Banner Schedule (March–April 2026)
Maintenance opens March 5, 11:00–15:00 UTC+9. E.H. ends March 19, and the Anniversary banner picks up immediately after.
| Banner | Type | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| E.H. Special Recruit | Limited SSR | March 5, 2026 | March 19, 4:59:59 UTC+9 |
| 3.5th Anniversary Special Recruit | Limited SSR | ~March 19, 2026 | ~April 2026 |
| Union Raid | Event | March 6, 5:00 | March 12, 4:59:59 UTC+9 |
| Coordinated Operation | Event | March 13, 12:00 | March 15, 23:59:59 UTC+9 |
That direct handoff is why E.H. spending is so costly — every Gem you drop there is gone before Crown's banner even opens.
The Two Units You're Pulling For
Crown is Pilgrim-class, which means she never enters the standard pool and won't be obtainable outside limited banners. One copy at 10/10/10 skill investment outperforms duped A-tier units in PVE. There's no substitute.
Rapi: Red Hood is rated T0 SSS for bossing DPS. She fits directly into top raid and boss compositions and stays relevant 6–12 months post-release — far longer than A or B-tier units.
One Thing Returning Players Get Wrong
Standard Recruit Tickets don't work on Special Recruit banners. Every Anniversary pull requires Gems (300 each) or Special Recruit Tickets specifically. Gold Mileage, though, accumulates across all Special Recruit pulls and never resets — it's a permanent asset regardless of which banner you're on.
Pity System: How It Actually Works
Three layers: base SSR rate, soft pity, hard pity floor.
| Pull Type | SSR Rate | Featured Rate-Up | Non-Featured SSR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Recruit | 4% | 2% (50% of SSR pulls) | 2% (50% of SSR pulls) |
| Single Pull | 300 Gems | — | — |
| 10-Pull | 3,000 Gems | — | — |
No statistical advantage to 10-pulls over singles. Pull in whatever increment fits your Gem count.
Soft pity starts improving rates somewhere between pulls 60–100. Shift Up hasn't officially documented this — it's community-confirmed. Practically, if you're at 60+ pity, your next SSR is statistically closer than the base 4% implies.
Hard pity at 200 pulls guarantees an SSR. That's 60,000 Gems from zero. Most players hit an SSR well before 200, but knowing the ceiling matters for budget planning.
Pity Does NOT Carry Over
This is the most expensive mistake F2P players make. Pull 80 times on E.H., get nothing — those 80 pulls of pity vanish when the Anniversary banner launches. You start at zero.
Gold Mileage tickets don't reset. Pity is banner-specific and perishable; Mileage is permanent and cumulative. Don't confuse them.
The only scenario where E.H. pulls make sense: you already have 150+ Mileage tickets (50 pulls from a spark) AND your Anniversary budget is fully secured above 15,000 Gems. Outside that narrow window — skip it.
Pity Math: Full Pull Calculations
- Average pulls for any SSR: ~25 pulls
- Average pulls for featured SSR:
50 pulls (15,000 Gems) - Hard pity ceiling: 200 pulls (60,000 Gems)
The 50-pull average is community-confirmed, but averages are misleading — half of all players will need more than 50 pulls.
Probability by Starting Pity
| Starting Pity | 50% Chance of Featured | 75% Chance | Near-Guarantee (99%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ~50 pulls (15,000 Gems) | ~80 pulls (24,000 Gems) | ~200 pulls (60,000 Gems) |
| 80 | ~20 pulls (6,000 Gems) | ~40 pulls (12,000 Gems) | ~120 pulls (36,000 Gems) |
| 100 | ~15 pulls (4,500 Gems) | ~30 pulls (9,000 Gems) | ~100 pulls (30,000 Gems) |
| 150 | ~15 pulls (4,500 Gems) | ~25 pulls (7,500 Gems) | ~50 pulls (15,000 Gems) |
Soft pity thresholds are community-observed estimates, not official figures.
Check your Mileage count before touching E.H. At 150 tickets, you're 50 pulls from a guaranteed spark — completely different risk math than starting from zero.
Worst-case without Mileage: Pull 200 times, get a non-featured SSR, then need up to 200 more. Theoretical max: 400 pulls (120,000 Gems). With Mileage, the practical ceiling is 200 pulls (60,000 Gems) for one guaranteed featured unit via the selector.
Full spark cost: 200 tickets = 200 pulls = 60,000 Gems. For most F2P players, that's 5–7 months of income. Sparking is a whale/dolphin play.
Gem Reserve Strategy
Community target: 15,000–25,000 Gems before March 5.
| Reserve Level | Gems | Pulls | What It Gets You |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 15,000 | 50 | ~50% chance of featured SSR; enters soft pity |
| Comfortable | 24,000 | 80 | ~75% chance of featured SSR |
| Near-guarantee | 30,000 | 100 | Well into soft pity |
| Hard pity guarantee | 60,000 | 200 | Guaranteed via hard pity or Mileage |
Pull if you have 15,000+ Gems. Under that — keep farming, skip E.H. Splitting Gems between both banners is the worst outcome: you risk hitting pity on neither.
Monthly F2P Gem Income
| Source | Estimated Monthly Gems |
|---|---|
| Daily missions (~80/day) | ~2,400 |
| Weekly missions | ~800–1,200 |
| Interception rewards | ~1,000–2,000 |
| Commission board | ~500–1,000 |
| Event missions | ~1,500–3,000 (anniversary) |
| Login bonuses | ~500–1,500 (anniversary) |
| Total estimate | ~8,000–12,000/month |
Active CDK Codes (Redeem via Notice → Event Notice → CD-Key Portal)
Requires completing tutorials 1–4:
- PUNYQUEEN — 10 Advanced Vouchers
- NIKKECHRISTMASPARTY — 10 Advanced Vouchers
- NIKKESTELLARBLADE — 5 Advanced Vouchers
- 3YEARSWITHNIKKE — 10 Advanced Vouchers
Up to 35 Advanced Vouchers total. Verify expiration dates at time of reading.
When Topping Up Makes Sense
If you're at 10,000–12,000 Gems and Crown is a genuine roster priority, closing the gap to 15,000 is a reasonable call. Goddess of Victory NIKKE cheap gem recharge for Anniversary banner 2026 is worth checking before March 5 — hitting that threshold before the banner drops is the difference between pulling with confidence and gambling short.
Farming Gems Before March 5
Daily and weekly missions: Non-negotiable. Missing one week costs 560 Gems — nearly two pulls. Treat these as mandatory.
Interception: Push your score higher now. Better Interception performance yields 1,000–2,000 Gems monthly depending on roster strength.
Story mode: If you have uncompleted chapters, these are your biggest single gem source. It's finite — once cleared, it's gone. New and returning players should check chapter progress immediately.
Commission Board: Keep it running at max capacity. Prioritize gem-reward commissions. Not exciting, but it adds several hundred Gems over 4–6 weeks.
Monthly Pass ($4.99): 300 Gems upfront + 100/day for 30 days = 3,300 Gems total. Best Gem-per-dollar ratio in the shop. Start here if you're spending anything.
First Purchase Tier 3: 3,000 Gems (1,500 paid + 1,500 bonus). Worth it if you haven't used your first-purchase bonus.
For players who want to lock in a larger reserve before Crown's banner goes live, Goddess of Victory NIKKE top up discount gems before 3.5 Anniversary can bridge the gap to the 15,000–25,000 Gem target.
Pull Order: Who to Target First
Crown first. Everything else second. That's the community consensus, and the math backs it up.
| Priority | Unit | Tier | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crown | T0 Must-Pull | Pilgrim B2 buffer, no replacement, permanent meta relevance |
| 2 | Rapi: Red Hood | T0 Must-Pull | SSS bossing DPS, top B3 for raids |
| 3 | Nayuta | High Priority | Strong B3 DPS, excellent Crown synergy |
| 4 | Little Mermaid | High Priority | B1 support for boss/raid compositions |
| 5 | Cinderella | Solid Pull | B3 DPS, fits Crown-centered raid team |
| 6 | Helm (Treasure) | Situational | SSS at <25% CP deficit; high priority if stalled on Tribe Tower |
| 7 | Snow White: Heavy Arms | Lower Priority | Niche use cases |
| 8 | E.H. | Skip | B-tier; 4-stack ammo cap limits DPS to ~70% potential |
Why E.H. Is a Hard Skip
E.H.'s 4-stack ammo cap actively punishes sustained DPS scenarios like Interception. Rapi: Red Hood and Modernia outperform her in the content that matters. She doesn't synergize with Alice's infinite-ammo mechanics. The E.H. Step-Up costs 6,600 Gems for 31 pulls — that's 22% of your soft-pity budget for a B-tier unit when T0 units arrive two weeks later.
Decision Framework by Player Type
F2P with 15,000+ Gems: Pull Anniversary. Start with Crown. If she lands and Gems remain, continue for Rapi: Red Hood.
F2P under 15,000 Gems: Skip E.H. Farm hard. Pull Anniversary only after hitting the 15,000 threshold.
F2P with 150+ Mileage tickets: One E.H. Step-Up (6,600 Gems) is defensible — but only if your Anniversary budget is already secured above 15,000 Gems.
Dolphins: Max one E.H. Step-Up if Anniversary budget is secured. Don't chase E.H. MLB. Crown spark beats E.H. MLB every time.
Whales: Skip E.H. MLB entirely. Worst-case cost is ~180,000 Gems — better directed at sparking Crown and Rapi: Red Hood. T0 units hold relevance 6–12 months; B-tier units don't justify that spend.
Team Compositions
Campaign / Story: Liter (B1) → Crown or Helm (Treasure) (B2) → Rapi: Red Hood (B3) → Modernia (B3) → Naga
Boss / Raid: Little Mermaid (B1) → Crown (B2) → Cinderella or Rapi: Red Hood (B3) → Naga
Crown anchors both compositions as the B2 slot. That flexibility — performing in campaign and raid simultaneously — is what separates T0 buffers from everything else.
Helm (Treasure) note: SSS tier at under 25% CP deficit, SS tier at higher deficits. High priority if you're stalled on Tribe Tower; less urgent if you're severely underleveled.
E.H. skill priority (if you pull her): S2 to Level 7 → S1 to Level 4 → Burst to Level 10. Overload gear: Head > Gloves > Chest > Boots, 4x Elemental DMG rolls. Don't invest heavily until Anniversary T0 units are secured.
Post-Anniversary Recovery
Heavy anniversary spending depletes 1–3 months of reserves. At 8,000–12,000 Gems/month F2P income:
- Recovering 15,000 Gems: ~6–8 weeks
- Recovering 30,000 Gems: ~3–4 months
Plan your next banner target before you pull — you'll have limited resources for whatever comes after.
Mileage tickets from Anniversary pulls carry over indefinitely. Track your count in the Special Recruit menu. If you ended the window with 80–100 tickets, those compound toward your next spark.
Skill investment priority once you have Crown and/or Rapi: Red Hood: 10/10/10 skills with T10 elemental gear. One copy of Crown at full investment outperforms duped A-tier units. Chase skills before dupes.
FAQ
Does pity reset when the Anniversary banner launches? Yes. Pity is banner-specific and resets to zero. Gold Mileage does not reset — it accumulates permanently. Never pull on a banner expecting pity to transfer.
How many free pulls during the anniversary? Not officially confirmed yet. Based on F2P monthly income plus anniversary bonuses, expect 30–50 additional pulls from login bonuses and event missions. Current CDK codes add up to 35 Advanced Vouchers on top.
Singles or 10-pulls? Statistically identical. Pull in whatever increment fits your Gem count. 3,500 Gems? Do one 10-pull (3,000) and bank the remaining 500.
What happens to Mileage tickets if I don't use them? Nothing — they never expire. The 200-ticket selector works on any featured SSR from any Special Recruit banner, past or present, as long as the unit is in the selector pool.
New player — should I reroll for Crown? Yes. Crown works effectively with mid-game rosters and is the recommended reroll target post-Anniversary.
Is the E.H. Step-Up ever worth it? Only if you have 150+ Mileage tickets already, your Anniversary budget is secured above 15,000 Gems, and you want to push toward a spark. That's a narrow condition. Outside it — skip.
Crown is the anchor of this entire event. The pre-anniversary strategy exists for one reason: making sure you enter her banner with enough Gems to have a real shot. Hit 15,000 before March 5, skip E.H., and keep your full budget intact. Everything else is optimization around that.
