of favorable outcomes.

You have a certain amount of Die Rolls, and can gain more Rolls in many ways throughout an adventure. You can consume one Die Roll in the following scenarios:

• In combat: decrease the movement speed and ASPD of all enemies by a certain amount for 15 seconds, and current Operator redeploy time can be decreased with upgraded dice.

Stat Affected	Dice Result	Effect	Dice Result	Effect	Dice Result	Effect
Enemy ASPD	1-3	-20	4-6	-30	7-12	-40
Enemy Movement Speed	1-3	-50%	4-6	-70%	7-12	-80%
Operator current redeploy time	1-6	None	7-9	Halved	10-12	Set to zero

• Refreshing the items in shops.
• Rerolling the Die when obtaining unfavorable outcomes at Wish nodes and new floors.
• Open the Drifting Cache
• Certain Encounter events

The mandatory Die Rolls in Wish nodes, new floors, and certain encounters do not decrease the number of Rolls you have.

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Light and Dice

When entering a new floor, the die will be rolled to determine what happens to your exploration team. This does not reduce your amount of rolls. The following two tables indicate the effect of this dice roll:

Light Value	Dice Result	Description	Dice Result	Description
100	1-5	Smooth Sailing	6-12	Favored by Fortune
50-99	1-3	Twists and Turns	4-12	Smooth Sailing
1-49	1-5	Twists and Turns	6-12	Smooth Sailing
0	1-5	Cursed	6-12	Twists and Turns

Description	Effect
Favored by Fortune	Obtain 1 Enlightenment
Smooth Sailing	The seas are calm, and nothing unusual is afoot
Twists and Turns	1 Operator is inflicted with a Rejection
Cursed	2 Operators are inflicted with Rejections

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Enlightenments

Enlightenments provide powerful buffs to your squad, a suitable from the civilizations of Terra to those who seek to confront the ocean.

Enlightenments are the functional replacement of Plays for IS#3. A key difference between the two is that unless otherwise stated, all Enlightenments last permanently. With how much of an increase in strength each Enlightenments can provide to your team, it’s only fair that they don’t drop after battle anymore, as Plays did.

Another difference between Plays and Enlightenments is that you can hold multiple Enlightenments simultaneously, resulting in an absurd amount of strength for your team. The following is the list of Enlightenments and their effects:

Name	Effect
Ursus’s Warcry	For 30 seconds after the start of battle, all enemies have -30% ATK and Movement Speed
Yan’s Vicissitudes	The Operator on the battlefield with the highest HP will restore an additional 2 SP per second
Colombia’s Inspiration	Gain an additional 70 Command EXP at the end of the next battle (One-time only)
Sami’s Tenacity	The Operator on the battlefield with the lowest HP percentage restores 50 HP per second
Victoria’s Honor	All friendly melee units have +35% Physical and Arts Dodge
Leithanien’s Elegance	All friendly ranged units have +300 DEF and +30 RES
Sargon’s Generosity	When obtained, randomly obtain 2 Collectibles

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Rejections

Each time you dive deeper into the ocean, you may encounter different kinds of rejections. Operators afflicted by rejections will receive nasty debuffs for the remainder of the explorationbut these effects can be surpressed through certain relics or encounters. Each rejection will be a punishing test of the Doctor’s command abilities

Rejections are yet another new mechanic of IS#3; this time, it’s a purely negative addition. Rejections are permanent debuffs that inflict your recruited Operators.

Should your Light amount be at full value, Rejections on your Ops will be few and far between. However, as Light decreases, your Operators’ bodies may start reacting violently against the embrace of the sea. Rejections can be cured via certain Collectibles, certain Encounters, or sending an affected Operator on an Expedition.

Due to peculiar nature of Terra’s waters, should multiple Operators be inflicted with Rejections, they will all be of the same type. The following is the list of possible Rejections:

Name	Effect
Hemopoietic Inhibition	Operators with this Rejection will continuously lose 150 HP per second whenever their HP is not full. Note: HP cannot drop to 0 as a result of this effect.
Concentration Disorder	Operators with this Rejection will automatically activate their skill.
Neurodegeneration	Operators with this Rejection will be Frozen for 15 seconds after deployment.
Metastatic Aberration	Operators with this Rejection have -50% Max HP, ATK, DEF, Deployment Cost, and Redeployment Time.

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Keys

Keys are an entirely new resource introduced in IS#3, and it is by far the hardest resource to acquire across all difficulty levels.

Keys are obtained via Encounters, Collectibles, Commission rewards, and can be randomly dropped after a successful battle. Keys can be used for the following:

• Open the occasional Drifting Cache
• Withdraw from your balance in Cannot’s Prospective Investment System
• Unlock a blocked passage in front of you or to your side.
• Certain Encounter events

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Drifting Cache

The Drifting Cache is what replaces the post-battle drop chance of Plays in IS#3. They’re unlocked via the second node of the skill tree, and each cache contains one Collectible.

You can unlock a cache either by using a Key to immediately obtain the Collectible, or roll a die to attempt to obtain it. A dice result of at least 5 will successfully grant the Collectible; otherwise, you will be given 2 Originium Ingots. A third option for each chest is to smash it, earning no rewards.

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Call of We Many

The Call of We Many is an effect that only takes effect on the current floor, and up to two Calls may sound at once. The deeper you are in your exploration, and the dimmer your light is, the easier it is to hear the Call of We Many.

The Calls of We Many are the replacement of Hallucinations from IS#2. Some of them may be familiar, while others are entirely new with this IS theme:

Name	Effect
Echoes: Exploration (formerly Bewildered)	This floor has 2 additional nodes, but twice as much Light will be lost
Echoes: Predation (formerly Survivalist)	On this floor, friendly units and non-Boss enemy units gain +50 ASPD; friendly units receive -70% healing and regeneration effectiveness
Echoes: Assimilation (formerly Obsessed)	Every time you enter a non-combat node, gain 3 ingots. Ingots obtained in this floor cannot be taken to the next floor
Echoes: Death and Rebirth	Battles on this floor drop +100% Originium Ingots; upon entering a combat node, you will immediately lose 1 Life Point (Cannot drop below 1 from this effect)
Echoes: Proliferation	Battles on this floor have a 30% chance to drop an additional Recruitment Voucher; all enemy units have +15 RES
Echoes: One Among Many	Battles on this floor grant +50% Command EXP; all enemy units have +50% DEF
Echoes: Overgrowth (formerly Sensitive)	After the end of each battle on this floor, gain 1 Max Life Point; however, Life Point and Shield losses are doubled
Echoes: Adaptation (formerly Blind)	The first Wish Fulfilled node you enter on this floor will grant 1 random collectible, but you will no longer be able to identify node types beyond the nodes directly ahead of you

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Rogue Trader Modifications

A shop where you can spend Originium Ingots to buy various tools and relics. May occasionally provide a special investment service as well as a chance to obtain merchandise ‘for free’?

Have you ever entered a Rogue Trader node in IS#2 and wished that the items in stock were better? In IS#3, that now becomes a possibility. With a simple Die Roll, you can appeal to Cannot’s generosity to refresh some of the shop’s items:

• 2 random items will be refreshed with any Die Roll.
• When at least a 5 is rolled, all items will be refreshed.
• When at least a 7 is rolled, Super Rare Collectibles will appear among the refreshed items (as well as the chance for Collectibles not normally sold), and some items will be discounted.

With a new Integrated Strategies theme comes a new Prospective Investment System. The investment milestones have been modified; thus, Investment progress and amount do not carry over across different IS themes. The following table details IS#3’s investment milestones:

Historic High	Investment Reward
25	Unlock the ‘Balance Withdrawal’ function in the ‘Prospective Investment System’
100	Can Cannot show you his wares?
200	The Rogue Trader will stock an additional item
325	Unlocks the Collectible, ‘Flames of the Inquisition’
500	The Rogue Trader will stock an additional item

Additional milestone details:

• When 200 Ingots have been invested and the corresponding milestone reward is unlocked, Cannot will increase the price of a random item being sold by 50% in each shop.
• When 500 Ingots have been invested and the corresponding milestone reward is unlocked, Cannot will increase the price of a random item being sold by 100% in each shop.
• When 100 Ingots have been invested and the corresponding milestone reward is unlocked, a button “Touch the Wares” will appear on the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Detailed description of the 100 milestone reward (contains a surprise that is best found out on your own, be warned):

Milestone details (spoiler tag placeholder)

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New Node Types

Nodes are an important part of your exploration. In Integrated Strategies - Mizuki & Caerula Arbor, you will find many strange and exciting experience in many Nodes than before. They will guide you to discover the Stories of Days Gone By that lie beneath the sea.

Wish Fulfilled

A unique, local Iberia custom. Roll the die, and pray that you’ll obtain the relic your heart desires. *If you are lucky, you may be granted additional gifts upon having your wish fulfilled.

In Wish nodes, you normally have a choice between 2 displayed Collectibles. After selecting one, your dice is rolled (without reducing your number of rolls). If you roll at least a 2, you get the selected Collectible. If you roll at least a 6, you get a random additional Collectible along with your selection. If you roll a 1, you get a random Collectible instead.

Fortuitous Opportunity

Sometimes, one man’s trash is just what another needs to survive. In the new Fortuitous Opportunity node, you can exchange some of the relics you’ve obtained to get another random relic.

In this node, you can exchange an unwanted Collectible for a different one. First, a list of exchangeable Collectibles you possess are displayed. Not all Collectibles are exchangeable. In general, Collectibles that provide resources, one-time-use Collectibles, and ending-related Collectibles cannot be exchanged for another.

After the Collectible to be exchanged is confirmed, you will be given a choice between two Collectibles to receive. The rarity of the possible choices is based on the Collectible you offered for exchange. If a cursed Collectible is offered, it will be treated as a Normal rarity Collectible.

If you decline to exchange a Collectible, 4 Life Points are restored.

Refer to the Collectible List to see which Collectibles are exchangeable and their respective rarities.

Emergency Dispatch

While adventuring, you may have to arrange for operators to leave the team to handle other tasks. The operators you send away will be temporarily unavailable, but they will continue to grow and advance while acting on their own. When the rejoin you on the next floor, they will return with the corresponding compensation for their work! At the same time, this is also a good opportunity for a beleaguered operator to suppress their rejection.

You can choose a currently recruited Operator to send on a dispatch. The selected Operator will temporarily leave your team until the next floor. At the start of the next floor, the Operator returns, becoming promoted and being cured of their Rejection.

Should you decline to send an Operator on a dispatch, you will gain 3 Hope.

Wander into Wonderland

A rare, mysterious node. While affected, you will be whisked away into an entirely new floor to deal with dilemmas and challenges posed by the Seaborn.

Through this node (found only on floors 3 to 5), you are able to enter a hidden, mysterious floor by spending 1 Key.

This hidden floor has the following properties:

Hidden floor properties (spoiler tag placeholder)

After completing this floor, you will return to the point at which you entered it.

Regional Commissions

The closer to the ocean, the closer you are to trouble. Rhodes Island’s representative in Iberia is plagued by various needs year-round. Perhaps you can help her resolve some of these problems, and get paid to better explore the ocean in the process.

There are three difficulties of commissions. Once you select your commission difficulty, you will be randomly assigned a commission belonging to that difficulty. On the map interface, you can check your current commission progress on the bottom of your screen.

Once you complete a commission, you can immediately obtain your rewards in the map interface. Entering a second Commission node isn’t needed to receive rewards. You can choose one of three rewards that are randomly displayed, based on the difficulty of the commission you have cleared.

The following are the lists of commissions per difficulty, and possible rewards for completing a commission:

Take a look at the trickiest commission

Commission Name	Commission Task
Cross the canyon	Clear the next 4 battles, during which your Deployment Limit will be reduced by 2
Endure a harrowing battle	Clear the next 4 battles, during which enemies will have +30% ATK and HP
Rekindle the lighthouse	Gain a total of 15 Light
Adjust the lock cylinder	Spend a total of 3 Keys
Search for a miracle	Spend a total of 6 Die Rolls

Possible Rewards
Obtain a random high-quality Collectible
Obtain the Collectible ‘Tulip’s Secret Formula’
Gain 3 Hope and recruit any Operator
Gain 12 Objective Shield
Gain 8 Originium Ingots and 2 Keys

Take a look at the mid-tier commission

Commission Name	Commission Task
Enlisting blockers	Clear a total of 2 battles without adding Defender or Guard Operators to your squad
Enlisting strikers	Clear a total of 2 battles without adding Caster or Sniper Operators to your squad
Enlisting support squad	Clear a total of 2 battles without adding Medic or Supporter Operators to your squad
Enlisting infiltrators	Clear a total of 2 battles without adding Vanguard or Specialist Operators to your squad
Eliminate threats	Defeat a total of 50 enemies
Impart Experience	Promote a total of 3 Operators (Excluding Operators promoted through Emergency Dispatch)
Search for an eikon	Roll a 6 or greater in a Die Roll
Hunt Sea Terrors	Defeat 20 Sea Monster enemies

Possible Rewards
Obtain a random Collectible
Recruit an Operator (from a selection of 2 random classes)
Gain 4 Max Life Point
Gain 7 Originium Ingots
Gain 3 Hope

Take a look at the simplest commission

Commission Name	Commission Task
Fundraising efforts	Spend a total of 10 Orignium Ingots
Target suppression	Enter 1 Combat node
Pathfinders needed	Enter a total of 2 Encounter nodes
Talent search	Recruit a total of 2 new Operators
Confirm address	Enter 1 Safe House node
Offer a prayer	Roll 1 Die

Possible Rewards
Obtain a random collectible
Gain 2 Die Rolls
Gain 3 Objective Shield
Gain 5 Originium Ingots
Gain 1 Key

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References:

• Arknights EN teasers
• PRTS Wiki IS#3 main page