How to unlock and use Protocol Dataloggers in Arknights: Endfield

Pcgamer reports that players in Arknights: Endfield will encounter yellow, waving balloon figures called Protocol Dataloggers across Talos-II, but interacting with them early on returns the message "Access authorization cannot be verified. Please acquire access authorization before starting again."

Those balloons do not require an environmental puzzle or hidden item to activate. Protocol Dataloggers become usable only after you complete all of Chapter I Process I — the sequence that includes saving the Hub Base and confronting the Landbreakers in the Valley Pass — and then speak to Andre to receive the access authorization.

Once authorized, interacting with Protocol Dataloggers grants a resource called AIC Index, which is spent in the AIC Plan to research factory tech for building more units, crafting materials, and improving production capacity. From that point the dataloggers are marked on the map so you can collect them while exploring Talos-II.

Key Topics

Culture, Arknights: Endfield, Protocol Dataloggers, Aic Index, Aic Plan, Talos-ii