Blue Archive's Japanese server recently dropped a major piece of news—the brand-new event "It’s our Engine! ~Escape from 183!~" was officially announced, and along with the event's debut came the new character "Anna Niki" (Niki Anna) was confirmed to be voiced by the popular voice actress Ms. Natsumi Takamori, and as soon as the news came out it instantly sparked heated discussion in the player community.
New Event "It's our Engine!" Stage Set at the Red Winter Federal Academy
This new event is set at Red Winter Federal Academy , and the story revolves around "Special Class No. 183," telling the tale of the students who challenge the Gehenna Cup in order to escape the special class. Below is a complete summary of the event and the new characters. The preview reads: "Teacher! It's an emergency!! The Red Winter students are asking for help, let's head there at once! The destination is 'Special Class No. 183'!" It is paired with a suspenseful tagline—"I want you to stop it—this endless struggle."
Event Overview
Event Name: It's our Engine! ~Escape from No. 183!~
Event Period: After maintenance on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 (holiday) Japan Time ~ Wednesday, October 7, 2026 10:59
Reward Exchange Period: After maintenance on September 23, 2026 Japan Time ~ Wednesday, October 14, 2026 10:59
Participation Requirements:
Clear Mission Area 2-3
The event story tells of the Red Winter students sending an urgent plea for help to the teacher, with the destination being "Special Class No. 183." Student Council President Cherino declares that "the winning student will receive the highest reward," and the students of Class No. 183, in order to leave the special class, resolve to challenge the Gehenna Cup, but first they must complete a tank for their entry... The story unfolds around "I want someone to stop it—this endless struggle."
Event Gameplay Guide
1. Progress through the stages
From 4:00 AM on September 24, 2026, all "Challenge Stages" will be fully open, and after clearing all Challenge Stages, you can also challenge the highest-difficulty "Extra Challenge Stage." Challenge and Quest stages include time-attack event-exclusive missions, and completing them earns rewards such as the limited furniture "Research Commission Bulletin Board." Clearing Story stages unlocks the event epilogue, where you can experience the follow-up story related to the event.
※Even if you do not clear the "Extra Challenge Stage," as long as you have cleared all other stages, "Complete" will still be displayed.
After clearing the "Story" stages, the event-related "Epilogue" will be unlocked, so please be sure to experience it as well.
2. Clear stages and collect "Event Pt," "Copper Fragments," "Titanium Fragments," and "Glass Fragments"!
Furthermore, after deploying specific students and clearing event stages, the amount of event-exclusive items obtained will increase!
- The bonus effect values differ depending on the student. Please check in-game for details.
- Additional rewards when sweeping missions will be obtained based on the maximum amount obtained when the mission was cleared in the records. Please note that in order to update the maximum obtained amount, you must clear the mission through manual operation.
- The first reward will not have bonus effects applied.
3. Let's do some "part-time work"!
In "part-time work," you can use the "Event Pt" collected in event stages to do "part-time work" and earn rewards such as "Divine Name Fragments." By continuing "part-time work" and raising the RANK of "Personal Work," you will be able to obtain "Memories" and take on other assignments. In addition, the Lv. of each assignment will increase, raising the level and quantity of bonus rewards obtained.
The "Memories" you collect can still be viewed after the event ends. As long as you place the limited furniture "Research Commission Bulletin Board" in the "Cafe," you can revisit them anytime, so be sure to get them.
- New assignments are gradually unlocked based on the cumulative total of "Event Pt" used. (Up to 8 locations)
- When doing part-time work on each "part-time work" assignment, if a student you have already welcomed is visiting, you can earn bond points with that student, and there is a certain chance to obtain that student's "Divine Name Text."
- Every 5 times you do "part-time work" (regardless of assignment), the visiting student will be replaced.
- For details, please check the help on the in-game "part-time work" screen.
Also, various items are awarded based on the cumulative total of "Event Pt" obtained, so don't forget to claim them.
4. Exchange the items you collect for rewards!
In the "Shop," you can use the "Copper Fragments," "Titanium Fragments," and "Glass Fragments" collected in event stages to exchange for rewards such as the furniture with furniture actions "Mechanical Engineering Workbench" and "Chemistry Workbench."
The tank competition "Gehenna Cup" where the strong from all over Kivotos gather!!
Will the members of Special Class No. 183 be able to make it through the preliminaries and appear in the main tournament!?
Before that, can they even get a tank first!?
Genius Researcher "Anna Niki"——Voiced by Natsumi Takamori
CV: Natsumi Takamori
Rarity: ★3
Role: STRIKER / Attacker / MIDDLE
Attack Type: Piercing
Affiliation: Red Winter Federal Academy · Special Class No. 183
The official side then immediately revealed "Anna Niki" student introduction.AnnaServing as the class committee chair in Special Class 183. According to the setting, she was once a promising elite mechanical engineering researcher, but because she forced her research ahead and caused an accident, she was ultimately sent to Special Class 183.
Serving as the class representative of Special Class 183AnnaIt is said that she was once a promising elite mechanical engineering researcher, but because she forced her research ahead and caused an accident, she was assigned to Special Class 183. She likes being recognized and praised by others, and even now she still treasuredly wears the medal she received in the past; deep down, she actually hopes someone will ask about the medal's origin.
- EX Skill: Deals damage proportional to attack power to a single enemy. If 4 "Medals" have already been obtained through the effects of a normal skill, this attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.
- AnnaHer EX skill COST is 6, and under the condition that a guaranteed critical hit is triggered, she can effectively deal damage to a single enemy, making the planning of when to use it the key to drawing out her true strength.
- Normal Skill "This is medal-grade!": When our side defeats 8 enemies, gain 1 "Medal" (only 4 times per battle). "Medals" can stack up to 4, and each "Medal" increases the damage she deals.
- Passive Skill "Heat Treatment Begins!": Increases crit value.
- Support Skill "Feels Good!": At fixed intervals, adds a piercing effect (stacks up to 3 times).
AnnaHer personality traits are also quite distinct—she likes being recognized and praised by others, still treasuredly wears medals she was awarded in the past, and deep down has actually been secretly hoping someone would ask about the origin of those medals. Her entrance line is the confident "It's the genius's turn now!" (天才の出番ですね！).
Natsumi Takamori is a veteran Japanese female voice actress, born on February 14, 1987, affiliated with Raccoon Dog, and has accumulated a large number of well-known works since her debut in 2009. In Azur Lane, she voices Yudachi and Z1, plays Kaori in the Princess Connect! Re:Dive series, and has also appeared as Miku Maekawa and other characters in THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls. Her addition to the cast of Blue Archive has led many fans to exclaim, "She's finally here."
Partner character "Erena Niki" revealed simultaneously
CV: Hana Hishikawa
Rarity: ★3
Role: SPECIAL / Support / BACK
Affiliation: Red Winter Federal Academy · Class 183 Special
Also revealed alongside Anna is the vice class representative of Special Class 183, "Erena Niki" , voiced by Hanana Hishikawa. Erena serves as the head of the chemistry field and is exceptionally capable, but at the same time she hates studying and is a troublemaker who finds things bothersome. She was also sent to the special class due to an accident during research, and since she cannot freely leave the remote Class 183, she is eagerly waiting for the day her cautious disciplinary probation is lifted.
EX Skill: Grants allies within a circular area a shield effect equal to a proportion of healing power for a set duration, and also applies a "Special Pudding" effect. Allies who receive "Special Pudding" have their attack increased, and the duration of this effect is counted from when the shield is activated; even after the shield disappears, it still lasts an additional 10 seconds, making it a fairly long-lasting effect.
As a SPECIAL support character, Alina can provide both an area shield and an attack buff at the same time, and the attack increase effect continues even after the shield disappears, making her highly practical in situations that require balancing survivability and damage output.
It is worth noting that Anna's surname "Niki" and Erena's "Niki" are pronounced the same, both as "Niki," but the kanji are different. According to the student introduction, this coincidence of same pronunciation but different characters seems to have already caused quite a few misunderstandings in the story, and the relationship between the two has also become a focus of player attention.
Synchronized update content
Restriction Release Decisive Battle "Tifaret": Held from September 24, 2026 to October 28, 2026. The terrain is indoor warfare, the defense type is heavy armor, and from floor 50 onward the attack type is piercing. The participation requirement is clearing Mission Area 5-1.
Total Assault "Urban Warfare · Oil Drum Crab": Held from September 30, 2026 to October 7, 2026. The terrain is urban warfare, the defense type is special armor · light equipment, and the attack type for Insane/Torment/Lunatic difficulty is piercing. The participation requirement is clearing Mission Area 4-1.
Other Adjustments: A new "Room Reset" feature has been added. Each challenge ticket can use it once, resetting the BOSS HP, the units already used, and the usage status of assist students (if an assist was used before the reset, the cost after the reset will be free). This feature will also be added to Grand Assault. A searchable ranking input feature has been added to the ranking details screen. In addition, the drop rates of Tactical Education BD · Technical Notes and OOPArts in the wanted list have been increased.
Monthly Pack Improvements: "Additional Proficiency Certificate Acquisition" has been added to the contents of the Monthly Pack and Monthly Pack (Half), but it does not apply to the trial version, and it cannot exceed the weekly obtainable limit.
New Packs on Sale: Includes the Divine Name Text Pack (Anna), Divine Name Text Pack (Elena), Student Development Pack (Anna), Student Development Pack (Elena), Bond Level & Mystic Liberation Support Pack, AP Pack (7 Days), Red Winter Development Pack, Trinity Development Pack, Gehenna Development Pack, Millennium Development Pack, and more. The sales period is from after the maintenance on September 23, 2026 to October 28 at 10:59.
Conclusion
This "It's our Engine! ~Escape from No. 183!~" event centers on Red Winter Special Class No. 183 and introduces two distinctive new students, Anna and Elena—Anna is a piercing single-target damage dealer with a guaranteed critical mechanic, while Elena is a SPECIAL support who provides a range shield and an attack buff. The event period is from September 23 to October 7, and reward exchange is open until October 14, so teachers who are interested should make sure to take part in time.
This news post may include machine-assisted translation. Names and titles follow the official localized versions where available.
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