Arcaea ARGs

This article documents the ARGs leading up to the releases of the mobile version 3.0 (Black Fate) and 4.0 (Final Verdict) updates.
== Black Fate ==
=== Version 2.6.2 and YouTube video code ===
Version 2.6.2 was released on May 2, 2020, and was the last update before the major 3.0 update.
The release notes for this update read only:
:Attempt to reject invalid connection in story
The "To be continued..." screen that appeared after reading Story Entry V-5 was updated to display an encoded string "2-F!t<A\bPDbN_".
When decoded as base85, this gives the string "5YWmU4s2oLI".
This the ID of an unlisted and untitled YouTube video, posted by an account named "_X".
At the time of its discovery, the video description read "connection established".
The video itself contains the text "The truth lies within reach." in the foreground, with encoded text in the background.
Collecting the characters, ignoring all X characters, and then decoding via ROT47 gives the following text:https://twitter.com/motleyorc/status/1257531558942126083
%92ED9@F=5AFE:E:?E@2>@C6F?56CDE2?523=6A6CDA64E:G
6]%964@?46AE:D5646AE:G6=JD:>A=6[56DA:E69@H@G6CH9
6=>:?8:E>:89ED66>8:G6?9@H6I4665:?8=J>F=E:7246E65E964
@?46AE2AA62CD](9:=64@?D:56C:?82==@E96C2DA64ED
@7E96:562[7C@>qE@+[@?6>FDE<66A:?>:?56G6CJ7:CDE:5
62[p[7C@>H9:496G6CJE9:?86=D6DAC:?8DE92E:D[E96Q=@H
6DEH@C=5Q]wF?5C65D[:7?@EE9@FD2?5D[@7:?7=F6?46D>2J
D92A6H92E4@>6D27E6C[H9:49H@F=5F?56?:23=J6IA2?5E96
A@DD:3:=:EJDA246E@H2C5:?7:?:EJ]%9@D6:?7=F6?46D[9@H
6G6C[D9@F=5?@E2G6CE2?J6J6D7C@>E96F?56C=J:?8ECFE9]
q67@C62?JE9:?86=D6:DE92E@?6iE96A=2467C@>H9:49:E368:
?D[:?H9:49D665DDAC@FE2?5:562D7@C>]
Thatshouldputitintoamoreunderstandableperspectiv
e.Theconceptisdeceptivelysimple,despitehowoverwh
elmingitmightseemgivenhowexceedinglymultifacetedthec
onceptappears.Whileconsideringallotheraspects
oftheidea,fromBtoZ,onemustkeepinmindeveryfirstid
ea,A,fromwhicheverythingelsespringsthatis,the"low
estworld".Hundreds,ifnotthousands,ofinfluencesmay
shapewhatcomesafter,whichwouldundeniablyexpandthe
possibilityspacetowardinfinity.Thoseinfluences,how
ever,shouldnotavertanyeyesfromtheunderlyingtruth.
Beforeanythingelseisthatone:theplacefromwhichitbegi
ns,inwhichseedssproutandideasform.
That should put it into a more understandable perspective.
The concept is deceptively simple, despite how overwhelming it might seem given how exceedingly multifaceted the concept appears.
While considering all other aspects of the idea, from B to Z,
one must keep in mind every first idea, A, from which everything else springs that is, the "lowest world".
Hundreds, if not thousands, of influences may shape what comes after,
which would undeniably expand the possibility space toward infinity.
Those influences, however, should not avert any eyes from the underlying truth.
Before anything else is that one: the place from which it begins, in which seeds sprout and ideas form.
The official Arcaea Twitter posted this tweet soon after the video's discovery.
This tweet reads:
:connection count:0̶
=== lowest.world ===
On May 8, 2020, the official Twitter posted a now deleted tweet reading:
:connection established
:c̶o̶n̶n̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶t̶
:establish user connection to □̶
The YouTube video description was changed to this same text.
On May 9, 2020, the official Twitter posted another now deleted tweet reading:
:connection established
:c̶o̶n̶n̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶t̶
:establish user connection to ht□̶s://□̶
:t̶i̶m̶e̶o̶u̶t̶,̶ ̶r̶e̶t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶
:establish user connection t□̶
The YouTube video description was again changed to this text.
The previous tweet suggested the existence of a secret website.
The URL https://lowest.world (old version) was discovered later the same day, based on the "lowest world" mentioned in the encoded text from the video.https://twitter.com/LinusThePotato/status/1259127743351939073
This site showed the text:
:Await their fated battle. 3.0 is on the horizon.
On May 10, 2020, the official Twitter posted this tweet, and the YouTube video description changed for the final time to:
:connection complete.
:https://lowest.world
=== Version 3.0 release ===
Arcaea version 3.0 was officially announced on May 13, 2020.
The Black Fate Main Story pack was announced on May 16, and a PV posted the same day.
More details about the update were posted in the days leading up to the release.
The update was finally released on May 27, 2020.
The https://lowest.world page was changed to display only a flashing /, hinting at a secret subpage.
=== #1f1e33 code and hidden songs ===
The unlock process for Black Fate's Anomaly song requires the completion of four challenges before the fifth and final challenge can be unlocked.
The first three challenges involve clearing Equilibrium, Antagonism, and Dantalion under certain conditions, and the corresponding song jackets are displayed after completing each challenge.
This suggests that the fourth challenge relates to Black Fate's fourth song, #1f1e33.
Prior to version 3.12.0, clicking the fourth challenge would bring up a text entry field, hinting at some sort of password:
#The #1f1e33 section of the Black Fate PV contains a series of letters scattered throughout that join to give the coded string "yufxbxp".
#Attempting to read Story Entry VS-7 previously brought up another string of the same length, "aiskfzi".
#Deciphering "aiskfzi" as a Vigenère cipher with the key "yufxbxp" gives the word "connect".
#Appending this to the https://lowest.world URL gives the subpage https://lowest.world/connect.
#This page contained the necessary password "zd2xcf5", as well as a countdown to the time 05:39:42.040, May 29, 2020 GMT.
Tempestissimo was officially announced several hours after 3.0's release.
Black Fate's hidden Terminal Song Arcahv was officially announced the next day.
In version 3.3.0, the puzzle was simplified so that attempting to read Entry VS-7 would directly show the https://lowest.world/connect URL, from which the password could be obtained directly.
In version 3.12.0, the password requirement was removed entirely, requiring players to instead clear #1f1e33. The https://lowest.world URL was replaced with an automatic redirect to the official website (until after v4.0).
=== Lost Chapter: Beyond ===
The version 3.0 update included a new World Mode chapter.
This chapter was initially unnamed, and attempting to access it would bring up a dialog box reading:
:Inaccessible
:No world instability detected
Soon after Arcahv was revealed, the official Twitter posted this tweet, reading:
:World instability detected.
:Await final connection.
:#arcaea
On completion of the https://lowest.world/connect countdown, the official Twitter revealed this to be the new Lost Chapter: Beyond, and the chapter was made playable.
== Final Verdict ==
Most of this information is based on the community 4.0 Arcaea ARG spreadsheet.
The official Arcaea Twitter posted a now deleted tweet at 0:00 GMT on June 16, 2022. This tweet hinted at the upcoming 4.0 update, and read:
:Arcaea version 3.12.12 releases on the Â￡ of Þ￥¿ .
:This update includes a number of small changes and —¶ new ╔
:▀áÍÞæŘ§ŮóÞ￠áñ
:�□
This tweet was deleted roughly 50 minutes later.
=== Twitter cipher ===
The official Arcaea Twitter posted this followup tweet at 00:06 GMT on June 16, 2022.
This tweet contains an image with the text:
:The World of Arcaea welcomes all.
The image also contains a series of glass fragments with pairs of alphanumeric characters on their front and back (some only have the front character visible).
Around 3:00 GMT on June 16, a Twitter account called "Founding Call" was discovered in the follow lists of Arcaea's official EN/JP/KR Twitter accounts.
A series of similar accounts was discovered over the next few days.
These accounts follow a similar format:
* The account name and handle follow the format "Adjective Noun @adjective_noun".
* Each account has exactly two tweets:
*# A retweet of a results screenshot from a normal player's account. The active partner is a variant of Hikari or Tairitsu, and the song jacket features that partner.
*# A video with a coded message, and several glass fragments with pairs of characters: an alphanumeric character on their front, and a number on their back.
* Each account follows exactly two other accounts: the next account in the series, and the player that they retweeted. The exception is the last account, Drifting Prayer, which follows all other hidden accounts in the series and the three official Arcaea accounts, plus the retweeted player.
* Every account was created on June 9, 2022 (using the Twitter API).
The characters on the glass shards in the World of Arcaea tweet and the hidden account videos describe a substitution cipher:
* In the World of Arcaea tweet, the character on the front of each shard corresponds to encoded ciphertext, and the back is the decoded plaintext.
* In the hidden account videos, the character on the front of each shard corresponds to encoded ciphertext. The number on the back corresponds to the decoded plaintext like follows: the decoded character comes from the name of the account, where the number describes its position from the start (including spaces, where the first character is numbered 0). e.g. for a shard with E/10 in Founding Call, "a" is the 10th character after the initial F, so "E" decodes to "a".
* Certain character encodings aren't given by either of the above, and were guessed based on frequency analysis (and in fact, large parts of the cipher were deduced by players via frequency analysis before the purpose of the shards was known).
* The following characters do not need decoding: digits other than 3, 4, and 7, and all non-alphanumeric characters excluding spaces and underscores.
The Twitter accounts' content is summarised below:
 The World of Arcaea welcomes all. 
 Tweet: 2022-06-16 00:06 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	V	a	N	d	v	I	P	X	A	r	F	h	e	2
Plaintext	o	L	W	S	f	Y	h	v	H	p	 	 	 	
 Founding Call 
 First tweet: 2022-06-16 02:25 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	E 	4 	J
Number 	10	8 	0
Plaintext	a 	space	F
 Encoded message:   bO3ueWuP,3b4fEK4GVeO4vVe3VOD.   bO4ueWuP,3b4fEK7GVeO7vVe3_VWOuhDKK4VuPDeK. 
 Decoded message:   In truth, I was born for one.   In truth, I was born for countless others. 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Iconoclast [FTR], Tairitsu (unawakened)
 Cardinal Oath 
 First tweet: 2022-06-16 10:44 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	F	h	e
Number 	9	7	2
Plaintext	O	l	r
 Encoded message:   dV,3b3eDvWKD   b7eDvWKD4uV7hDu4Ehh4vEjD4EfEq… 
 Decoded message:   So, I refuse   I refuse to let all fade away… 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Fracture Ray [FTR], Hikari (Fracture)
 Echoed Question 
 First tweet: 2022-06-17 02:54 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	_	j	u
Number 	1	5	11
Plaintext	c	d	t
 Encoded message:   BPiK7XVi_D4b'XD7WKDj4uV4_Ehh7WrVO4KV3nEOq3VuPDek…   …iK7iu4eDE_PiOU3qVW? 
 Decoded message:   This voice I've used to call upon so many others…   …is it reaching you? 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Tempestissimo [FTR], Tairitsu (Tempest)
 Forlorn Plea 
 First tweet: 2022-06-17 16:28 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	O	k
Number 	6	8
Plaintext	n	P
 Encoded message:   bv4qVW3PDEe3nD…   hiKuDO,4EOj7E_u. 
 Decoded message:   If you hear me…   listen, and act. 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Ether Strike [FTR], Hikari (Zero)
 Discarded Past 
 First tweet: 2022-06-18 09:26 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	D	3 	c
Number 	7	9 	0
Plaintext	e	space	D
 Encoded message:   BPD3rEKu4DliKuK,4uPDeDvVeD3vEuD4_EO3GD7VXDeuWeODj.   IVW4DliKu3OVf4hVOU4EvuDe3vEuD7PEK4ueEOKrieDj. 
 Decoded message:   The past exists, therefore fate can be overturned.   You exist now long after fate has transpired. 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Axium Crisis [FTR], Tairitsu (Axium)
 Resolute Faith 
 First tweet: 2022-06-18 21:16 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	7 	K	Z
Number 	8 	2	0
Plaintext	space	s	R
 Encoded message:   BPiK3iK3OV3rhE_D4uV7KW__WnG4uV3ueEUDjq.   aivD,4DliKuDO_D,3iK3PVrD-vWhh. 
 Decoded message:   This is no place to succumb to tragedy.   Life, existence, is hope-full. 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: PRAGMATISM -RESURRECTION- [BYD], Hikari (unawakened)
 Glass Testament 
 First tweet: 2022-06-20 10:52 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	M	B
Number 	0	6
Plaintext	G	T
 Encoded message:   ZiKD7OVf,7EOj3iO4UhEKK7b4fihh4eDnDnGDe4qVW. 
 Decoded message:   Rise now, and in glass I will remember you. 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Dantalion [FTR], Tairitsu (Grievous Lady)
 Drifting Prayer 
 First tweet: 2022-06-22 00:36 GMT 
 Cipher characters:
Cipher 	U	q
Number 	7	12
Plaintext	g	y
 Encoded message:   b7GDU4qVW,4b7reEq…   dIda022APNV 
 Decoded message:   I beg you, I pray…   SYSL022HhWo 
 Retweeted chart/Partner: Arcahv [FTR], Hikari (Awakened)
The combined cipher (including guessed characters) is as follows
Ciphertext	E 	G 	_ 	j	D	v	U	P	i	 	 	h	n	O	V	r	 	e	K	u	W	X	f	l	q	
Plaintext 	a 	b 	c 	d	e	f	g	h	i	j	k	l	m	n	o	p	q	r	s	t	u	v	w	x	y	z
Ciphertext	 	 	 	c	 	J	M	A	b	 	 	a	 	 	F	k	 	Z	d	B	 	 	N	 	I	
Plaintext 	A 	B 	C 	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
Ciphertext	3 	4 	7 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Plaintext 	space	space	space	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
The compiled decoded text reads:
::In truth, I was born for one.
::In truth, I was born for countless others.
::So, I refuse
::I refuse to let all fade away…
::This voice I’ve used to call upon so many others…
::…is it reaching you?
::If you hear me…
::listen, and act.
::The past exists, therefore fate can be overturned.
::You exist now long after fate has transpired.
::This is no place to succumb to tragedy.
::Life, existence, is hope-full.
::Rise now, and in glass I will remember you.
::I beg you, I pray…
::SYSL022HhWo
The final string is the video ID for a YouTube video.
This video is the first official announcement of the version 4.0 update, and also revealed it to be Arcaea's final chapter.
=== Version 4.0 release ===
Arcaea version 4.0 and the Final Verdict Main Story pack were officially announced on June 23, 2022.
More details about the update were posted in the days leading up to its release.
Version 4.0 was finally released on July 7.
Several Final Verdict songs and their unlock methods were not officially revealed prior to the update (see Axiom of the End for details).
These songs were announced in the hours following the update.
=== Silent Answer ===
On July 9, 2022, https://lowest.world was updated.
The new page displayed the question "Are you alone?", with "Yes." as the only selectable option.
Clicking this would make the page fade to black.
This could only be reset by deleting cookies.
On July 11, the official Twitter posted this tweet, further hinting at an epilogue.
On July 12, https://lowest.world was updated again, now with a new upside-down "No." response to "Are you alone?".
Choosing "No." redirects to an official PV for Silent Answer.
Choosing "Yes." now redirects to the Arcaea homepage.
Silent Answer was finally released on July 13, 2022 with the version 4.0.255 update.
== References ==