Arknights: Endfield ranks operators by role rather than a single power ladder, because nearly every fight is decided by elemental reactions and team fit. With Patch 1.2 live and Zhuang Fangyi added to the roster, the strongest picks are split across damage, sub-damage, support, and survivalist roles. Below are the current placements and the team cores they enable.
Best DPS operators (Patch 1.2)
DPS operators carry the team's damage. Laevatain sits at the top for AoE Heat damage, while Zhuang Fangyi joined the S tier on release as a high-output, SP-hungry Electric carry that pushed Electric teams up to par with Heat and Cryo.
| Tier | DPS operators |
|---|---|
| S | Laevatain, Zhuang Fangyi |
| A | Last Rite, Avywenna |
| B | Da Pan, Endministrator, Wulfgard |
Laevatain depends on consistent Heat Infliction from her team, but no other operator matches her damage ceiling. Last Rite and Avywenna anchor the A tier as element-locked alternatives. The B tier remains usable but carries clear constraints. Da Pan struggles with Crush cooldown management, Endministrator needs careful play to hit peak output, and Wulfgard relies on steady Electrification or Combustion consumption.
Best sub-damage dealers
Sub-damage dealers add output while feeding the carry through Susceptibility, Vulnerability, and SP generation. Pogranichnik and Lifeng define the role for Physical teams, Tangtang brings fast AoE Cryo damage, and Rossi performs strongly when slotted into Full Arts setups.
| Tier | Sub-damage operators |
|---|---|
| S | Pogranichnik, Tangtang, Lifeng, Rossi |
| A | Arclight, Chen Qianyu, Endministrator |
| B | Alesh, Estella |
| C | Fluorite |
Pogranichnik stands out with efficient Breach application and SP generation that scales with Vulnerability consumption. Lifeng applies Physical Susceptibility alongside Vulnerability and grants Link, making the two a backbone for Physical comps. Fluorite lands at the bottom with delayed damage, long cooldowns, and no team damage buffs.
Best support operators
Ardelia is the most versatile support in the game. She applies both Arts and Physical Susceptibility at once and brings multiple healing sources, so she fits almost any composition. She also feeds Laevatain through Corrosion triggers.
| Tier | Support operators |
|---|---|
| S | Ardelia |
| A | Antal, Gilberta, Xaihi |
| B | Akekuri |
Antal delivers top-tier amplification for Heat and Electric teams but leans on single-target battle skills. Gilberta brings crowd control, enemy grouping, and Arts Susceptibility, held back only by her short Ultimate duration and Arts Reaction dependence. Xaihi is the strongest pure amplifier for Cryo carries like Yvonne and Last Rite, doubling as a healer.
Best survivalist operators
The survivalist role is the weakest in the current roster, with no S or A placements available. Ember and Snowshine fill it adequately, while Catcher trails behind.
| Tier | Survivalist operators |
|---|---|
| B | Ember, Snowshine |
| C | Catcher |
Best teams by element
Operator value depends on the element you build around. Four cores stand out in Patch 1.2: Laevatain Heat, Chen Qianyu Physical, Yvonne or Last Rite Cryo, and Zhuang Fangyi Electric. The Zhuang Fangyi team is the strongest in the game by a wide margin.
| Element | Core team |
|---|---|
| Electric | Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica, Arclight, plus Gilberta / Alesh / Antal |
| Heat (Ult generation) | Laevatain, Ardelia, Wulfgard, Akekuri |
| Heat (Hot Work, single target) | Laevatain, Ardelia, Akekuri, Antal |
| Physical (standard) | Endministrator, Chen Qianyu, Pogranichnik, Lifeng |
| Physical (F2P) | Endministrator, Chen Qianyu, Akekuri, Estella |
| Cryo (Yvonne) | Yvonne, Xaihi, Tangtang, Gilberta |
| Cryo (Last Rite) | Last Rite, Xaihi, Tangtang, Perlica |
| Cryo (Tangtang DPS) | Tangtang, Xaihi, Perlica, Gilberta / Fluorite |
For Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica is the engine, and Arclight adds major SP generation value. The final slot is flexible. Gilberta is SP neutral with a short, strong Arts Susceptibility window; Antal supplies large Electric buffs but is SP negative; and Alesh is SP positive when you have his Potential 3.
Heat teams flex around Laevatain. The full Ultimate generation build maximizes recharge for overworld content and modes where you start without an ultimate, while Hot Work setups with Antal push single-target damage in content like RE-Crisis. Physical teams stay flexible too, with Da Pan, Ember, or a fully free-to-play core all viable around Chen Qianyu.
Cryo gained ground after Tangtang's release. Yvonne is the premier Crit-based single-target carry but locks her team around stacking Cryo Inflictions. Last Rite offers the highest burst ceiling with stricter rotations, and Perlica is preferred over Gilberta there to avoid staggering problems. Tangtang trades roughly 20 percent raw damage for fast, easy AoE, making her the simplest pick for general play.
Rossi and hybrid teams
Rossi is a hybrid agent, but she performs better in Full Arts teams than in true hybrid setups. A common Arts core pairs her with Tangtang, Perlica, and Gilberta, ignoring Vulnerable entirely and using Arts Susceptibility to trigger her combo. Current hybrid lineups stumble because no available unit boosts both Arts and Physical damage at once, which leaves them behind dedicated Heat or Physical teams.
What changes with the 1.3 update
Two operators reshape these cores when the next version arrives. Mi Fu blends traits of Endministrator and Lifeng as a Crush-based Vulnerable consumer with team utility, and she applies Physical Susceptibility that lifts her own damage along with Chen and Rossi. She does not strictly replace Endministrator, since Originium Crystals remain exclusive to him and matter for Chen in Physical teams. Camille deals more damage than Akekuri while applying Heat-specialized debuffs.
Together they fix the main weakness of hybrid play. A Rossi, Camille, Mi Fu lineup with a fourth flex pick of Chen Qianyu, Pogranichnik, or Gilberta finally pairs Arts and Physical amplification. No official release date for the 1.3 update is confirmed at this time.