Gacha System

Overview

The gacha system in Neverness to Everness is called Scarborough Fair, sometimes referred to simply as The Fair. Rather than presenting a conventional pull screen where players tap a button and watch a summoning animation, NTE takes a completely different approach. The Fair uses a Monopoly-style board game where players roll dice and move a Chuppa token (a small mascot game piece) around a tiled board. Each tile the token lands on delivers a different type of reward, ranging from guaranteed character drops to minor resource bundles.

One of the most player-friendly aspects of the system is the absence of a 50/50 mechanic. In many competing gacha titles, pulling a top-rarity character from a limited banner comes with only a 50% chance of receiving the featured unit. In NTE, any S-rank character pulled from a limited banner is guaranteed to be the featured character. This removes one of the biggest frustrations in the genre and makes saving for specific characters far more predictable.

How It Works

Players use Solid Dice on the limited character banner or Fabricated Dice on the standard (permanent) banner. Each die represents a single pull. Rolling the dice moves the board piece forward by a random number of spaces, and the tile it lands on determines the reward. The board layout is not static. As a player's pity count rises and they get closer to the guaranteed threshold, the board reconfigures itself, swapping low-value tiles for higher-value ones.

Landing on a tile instantly grants whatever reward it contains. Some tiles also give bonus effects like extra rolls or additional currency. Because the board reshuffles based on pity progression, the experience changes as you spend more dice, creating a sense of momentum that conventional pull animations lack.

Board Layout and Branching Paths

The Scarborough Fair board is arranged as a main loop with two smaller side loops branching off from the left and right sides of the path. The Chuppa token circles the main loop by default, landing on tiles as determined by the dice roll (1 to 6 spaces per roll). Most of the common tiles (Apprentice Chests, Hero Chests, and resource boxes) are distributed along the main loop.

At certain points on the main loop, arrow tiles mark the entrances to the side branches. If the Chuppa lands directly on an arrow tile, the player gains access to that branch for subsequent rolls. The side branches contain a different distribution of rewards compared to the main loop, often featuring higher concentrations of Miracle Boxes, A-class card spaces, and bonus dice tiles. After traversing a side branch, the Chuppa returns to the main loop at a designated merge point.

The Rainbow Bridge

At special convergence points on the board, the player may unlock the Rainbow Bridge. This event creates a forked path with two options. One side of the Rainbow Bridge leads to a tile that contains a guaranteed S-class card on its very first space. The other side offers 5 bonus dice, giving the player extra rolls to continue moving around the board. The Rainbow Bridge is a pivotal moment in any pull session because it presents a direct choice between an immediate high-value reward and extended board coverage that could yield multiple smaller rewards.

Slumberland Tiles and the Guardian Mechanic

Scattered across the board are Slumberland tiles. When the Chuppa lands on a Slumberland tile, a Guardian spawns nine spaces ahead of the token's current position. The Guardian then moves forward by two spaces each turn. If the player catches up to the Guardian within three subsequent rolls, they receive 30 Warp Pieces as a bonus reward. This chase mechanic adds an element of excitement to the board game format, as players watch their dice rolls to see whether they can close the gap before the Guardian moves out of reach.

The Guardian mechanic provides a secondary source of Warp Pieces beyond the standard Warp Chess Box tiles. For players who are pulling in bulk, the accumulated Warp Pieces from successful Guardian chases can add up to meaningful purchasing power in the Warp Piece shop.

Pull Rates

The consolidated S-class rate in Scarborough Fair is approximately 1.88% per pull (averaged across a full pity cycle including soft pity; the base per-tile rate is approximately 1%). This is significantly higher than the standard rates in comparable titles. Wuthering Waves offers 0.8%, and Genshin Impact sits at 0.6%. The higher base rate, combined with the absence of a 50/50 system, means that NTE is notably more generous when it comes to obtaining featured characters.

A-class characters are guaranteed every 10 pulls, which ensures that even short pulling sessions produce meaningful results. B-class drops fill the remaining probability space and serve as enhancement material and collection entries.

Pity System

Soft pity begins at approximately 70 pulls. After 70 pulls without an S-class character, the board reconfigures to include significantly more Journey Together tiles (the tiles that guarantee the featured S-class unit). During this soft pity phase, the effective S-class rate climbs to roughly 19.5% per pull, making it very likely that you will receive the featured character within the next few rolls.

Hard pity is set at 90 pulls. If a player reaches 90 pulls without receiving an S-class character, the 90th pull is guaranteed to award one. Because there is no 50/50 mechanic on the limited banner, that guaranteed S-class will always be the featured character. Pity carries over between limited banners of the same type, so unused pity count is never wasted.

How the Board Changes at Soft Pity

When a player reaches 70 pulls without drawing an S-class character, the board undergoes a visible transformation. All Hero Chest tiles on the main loop are replaced with Journey Together tiles (guaranteed S-class). In practical terms, this means that roughly every 5 to 6 tiles on the modified board becomes an S-class guarantee. The effective per-roll S-class rate jumps from the base ~1% to approximately 19.5%, making it very likely that the player lands on an S-class tile within a handful of additional rolls.

If the player still has not landed on an S-class tile by pull 89, the game skips the dice roll entirely and automatically awards the featured S-class character. This hard pity guarantee at pull 90 ensures that no player ever needs to exceed 90 pulls per S-class acquisition. Combined with pity carryover between limited banners of the same type, this system provides a predictable ceiling on spending.

Pity Rate Summary

Board Tiles

Each tile on the Scarborough Fair board provides a specific category of reward. The table below lists the tile types that appear during the gacha board game.

Standard vs. Limited Banner Differences

Scarborough Fair features two main banner types, each with its own dice currency, reward pool, and pity counter. Understanding the differences is essential for efficient resource allocation.

The limited banner is the recommended destination for Solid Dice because it guarantees the specific featured character on S-class trigger. The standard banner is best treated as a passive income target, pulling only with Fabricated Dice earned from daily activities and events rather than converting premium currency into standard pulls.

Banner Rotation and Expectations

Limited banners typically run for two to three weeks, with the featured character and any associated event content announced several days before the banner launches. Hotta Studio has followed a pattern of alternating between new character debuts and reruns of previously released characters. Players who are saving for a specific character should monitor official announcements and community channels for upcoming banner schedules.

Because pity carries over between limited banners, there is no penalty for skipping a banner entirely. A player who pulls 40 times on one limited banner and then stops will start the next limited banner at 40/90 toward hard pity. This carryover removes the pressure to pull on every banner and rewards patient saving.

Currencies

The Scarborough Fair system involves several interconnected currencies. Understanding each one helps with long-term resource planning.

Arc Pulls

In addition to character banners, Scarborough Fair includes a separate banner for Arcs (weapons). Arc pulls use Tri-Keys as their currency rather than Solid Dice or Fabricated Dice. A key distinction is that Arc banners only support 10-pulls; single pulls are not available. Each 10-pull costs 25 Tri-Keys and guarantees at least one A-class Arc, with an S-class Arc available at the same pity thresholds as the character banner.

This 10-pull-only restriction means players need to save Tri-Keys in batches of 25 before pulling. The trade-off is that every pull session on the Arc banner is guaranteed to deliver meaningful results through the minimum A-class guarantee.

Free S-Rank Selector

New players receive a special safety net on the standard banner. If a player completes 50 pulls on the standard banner without receiving any S-Rank character, the game awards a free S-Rank character selector. This selector allows the player to choose from the pool of available standard-banner S-Rank characters, providing a guaranteed starting point for building a roster.

This mechanic is separate from the normal pity system. It acts as an additional safety net specifically for new players who may have unusually poor luck during their first batch of pulls. Combined with the pre-registration rewards and early-game free pulls, this selector ensures that every player has at least one S-Rank character early in their progression regardless of RNG outcomes.

F2P Expectations

New players can expect approximately 80 to 90 free pulls from the combination of pre-registration rewards, tutorial completion, and early-game event distributions. Since hard pity sits at 90, this means a free-to-play player entering at launch should be able to guarantee at least one S-class character from the limited banner without spending any real money. Additional pulls accumulate from daily activities, weekly missions, and seasonal events.

The generous pull income early on is clearly designed to help new players build a functional roster quickly. After the initial burst of free resources, the pull income settles into a steadier drip from daily commissions, event participation, and exploration rewards.

Tips and Strategies

• Focus Solid Dice on limited banners. Because there is no 50/50 risk, every limited banner pull has a direct path to the featured character. Spending Solid Dice on the limited banner is always the optimal strategy.

• Save pity for characters that fit your team. Since pity carries between limited banners, there is no urgency to spend. Wait for a character whose element and role complement your existing roster. Consult the team building guide for composition advice.

• Let Fabricated Dice accumulate naturally. The standard banner uses Fabricated Dice, which you earn from daily activities and events. There is no need to rush these; pull on the standard banner whenever you have a comfortable surplus.

• Track your pity count. The game displays your current pity count on the banner screen. Keep an eye on it so you know when soft pity (around 70) and hard pity (90) are approaching.

• Consider the reroll guide if starting fresh. Rerolling in NTE is relatively painless thanks to the high base rates and generous starting resources.

For more information on character rarity, see Esper Ranks. For details on weapons obtained through gacha, see Arcs and Weapons.