Arknights: Endfield Leveling Guide – Character Builds, Skills, Gear & Weapons

Leveling and building characters in Arknights: Endfield is one of the most important parts of long-term progression. With limited stamina, time-gated materials, and interconnected systems like skills, weapons, gear, and AIC production, rushing upgrades or spreading resources too thin can slow your account down more than expected.

This Arknights: Endfield leveling guide focuses on leveling and operator building the smart way. Instead of telling you to max everything immediately, we’ll break down what actually matters at each stage, who to level first, how to prioritize skills, when to invest in weapons and gear, and how AIC and base systems support steady growth over time.

 

And since Endfield often rewards longer, focused sessions for setup and progression, OSLink can make things more comfortable by letting you run the game on PC and continue playing on your phone, so you can manage leveling, upgrades, or early progression on the go without draining your battery or being tied to your desk.

Understanding Progression Systems in Arknights: Endfield

Before diving into character builds and materials, it’s important to understand how progression actually works in Arknights: Endfield. The game uses multiple progression layers, and confusing them is one of the main reasons players feel stuck or underpowered later on.

At a high level, progression is split into account progression and character progression, and each one gates different parts of the game.

Account Level (Authorization Level)

Your account level, also known as Authorization Level, represents your overall progress in the game. This level increases mainly through: Main story progression, daily missions, spending stamina, and exploration activities like chests and puzzles.

 

As the level increases, it unlocks:

• Main story chapters

• Farming stages

• Equipment and blueprint access

• Certain progression systems

If your account level is too low, no amount of character investment will let you push further. This is why steady story progression and daily activity matter so much early on.

Character Level & Level Caps

Character leveling is separate from your account level and comes with multiple breakpoints rather than a straight path to max level. In general, character progression looks like this:

 

• Early game (Level 1–20):  Very cheap, high value. Great for unlocking basic power and handling early overworld content.

• Mid game (Level 20–60): Costs increase noticeably. This is where most players should spend their time early on.

• Late game (Level 60–80 → 99): Extremely resource-intensive and not meant to be rushed.

Who You Should Level First

One of the most important decisions in Arknights: Endfield is who you choose to level first. Early resources are limited, and trying to build too many operators at once can quickly slow your progress. The goal in the early game isn’t to build everything, it’s to build one reliable team that can clear story content, overworld challenges, and farming stages efficiently.

 

A good rule of thumb is to focus on the top tier four operators you have at the beginning and treat them as your core team.

• One main damage dealer

• One secondary damage dealer or enabler

• One support or buffer

• One sustain or utility operator

This approach keeps resource costs manageable while letting you learn combat mechanics, combos, and rotations naturally.

Recommended Early Leveling Targets

Some characters offer exceptional value early on because they scale well and remain useful later. Good to play early investments include:

 

• Administrator – A strong all-around unit that performs well with minimal investment

• Chen – Easy access to Lift and Physical synergy, great for early Physical teams

• A universal support like Ardelia or Antal, if available

• One main DPS that matches your preferred team style (Cryo, Physical, or Heat)

Raising these characters to around level 20 is inexpensive and provides enough power to tackle early minibosses and locked chest encounters.

Once your core four operators are stable and your account level increases, you can start branching out:

• Build a second DPS for flexibility

• Invest in niche supports

• Prepare a backup team for harder content

By then, your material income and your Arknights: Endfield base AIC production will be much healthier, making expansion far less painful.

Arknights: Endfield Character Building Basics

A character’s strength comes from several interconnected systems. So the goal of character building in Arknights: Endfield isn’t to max everything at once, but to prioritize upgrades that deliver the highest impact for the resources spent.

 

Recommended Build Priority Order

For most players, especially in the early and mid game, the following order provides the best overall value:

• Character Level (up to early breakpoints such as 20 or 60)

• Core Skills used frequently in combat

• Weapon Level

• Breakthroughs / Promotions

• Gear Optimization

• Trust and minor passives

This approach ensures your operators feel strong and responsive while preserving rare materials for upgrades that matter later.

Building for Teams, Not Individuals

Finally, always remember that Endfield is a team-focused game. Characters should be built with their role in mind:

 

• DPS characters benefit most from skill and weapon upgrades

• Supports often gain more value from passives and utility skills

• Enablers should focus on consistency rather than raw damage

Focusing on overall team contribution instead of fully investing in a single character will lead to more effective Arknights: Endfield team builds over time.

 

Skill Leveling – What to Upgrade and When

In many cases of Arknights: Endfield, upgrading the right skill will give you a bigger power increase than several character levels combined. Because skill materials are time-gated and expensive later on, knowing what to upgrade and when makes a huge difference.

 

The key idea here is simple: not all skills are equal. When deciding which skills to invest in, prioritize impact over completion. Focus on:

• Main damage skills used frequently in combat

• Combo-related skills that trigger or benefit from team synergy

• SP-efficient skills that improve rotation speed

Skills that are rarely used, highly situational, or purely defensive can usually wait.

Skill Leveling Priorities by Progress Stage

Skill upgrades give massive power gains, but resources become expensive quickly. Instead of leveling everything, scale your investment based on how far your account has progressed.

• Early progression: Lightly upgrade core, frequently used skills to improve combat flow. Costs are low, so moderate upgrades offer great value.

• Mid progression: Be selective. Skill costs rise and begin competing with weapons and breakthroughs. Fully invest in one or two key skills per operator, while leaving secondary or situational skills at lower levels.

• Late progression & mastery: Mastery tiers are extremely resource-intensive and should be reserved for core, long-term team members only. There’s no urgency to max everything—partial mastery is enough for most content.

Arknights: Endfield Weapons – Leveling and Priority

Weapons are an important part of operator building in Arknights: Endfield, but they aren’t meant to be rushed. While they provide meaningful stat boosts, weapon upgrades are most effective when used to support an operator’s role, not as a primary source of power early on.

 

Think of weapons as multipliers: they matter more once your operator’s level and core skills are already doing their job.

Weapon Leveling Guidelines

• Early progression: Minimal investment, just enough to keep damage feeling smooth and meet story difficulty.

• Mid progression: Targeted upgrades on operators you actively use.

• Late progression: Heavy investment only for core, long-term units.

Weapon Priority by Role

• Main DPS: Higher priority, as most of their damage scales directly from ATK.
  
  Supports / Enablers: Lower priority; their value comes primarily from skills and passives.

• Utility operators: Minimal weapon investment is sufficient until late game.

Gear System – When to Care About It

The gear system in Arknights: Endfield is important, but not right away. Understanding when gear actually matters will save you a lot of time and resources.

 

Think of gear as a late-stage enhancer, not a core power source as gear bonuses are small in the early game. Simply equipping available gear is enough. There’s no need to chase perfect stats or upgrades yet. As you move into Mid to Late game content:

• Gear starts to offer noticeable benefits

• Enemy difficulty increases

• Team roles become more defined

This is the point where selective upgrades make sense:

• Focus on your main DPS first

• Stop once the cost starts outweighing the benefit

AIC Factory & Base Systems

One of the most overlooked parts of character building and leveling in Arknights: Endfield is everything that happens outside of combat. Systems like AIC, the factory, and your ship/base don’t make characters stronger instantly, but they quietly determine how fast (or slow) your account grows over time. If combat is where you spend power, the base is where you generate it.

 

What Is AIC and Why It Matters

AIC systems are tied to production, automation, and passive progression. While they may seem optional early on, they directly affect:

• Material generation

• Skill and weapon upgrade speed

• Long-term resource stability

Ignoring AIC means you’ll eventually hit a wall where you want to build characters but simply can’t afford to.

Ship & Cabin Upgrades

Your ship (base) contains multiple cabins that support progression. As you unlock and upgrade them, you gain access to:

• Growth chambers for rare materials

• Recycling stations for daily resources

• Passive character and weapon material production

The earlier you start upgrading these systems, the more value you gain in the long run.

Resource Management & Farming Strategy

In Arknights: Endfield, progress is rarely blocked by difficulty, it’s blocked by resources. Stamina, materials, and credits are all limited, and poor farming habits early on can slow your character leveling and operator building for a long time.

 

What You Should Farm Early

Early on, your focus should be on resources that are either time-gated or difficult to stockpile later. High-priority early farms include:

• Skill leveling materials

• Breakthrough materials

• Weapon experience materials

• Account experience sources (story, dailies, stamina usage)

Pro Tips:

• Use your stamina consistently and never let stamina cap for long periods.

• Farming with a goal in mind, answer one question: “What am I preparing for?” For skill upgrades, breakthrough, or second team.

Conclusion

Character building and leveling in Arknights: Endfield is a long-term process that rewards planning over speed. By focusing on a small core team, prioritizing skills instead of raw levels, and using systems like AIC, the factory, and the base to support steady growth, you can avoid common early mistakes while staying flexible for future updates. And if you want to manage leveling, upgrades, or early progression without being tied to your PC, OSLink lets you continue playing the PC version on your phone, making longer sessions and on-the-go progress easier without battery drain or overheating.