Quick answer: Estella is a 4-star Cryo Guard who excels as a physical support character by applying Physical Susceptibility to enemies through her Combo Skill and Ultimate.
Estella serves as a specialized support operator in Arknights: Endfield, utilizing her Cryo element to enable physical damage dealers rather than focusing solely on elemental reactions. As a member of Endfield Industries' Operation Team Z7, she wields a polearm and functions best within "Shatter" team compositions. Her kit revolves around triggering Solidification to apply debuffs that significantly increase the physical damage taken by enemies.
Combat Skills and Mechanics
Estella's gameplay loop focuses on applying Cryo Infliction to set up Solidification, which then triggers her powerful Combo Skill. Her abilities bridge the gap between elemental setup and physical burst damage.
Basic Attack: Audio Noise
Estella performs a four-sequence attack dealing Physical DMG. When controlling her directly, the final strike deals significant Stagger. If performed mid-air, it becomes a Dive Attack. Attacking near a Staggered enemy triggers a Finisher, dealing massive Physical DMG and recovering skill points (SP).
Battle Skill: Onomatopoeia
She delivers a lance thrust that fires freezing sound waves in a straight path. This skill deals Cryo DMG and applies Cryo Infliction to all enemies hit. With a low SP cost, this skill is primarily used to prime enemies for elemental reactions.
Combo Skill: Distortion
This skill triggers automatically when an enemy suffers Solidification. Estella dashes to the target, dealing Physical DMG and forcibly lifting enemies in a small area. Crucially, if the target is under the effect of Solidification, this skill applies Physical Susceptibility, increasing the physical damage the target takes for a set duration.
Ultimate: Tremolo
Estella slams her spear to deal Physical DMG in a circular area around her. If enemies are already affected by Physical Susceptibility (applied by her Combo Skill), this Ultimate forcibly applies the Lift status effect. The skill has a relatively low energy cost, allowing for frequent use in rotation.
Passives and Potentials
Estella’s passive talents enhance her durability against Cryo environments and improve her skill cycling speed when disrupting enemies.
Talents
- Stalwart: Increases the operator's Will attribute.
- Commiseration: When triggering a Shatter effect (breaking Solidification), casting her Battle Skill (Onomatopoeia) refunds a portion of SP.
- Laziness Pays Off Now: Allows Estella to ignore Cryo Infliction status effects and reduces the Cryo DMG she takes.
Base Skills
When assigned to the factory or outpost, Estella provides specific bonuses:
- Fragmented Rest: Increases Mood Regen for all operators when assigned to the Control Nexus.
- Frequency Monitoring: Boosts clue collecting efficiency when assigned to the Reception Room.
Potentials
Acquiring duplicate tokens of Estella improves her kit utility:
- Potential 1: Extends the duration of Physical Susceptibility applied by her Combo Skill.
- Potential 2: Reduces the energy cost of her Ultimate.
- Potential 3: Increases the range and damage of her Battle Skill.
- Potential 5: Grants Ultimate Energy after applying Solidification to an enemy.
Best Weapons
Because Estella deals Physical DMG but relies on specific status conditions to maximize her output, her weapon choices often focus on raw stats or conditional bonuses related to her debuffs.
OBJ Razorhorn (5-Star)
This is widely considered Estella's signature or best-in-slot weapon. It provides bonuses to damage dealt against enemies with Cryo Infliction or Solidification. Additionally, it boosts Attack after consuming Solidification, perfectly matching her gameplay loop.
Valiant (6-Star)
A strong alternative that increases Attack and deals additional hits of Physical DMG after the wielder applies a Physical Status. Since Estella applies Susceptibility and Lift, she can trigger this effect reliably.
Aggeloslayer (4-Star)
A solid budget option that boosts Will and increases Attack for a short duration after a Battle Skill hits an enemy.
Best Gear Sets
Gear selection for Estella depends on whether she is being played as a pure support buffer or a sub-DPS who contributes to the team's total damage output.
Eternal Xiranite
This is the primary support set. Its 3-piece effect grants a damage bonus to other teammates after the wearer applies effects like Susceptibility. Since Estella applies Physical Susceptibility via her Combo Skill, this set maximizes the burst damage of your main physical carry.
Type 50 Yinglung
This set focuses on Estella's personal damage contribution. It increases the wearer's Attack and stacks a buff when allies cast Battle Skills, which boosts the damage of the wearer's next Combo Skill. This is effective for a sub-DPS build centered on her Distortion skill.
Aburrey’s Legacy
An early-game option that increases Skill DMG and grants an Attack buff after casting skills. It serves as a generalist set before acquiring more specialized gear.
Stat Priority
Look for Will and Strength as primary attributes, as her kit scales with these stats. Secondary stats should focus on Physical DMG Bonus and Ultimate Gain Efficiency to ensure her rotation remains fluid.
Team Composition
Estella shines in "Shatter" teams where she can consistently trigger her Combo Skill. She requires teammates who can help apply Solidification or capitalize on her Physical Susceptibility debuff.
Solidification Enablers
To trigger Estella's Combo Skill, an enemy must suffer Solidification. Characters like Alesh are ideal partners because they can force Solidification on enemies already affected by Cryo (which Estella applies with her Battle Skill).
Physical DPS Beneficiaries
Operators who deal heavy physical damage benefit most from Estella's support. Characters such as the Endministrator (Physical build) or Chen Qianyu can exploit the Physical Susceptibility window to deal increased burst damage.
Recommended Rotation
A standard rotation involves using Estella's Battle Skill to apply Cryo, switching to a partner to trigger Solidification, and letting Estella's Combo Skill trigger automatically to apply Physical Susceptibility. Follow up immediately with her Ultimate to apply Lift and extend the crowd control chain before unleashing your main DPS's attacks.
How to Obtain Estella
Estella is a 4-star operator available through the game's standard headhunting system. She can be obtained from the Basic Headhunting banner and is also featured in the New Horizons beginner banner, making her accessible to most players early in the game.
