Laevatain is a six-star Heat Striker in Arknights: Endfield built to erase waves once her Ultimate is running. Her damage profile is defined by three things: Heat Infliction, Melting Flame stacks, and how quickly she can loop her Ultimate. The best build leans into those mechanics while keeping your team functional in tougher content.
How Laevatain’s kit works
Laevatain fights with wide-area Heat attacks and a short-duration Burst mode Ultimate. Most of her power is packed into that Ultimate window, so everything in her build should either increase the damage she deals while it is active or shorten the time until she can cast it again.
Key parts of her kit:
- Battle Skill (Smouldering Fire) drops an AoE field. Hitting enemies with it grants one Melting Flame stack. At four stacks, the skill gains an extra hit that also applies Combustion and refunds a large chunk of Ultimate Energy.
- Combo Skill (Seethe) becomes available when enemies are under Combustion or Corrosion. It deals AoE damage and returns Ultimate Energy, especially when it hits multiple targets.
- Ultimate (Twilight) forces her into the controlled slot for a limited time, upgrades her Basic Attacks and Battle Skill, and makes her a high-output AoE Heat carry. The third Basic Attack applies Heat Infliction and later hits can consume it.
- Combat talents (Scorching Heart, Re-Ignition) let her consume Heat Infliction stacks with finishers to gain Melting Flame and ignore some Heat Resistance at four stacks, and give her periodic self-heal and protection at low HP.
Laevatain does not apply Heat Infliction on her own before Ultimate. She needs teammates to set up Heat, Combustion, or Corrosion through their skills and combo skills so she can trigger her Combo Skill and charge Twilight reliably.
Best weapons for Laevatain
Laevatain’s weapon choice has a large impact on her output. She has a signature six-star sword and several workable alternatives that interact with Heat and Combustion.
| Weapon | Rarity | Core stats | Effect summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forgeborn Scathe | 6★ | Intellect, Attack, Twilight | Boosts Heat damage and grants a very large Basic Attack damage bonus for ~20 seconds after using Ultimate. |
| Umbral Torch | 6★ | Intellect, Heat DMG, Infliction | Raises Attack and gives stacking Heat damage bonuses when enemies are under Combustion or Corrosion. |
| White Night Nova | 6★ | Main Attribute, Arts Intensity, Infliction | Increases Arts damage and grants extra Arts Intensity when Laevatain triggers Combustion herself. |
| Fortmaker | 5★ | Intellect, Ultimate Gain Efficiency, Inspiring | Supplies Arts damage and some Ultimate Energy gain as a mid-rarity placeholder. |
| Wave Tide | 4★ | Intellect, Attack, Pursuit | Offers basic Attack and Intellect with an Attack boost after using the Combo Skill, useful early on. |
Forgeborn Scathe is the clear best-in-slot. Its stat line matches Laevatain’s needs, and the post-Ultimate Basic Attack buff turns her Twilight window into a real damage spike, especially when she is the controlled operator weaving empowered basics and an enhanced Battle Skill.
Umbral Torch works well in dedicated reaction teams. If your party constantly applies Combustion or Corrosion, Laevatain enjoys up to two stacks of Heat damage bonus on top of decent Intellect. This fits naturally with her preferred teammates that spam Heat and Nature Inflictions.
White Night Nova favors a more Arts-focused approach. It rewards Laevatain for being the one to trigger Combustion, which can be slightly more restrictive to play around, but offers strong Arts damage and Arts Intensity when set up correctly.
Fortmaker and Wave Tide are stopgaps. They keep her playable while you work toward a six-star sword, adding useful stats and, in Fortmaker’s case, extra Ultimate Gain Efficiency. They fall off once you have access to Forgeborn Scathe or another six-star option.
Essence and Energy Alluvium synergy
Weapon Essences amplify the stat profile of your chosen sword. Each weapon lists three stat types it can roll from Energy Alluvium; Laevatain wants Essences that line up perfectly with those tags.
For example, Forgeborn Scathe rolls Intellect, Attack, and Twilight. The optimal Essence for it includes all three of those stats, then gets etched to increase their values. The same logic applies to Umbral Torch and White Night Nova with their Infliction and Heat or Arts-focused stat lines.
Best gear sets for Laevatain
Laevatain wants gear that strengthens Arts damage, Heat damage, and Ultimate uptime. Three-piece set bonuses are where most of the power sits; the fourth slot can be any high-stat piece that matches her priorities.
| Gear pack | Recommended pieces | Set bonus | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Work | Exoskeleton, Gauntlets, Power Cartridge | Raises Arts Intensity and grants a large Heat damage bonus shortly after applying Combustion. | Core endgame set for reaction-based Heat AoE builds. |
| Tide Surge | Light Armor, Gauntlets, Cutting Torch | Increases Skill damage and provides a strong Arts damage boost after applying two Inflictions. | Alternative for stacking Heat Inflictions and leaning into skill-based damage. |
| Catastrophe | Heavy Armor, Gloves, Gauze Cartridge | Boosts Ultimate Gain Efficiency and refunds SP on the first Skill cast. | Mid-game comfort option when you want more frequent Ultimates. |
| Mordvolt Insulation | Insulation Vest, Gloves, Insulation Wrench | Adds a large amount of Intellect and gives an Arts damage bonus while HP is high. | Early-game set for simple, stat-driven power. |
Hot Work is the main destination for a fully built Laevatain. The Arts Intensity helps all of her Arts damage, and the Heat damage bonus that triggers when she applies Combustion lines up cleanly with how her Battle Skill behaves at four Melting Flame stacks. With proper rotation, this buff is active during the part of her kit that matters most.
For the flex slot, many builds favor Tide Surge’s Cutting Torch thanks to its Attack and Basic Attack damage-friendly stat line, which pairs well with Forgeborn Scathe and a Hot Work core.
Tide Surge as a full three-piece set is a more niche choice. It pushes Skill damage and gives a sizable Arts damage boost after two Inflictions are on enemies, which naturally happens in multi-Heat teams. The tradeoff is that you forgo Combustion windows in some rotations to maintain Infliction stacks.
Catastrophe is attractive while you are still building your weapon and other gear. Its Ultimate Gain Efficiency and initial SP refund on the first Skill cast make Laevatain’s rotation feel much smoother, especially before you have perfect Energy Alluvium and a maxed signature weapon.
Mordvolt Insulation offers raw Intellect and a conditional Arts damage bonus while Laevatain stays above a health threshold. It is a straightforward statistical bump and works well in earlier content or if you lack Hot Work pieces.
Primary substats to look for on individual gear pieces are Intellect and Strength, followed by Basic Attack damage and any Ultimate Gain Efficiency you can pick up without sacrificing too much offense.
Recommended Laevatain teams
Laevatain’s best teams revolve around constant Heat Infliction, regular Combustion or Corrosion triggers, and one dedicated sustain slot. She can be the controlled operator or share that role with another Striker, but during Twilight she should almost always be the one you pilot.
Core Heat reaction team
This setup maximizes reaction uptime and Ultimate cycling:
- Laevatain (Heat Striker, main AoE carry)
- Wulfgard (Heat Striker, extra Heat Infliction and stagger)
- Akekuri (Heat support, Heat Infliction and SP generation)
- Ardelia (Nature support, Corrosion and sustain)
The rotation logic is simple:
- Akekuri and Wulfgard apply Heat Inflictions and help build initial Melting Flame through their skills and combo skills.
- Ardelia adds Corrosion and keeps the team healthy. Corrosion also qualifies to trigger Laevatain’s Combo Skill, feeding more Ultimate Energy.
- Once Laevatain reaches four Melting Flame stacks, you use her Battle Skill to consume them, apply Combustion, and grab the large Energy refund, then push toward Twilight.
- During Twilight, you focus all SP and attention on Laevatain, weaving empowered basic strings and the enhanced Battle Skill while Heat and Nature Inflictions from teammates keep reactions rolling.
This team keeps her Combo Skill available often and makes Combustion uptime high enough to fully take advantage of Hot Work and weapons like Umbral Torch or White Night Nova.
Alternative Laevatain teams
When you want more buffs or different crowd control, there are two common variants.
Buff-focused variant
- Laevatain
- Wulfgard
- Akekuri
- Antal
Antal offers Heat amplification and Heat Susceptibility to enemies, raising Laevatain’s peak damage at the cost of sustain. This version is better when you are confident in your dodging or overgeared for the content and want shorter fights rather than safety.
Grouping-focused variant
- Laevatain
- Wulfgard
- Akekuri
- Gilberta
Gilberta groups enemies and applies Arts susceptibility, setting up clean clumps for Laevatain’s large AoE skills and Twilight basic strings. This version excels in content with frequent waves of weaker mobs, where pulling everything into Laevatain’s field yields much higher effective DPS.
Ability upgrade priority for Laevatain
Not all of Laevatain’s upgrades provide equal value. Focusing on the right parts of her kit keeps material costs reasonable while still unlocking her core power.
- First: Ultimate (Twilight) – This is the center of her damage. Higher levels increase both her enhanced attacks and the buff effects during Ultimate, so it should be the first ability you push.
- Second: Battle Skill (Smouldering Fire) – Scaling this greatly improves her AoE and the big four-stack cast that fuels her Ultimate. It also benefits from Ultimate level because the enhanced version hits much harder.
- Third: Combo Skill (Seethe) – The main value here is Ultimate Energy generation and Melting Flame stacks. Upgrades add damage, which is useful but not as central as Twilight or Smouldering Fire.
- Last: Basic Attack (Flaming Cinders) – Basic damage matters most when she is the controlled operator, and especially with Forgeborn Scathe. Still, her overall output is driven more by Skill and Ultimate, so this comes after the others unless you use her on-field constantly.
Combat talents, especially the Scorching Heart tiers, should be unlocked whenever materials allow. The ability to ignore part of enemy Heat Resistance at four Melting Flame stacks and the built-in emergency sustain add noticeable stability to her performance.
How to play Laevatain in combat
Laevatain plays in two distinct phases: setup and burst.
During setup, she or her teammates apply Heat Infliction and Corrosion, generate Melting Flames, and charge Ultimate:
- Use teammate skills and combo skills (Akekuri, Wulfgard, Ardelia) to stack Heat Infliction and occasionally Corrosion on targets.
- Cast Laevatain’s Battle Skill to gain Melting Flame stacks when multiple enemies are clustered. Avoid spending it wastefully at low stacks if there is no pressure.
- Trigger Laevatain’s Combo Skill whenever Combustion or Corrosion is present; it both deals AoE damage and feeds her Ultimate Energy.
- Use Final Strikes and Finishers on Heat-inflicted enemies to consume their stacks and gain additional Melting Flames through talents.
At four Melting Flame stacks, her rotation shifts:
- Cast the Battle Skill to consume all stacks, unleash the additional Combustion hit, and receive the large Energy refund.
- From there, one more Skill or Combo Skill usually tops off Twilight, letting you enter Ultimate with reaction buffs already rolling.
During burst (Twilight active):
- Keep Laevatain as the controlled operator for the full duration.
- Weave full basic attack strings to reach the third and fourth hits, which apply and then consume Heat Infliction for more Melting Flames and partial Resistance ignore.
- Use the enhanced Battle Skill off cooldown on clustered enemies, especially when Hot Work’s Combustion-triggered Heat damage buff is active.
- Avoid spending SP on other operators unless you need emergency crowd control or healing; every point should support Laevatain’s damage during this window.
Built around Forgeborn Scathe, a three-piece Hot Work set, and a Heat-focused team, Laevatain functions as a reliable AoE core for almost any content. Her floor is already solid at low Potential, and her ceiling scales sharply with better Essence rolls and gear, rewarding the time invested in optimizing her rotation and team synergy.
