Launch Day Arknights: Endfield Tier List (TL;DR)
- S-Tier (Priority): Ardelia, Gilberta, Laevatain, Last Rite, Pogranichnik, Xaihi, Yvonne
- These are your core targets. Pull hard for them.
- A-Tier (Backups): Antal, Avywenna, Akekuri, Ember, Lifeng, Perilica
- Excellent stopgaps until you secure S-tier operators.
- B-Tier (Fillers): Arclight, Chen Yu, The Endministrator, Wulfgard, Snowshine
- Solid free or early-game pulls; invest long-term only if you love them.
- C-Tier (Skip): Alesh, Catcher, Da Pan, Estella, Fluorite
- Avoid unless you’ve got zero other alternatives.
Biggest Mistake to Avoid: Don’t waste resources on C-tier operators hoping they’ll carry you. A-tier characters are abundant and far more efficient to upgrade. Pick operators you enjoy playing. This is a long-term game; team synergy and fun matter more than perfect tier rankings.
What This Guide Helps You Do
This guide helps you build a sustainable, powerful team composition in Arknights: Endfield by understanding which operators deserve your limited materials, stamina, and upgrade priority. You’ll learn why certain six-star and five-star operators rank higher, what utility each brings to your squad, and how to avoid sinking resources into characters that’ll become dead weight later.
New players deciding whom to pull for; mid-game players second-guessing their team choices; anyone worried about “ruining” their account with wrong picks.
Requirements & Prep
- Game Progression: This tier list applies once you’ve unlocked the gacha and started recruiting. No specific quest flags required.
- Materials: You’ll need stamina and upgrade materials (standard progression resources) to level operators. The tier list helps you allocate these efficiently.
- Prior Knowledge: Basic understanding of elements (nature, heat, cryo, electric, physical) and roles (striker, supporter, defender, vanguard, caster, guard) helps contextualize recommendations, but the guide explains each operator’s function.
- Optional but Helpful: Read the beginner’s guide mentioned in the source material to understand early-game priorities before committing to this tier list.
Pro Tip: Rarity (four-star vs. six-star) doesn’t determine tier placement in Arknights: Endfield. A four-star A-tier operator like Antal outperforms many five-star C-tier units. Utility and synergy trump rarity.
Arknights: Endfield Operator Route Overview
This tier list is structured top-down by operator strength and team utility. S-tier operators are your endgame anchors—versatile, powerful, and worth grinding for. A-tier operators are reliable alternatives that cover most compositions and are easier to obtain; use them to fill gaps while you hunt S-tier units. B-tier operators are free or early-game pulls that serve as temporary fillers; they’re playable but not worth major resource investment. C-tier operators are outclassed and should be avoided unless you’ve literally no one else to slot in.
The guide categorizes each operator by rarity, role (striker, supporter, defender, etc.), primary and secondary attributes, and core function. This lets you cross-reference your current roster, identify gaps, and decide whether to pull for a specific character or pivot to an A-tier alternative.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Step 1: Understand Your Core Team Structure
Why it matters: Arknights: Endfield demands team synergy. You can’t just stack six strong DPS and win. You need supporters (buffers, healers, debuffers), strikers (burst damage), defenders (tanks), and vanguards (utility and crowd control).
Action: Before pulling or upgrading, ask: “What role am I missing?” If you’ve got two strikers but no healer, prioritize an S-tier supporter like Ardellia. If you’ve got good damage but no crowd control, Gilberta’s vortex pull is invaluable.
Common Mistake: Chasing every new operator regardless of team fit. You’ll end up with a fragmented roster that doesn’t synergize. Instead, identify one or two element-based teams (e.g., cryo team, heat team, electric team) and build toward those.
Step 2: Prioritize S-Tier Operators Based on Your Team Archetype
Why it matters: S-tier operators are rare and worth your stamina and pulls. But they’re not all universally useful—they excel in specific compositions.
If you want a cryo team: Target Shiah (five-star supporter, battery and enabler), Last Right (six-star striker, burst specialist), and Ivonne (six-star caster, solidification trigger). These three form a cohesive cryo core.
If you want a heat team: Prioritize Levitane (six-star striker, AoE burst via melting flame stacks) and pair with A-tier heat enablers like Wolfgard (five-star caster, heat infliction and buffs).
If you want a physical team: Pogy (six-star vanguard, breach application) and The Administrator (six-star guard, physical DPS via rigidium shattering) form a strong foundation. Add Leong (six-star guard, physical susceptibility enabler) for amplification.
If you want a versatile support backbone: Ardellia (six-star nature supporter, corrosion debuff and damage amplification) fits almost any team. Gilberta (six-star nature supporter, crowd control and AoE amplification) is essential if your DPS relies on grouped enemies.
Pro Tip: Shiah and Last Right are a documented duo in the transcript—Shiah generates cryo inflictions rapidly, and Last Right consumes them for massive damage. If you land one, the other becomes a high-priority target.
Step 3: Fill Gaps with A-Tier Operators
Why it matters: A-tier operators are significantly easier to obtain than S-tier, yet they’re powerful enough to clear all current in-game content when paired with one or two S-tier units.
Action: Map your current roster against the A-tier list. If you’re missing an electric DPS, Perilica (five-star caster) or AviA (five-star striker) are both excellent and accessible. Need a tank? Ember (six-star defender) is a damage-dealing menace that also shields and heals—far better than settling for C-tier tanks.
Specific recommendations:
- Akuri (four-star heat vanguard): You’ll get many copies; she’s an SP battery and heat enabler. Invest in her early.
- Perilica (five-star electric caster): The best starter character in the game. She’s easy to use and provides team-wide electric amplification.
- Snowshine (five-star cryo defender): Free character, tank-healer hybrid with cryo retaliation. Solid long-term investment.
- Chen Yu (five-star physical guard): Free five-star that deals solid damage and stacks physical vulnerability on enemies.
- The Enddministrator (six-star physical guard): Free and strong; worth upgrading for physical teams.
Common Mistake: Ignoring four-star A-tier operators like Antal and Akuri because they’re “just” four-stars. Antal’s electric buffs and debuffs rival six-star supporters in utility. Rarity ≠ tier placement.
Step 4: Use B-Tier Operators as Temporary Fillers Only
Why it matters: B-tier characters are playable but not worth long-term investment. They’ll carry you through early content, but you’ll want to replace them as soon as you pull A-tier alternatives.
Action: If you pull Arkite, use her as an electric enabler while you hunt for AviA or Perilica. Got Wolfgard as your only heat DPS? Level him—but the moment Levitane drops, pivot your resources. B-tier operators are training wheels, not end-game anchors.
Step 5: Avoid C-Tier Operators Entirely
Why it matters: C-tier operators are outclassed in nearly every metric. Leveling them wastes stamina, materials, and time you could spend on A-tier or S-tier units.
The hardest truth: Estella is described in the transcript as “one of the worst characters in the entire game.” Alish, Catcher, Dapan, and Fluorite all suffer from lack of utility or raw power compared to readily available alternatives. Unless you’ve literally no one to fill a slot, skip them.
Exception: If you’re a new player with a bare roster and need a tank, Catcher (four-star physical defender) is better than nothing. But immediately replace him with Snowshine or Ember.
Arknights: Endfield Operator Deep Dives: S-Tier
Ardellia (Six-Star Nature Supporter)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Will
Core Function: Versatile healer and damage amplifier. Applies corrosion status to reduce enemy resistances and provides physical and arc susceptibility buffs to your team.
Why S-Tier: She’s a plug-and-play supporter that fits into almost any composition. Corrosion debuff amplifies all your damage, and her dual-buff capability makes her invaluable for mixed-element teams.
Gilberta (Six-Star Nature Supporter)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Will
Core Function: Crowd control and AoE amplification. Groups enemies into a central vortex.
Why S-Tier: Essential for any team with heavy AoE DPS. If your strikers deal massive area damage, Gilberta’s vortex pull multiplies that effectiveness by keeping enemies grouped.
Laevatain (Six-Star Heat Striker)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Strength
Core Function: Main AoE burst DPS. Manages melting flame stacks to ignore enemy resistances and unleashes ultimate for maximum damage output.
Why S-Tier: Her mechanics reward skillful stack management. She’s the anchor of heat teams and performs exceptionally well in AoE-heavy content.
Last Rite (Six-Star Cryo Striker)
Primary Attribute: Strength | Secondary: Will
Core Function: Elite single-target burst specialist. Accumulates cryo inflictions and consumes them for massive damage.
Why S-Tier: Pairs perfectly with Shiah (see below). When Shiah floods the field with cryo stacks, Last Right detonates them for burst damage that trivializes bosses.
Pogranichnik (Six-Star Physical Vanguard)
Primary Attribute: Will | Secondary: Agility
Core Function: Breach application for physical teams. AI-controlled teammate with strong self-sustain and uptime.
Why S-Tier: Physical teams need breach enablers, and Pogy is the best. His self-sustain means he stays alive without babysitting, freeing you to focus on your main DPS.
Xaihi (Five-Star Cryo Supporter)
Primary Attribute: Will | Secondary: Intellect
Core Function: Battery and enabler for cryo-based teams. Specializes in crowd control via freezing and rapid cryo infliction generation.
Why S-Tier (despite being five-star): She’s the engine of cryo teams. Last Right can’t function without her. Her freezing crowd control also provides defensive utility.
Yvonne (Six-Star Cryo Caster)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Agility
Core Function: Fantastic DPS focusing on consuming elemental inflictions to trigger solidification status.
Why S-Tier: She converts Shiah’s cryo stacks into solidification, which triggers physical susceptibility. This creates a three-operator cryo-physical synergy loop with Last Right and Shiah.
Arknights: Endfield Operator Deep Dives: A-Tier
Antal (Four-Star Electric Supporter)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Strength
Core Function: Versatile buffer and debuffer. Marks enemies for susceptibility while amplifying electric and heat damage.
Why A-Tier: Don’t let the four-star rarity fool you. His dual-element support (electric and heat) makes him flexible across multiple team types.
Avywenna (Five-Star Electric Striker)
Primary Attribute: Will | Secondary: Agility
Core Function: High burst electric DPS. Throws thunderlances to stack damage, pulls enemies for AoE bursts, and applies susceptibility.
Why A-Tier: Strong electric damage dealer with crowd control (enemy pull) built into her kit. Excellent for electric-focused teams.
Akekuri (Four-Star Heat Vanguard)
Primary Attribute: Agility | Secondary: Intellect
Core Function: SP battery and support unit. Recovers SP for the team via combos and ultimate, applies heat infliction, and boosts team attack.
Why A-Tier: You’ll get many copies of her. She’s one of the better four-star operators and essential for heat team enablement. Invest early.
Ember (Six-Star Heat Defender)
Primary Attribute: Strength | Secondary: Will
Core Function: Face-tanking tank that also deals massive damage. Staggeres enemies, applies negative statuses, shields allies, and heals.
Why A-Tier: Despite being a defender, she’s an absolute menace—dealing damage while tanking. She does everything: crowd control, support, healing, and damage. Exceptional value.
Lifeng (Six-Star Physical Guard)
Primary Attribute: Agility | Secondary: Strength
Core Function: Burst physical DPS and enabler. Applies physical susceptibility and vulnerability via knockdowns; solid AoE potential.
Why A-Tier: Physical teams need vulnerability enablers, and Leong provides both knockdown crowd control and susceptibility buffs. Pairs well with The Administrator.
Perlica (Five-Star Electric Caster)
Primary Attribute: Intellect | Secondary: Will
Core Function: Electric infliction enabler. Applies electrification via easy combos and amplifies electric damage output.
Why A-Tier: Described as “the best starter character out of everyone.” She’s accessible, easy to use, and provides consistent electric amplification. Solid long-term investment.
Arknights: Endfield Operator Deep Dives: B-Tier
B-tier operators are decent but not worth major resource investment. Use them as temporary fillers while you hunt for A-tier alternatives. The transcript lists five B-tier operators:
- Arclight (Five-Star Electric Vanguard): Fast-paced electric enabler and subdps. Recovers SP but consumes a lot to play. Use her until you pull AviA or Perilica.
- Chen Yu (Five-Star Physical Guard): Free five-star you obtain early. Good damage with physical vulnerability stacking and strong stagger. Solid early-game carry, but replaceable.
- The Endministrator (Six-Star Physical Guard): Free and strong with unique rigidium shattering mechanics. Core physical DPS; worth long-term investment, but only for physical teams.
- Wulfgard (Five-Star Heat Caster): Solid heat infliction enabler and self-sustaining DPS. Functions as subdps or heat battery. Replace with Levitane when possible.
- Snowshine (Five-Star Cryo Defender): Free tank-healer hybrid with shields and conditional healing. Cryo retaliation and AoE solidification debuff. Solid early defender; upgrade only if you love her.
Arknights: Endfield Operator Deep Dives: C-Tier
C-tier operators are outclassed and should be avoided. The transcript explicitly warns against these five:
- Alesh (Five-Star Cryo Vanguard): SP battery with solidification and team attack buffs. Largely outclassed by Shiah and better vanguards.
- Catcher (Four-Star Physical Defender): Sustained tank with shields and some CC (weaken, knockdown). Outclassed by Snowshine and Ember.
- Da Pan (Five-Star Physical Striker): Physical burst DPS with explosive combos at high vulnerability stacks. Far from worthwhile; use Leong or The Administrator instead.
- Estella (Four-Star Cryo Guard): Shatter enabler applying cryo infliction and triggering solidification. Described as “one of the worst characters in the entire game.” Avoid entirely.
- Fluorite (Four-Star Nature Caster): Inflection enabler applying slow and nature infliction. Lacks overall utility compared to other operators doing the same job better.
Troubleshooting & Common Mistakes
- Mistake: Pulling for every new operator regardless of team fit. Fix: Identify one or two element-based teams and commit to building those synergies. A cohesive cryo team beats a scattered roster of strong solo units.
- Mistake: Investing heavily in C-tier operators hoping they’ll improve. Fix: C-tier is outclassed by design. Redirect those materials to A-tier or S-tier units, which are easier to obtain and far more impactful.
- Mistake: Dismissing four-star operators because of rarity. Fix: Antal and Akuri are A-tier despite being four-stars. Rarity isn’t a tier indicator; utility and synergy are.
- Mistake: Not pairing enablers with DPS. Fix: Last Right needs Shiah. Levitane needs heat stacks. Ivonne needs cryo inflictions. Always build around synergistic duos or trios, not lone wolves.
- Mistake: Upgrading The Administrator if you’re not building a physical team. Fix: The Administrator is strong but role-specific. If your core team is cryo or electric, don’t waste resources on physical-only DPS.
- Mistake: Ignoring Gilberta if your DPS doesn’t do AoE. Fix: If you’ve got multiple strikers or wide-hitting casters, Gilberta’s vortex pull multiplies their effectiveness. Reassess your team composition.
- Mistake: Thinking you can “ruin” your account by pulling the wrong operator. Fix: The transcript explicitly states: “There’s really no wrong way of playing the game and no real way to ruin your account.” Play characters you enjoy. Long-term fun beats perfect optimization.
Advanced Tips & Time Saves
Build Elemental Teams, Not Solo Operators
Arknights: Endfield rewards synergy. The cryo team (Shiah + Last Right + Ivonne) is more powerful than three random S-tier operators. Identify your preferred element and build outward:
- Cryo: Shiah (enabler) → Last Right (DPS) → Ivonne (caster) → Snowshine (tank)
- Heat: Levitane (DPS) → Wolfgard (enabler) → Akuri (battery) → Ember (tank)
- Electric: Perilica (enabler) → AviA (DPS) → Antal (buffer) → [tank of choice]
- Physical: The Administrator (DPS) → Leong (enabler) → Pogy (vanguard) → [healer of choice]
Prioritize Supporters Early
Ardellia and Gilberta are universally useful. If you pull either, level them immediately. They’ll slot into any team composition and amplify your DPS output significantly.
Abuse Free Characters
Chen Yu, Snowshine, and The Administrator are free five-star and six-star operators. They’re genuinely good and require no luck to obtain. Invest in them confidently.
FAQ
Q: Can I really not ruin my account with wrong pulls?
A: Correct. The transcript explicitly states: “There’s really no wrong way of playing the game and no real way to ruin your account.” Focus on team synergy and characters you enjoy playing.
Q: Should I pull for a six-star over a five-star A-tier operator?
A: Not necessarily. Shiah is a five-star S-tier operator who outperforms many six-star C-tier units. Rarity doesn’t determine tier placement. Utility does.
Q: Is Perilica really the best starter character?
A: Yes, according to the transcript. She’s easy to use, provides consistent electric amplification, and you’ll find yourself using her on occasion even after pulling stronger operators.
Q: What should I do if I pull a C-tier operator?
A: Don’t invest in them. Save your materials for A-tier or S-tier units. C-tier operators are outclassed and not worth the resource sink.
Q: Should I prioritize Shiah or Last Right first?
A: They’re a documented duo in the transcript. If you land one, prioritize the other. Shiah generates cryo inflictions, and Last Right consumes them for massive damage. Together, they’re exponentially more powerful than separately.
Q: Is Ember really that good despite being a defender?
A: Yes. She deals massive damage, shields, heals, staggeres enemies, and applies negative statuses. She’s a “face-tanking monolith of absolute destruction” that does everything. One of the best A-tier operators.
Quick Reference Card (Screenshot This)
ARKNIGHTS: ENDFIELD TIER LIST QUICK REFERENCE
S-TIER (CORE TARGETS)
- Ardellia (Six-Star Nature Supporter) — Plug-and-play healer, corrosion debuff
- Gilberta (Six-Star Nature Supporter) — Crowd control, AoE amplification via vortex
- Levitane (Six-Star Heat Striker) — AoE burst DPS, melting flame stacks
- Last Right (Six-Star Cryo Striker) — Single-target burst, cryo consumption
- Pogy (Six-Star Physical Vanguard) — Breach enabler, self-sustaining
- Shiah (Five-Star Cryo Supporter) — Cryo battery, enables Last Right
- Ivonne (Six-Star Cryo Caster) — Solidification trigger, cryo synergy
A-TIER (RELIABLE FILLERS)
- Antal (Four-Star Electric Supporter) — Electric and heat buffs
- AviA (Five-Star Electric Striker) — Burst DPS, crowd control pull
- Akuri (Four-Star Heat Vanguard) — SP battery, heat infliction
- Ember (Six-Star Heat Defender) — Tank that deals massive damage
- Leong (Six-Star Physical Guard) — Physical enabler, knockdown CC
- Perilica (Five-Star Electric Caster) — Best starter, electric amplification
B-TIER (TEMPORARY ONLY)
- Arkite, Chen Yu, The Administrator, Wolfgard, Snowshine
- Use until you pull A-tier alternatives. Don’t invest heavily.
C-TIER (AVOID)
- Alish, Catcher, Dapan, Estella, Fluorite
- Outclassed. Don’t waste materials unless you’ve zero alternatives.
GOLDEN RULES
- Build elemental teams, not random solo operators.
- Shiah + Last Right is a documented power duo.
- Rarity ≠ tier placement. Antal (four-star) beats many six-star C-tier units.
- Invest in free five-stars: Chen Yu, Snowshine, The Administrator.
- You can’t ruin your account. Play characters you enjoy.
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