Nexon unveils Blue Archive Part 2, recruitment overhaul at Kivotos Live

Nexon announced at the Blue Archive 5th anniversary Kivotos Live stream on November 8, 2026, that main story Part 2 Vol. 1, titled 'Flame and Shadow', is coming, with Gehenna as the lead faction. The story will feature Hina and Makoto joining hands, according to inven.co.kr.

General PD Kim Yong-ha and sub-PD Lee Jun-ho also introduced an event story starring Mammanzhan titled 'Set Sail! Mammanzhan: Chairman Makoto's Gorgeous Summer Vacation'. It includes swimsuit versions of Chiaki, Makoto, Satsuki, Ibuki and Iroha. Swimsuit Chiaki is a Piercing-type Special student who buffs ally attack and piercing effectiveness, while Swimsuit Makoto is a Mystic-type Striker focused on damage dealing with defense-down debuffs. Swimsuit Satsuki is a Sonic-type Striker who heals and applies defense-down debuffs. Swimsuit Iroha is an Explosive-type Striker who boosts crit damage, crit rate and ally attack, and Swimsuit Ibuki is an Explosive-type Special student with two EX skills, healing and cost recovery.

Recruitment changes and anniversary rewards

From the November 12, 2026 update, recruitment points will be retired and a new recruitment mileage system added, with points exchanged 1:1 for Engine Stone fragments. Under the new system, a 3-star is guaranteed at 100 stacks, and the pickup character is guaranteed on the next 100 pulls if missed, with stacks shared within the same category. Recruitment mileage grants first-time rewards including 10-pull tickets at intervals from 10 to 390 pulls, reducing the effective cost of a 200-pull ceiling to about 160 pulls' worth of resources, Nexon said.

A 5th anniversary Fest recruitment runs from November 17 to November 24, 2026, with 3-star rates raised from 3% to 6% and reruns including Rio and Neru (School Uniform). From November 10 to 17, 2026, 100 free pulls total are offered, plus an additional 100 for the 5th anniversary. A [Special] Fest 3-star student selector letting players choose one of 13 Fest characters from Wakamo to the character listed in the announcement is granted.

Special Eleph packages for newly recruited characters will be sold in the shop for 14 days, with Makoto (Swimsuit) and Satsuki (Swimsuit) opening November 10 and Iroha (Swimsuit), Ibuki (Swimsuit), Rio and Neru (School Uniform) on November 12. Fourteen additional packages and a battle pass were announced, and purchase limits for nine Pyroxene packages will reset. Up to 1,800 Pyroxene plus growth materials are granted via the 'Set Sail! Mammanzhan' event rewards and web event.

Other announcements included Korean versions of music videos to be added in-game, starting with Decagrammaton's 'Echoes of Longing', and Korean server 'picking up' motions for 15 Special students. Korean dubbing for Part 1's final chapter was announced, and an OST LP and LP player will go on pre-order, with songs including Kagerou, Protocol Supernova and Petals to release as digital streaming tracks in Q4. A voice collaboration with Samsung Bixby was announced, with details to be revealed in 2027 via Samsung Electronics' website. A fourth collaboration with Mom's Touch themed on Gehenna Prefect Team's Christmas runs from December 1 to December 27 at Mom's Touch and Mom's Pizza stores nationwide, and a collaboration with MapleStory was also teased.