Umbral Monument is Arknights: Endfield's permanent high-difficulty endgame mode, built for players who've finished the main story and want their roster genuinely tested. This guide covers the current series, Howlers of the Crag, including all four stages, unlock requirements, and every reward available for clearing them. Endministrators! Gearing up for Agony Mode? Head to LootBar or the Arknights: Endfield top-up page for fast, secure top-ups.
How to Unlock Umbral Monument
Once unlocked, Umbral Monument stays permanently accessible and adds new Series periodically, roughly every 6 to 8 weeks based on past release patterns. Older Series remain playable indefinitely, so nothing gets locked out once a new one arrives.
Howlers of the Crag: Current Series Stages
Each stage comes in Normal and Agony difficulty. Clearing Normal unlocks Agony for that same stage, which raises enemy levels significantly and strips out Tactical Items entirely, so healing and buffs have to come from Operator skills alone. Every stage also runs on a shared 10-minute timer, and clearing it simply means defeating every enemy wave before time runs out. No other hidden conditions apply.
Umbral Monument Rewards
Clearing all four Howlers of the Crag stages for the first time grants:
- T-Credits
- Mark of Perseverance
- Advanced Cognitive Carrier
- Arms INSP Set
- Protohedron
These are one-time rewards. Repeat clears don't grant additional loot, so there's no reason to farm a stage more than once outside of chasing the Agony clear itself. Completing every stage in a Series under Normal mode also earns a unique Engraved Medal; going back and clearing the same Series entirely in Agony mode upgrades that medal to a Trimmed variant as a mark of prestige rather than granting extra materials.
Monumental Etching: Beastly Howl (Bonus Event)
Each new Umbral Monument Series typically launches alongside a limited-time bonus track called Monumental Etching. For Howlers of the Crag, this was Monumental Etching: Beastly Howl, which ran from August 6 to August 20 and offered 1,200 Oroberyl plus an Advanced Progression Selection Crate I for completing specific challenges. That event window has since closed, so those bonus rewards are no longer obtainable, though the four Howlers of the Crag stages themselves remain permanently playable with their standard first-clear rewards intact.
Normal Mode vs. Agony Mode: Which Should You Clear First?
Clear Normal Mode first if: you're aiming for the standard first-clear rewards and the Engraved Medal. This is the more accessible path and doesn't require a fully optimized team to complete.
Push into Agony Mode if: you already have a well-built roster and want the Trimmed Medal along with the harder challenge. Since Tactical Items are banned here, prioritize Operators with reliable self-sustain or healing skills, since there's no way to top off HP outside of what your team can generate on its own.
Tips for Clearing Howlers of the Crag
Bring a character who can group up smaller enemies when facing wave-heavy stages like Mangler and Friends, since clearing scattered mobs individually eats into the timer fast. Against boss-heavy stages, especially King of the Crag, prioritize burst damage to shorten the fight rather than spreading damage evenly, since the timer punishes drawn-out engagements more than it punishes an imperfect rotation. For Agony Mode specifically, test your team composition on Normal first. It's a reliable way to spot which mechanics will actually give you trouble before Tactical Items are taken off the table entirely.
Recommended Team Comps for Howlers of the Crag
Verified team recommendations currently exist for two of the four stages. Zhuang Fangyi's Electric team stands out in both cases, though the reasons differ stage to stage.
Mangler and Friends (Stage 3): Zhuang Fangyi's Electric Team
Zhuang Fangyi hits hard here once her Sunderblades are maxed out during her Ultimate, and that same Ultimate also makes her immune to the stage's banana-peel slip hazard, a mechanic that trips up other Operators mid-fight. That combination makes her one of the more reliable picks specifically for this stage.
King of the Crag (Stage 4): Zhuang Fangyi's Electric Team
This stage's mechanics allow near-permanent Electrification uptime, which lets you repeatedly trigger Zhuang Fangyi's Battle Skill to consume it. Spamming that skill stacks her Sunderblades charge and builds her Ultimate meter noticeably faster than a standard rotation would.
Visitors of Qingbo and Earthshaking Hazefyre (Stages 1 and 2)
No verified stage-specific team comp has surfaced for either of these two stages yet. Rather than guess, general Umbral Monument advice still applies: bring a character who can group up smaller enemies for wave-heavy sections, and lean on Operators with self-sustain if attempting Agony Mode, where Tactical Items are banned.
Conclusion
Howlers of the Crag remains a solid test of team-building fundamentals, even with its limited-time Monumental Etching rewards no longer available. The four stages stay permanently farmable for their first-clear rewards and Engraved Medal, and Agony Mode is worth pushing for once your roster can reliably self-sustain without Tactical Items. Keep an eye out for the next Series, since Umbral Monument tends to rotate in new content every 6 to 8 weeks.
Endministrators! Ready to strengthen your roster for the next Series? Visit LootBar or the Arknights: Endfield top-up page for fast, secure top-ups.
