If you’ve been following Arknights: Endfield’s development since its first teaser drop, you know that building a strong, balanced squad is the single most important part of succeeding in its mix of open-world exploration and tactical tower defense combat. Picking the wrong units for a stage can lead to hours of frustrating restarts, even if you have the highest rarity characters in your roster. We’ve put together a fully updated Arknights: Endfield characters list with all confirmed playable units from the latest closed beta, plus all the context you need to pick which units are worth investing your limited resources in.
Full Arknights: Endfield Characters List (Confirmed Playable Units)
As of the latest closed beta test, there are 32 confirmed playable units in the game, split across 6 core classes and 5 elemental alignments. Each unit has a unique Originium Trait that modifies their core skills, so even two units in the same class can play completely differently depending on their trait and skill loadout. Units are split into three rarity tiers, each with their own use cases for new and veteran players alike:
All units also have an elemental alignment (fire, ice, electric, physical, or originium) that dictates how much damage they deal to enemies with matching or opposing shields. You don’t want to bring a fire unit to a stage full of ice shield enemies, even if that unit is your highest rarity pick, so you’ll want to have at least one unit of each element leveled up for different stage types.
How to Pick the Right Characters for Your Playstyle
You don’t have to follow generic tier lists to build a strong squad, the best characters for you are the ones that fit how you like to play the game. If you prefer fast, aggressive play, you’ll want to prioritize Guard and Sniper units that can dish out high damage quickly, without needing a lot of setup or support from other units. If you like slow, strategic play where you build a solid frontline and wear enemies down over time, Defender and Supporter units that buff your team and block incoming damage will be a much better fit.
If you mostly play co-op missions with friends, you’ll want to have at least one dedicated healer or supporter in your roster to help your team, even if you don’t use those units for solo content. Leveling a full team of 4 and 5-star units early on will let you clear all story content without spending a dime on pulls, so you don’t have to worry about missing out on content if you don’t get the 6-star you want right away. I played through the entire closed beta story with only one 6-star on my main team, and I didn’t hit a real wall until the very last endgame boss stage.
Key Skill Traits to Look for in Top-Tier Units
Not all high rarity units are worth investing your hard-earned resources in, so you’ll want to look for specific traits that make a unit useful across multiple stage types, instead of just one niche scenario. Units that can fit into multiple team comps are always a better investment than units that only work for one specific stage type.
Units with "global" range skills are almost always worth prioritizing, because they can hit enemies anywhere on the map, which is perfect for taking out long-range snipers or flying enemies that slip past your frontline. Units with self-healing traits are also great for new players, because they take pressure off your healers and let you run more damage units on your team. I tested every 6-star unit in the closed beta, and Logos’ ability to summon floating originium turrets that deal AOE elemental damage was easily the most useful skill for both casual story stages and hard endgame content.
Common Character Building Mistakes to Avoid
New players often make the same small mistakes that waste hours of grinding time, so it’s easy to skip those headaches if you know what to look out for. First, don’t upgrade every character you get, because upgrade materials are extremely limited, especially early in the game. You only need to level 8 to 10 units max to clear all current content, so focus on your core team first before you start leveling niche units.
You can easily clear 90% of the game’s content with a full team of well-built 4-star units, so don’t ignore low rarity units just because they don’t have a 6-star rating. For example, Adnachiel, a 4-star sniper, has a skill that increases his attack speed by 80% for 10 seconds, which deals more burst damage than some 5-star snipers. Never use rare Elite 2 upgrade materials on a unit before you test their base skills at Elite 1 max level, because you might find their playstyle doesn’t fit your team after you’ve already wasted rare resources on them.
I made this mistake early in the closed beta, when I upgraded a niche 5-star supporter I only used for one specific stage, and then I didn’t have enough materials to level my main healer for the next boss fight. That set me back almost three days of grinding extra materials, so don’t repeat that error. Save your rare upgrade materials for your core team first, and only level niche units once you have extra resources left over.
Whether you’re a long-time Arknights fan or a new player checking out the franchise for the first time, this Arknights: Endfield characters list has all the info you need to build a squad that fits your playstyle and clears every stage with ease. Don’t stress too much about getting the "perfect" team right away, half the fun of the game is experimenting with different units and finding hidden gems that work for you. If you try out a unit and you enjoy how they play, upgrade them – even if they’re not at the top of every tier list, you’ll have a lot more fun playing with characters you like.