Arknights: Endfield Tier List

Categories

In Endfield, many characters possess elements of multiple categories, with some even having elements of all three. To avoid cluttering the Tier list, we’ll only be placing each character in a single category, though, so whichever category they’re strongest in will be the one they’re ranked within (even if they could strongly exist in multiple).

• Damage: Encapsulate characters whose main purpose in a team is to deal damage, working as hypercarries or being the driving force behind a team's damage output.
• Enabler: Characters whose main purpose in a team is to assist others besides just buffs. This can come in the form of Inflictions, SP generation, stagger build, Ultimate Energy and more.
• Buffer: Houses characters whose main purpose in a team is to provide buffs or debuffs in order to multiply the overall damage output of the squad.

Special Tags

• [Expert]: Characters with this tag have an optimal playstyle that must be mastered for them to be at their best. Without the necessary skills, the character may see a significant drop in performance, lowering their ranking by at least one tier.
• [Watchlist]: Characters with this tag are marked as highly likely to move up or down a tier in a future update.

General Criteria

The general criteria are structured around the endgame mode Umbral Monument, not open-world encounters or farming stages like RE-Crisis.

Assessment assumes:

• Operators are at Level 90.
• Skills are at max Rank.
• All combat-related Talents (including Trust-locked Talents) are fully levelled.
• Operators are equipped with optimal Gear/Sets.
• Operator Potentials assumed to be the following:
• P0 for 6★ and 5★ Star Operators.
• P5 for 4★ Star Operators and Endministrator.
• Best-in-slot weapon assumed to be the following:
• Any P0 6★ Star weapon.
• Any P5 5★, 4★ or 3★ weapon.
• Weapons have optimal essences, maxing out bonuses where possible.
• All Operators start at zero Ultimate Energy.
• No pre-casting of skills prior to combat start.
• Usables (e.g. food items, Tacticals) are not included.
• For the general tier list, evaluations are done primarily around optimal team compositions.

General Criteria

We compare characters within their role (e.g., Survivalists are compared to other Survivalists), and ratings are adjusted based on their performance in that role.

Characters should not be compared between roles, as their ratings are evaluated on a varying subset of criteria. If a category has no Operators who perform at the highest or lowest level within the meta, some tiers for that category may not have placements.

Damage

• Primary Influence: Personal damage contribution.
• Secondary Influence: Ability to handle different encounter types, ranging from bosses, multiple enemies/targets, and intermission phases.

Enabler

• Primary Influence: Ability to provide resources and support the team, enabling stronger and more optimal rotations.
• Secondary Influence: Personal damage contribution and ability to provide increases to team damage.

Buffer

• Primary Influence: Ability to provide increases to team damage.
• Secondary Influence: Ability to provide resources and support the team, enabling stronger and more optimal rotations.

15.03.2026

Tangtang is here! We have updated the tier list with her, but there's no other changes.

• 
  Tangtang added in T0 as Enabler: As far as Enablers go, Tangtang has it all: high personal damage contribution - to the point one can reasonably make a case for her to sit in the damage category - readily accessible Inflictions at a lower cost than most, utility on her Ultimate, team support value, and wide area of effects that make her versatile in multiple game modes as well as various Umbral Monument stages. There are some drawbacks, namely how she needs some time to set-up multiple Whirlpools and her reliance on Brigand's Calling to be competitive in buffing, but these alone don't detract from how much of an improvement she is to Cryo teams across all forms of content, making her deserving of a T0 placement.

03.03.2026

The Tier List structure has changed, with now a broad "Damage" category, as well as "Enabler" and "Buffer".

• "Damage" is meant to encapsulate characters whose main purpose in a team is to deal damage, working as hypercarries or being the driving force behind a team's damage output.
• "Enabler" is for characters whose main purpose in a team is to assist others besides just buffs. This can come in the form of Inflictions, SP generation, stagger build, Ultimate Energy, etc.
• "Buffer" houses characters whose main purpose in a team is to provide buffs, being multipliers to the actual damage being dealt to a team.

We acknowledge that there's a lot of overlap between these categories.

Estella

Lifeng

Arclight

Perlica

Gilberta

Characters then have been placed in what we believe they slant more towards, but there are no particularly strong feelings one way or another. Positions may be shifted around across columns, but we welcome suggestions and feedback as to the structure.

Operator Placements:

As categories have changed, characters have been shifted around according to the new criteria. Only those that have seen placement changes, or that we feel are deserving of clarification, are listed below:

• 
  Laevatain T0 (No Change): Laevatain may see no change in the current Tier List placement, but we are aware of her underperformance in Umbral Monument Inorganic Construct. While there is argument that her teams are floundering in it, she still remains a strong all around pick, so to make knee-jerk changes based on a single set of stages is too hasty, meaning she remains in her spot.
• 
  Yvonne T1 → T0.5: With her full release and the arrival of Umbral Monument Inorganic Construct, Yvonne has proven herself to be better than initially seen, getting great clear times all around. Her teams do struggle with Infliction build, and the extended set-ups required to get full value out of her Ultimate do hold her back, but she's at the very least deserving of a secure T0.5. As the game's cast expands and Yvonne gets teammates that can make up for current issues, she could very well be moved up further.
• 
  Avywenna T1 (No Change): Avywenna is another character that sees no change, but is worth noting as by most metrics she should be at least at T0.5. On Umbral Monument Inorganic Construct, she can clear as fast or even faster than Yvonne on stages 2 and 3, being held back only by long set-up times in stage 1. The problem is that the Tier List currently is not meant to assume P5 characters, and the difference between Avywenna at P0 and P5 is significant enough that it holds her back from jumping up a tier, so she remains in T1.
• 
  Chen Qianyu T1 (Support Damage) → T0.5 (Enabler): Chen is core to any Physical team and fits the Enabler requirements to a T, doing good damage while being the main source of Vulnerability stacks. With how well sustainless Physical teams have been performing across all kinds of content, she deserves at the very least a T0.5 placement. She could even be argued to be a T0, but the limited scope of what she offers holds her back somewhat, so we've only bumped her up one tier for now.
• 
  Wulfgard T1 (Support Damage) → T0.5 (Enabler): Wulfgard has been removed entirely from the damage category, as he is primarily run for Heat Inflictions in Laevatain teams. There aren't many opportunities for him to make use of Clannibal's Effect (if it's even run, as OBJ Velocitous sees frequent use) and his personal damage is lacklustre when built for a supportive role, but - like Chen - he is the main source of Inflictions for Heat teams. This alone makes him indispensable, and given Laevatain's historical performance, makes him deserving of a T0.5 slot.
• 
  Alesh T2 (Support Damage) → T1 (Enabler): Alesh uses were rather limited at release, but with the arrival of both Gilberta and Yvonne, there are far more teams that can reliably trigger his Combo Skill. He supplies a decent amount of SP to a team and the unconditional Cryo Infliction on his Ultimate can be key to speeding up rotations. While he can provide good buffs via Thermite Cutter and his Rare Fin, as well as make use of Frontiers in some set-ups, he is reliant on Potentials that we do not factor in just yet, so he moves up a single tier and sits within the Enabler category.
• 
  Gilberta T0.5 (Amplifier) → T0 (Buffer): Between her unmatched grouping ability, ridiculously high Susceptibility values and unconditional Nature Infliction on her Ultimate, Gilberta has been a high performer not only in Umbral Monument, but even in strictly single-target content such as RE-Crisis. With Yvonne's arrival, Gilberta has managed to expand the range of teams that she is best for, all the while remaining a highly competitive pick for any Arts-based composition, which we believe makes her deserving of a T0 spot.
• 
  Perlica T1 (Support Damage) → T0.5 (Buffer): Although Perlica's personal damage can be decent, with Arts Intensity builds taking root, she has become a priority pick for most Arts teams owing to her easily accessible Electrification. She not only provides ridiculous buff value through it, but can also make use of competitive Arts Units for even greater gains (like Detonation Unit or Stanza of Memorials) as well as provide an effective trigger for multiple Operators' Combo Skills. Had we been evaluating characters with Potentials, she could very well have made it to the T0 spot, but without her P4's multiplier increase and P1's duration extension, she is a lot more limited in use, sitting at T0.5 for the time being.
• 
  Antal T0.5 (Amplifier)→ T1 (Buffer): Antal remains an incredibly strong Operator, but he has become increasingly niche. Laevatain Heat teams frequently see Akekuri replace him, as do Avywenna Electric teams with Gilberta. His strict single-target focus means that he has struggled to do well in many Umbral Monument stages that see multiple enemies, so despite the relative strength of his buff value, he hasn't been as dominant a pick and drops down to a T1 placement.
• 
  Pogranichnik T0.5 (Support Damage) → T0 (Buffer): Pogranichnik has been a key player to Physical since release, being the only Operator that is able to apply Breach. He was already a strong option, with grouping on his Ultimate, steady SP recovery and the ability to run strong supportive weapons, but as Sustainless Physical teams started being built, the strength of Arts Intensity to support his buff value became ever more apparent. Given how well Physical has been performing as of late, we find him to be deserving of a T0 placement, being the backbone of teams he runs in.

02.02.2026

Now that Endfield has been out for almost 2 weeks and millions of players have had a chance to sink their teeth into 1.0, many new team compositions and optimizations for characters have been found. This, in addition to a few balance changes that Hypergryph slipped in at the last second have all led to assessments of characters within the game's very early meta shifting. Based on that, and now that things have settled somewhat with people reaching max level, characters were updating both tier lists.

Here's the list of changes:

• 
  Yvonne added in T1 and added [Watchlist Up]: As mentioned in the team tier list update, Yvonne is currently not performing quite as well as Last Rite in the hands of most players with currently established rotations, set-ups, and encounters. Because of this, we’re starting her a tier below Last Rite. However, we’re also watch-listing her. Most players haven’t had a chance to play with Yvonne yet, as this version of her wasn’t available for testing in beta. She also hasn’t been tried in Umbral Monument either, so it’s possible new comps, rotations, encounter design, or energy breakpoints could elevate her performance.
• 
  Fluorite T2 → T1.5: Fluorite received a major buff in 1.0 with an extra Infliction being added to her Ultimate, positioning her as a strong Infliction spammer for Nature or Cryo teams, which currently makes her an option for either Yvonne or Last Rite. While she’s playable with both, Fluorite still suffers from long cooldowns, a lack of buffing options, and a perfect home as Yvonne and Last Rite can either sub out Fluorite for alternatives or straight up prefer other options over her. With that said, she’s in a much better state than Beta and has her place in certain scenarios, so we're moving her out of the bottom tier.
• 
  Xaihi T1 → T0.5: Xaihi is a mainstay in both Last Rite and Yvonne teams and, in general, is a very high-quality unit offering a ton of Amp, solid healing, and good weapon and set choices. She also possesses two modes of play: Ultimate Gain, with Xiranite for consistent buffing or with Frontier Intellect stacking for maximizing burst. This flexibility on top of her kit and already solid place among top teams is enough that we feel she can sit alongside Antal, who fills a similar role for Electric and Heat.
• 
  Gilberta T1 → T0.5: Pre 1.0 Gilberta was overshadowed somewhat by Ardelia who can easily slot into most team compositions, and because Gil conflicts with Ardelia’s playstyle, as she can’t help but apply Vulnerability, which locks out Ardelia’s combo unless carefully played around.Now, with many more people approaching team building, Gil has found strong niches where she can be a best pick for, on top of her already strong generalist role as a gather/CC character who is comfortably used for clearing farming content Gil has a strong position in Electric teams, and as speculated prior to release, is one of Yvonne’s current best options. This on top of players feeling out where and where not to use her in Laevatain teams is enough that we’re following through with our watch list of her and moving her to T0.5.
• 
  Akekuri T1 → T0.5: Akekuri is a character who received multiple nerfs moving into 1.0, with one of them being a major hit to her Ultimate accessibility. This change is a big deal, but Akekuri is still proving to be a popular, and most importantly, supremely flexible choice within the meta. She doesn’t provide the same raw buff potential as Antal or Xaihi, but her mix of SP generation, strong weapons, set effects, and spammable combo makes her an easy slot in across multiple archetypes. With Umbral Monument having multiple stages where AoE is valuable, even though Akekuri may lose some steam from having to start each fight at 0 energy every time, the wide range of her Battle Skill means she's likely to be a competitive pick there, being positioned well enough to sit within T0.5 for now.

20.01.2026

The initial release of the tier list.

We also prepared a set of explanations for some characters:

• 
  Yvonne [Missing]: Based on the 1.0 pre-release live stream, Yvonne has received a major rework, which we know will alter her teams, rotation, guide, and power level compared to what we tested in the last beta. Because of this, we’re holding off on ranking her on release and will add her as soon as we’re confident in her new power level.
• 
  Avywenna [Expert]: Avywenna has high damage potential but requires correct deployment and positioning around her Thunderlances in order to be able to recall them in a way that hits most enemies. If you fail to do this, her damage, stagger, and energy recovery will suffer, affecting her performance significantly.
• 
  Arclight [Expert]: Arclight is a high APM character who’ll have her combo available constantly throughout a fight when played in teams that synergize with her. What earns her the Expert tag, however, is the decision-making involved in knowing when to consume Electrification to trigger her combo skill and when to keep it on enemies in order to take advantage of the damage taken debuff it provides. This is on top of juggling recurring sources of Electrification, which cannot stack, making it so that knowing when and when not to take certain actions on her and her teams is more challenging than most characters.
• 
  Fluorite [Watchlist UP]: During the final beta, Fluorite had suffered from a lack of teams in which she could be considered strong. As an Infliction-based support Operator, she is designed to be played in either Nature or Cryo Infliction teams, but there were no Nature-focused teams, and both Cryo teams had better options. This seems to be changing as we move into 1.0, with the reworked Yvonne appearing to be able to work with either Cryo or Nature, and outside of Gilberta (who has a channeled Nature Infliction that takes a significant amount of time to activate), there are no other Operators capable of applying Nature Infliction. This potentially gives Fluorite a new niche in Nature Yvonne teams, so if this comes to pass, we’ll be moving her up on the tier list.
• 
  Gilberta [Watchlist UP]: Gilberta’s main meta team in the last beta was alongside Yvonne, whose teams are up in the air after her rework. Outside of Yvonne, Gilberta doesn’t have a clear team she excels in over Ardelia. Her kit focuses on boosting Arts Damage and the other three main elemental carries - Laevatain, Avywenna and Last Rite - usually all prefer to focus more on mono elemental infliction of Heat, Electric and Cryo respectively, making Gilberta’s Nature infliction and Combo Skill (which requires Arts Reactions) a little awkward compared to the more flexible Ardelia. Laevatain can be run alongside Gilbeta, but when fighting multiple enemies, Nature Inflictions can interfere with AoE Heat absorption, which can cost Laevatain multiple Melting Flame stacks. Because of all this, we’re placing Gilberta in T1 initially, but based on Yvonne’s rework, Gilberta’s potential in Nature variant teams looks promising; therefore, we’ve watchlisted her to go up pending how she performs.