Blue Archive Aoba is free to unlock in the Highlander Railroad Runaway Incident rerun. Clear Story 01: Central Control Center Planning Office and you’ll receive Aoba as a one-star student. It’s a guaranteed story-clear reward, so there’s no need to use Pyroxenes on a recruitment banner to get her.
The event began after the October 27 update and ends on November 10, 2026 at 01:59 GMT. You have until then to finish Aoba’s story stage. The event shop and railway minigame stay available for another week, but the extra exchange time doesn’t extend the story.
How to unlock Blue Archive Aoba for free
First, clear Normal Mission 2-3 to unlock the event. Open Highlander Railroad Runaway Incident: And the Train Disappeared, choose Story, and select the first episode, Central Control Center Planning Office.
Finish Story 01 and collect its clear reward. You’ll receive Blue Archive Aoba (1★) if she’s not already in your student roster. The episode is also part of the event story, so you can continue with the remaining scenes once you’ve unlocked her.
What if you already own Aoba?
If you already own Blue Archive Aoba, clearing the same episode instead awards one Aoba Eleph and one Eligma. That isn’t an error or a second copy of the student: Nexon specifies those exact rewards for returning owners.
The duplicate-owner reward comes from this story clear. If you’re deciding what to upgrade next, open Aoba’s own student screen and check the Eleph requirement shown there. One free Eleph isn’t a repeatable farming method for upgrading her.
Where is the Highlander Railroad event?
The rerun is in the game’s active event menu. Alongside Story, it offers Quests, Challenges, Tasks, a shop and a train-track minigame. You can unlock Aoba through the story first, then spend time on whichever other event rewards interest you.
The event is accessible after Mission 2-3, even if you haven’t been playing every previous Blue Archive event. Its first story episode is the confirmed way to recruit Aoba, while the train puzzle and quests are separate activities with their own rewards.
Should you sweep quests to unlock Aoba?
No. Sweeping Quests won’t unlock Aoba. You need the Story 01 clear. Nexon’s event rules allow Sweeps in Quest stages only; Story and Challenges must be played rather than swept.
Once you’ve collected the student, Quests are where you can farm further event rewards such as Credits, Artifacts and currency. Use Specialized Students for the relevant event-currency bonus before sweeping a Quest. The bonus applies to its repeat rewards, not to Aoba’s story unlock.
Other Highlander rewards worth checking
The railway minigame lets you construct a track using Highlander Stickers and send a train through three stations. Our Highlander Railroad minigame guide explains its 150-Sticker track placements, route bonuses and Skip option.
There are also regular Challenges and an Extra stage with a Secret Tech Sheet reward. For Quest farming, bonus students and the event shop, see our Highlander Railroad Runaway guide. You can work on all of those after adding Aoba to your roster.
Blue Archive Aoba event deadline and last claims
November 10 at 01:59 GMT is the deadline to clear Story 01 and unlock Blue Archive Aoba. The shop, minigame and remaining exchange or claim options close on November 17 at 01:59 GMT.
If you haven’t recruited her yet, make Story 01 your first stop. It’s a quick, specific goal: unlock the event, clear the first episode and claim Aoba. After that, you can decide how much time to put into Quests, the train puzzle and the rest of the Highlander event.
Official publisher source: Nexon’s October 27 Blue Archive global patch notes.
