Arknights: Endfield early meta teams for Heat, Cryo, Electric, Physical and F2P

Early in Arknights: Endfield, stamina is tight, materials are scarce, and most rosters are a mix of free characters and a few lucky pulls. Strong teams are less about cramming in every 6‑star and more about building around clear, repeatable win conditions.

The teams below focus on simple, proven cores that convert elemental inflictions, Vulnerable stacks, or Solidification into reliable bursts. Each section highlights what the team is trying to do, why the pieces fit, and how to play around that loop.

Heat team: Laevatain carries around Heat Infliction

Laevatain is the centerpiece of the standard Heat team. Her kit turns repeated Heat Infliction into Melting Flame stacks, then spends those stacks for high single‑target and elite damage. The rest of the squad exists to create and amplify those stacks while keeping her safe on field.

The core pattern is straightforward: Wulfgard and Antal/Akekuri apply Heat Infliction, Ardelia adds Corrosion and damage windows, and Laevatain stays on the field as much as possible to cash everything out.

How to play the Laevatain core

Open fights by marking a priority target and getting Heat onto enemies quickly. Once a target is stacked, let Laevatain run her basic attack chains into combo and Battle Skill for a predictable burst. On bosses and elites, repeat that loop as soon as skills cycle, and drop her Ultimate into windows where multiple stacks are already present.

Cryo teams: Yvonne tempo control and Last Rite burst

Cryo comps come in two flavours at launch. Yvonne focuses on control and sustained DPS through Solidification, while Last Rite is built around repeatedly reaching a Cryo stack breakpoint and cashing it in for big hits.

Yvonne Cryo team (control and sustained damage)

The Yvonne shell wants enemies kept in Solidification so she can keep swinging with buffed basics. Alesh hard‑forces Solidification, while Xaihi or Snowshine extend Cryo uptime and comfort. Gilberta adds both buffs and healing, turning the lineup into a rounded lane and boss control squad.

Last Rite Cryo team (stack and detonate)

Here the goal is to get multiple Cryo Inflictions on a target, trigger Last Rite’s Combo Skill and Ultimate to consume those stacks, and ride the resulting Cryo Susceptibility window. Fluorite magnifies those windows by adding Nature damage explosions when enemies sit at two or more Cryo/Nature stacks.

Electric team: Avywenna and mono‑Electric burst

Electric teams lean on repeated Electric Infliction and short Electrification windows. Avywenna is currently the strongest Electric damage dealer, and she scales notably with both her own uptime and the quality of her buffers.

The basic loop has Perlica open with Electric, Arclight and Antal extend inflictions and buffs, then Avywenna steps in to fire through as many Electrified enemies as possible. Arclight’s passive is a quiet but significant amplifier because it scales with her Intelligence, rewarding gear investment.

Alternative picks include Ardelia or Gilberta in one slot for more healing or broader buffs, particularly if content is punishing or if your Electric gear is still weak.

Physical teams: Vulnerable stacking and Shatter setups

Physical damage is built around Vulnerable stacks, Physical Susceptibility, and in some shells, Shatter triggered through Solidification. Most early Physical teams share a core of Endministrator and Chen Qianyu, then pivot either to a heavy finisher or utility supports.

Da Pan Physical kill window team

This team is built as a “stack then cash‑out” shell. Chen Qianyu and Endministrator build Vulnerable on key targets, Pogranichnik taps into those stacks for SP and extra hits, then Da Pan’s Combo Skill consumes four stacks of Vulnerable for a massive Crush finisher. It’s particularly effective on elites, bosses, and isolated high‑priority targets.

Lifeng and Endministrator Physical variants

Several Physical teams replace Da Pan with Lifeng or pivot Endministrator into main DPS:

These lineups give up some of Da Pan’s one‑button burst for more flexible rotations and broader coverage. Lifeng in particular offers both damage and Physical Susceptibility, which synergises well with any Physical teammate.

Shatter‑focused Physical–Cryo hybrid

Another Physical option focuses on chaining Solidification into Shatter using Cryo operators:

The sequence is simple but powerful: apply Cryo, have Alesh force Solidification, let Estella trigger her Combo Skill to add Lift and Physical Susceptibility, then let Endministrator collect with his own Combo and Ultimate for amplified Physical damage.

Heat vs Cryo vs Electric: how the early meta stacks up

Launch impressions place two archetypes at the top: Laevatain Heat teams and Last Rite Cryo teams. Both revolve around clear breakpoints that are easy to play around under early‑game resource constraints.

Heat and Cryo spike hardest into singular dangerous targets. Physical and Electric are a little more flexible but depend more on good rotations and SP management. Mixed Shatter teams sit somewhere in between, offering satisfying chains when you enjoy juggling multiple elements.

Best F2P and low‑investment teams

You can progress cleanly through early content without any 6‑star pulls by leaning on the free and 4‑star roster. The key is to keep the same win‑condition logic as high‑end teams: stack something, then cash it out with the right character.

Endministrator F2P Physical team

Endministrator handles damage and Originium Crystals, Chen Qianyu feeds Vulnerable stacks, Akekuri exploits the frequent Stagger to cycle skills, and Ardelia covers healing, Physical Susceptibility, and Corrosion. The rotation is forgiving, and every slot contributes from very low investment levels.

Lifeng–Endministrator F2P hybrid

If you pick up Lifeng from early banners, he slots neatly into an almost identical shell:

Either Lifeng or Endministrator can act as primary carry depending on which one has better gear. Lifeng’s Physical Susceptibility and Link help both characters, while Chen and Akekuri maintain the familiar Vulnerable‑plus‑SP loop.

Other low‑investment Physical shells

Several other F2P‑leaning teams keep the same structure with a different 4‑star headliner:

These shells let you adapt around whichever 4‑stars you happen to pull while keeping the same “stack then spend” logic. That matters when resources are tight; you can hold off committing high ascensions until you know which 6‑star carries you want to build long term.

How to decide what to build first

When choosing where to invest in the first week, treat each potential team as answering four questions: what does it stack, who spends those stacks, who keeps SP flowing, and who keeps everyone alive.

• Stack type – Heat Infliction, Cryo Infliction, Electric Infliction, Vulnerable, or Solidification. That choice largely defines your element.
• Main spender – Laevatain, Last Rite, Avywenna, Da Pan, Lifeng, Yvonne, or Endministrator, depending on the shell.
• SP and setup – characters like Akekuri, Wulfgard, Arclight, Pogranichnik, and Alesh, who quietly make your rotations possible.
• Sustain and debuffs – often Ardelia, Gilberta, Xaihi, Snowshine, or Estella, tilting the team toward either safety or extra damage.

If you already have Laevatain or Last Rite, they are efficient first investments and anchor whole elements almost by themselves. Without them, Endministrator‑centric Physical teams and the Avywenna Electric core provide stable progress paths that use mostly early or low‑rarity operators.

Whichever direction you take, aim for a simple loop you can repeat under pressure. Once that loop feels natural, higher‑rarity additions and more complex rotations start to feel like upgrades rather than chores.