The Realm of Ink Sanctum infinite mode is the ultimate endgame gauntlet for players who have conquered the base game's story and want to push their builds to the absolute limit. Known officially as Animitta's Sanctum, this endless challenge strips away the narrative constraints of the "Story Relics" and throws increasingly brutal waves of enemies at you, rewarding rare perks based on your total kill count. If you are wondering how to unlock this hidden arena, what to expect from its aggressive scaling, or why your high-end PC is suddenly dropping to a single frame per second, this guide breaks down everything you need to know to dominate the Fox Inn's greatest trial.
How to Unlock the Realm of Ink Sanctum Infinite Mode
Many players defeat the final boss, roll the credits, and return to the Fox Inn completely unaware that the game's most punishing content is already waiting for them. Unlocking the Realm of Ink Sanctum infinite mode isn't handed to you via a glowing quest marker; it requires a specific sequence of actions that the game only vaguely hints at through NPC dialogue.
To gain access, you must first successfully finish a standard run. This means defeating the final boss of your current difficulty tier—whether you are playing on the baseline setting, Jiao Hao, or the punishing Long Hao difficulty. Once the run is complete and you are transported back to the Fox Inn hub area, do not immediately jump into a new story cycle.
Instead, head to the northwest corner of the Fox Inn. Here, you will locate Miss Li, the resident Go player. Interacting with Miss Li opens a unique dialogue prompt. She will ask you to select one of your previously finished runs. By choosing a completed run, you lock in the exact stats, Ink Gems, and Artifacts you had at the moment of your victory, and you are immediately transported to Animitta Mountain to begin the endless challenge.
Scaling and Rewards in the Realm of Ink Sanctum Infinite Mode
Once you step into Animitta's Sanctum, the traditional roguelite progression of Realm of Ink is stripped away. You are no longer navigating branching paths, choosing between talent cultivation rooms, or hunting down the Fox Demon. Instead, you are dropped into a static arena on Animitta Mountain where enemies spawn in relentless, escalating waves.
The primary mechanic of the Realm of Ink Sanctum infinite mode is its kill-count reward system. Unlike standard levels where loot drops from chests or bosses, Animitta's Sanctum rewards you dynamically based on the sheer volume of monsters you butcher. As your kill count hits specific thresholds, you are granted rare perks that are otherwise incredibly difficult to farm in the base game.
However, the difficulty scaling here is vicious. The enemies do not just gain larger health pools; their attack patterns become more aggressive, and elite variants spawn with higher frequency. If you are playing under a high Dissolution difficulty modifier, expect the baseline strength of these mobs to mirror the late-game Chapter 6 elites right from wave one. Before you can even survive the deep endless waves, you must be intimately familiar with the attack patterns of the game's major bosses, as elite variants of them will spawn alongside regular mobs. The White Ape, known for its erratic leaping attacks and heavy ground slams, becomes a recurring nightmare in the Sanctum. Similarly, the mechanical monk guardian, Animitta Asura, will test your dodge timings with its sweeping area-of-effect strikes. Defeating these boss-level threats within the endless waves is the primary way to secure advanced Ink Gems; for instance, taking down a White Ape variant randomly drops high-tier gems that are crucial for late-stage survival.
You will also earn a massive influx of Steamed Buns—the game's primary currency—especially following the May 2026 v1.01 patch, which increased Steamed Bun drops by 30% on Jiao Hao and Long Hao difficulties. This makes the endless mode not just a test of skill, but the single most efficient farming method for maxing out your Talent Stele back at the Fox Inn.
Best Character Builds for the Realm of Ink Sanctum Infinite Mode
Surviving past the 30-minute mark in the endless arena requires more than just dodging; it requires mathematical synergy. The sheer density of enemies means that single-target burst damage quickly falls off in favor of area-of-effect (AoE) clearing and passive sustain. When choosing which completed run to submit to Miss Li, the character you played drastically alters your survival odds.
Red (The Unparalleled Swordswoman) is the baseline, offering high mobility. If you enter the Sanctum with her, you want the Azure Aura Blade equipped. Her mobility allows her to kite the massive hordes, but she requires heavy investment in lifesteal to survive the inevitable chip damage. Wang Ding (The Nightmare Hunter) is arguably the strongest pick for deep Sanctum runs. His innate defensive capabilities and wide, sweeping attacks make him a natural fit for crowd control. Ning Ye (The Fox Judge) excels at range, but the claustrophobic nature of the endless waves can quickly overwhelm him if his crowd-control cooldowns are mismanaged.
Your Ink Gem and Artifact loadout is where the real run is made or broken. You need to prioritize items that trigger on-kill or on-hit effects, as the sheer volume of targets will ensure these are active 100% of the time.
- Needle Ink: This is a mandatory pickup. Needle Ink pierces foes and causes severe bleeding. When enemies are stacked on top of each other, a single piercing attack can apply bleed to a dozen targets simultaneously.
- Tiger and Venom Ink: Tiger Ink provides raw base damage scaling, while Venom Ink stacks damage-over-time (DoT) effects that melt heavily armored elites.
- High-Level Ink Pet Evolution: Your Ink Pet is your lifeline. Depending on your combination of Ink Gems, your Ink Pet will transform. A combination of Burning Ink and Dragon Ink might yield an aggressive companion, while Curse Ink and Kylin Ink create a defensive bulwark. The v1.01 patch specifically increased the movement speed for Ink Pets, allowing them to traverse the large Animitta Mountain map much more effectively and keep up with your dashes.
- Artifacts: The Dreadful Bell and the Octagram Dart are top-tier choices. The Dreadful Bell triggers on continuous critical hits, which are guaranteed when attacking crowds, while the Octagram Dart provides passive projectile cover.
The FPS Trap: Known Bugs in the Realm of Ink Sanctum Infinite Mode
The true final boss of the Realm of Ink Sanctum infinite mode is the game engine itself. Because the mode allows you to push builds to their absolute mathematical extremes, it frequently buckles under the weight of its own calculations.
Prior to the v1.01 update on May 28, 2026, players encountered a frustrating bug where simply clicking "Give Up" in Animitta's Sanctum would cause a hard crash to the desktop, wiping the run's progress. Another bug involved the Oread Form's "Demon Puppet Summon" ultimate skill, which would crash the game when triggered amidst a massive horde. While developer A Kuan and the team have patched these specific crashes, a more insidious issue remains.
The community refers to it as the "Rupture 150" problem. If you take a highly optimized Rupture build—one that triggers cascading explosions on bleeding or poisoned enemies—into the deeper waves of the Sanctum, the sheer volume of damage calculations, floating numbers, and visual effects will tank your frame rate. Players with top-of-the-line rigs, including Intel Core i9 processors and RTX 4070 Ti GPUs, have reported the game dropping to 0-1 frames per second after just five minutes of high-intensity wave clearing.
The cruel irony of this performance trap is that your build is so powerful, you cannot die. The enemies are instantly vaporized as they spawn, but the game is running so slowly that you cannot progress. You are effectively immortal, yet soft-locked, forcing you to Alt+F4 out of the game and lose the stats and Steamed Buns you accumulated during the run. Until further optimization patches arrive, players are advised to turn their graphics settings down to the absolute minimum before attempting deep endless runs, and to avoid builds that trigger infinite cascading AoE effects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Animitta's Sanctum in Realm of Ink? Animitta's Sanctum is the official name for the endgame endless mode. It is a survival arena located on Animitta Mountain where players face infinite waves of enemies to earn rare perks and currency.
Do I keep my items when entering the endless mode? Yes, but you do not start from scratch. To enter, you must speak to Miss Li at the Fox Inn and select a previously completed run. You will enter the Sanctum with the exact weapons, Ink Gems, and Artifacts you had when you defeated that run's final boss.
How do I farm Steamed Buns efficiently? The Sanctum is the best place to farm Steamed Buns. Playing on Jiao Hao or Long Hao difficulty increases your Steamed Bun yield by 30%, allowing you to rapidly upgrade your Talent Stele.
Why does my game freeze in the Sanctum? Extremely powerful area-of-effect builds, particularly those utilizing heavy Rupture mechanics, can overload the game's engine with damage calculations and visual effects, causing severe FPS drops that force players to restart.
Sources
- Steam Community General Discussions: "Endless mode" and "Animitta Sanctum" player reports.
- GameSpace: "Realm of Ink Got a New Update" (Version 0.15.0 Animitta Mountain details).
- SteamDB: Realm of Ink Version 1.01 Update Notes & Future Plans (May 28, 2026).