So you just downloaded Arknights: Endfield or you are about to do it, you can download it form here and you’re staring at the gacha banners wondering who the hell you should actually be pulling for. Yeah, I’ve been there. Three weeks into the game and I can finally tell you which Arknights: Endfield characters are actually worth your oroberyls and which ones you’re getting for free anyway.
The top tier arknights: endfield characters everyone’s talking about
Look, the meta’s still settling, but from my experience and what most players I know are running, there are basically four Arknights: Endfield characters that stand head and shoulders above everyone else right now.
Laevatain: the AOE monster you probably want first
Laevatain is stupid strong. Like, embarrassingly strong for a launch character. She’s a 6 star striker who uses heat attacks and just deletes entire groups of enemies. I’m talking sweeping through mob-heavy missions like they’re nothing.
What makes her so good isn’t just the damage output, it’s how easy her team is to build. You literally just need Ardelia, Akekuri, and Antal, all of which are either free or easy to get. Most gacha games make you pull for multiple limited characters to make a team work, but Laevatain’s best squad costs you basically nothing beyond the initial pull.
From my testing, she’s the smoothest character for progressing through the story and farming materials. If you’re only gonna go hard on one banner, make it hers. Her banner (Scars of the Forge) ran from January 22 to February 7, so if you’re reading this early, that’s your window.
Ardelia: the support character you actually get for free
Here’s the thing about Ardelia that makes her amazing, she’s the best support in the game and you get her completely free on day three of logging in. Yeah, for real.
Ardelia’s a 6 star nature supporter who applies debuffs called susceptibility that make your entire team hit harder. She can slot into basically any comp, physical or arts teams, doesn’t matter. She also heals, which is clutch when you’re still learning enemy patterns.
Most players I know are running Ardelia on every single team because she’s just that flexible. The fact that she’s free means you can invest your pulls elsewhere while still having top tier support. Honestly, it’s the best freebie I’ve seen in a gacha launch in a while.
Yvonne: single target delete button
If Laevatain is your mob killer, Yvonne is your boss killer. She’s a 6 star caster with a cryo handcannon that does disgusting single target damage. I’m talking melting health bars that would take other characters twice as long to chew through.
The catch with Yvonne is she needs more setup. Her best team wants Xaihi and Gilberta, and she really shines with crit builds which take time to put together. She’s also more of a late bloomer, early game she’s fine, but once you get her properly built with the right gear, she becomes insane.
Her banner (Hues of Passion) is running from February 24 to March 13, so you’ve got time to save up if you want her. From what I’ve seen, she’s worth it if you’re struggling with boss encounters or high value targets.
Gilberta: the Other Limited Support
Gilberta’s a 6 star arts supporter who does crowd control and damage. She’s not as universally good as Ardelia, but she has specific teams where she absolutely shines. Mainly, she’s incredible for Yvonne teams because she applies susceptibility and has gravity effects that pull enemies together.
Her banner (The Floaty Messenger) ran from February 7 to 24. She’s good but not essential unless you’re trying to build that specific Yvonne comp. Most F2P players I know skipped her to save for Yvonne, which seems like a reasonable call.
The gacha system and How to actually get these arknights: endfield characters
Okay, so here’s how pulling works in Endfield, because it’s slightly different from other gacha games.
Basic headhunting banner
This is your standard permanent banner. Uses oroberyl currency, has pity at 80 pulls for a guaranteed 6 star. The pool includes Ardelia, Ember, Last Rite, Lifeng, and Pogranichnik.
Here’s the thing at 300 pulls on this banner, you get to straight up select any of those five characters. That’s a long grind but it’s guaranteed, which is honestly pretty generous compared to some games.
New horizons beginner banner
This is huge and a lot of new players don’t realize it. As you play through the tutorial and early missions, you get special permits. After 40 pulls using these permits, you’re guaranteed a 6 star from the basic pool.
It’s essentially a free 6 star just for playing the game. Don’t sleep on this. Complete those early missions and claim all the permits you can find.
Limited banners for featured characters
Laevatain, Gilberta, and Yvonne all get their own limited banners with boosted rates. These run for about 2-3 weeks each. The pity is 80 pulls, but it’s a 50/50, you might get an off banner 6 star instead of the featured one.
After their banners end, they join the standard pool but at lower rates. So if you want one of them, pulling on their featured banner is your best shot.
Free arknights: endfield characters worth building
The Arknights: Endfield gameplay is actually pretty generous with free characters. Besides Ardelia, you get:
- Perlica : your day one character from the tutorial. She’s solid early game and provides some support utility.
- Chen Qianyu : free from story missions. Physical DPS who’s actually really strong. Some people are saying she’s better than some 6 stars in physical teams.
- Wulfgard : another story reward. Heat focused DPS who’s surprisingly good for a freebie.
- Snowshine : if you pre-registered, you got her. Not top tier but usable.
- Endministrator: your main character. Customizable and genuinely useful. Lower investment cost too, which is nice.
Honestly, between these free characters and Ardelia, you can clear most content without pulling at all. That said, the game’s more fun with more toys to play with.
How arknights: endfield gameplay actually works with characters
Here’s what you need to know about using these characters effectively. The Arknights: Endfield gameplay revolves around something called elemental reactions applying inflictions (heat, cryo, nature, electric) and then consuming them for big damage or effects.
You control a four character team in real-time combat. You can switch between them on the fly, and the key is chaining their skills together. For example, one character applies heat infliction, another consumes it to trigger combustion for bonus damage.
Laevatain works so well because she applies heat herself and triggers her own reactions. Yvonne needs teammates to apply cryo infliction first, then she consumes it for massive damage. This is why team building matters so much, it’s not just about having strong individual characters.
The combat’s actually pretty fun once you get the hang of it. It’s not super complex like a fighting game, but there’s enough depth that you can’t just button mash and expect to win on harder content.
Endfield arknights characters and where to play
Quick note on platforms since this affects how you pull and progress. Arknights: Endfield launched simultaneously on PC (via Epic Games and their own launcher), mobile (iOS and Android), and PS5. Your progress carries across platforms, which is awesome.
From my experience, PC is better for the Arknights: Endfield gameplay stuff, controlling four characters in real-time combat is way easier with keyboard and mouse or a controller on a big screen. But mobile is great for grinding dailies and quick sessions.
The gacha system is identical across all platforms, so wherever you play, you’re getting the same deals and banners.
Who should you actually pull for?
Alright, here’s my honest recommendation after three weeks of playing and testing different teams.
- If you’re F2P or low spender: Go for Laevatain on her banner if it’s still up. If you missed it, save for Yvonne. Use your free 6 star selector from the beginner banner to get either Pogranichnik or Last Rite. Build your free characters (Ardelia, Chen, Wulfgard) and you’ve got a solid roster.
- If you’re willing to spend a bit: Laevatain first, then save for Gilberta and Yvonne to build that cryo team. Having all three limited characters gives you the most flexibility in team building.
- If you’re a collector: Pull on every banner because you want everyone anyway. Just know you’ll need to either get lucky or open your wallet.
The nice thing about Endfield is that even “bad” 6 stars are still usable. Ember’s currently considered the weakest and she’s still fine for most content. So don’t stress too much if you don’t get exactly who you want.
Actually starting the game and getting Your characters
If you haven’t downloaded yet, Arknights: Endfield is available now on all platforms. The client’s about 50GB so make sure you’ve got the space. Pre load if you can to save time.
You can start playing Arknights: Endfield and pulling for characters here.
Make sure you log in every day for at least the first week to claim Ardelia from the login rewards. That alone will carry you through a huge chunk of the game while you’re saving up pulls for whoever you want.
What I wish I knew about characters week one
Few things I learned the hard way that might help you:
- Don’t spread your resources too thin early. Pick two DPS characters and one support to invest in first. I made the mistake of leveling six characters equally and it slowed my progress to a crawl.
- Supports age better than DPS. Ardelia will probably be good forever. Your DPS characters will eventually get powercrept. Keep this in mind when deciding where to use limited resources.
- Free characters are actually good. Chen Qianyu in particular surprised me with how strong she is. Don’t assume you need all 6 stars to compete.
- Save your oroberyls. The premium currency adds up slower than you think. Don’t waste it on the standard banner, save for limited characters you really want.
- Team synergy beats raw power. A well-built team of 5 stars with good elemental reactions will outperform a random collection of 6 stars with no synergy.
The Arknights: Endfield characters system is honestly pretty well balanced for a launch gacha game. There’s a clear meta, but it’s not so oppressive that you can’t succeed with different teams. Just focus on building synergy, don’t neglect your free characters, and save your pulls for banners that actually matter to your account.
Now go forth and build your dream team on Talos II.
