50 articlesArknights: Endfield is out, and you know what that means: a flood of guide videos, spreadsheets, and strategy debates. Woohoo. If you’re like me, you just want to figure out how to build a team that doesn’t completely suck, especially in the early to mid game. That’s exactly what this guide is for. I’ll walk you through the fundamentals of team building, give examples for nearly every main DPS, and sprinkle in some personal tips from my own testing. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to make your squads work, without burning through resources on random character mashups.
Oh, and if you’re thinking about re-rolling to try your luck at snagging the best units from the get-go, don’t worry, we’ve got a Re-Roll Guide for that too. It’s short, sweet, and will save you the headache of endless restarts.
Free Characters: Your Early Game Crew
Right off the bat, the game gifts you some free characters: the Endministrator, Chen, Yu, Perlica, Wolfgard, and Ardellia. Ardellia even comes with her signature weapon, which you get on day ten. Trust me, she’s incredible, a universal support and healer who’ll appear in nearly every team you build.
Interestingly, the starting characters are split into two cores: physical (Endministrator and Chen) and elemental or Arts (Perlica and Wolfgard). While these cores sometimes work together, they mostly shine within their respective playstyles. This early structure gives you a taste of how team composition works in Endfield.
Arknights Endfield: The Three Swords of Mastery Quest GuideJan 31, 2026
Ruby Bolete Location in Arknights: EndfieldMay 14, 2026
Specimen Bread Location in Arknights EndfieldMay 12, 2026Standard Banner and a Quick Disclaimer
Once you start pulling from banners, you’ll likely get another six-star or duplicates of existing six-stars. Some pulls can be lucky, some unlucky, it all depends on your luck with RNG. A disclaimer here: I’ve been playing through Closed Beta 1, Closed Beta 2, and the media server, so these recommendations are early-game friendly and may not be the absolute meta. Think of this as a starting point rather than a strict formula.
Team-Building Fundamentals
Before diving into specific teams, let’s cover the basics. When building your team, there are three key questions:
First, can every character reliably use their combo skills? Some combo skills require very specific triggers, and if your team can’t consistently provide them, you’re wasting potential damage.
Second, do your characters synergize? This isn’t just buffs; it’s utility, elemental interactions, or SP generation that allows your DPS to shine.
Finally, do your characters avoid harming the team? Some elemental applications or combo skills can interfere with others, turning a character from a net positive into a liability.
Keep these three points in mind, and your team compositions will already be leaps ahead of random squads.
Hypercarry Compositions: One Star Player to Rule Them All
Some characters are hypercarry-focused damage dealers, meaning they need teams built around them to maximize their potential. Last Rite and Laevatain are prime examples.
Laevatain typically runs with Wulfgard, Antal, and Ardelia. Wulfgard isn’t just a support, he deals damage and enables Laevatain’s kit. This is what I call an “enabling hypercarry” setup: Laevatain still does 80% of the damage, but her supports make her kit function correctly. Stack Heat or Combustion/Corrosion, and she melts through enemies.
Last Rite is more self-sufficient but still thrives in a hypercarry team. A standard comp includes Xaihi, Ardelia, and Perlica to stack Cryo, timing buffs and ultimates for maximum burst. Swap Perlica for Fluorite if you want an enabling setup to help with Cryo stacks. Both Laevatain and Last Rite teams rely heavily on synergy, timing, and stacking elemental effects for peak efficiency.
Multi-DPS Compositions: Everyone Gets a Slice
Not all teams revolve around one star player. Multi-DPS compositions let the whole squad shine. Physical teams like Endmin, Da Pan, Chen, and Pogranichnik spread damage fairly evenly. Avywenna’s team is another example, where Perlica and Arclight assist in energy management and combo execution, while Avywenna sets up her big thunder lance bursts.
The beauty of multi-DPS is that everyone contributes without requiring perfect buffs or specific elemental triggers. They’re more forgiving for new players but still allow for skillful play when executed well.
Best Teams for Key Characters
Endministrator: A strong physical nuker. Supported by Chen, Ardellia, and flexible fourth slots like Ember or Pogranichnik. Focus on vulnerability stacking and big Crush hits for massive damage. This is again a multi-DPS team, with Chen and Pogranichnik dealing significant damage while also providing utility. Pogranichnik’s Breach also buffs the entire team’s damage.
Da Pan: Functions as the main DPS with vulnerability stacks built by Ember. Administrator can serve as a secondary nuker. Timing Crush skills after stacking vulnerability is key. One example is Da Pan, Chen, Lifeng, and Ardelia. Ember also works in the last slot for weaker amplification but safer sustain. This is another multi-DPS team where everyone contributes damage between Da Pan’s burst windows.
Leong with Pogranichnik: Leong provides a Link buff to massively boost the next character’s attack, synergizing beautifully with Pogranichnik’s SP generation for consistent physical combos.
Last Rite: Pure hypercarry. Xaihi is the best support for healing, buffs, and Cryo application. Ardellia or Snowshine can substitute if Xaihi isn’t available. Fluorite can help stack Cryo, though her cooldown is long. Timing buffs and ultimates is the name of the game here.
Laevatain: Free-to-play friendly with Wulfgard, Antal, and Ardelia. Heat or Combustion/Corrosion stacking is essential. Can swap Akekuri or Wolfgard for utility as needed. Laevatain is a hypercarry enabled by the strong Wulfgard–Antal synergy. Laevatain, Antal, Wulfgard, and Ardelia is the standard composition, but Gilberta, Akekuri, or even Perlica can be used. Wulfgard can technically be replaced for a fully supportive team, but I like him a lot. The team focuses on stacking Heat or Combustion/Corrosion to fuel Laevatain’s devastating ultimates.
Avywenna: Lightning-focused DPS with Arclight and Pearllica. Avywenna runs almost exclusively with Arclight, Perlica, and Antal. This is a multi-DPS composition. Arclight provides consistent damage while Avywenna builds toward a massive combo skill nuke. You can replace Antal with Ardelia, but you’ll often struggle to activate combo skills consistently, and Antal’s buffing is stronger here.
Yvonne: Hypercarry centered around Solidification. Can run either full Cryo or full Nature teams depending on available supports. Nature tends to be smoother with Gilberta and Fluorite, but Cryo works well too. Rapid-fire ultimates make her insanely fun to play.
Additional Thoughts
Some characters feel awkward in the current roster. Allesh, for example, struggles to find perfect synergy. Shatter or crystallized compositions work, but it feels clunky. Still, he can help refund SP in Last Rite teams, so he isn’t useless.
For free-to-play friendly setups, Ardellia, Ember, and the starting four always appear across multiple teams. Understanding the differences, buffing vs stacking vulnerability, healing vs offensive utility, is crucial to making choices that fit your playstyle.
Wrap-Up
There you have it: a complete starting point for building teams in Arknights Endfield. From hypercarry stars to multi-DPS squads, these examples cover nearly every main operator you’ll encounter early on. Remember, there isn’t a single “best” team for everyone, play what feels good, experiment, and most importantly, have fun. Endfield’s combat system is complex, but once you get the hang of synergies, timing, and combo skills, the game becomes incredibly rewarding.
If you’re new to the game or still getting your bearings, check out my Arknights Endfield Beginner’s Guide for tips on avoiding rookie mistakes and understanding the basics of the game. It’s a great companion to this guide and will make sure your early teams aren’t just strong, they’re smart.
