World Mode Mechanics

This article is about the mechanics of World Mode.
For individual chapters, see World Mode Chapters.
For raw data of individual maps, see World Mode Data.

Not to be confused with Story.

World Mode is where content such as songs and Partners can be unlocked by progressing through maps. This mode was added in version 1.5. Partners can gain EXP and level up when playing in this mode. Only registered users who are logged in have access to this mode.

Chapters & Maps

When the 'World' button on the main menu is pressed, a chapter selection screen is displayed. Upon selecting a chapter, a map selection screen is displayed. Many maps have unlock conditions, such as spending Fragments or purchasing song packs.

Extra Chapter: Event and Chapters 1 to 5 have similar mechanics, detailed under Main Mechanics. In 3.0.0, the unique chapter Lost Chapter: Beyond was added, which has its own unique mechanics detailed under Beyond Mechanics.

Stamina

Stamina count. Image credit: Japanese Arcaea Wiki

Unlike Music Play mode, you must consume Stamina for each song play. The maximum amount of Stamina is 12.

Stamina can be recovered in three ways:

• 30 minutes for 1 stamina (6 hours for a full refill from an empty meter)
• 50 Memories for 6 stamina (no cooldown)
• 1000 Fragments for 6 stamina (1 day cooldown)

Disabled Play Button

When purchasing Stamina with memories or fragments, it can exceed the limit. (e.g. buying 6 stamina when you have 11 stamina will net you a total of 17 stamina.)

Main Mechanics

Progression

Tiles. Image credit: Japanese Arcaea Wiki

The hexagonal spaces forming an upward zigzag pattern are called Tiles. As you ascend the Tiles, you can receive the rewards stated on them.

In order to progress, you need to gain Steps by playing songs. The number displayed under each Tile is the number of Steps required to move to the next Tile. 2 stamina is required for every play. After playing a song, your Partner will receive experience points (EXP) and you will move up a certain amount of Steps. No Fragments are rewarded at the end of plays in World Mode, but they still have an effect on Potential.

Tiles and Steps are counted from 0, with Steps being rounded to 1 decimal place.

• The number of Tiles on a map is the Tiles displayed on the map selection screen + 1. This is due to the presence of a final tile with the reward.
• To move to the next Tile, you need to progress by current Steps required + 0.1. However, the additional 0.1 does not apply to the final Tile as it always has a Step requirement of 0.

Tile Types

There are many different types of Tiles, each with its own function. The required Step count for one Tile generally differs from Tile to Tile.

Name	Tile Icon	Label Icon	Description
Tile		None	Uncleared and cleared Tiles have this appearance, with the addition of the required Step count on uncleared Tiles.
Current Tile		None	Your currently selected Partner is displayed above this Tile, and the remaining Steps to move to the next Tile is displayed on the bottom.
Song Restriction Tile			To progress on these Tiles, you need to play a specific Song or Song Pack. There is no restriction on difficulty.
Fixed Speed Tile			To progress on these Tiles, you need to play Songs under a predetermined Note Speed. There is no restriction on difficulty.
Random Song Tile			To progress on these Tiles, you'll need to play a randomly-chosen Song either from the whole collection or limited to a certain Song Pack. There is no restriction on difficulty.
Stamina Plus Tile			Upon ending a turn on these Tiles, the listed amount of Stamina is recovered. In order to receive the listed Stamina amount, you must end a turn exactly on the Tile. No Stamina is replenished if the Tile is missed.

Legacy

Since v1.7.0, special chapters known as Legacy chapters have been introduced. In these chapters, the number of Stamina required per play (by selecting "Play") is reduced from 2 to 1.

A "Play+" button is available in these chapters, where one can multiply Step and EXP gained by spending more Stamina and/or Fragments.

• The choice to consume 2, 4, or 6 Stamina is given to you when you select the button:
  • 2 Stamina: ×2 multiplier
  • 4 Stamina: ×4 multiplier
  • 6 Stamina: ×6 multiplier
• Fragments can also be consumed to further upscale the multiplier:
  • 100 Fragments: ×1.1 multiplier
  • 250 Fragments: ×1.25 multiplier
  • 500 Fragments: ×1.5 multiplier

Memory Boost

Since v2.4.0, one can multiply Step and EXP gained in non-Legacy chapters as well by spending Memories.

By selecting the Boost icon, 50 Memories are consumed for the next play, which results in a ×4 multiplier for Steps and EXP gained.

Calculation

The amount of steps gained per song depends on several factors:

• Play Rating
• Selected Partner's STEP stat
• Boost multiplier
• Legacy multiplier (Legacy maps only)

It may be calculated as:

$\text{Steps Gained} = \left(2.45\sqrt{\text{Play Rating}}+2.5\right)\times\dfrac{\text{STEP Stat}}{50}\times\text{Boost Multiplier}\times\text{Legacy Multiplier}$

Every 1 point of STEP stat above 50 corresponds to +2% steps, and every 1 point below 50 corresponds to -2% steps. This is similar to the multiplier for Fragments based on FRAG stat.

Beyond Mechanics

The Beyond requires a Potential of at least 9.00 to access.

Progression

Unlike in the other chapters, tiles and steps are not present in the Beyond. Instead, every map has a numerical value referred to as its Health, displayed as a percentage (although not necessarily 100% at maximum). At the end of every map is a Beyond difficulty chart, and there may also be checkpoints along a map where other rewards are given.

In order to progress, you need to lower a map's health by playing songs. 3 stamina is required for every play (referred to as "Traverse" instead of "Play" or "Music Play").

Partner Affinity

Every map in the Beyond has an affinity to certain partners, represented as a multiplier to progression and does not affect EXP gained. Currently, there are only positive affinities for Hikari, Tairitsu and Shirabe. If no affinity is stated, it defaults to a ×1 multiplier.

Fragment Boost

The Beyond has Fragment Boosts instead of Memory Boosts. This functions similarly to the Legacy multiplier:

• 100 Fragments: ×1.1 multiplier
• 250 Fragments: ×1.25 multiplier
• 500 Fragments: ×1.5 multiplier

Calculation

The amount progressed in the Beyond per play depends on a few factors:

• Play Rating
• Clear type (TRACK COMPLETE / TRACK LOST)
• Selected Partner's OVER stat
• Partner Affinity of the selected Partner in the map
• Boost multiplier
• Current map

The calculation involves a Clear Factor, which is dependent on the clear type:

$\text{Clear Factor}=\begin{cases}1&\text{TRACK LOST}\\3&\text{TRACK COMPLETE}\end{cases}$

It also involves a Map Factor, which is dependent on the current map (see World Mode Chapters § Lost Chapter: Beyond).

Progression is calculated as:

$\text{Progression} = \dfrac{2.45\sqrt{\text{Play Rating}}+2.5\times\text{Clear Factor}}{\text{Map Factor}}\times\dfrac{\text{OVER Stat}}{50}\times\text{Partner Affinity}\times\text{Boost Multiplier}$

Challenge

All plays in the Beyond have added challenges to the Recollection Rate. Currently, the known ones are:

• BEYOND CHALLENGE - FAR notes decrease Recollection Rate

Certain partners have skills that ignore or are affected by this challenge:

• Tairitsu (Tempest): The effect is ignored, as the Tempest Gauge has its own unique mechanics.
• DORO*C: The effect is ignored, as her skill makes the Recollection Rate reflect your grade.
• Pandora Nemesis (MTA-XXX): FARs reduce the gauge by half a point (2.5%), with 2 FARs corresponding to 1 LOST.

Rewards

Name	Icon	Description
Song Reward		May appear on any Tile type. Upon reaching a Tile with this icon, you'll unlock the displayed Song. You do not have to end a turn exactly on the Tile in order to unlock the Song; you unlock the Song even when moving past the Tile.
Partner Reward		May appear on any Tile type. Upon reaching a Tile with this icon, you'll unlock the displayed Partner. You do not have to end a turn exactly on the Tile in order to unlock the Partner; you unlock the Partner even when moving past the Tile.
Fragment Reward		May appear on any Tile type and in the Beyond. Main: Upon reaching a Tile with this icon, the listed amount of Fragments are gained. You do not have to end a turn exactly on the Tile to get the Fragments; you gain the Fragments even when moving past the Tile. Beyond: Upon passing the reward checkpoint, the listed amount of Fragments are gained.
Core Reward		May appear on any Tile type. Upon reaching a Tile with this icon, you'll unlock the displayed Core(s). You do not have to end a turn exactly on the Tile in order to unlock the Core(s); you unlock the Core(s) even when moving past the Tile.
Beyond Chart Reward		Only appears in the Beyond. Upon depleting a map's Health to 0%, you'll unlock the Beyond difficulty chart for the displayed Song. Only appears as final reward in every map. When rewarded, the message "Beyond Integrated" is displayed.

Map Icons

Icon	Name	Description
	Map Complete	The green "COMPLETE" banner appears once a map is completed. These maps can no longer be accessed. Certain game updates extend maps, which removes the banner from those maps.
	Current Map	The most recently accessed map. From 2.2.0, this map can be immediately accessed from the Main Menu by pressing the Continue text at the bottom of the World Mode button.
	Map Reward	The image in the icon indicates the next reward to be unlocked. A check mark indicates that the next reward is already owned. This is only for players who had played the songs or unlocked the partners before World Mode was implemented in 1.5.0.

Trivia

• When playing a song in World Mode, the retry button on the pause menu is disabled.
  • Quitting a song in World Mode will abandon it. You will not earn progress (Steps and EXP). Moreover, the consumed Stamina will not be refunded, even though the song is not completed.
• The cooldown time for refilling stamina with Fragments decreased over updates:
  • Original - 3 days
  • v1.5.2 - 2 days
  • v1.7.0 - 1 day
• The World Mode icon changes when a new chapter is released. Past icons were:

Chapter 1 (1.5.0 - 1.5.7)	Chapter 2 (1.6.0 - 1.6.6)	Chapter 3 (1.7.0 - 1.9.3)	Chapter 4 (2.0.0 - 2.6.2)