Arknights: Endfield – Everything You Need to Know Before You Jump In

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Arknights: Endfield is a major step forward for the series, moving beyond its beginnings as a mobile tower defense game. It now blends collecting characters with action-RPG battles and even a detailed factory-building system. Set on the planet Talos-II, Endfield has been completely redesigned based on player feedback and testing. Here are fifteen important things to know before you jump into this free-to-play game.

It’s Been Heavily Reworked Since The First Beta

Since its initial beta in January 2024, Arknights: Endfield has been greatly improved based on player feedback. The combat system has been completely reworked to feel smoother, more dynamic, and more responsive, with changes to movement, character weight, pacing, camera angles, and visual effects. This new version is designed as a fast-paced, real-time action game, moving away from the tower defense style of the original Arknights. Further testing and improvements are planned before the game’s release, including updates to the battle system.

Exploration is Core to The Experience

Talos-II, the moon of the gas giant Talos, is a wild, unexplored world beyond the reach of human colonies. Hidden within its untamed landscapes are ancient structures called Ankhors, which create the Aggeloi – a dangerous enemy that has slowed the growth of the colonies. As you explore, you won’t just be discovering new lands; you’ll be confronting the Aggeloi while gathering resources, creating pathways, and building outposts to secure a better future for humanity.

Expect Multiple Factions and Enemy Types

Endfield Industries, guided by the Endministrator, is working to expand research, exploration, and industry on Talos-II. You’ll meet various other groups with their own unique aims and beliefs. The Order of Steel Oath is a military force dedicated to protecting humanity from the Aggeloid threat, while the Hongshan Academy of Sciences focuses on advanced farming to combat the Blight – a widespread corruption that hinders exploration. Many other factions are trying to stabilize Talos-II in their own way. As for enemies, be prepared for the Aggeloi – ranging from basic units to powerful bosses – who will constantly challenge your defenses. You’ll also face the Landbreakers, a group of humanoid raiders led by the mysterious Nefarith, known for their cunning tactics and criminal behavior. Each enemy requires a different strategy, whether it’s focusing on breaking their defenses, controlling the battlefield, or eliminating the most dangerous threats first.

This Is Not An Open World 

Although Arknights: Endfield features large areas to explore, it’s not a true open-world game. The developers call it more of a sandbox, made up of big, connected regions instead of one continuous map. They made this change based on feedback from early testers who found it easy to get lost. This design allows for free exploration while still keeping battles, goals, and important locations clearly defined and connected.

Combat is Real-Time and Highly Tactical

Endfield is a fast-paced action RPG focused on exciting, real-time combat. You’ll need to quickly combine light and strong attacks, special abilities, dodging, and smart positioning to succeed. The game rewards aggressive play and teamwork, encouraging you to constantly pressure enemies. While defense isn’t ignored, it’s primarily handled by deployable turrets – we’ll explain those later.

You Control Squads of Four Operators

In Arknights: Endfield, you control a team of four operators instead of a single hero. Winning relies on building a well-rounded squad with complementary abilities, considering elemental strengths and weaknesses, and using smart tactics. How your battles play out depends heavily on the team you create – coordinating to stun enemies, setting up powerful combos, and managing resources are all key.

There’re 24 Playable Characters at Launch

When it releases, Endfield will include 24 playable characters, with rarities ranging from 4 to 6 stars. These characters are split into six classes, each designed for a specific role in combat. Each class has its own weapons and unique elemental abilities. While higher-rarity characters have better stats and can create stronger team combinations with more versatile skills, lower-rarity characters can still be very effective when paired with the right teammates.

Arts are Central to Combat – and Easy to Use

Arts are like basic powers your team can mix and match in any way you like. There are five types – physical, fire, electric, ice, and nature – each with unique effects and how they interact with each other. They’re meant to be simple to use: combining them is easy, doesn’t require complicated button presses, and they don’t have long wait times between uses. Instead of focusing on precise timing, Arts use Skill Points, so managing your resources is key to keeping the battle flowing smoothly.

Skill Point Management is Crucial

During battles in Endfield, managing your Skill Points is key to using powerful Arts, skills, and ultimate abilities. You’ll need to use Skill Points to interrupt enemy attacks—before a warning signal disappears—and to break their defenses with precise timing. Each character can store up to three Skill Points, which you can recharge by finishing off enemies, dodging perfectly, or keeping up successful attack combos.

Chain Attacks Bring Strategic Flair

A key feature of Endfield’s combat is the ability to link attacks between characters in your squad. These powerful, visually impressive maneuvers happen when specific requirements are met – like hitting with a certain attack or using a particular sequence of abilities. Chain Attacks don’t cost Skill Points and won’t be stopped if you dodge, but they do have a cooldown period. Learning to use Chain Attacks effectively is essential for experiencing Endfield’s most fluid and damaging combat.

Factory Building is Deep

Beyond the fighting, Endfield lets you build and manage a complex, automated factory system. You’ll gather resources, process them, and create items using customizable production lines. This isn’t just a simple addition to the game; it’s a major part of how you explore and control the map. Be careful though – other players can attack your factories! That’s where the tower defense aspects come in – you’ll need to build shields, turrets, and other defenses to protect your valuable infrastructure from enemy attacks.

Structures Influence Traversal and Survival

You won’t just be building factories. You can also create things like ziplines for getting around, power relays to share energy across the map, and fortified strongholds for surviving dangerous areas. Interestingly, other players can sometimes use and benefit from the structures you build, similar to how it worked in the game Death Stranding.

The Game Teaches You How to Build

Automated factory lines in the game can look complex and tangled, which might seem daunting at first. The developers understand this, so they’ve designed Endfield to gently guide players. It features clear instructions, helpful tutorials, and unlockable blueprints that simplify building as you combine different parts.

World Design Shapes Factory Strategy

The new city of Wuling is designed around natural elements like water, combined with futuristic technology. This approach extends to ‘Xiranite,’ a unique material in the game that’s key to building and crafting upgrades and supplies. These resources will help you grow and expand your company, Endfield Industries.

Procuring characters and Gear

Players can earn the best characters and equipment without spending any money, and the game isn’t built to give paying players an unfair advantage. It’s still unknown how much effort will be needed to get top-tier gear, but the developers have made it clear that’s not their goal.

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2026-01-13 15:48