The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Arknights

So, you've played through the tutorial of Arknights and want to dive into its captivating world.

However, the huge amount of menus and fear of misusing resources might seem daunting at first.

But don't worry, here's a straightforward guide to navigate the game's essential components.

Let's dive in!

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The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Arknights

Navigating the Home Screen

The home screen reveals essential resources:

1. LMD (Lungmen Dollars): This common resource is key for leveling up your operators, the recruitment system, converting materials, and more.
2. Orundum: Mainly used to obtain operators via the gacha system.
3. Originite Prime (OP): Think of this as the game's premium currency with multiple uses.
4. Sanity: The energy system that lets you play. Every stage requires a specific amount of Sanity. Once empty, you must wait for it to regenerate.

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Resource Deep Dive

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• LMD: Earn it from missions, farming, and your base production.
• Orundum: Exclusive to pull on the gacha system. You get it from various in-game missions, achievements, and the shop.
• Originite Prime: Useful for converting to Orundum, purchasing skins, and refreshing Sanity. You get it from clearing stages for the first time, certain achievements, and real-money purchases.
• Sanity: Refills over time. You get 1 sanity per 6 minutes, 10 an hour. Use OP or potions for instant refresh.

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The Shop Explained

There are several tabs in Arknights shop:

• Originium: Buy OP with real money.
• Packs: Bundles that offer a mix of resources. Some are time-limited, while others are based on player level. The level packs, especially, offer great value.
• Outfit: Cosmetic items that change an operator's appearance. They have no impact on gameplay but can be a fun way to customize your experience.
• Certificate: Different certificates are earned via gameplay and can be exchanged for a variety of items, from resources to operators.
• Furniture: Items to decorate and enhance your base. Aim for complete sets to maximize Ambience, which has gameplay benefits.
• Credit Store: A daily rotating shop where credits (earned from your base) can be exchanged for materials and other items.
• Headhunting & Recruitment: The game's gacha system. While luck-based, understanding the pull rates and guarantees can help you strategize. Banner rates and character pools are under the "Details" button. There is no difference between single pulls and 10-pulls, so keep that in mind when trying your luck.

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The Terminal: Where Stories Unfold

The Terminal is your gateway to Arknights' rich narrative and diverse game modes.

From the main story arcs to side stories, players can immerse themselves in the game's lore, participate in events, or test their strategies in challenging modes like Annihilation or Contingency Contract.

Each mode offers unique rewards and experiences, ensuring that there's always something new to explore.

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Crafting Your Dream Team

Team composition is where strategy meets preference.

While there's a guideline suggesting a balanced team of 2 vanguards, 2 guards, 2 defenders, 2 snipers, 2 casters, 1 medic, and 1 unit of your choice, Arknights truly shines when players experiment and find combinations that resonate with their playstyle.

Whether you prioritize characters based on their abilities or simply because they resonate with you aesthetically, the game offers a lot of room to experiment and refine your team strategy.

Here's a deeper look into the considerations:

1. Identifying Gaps: As you progress, you'll face challenges that test your team's balance. This is where understanding Operator roles becomes vital. Do you have enough Vanguards generating deployment points? Are your Defenders holding the line effectively? Adjusting your team to address these gaps is key.
2. Specialized Situations: Some stages or challenges might require a more specialized approach. Here, understanding archetypes becomes pivotal. Need to deal with aerial threats? A Sniper with an anti-air focus might be your best bet. Facing a horde of armored enemies? Perhaps a Caster, with their arts damage bypassing physical defenses, will shine.
3. Experimentation is Key: With four squad tabs available, don't hesitate to create different team combinations. This allows you to have specialized teams ready for different challenges, from high-damage squads to teams built around control and sustainability.

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Diving Deeper into Operator Management

Every operator in Arknights comes with their unique traits, known as archetypes.

These define their roles, abilities, and how they fit into your team.

For instance, within the Guard class, which is primarily known for its high damage output, you might find an Operator specialized in quick, repeated attacks, while another might focus in delivering powerful nukes.

As you progress, you'll have the opportunity to upgrade, promote, and go deeper into each operator's potential, unlocking new skills and abilities.

This deep customization ensures that no two players will have the same experience, even if they have similar operators.

Here's a rundown of the archetypes and their notable strengths:

Vanguards

• ‍DP-On-Kill: These vanguards regain Deployment Points (DP) upon killing an enemy. They're useful for rapid DP generation early in a stage.
• DP-Recovery: Generate DP over time. Consistent and reliable for stages where steady DP is needed.

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Guards

• Duelist: Focus on single-target high damage. They excel in taking down powerful enemies.
• Brawler: Deal with multiple enemies at once, often with lower defense.
• Ranged: Can attack from a distance, allowing flexibility in positioning.
• Arts: Use arts damage, which bypasses physical armor.
• Support: Offer utilities beyond just damage, such as healing or buffing allies.

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Defenders

• Healing: While they block enemies, they also heal nearby allies.
• Arts Resistance: Specialize in resisting arts damage, great against caster enemies.
• High-Block: Can block multiple enemies at once, ideal for holding choke points.

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Snipers

• Anti-Air: Prioritize and deal extra damage to flying units.
• Multi-Target: Can target multiple enemies simultaneously.
• Close-Range: Operate at a closer range but often have higher damage or faster attack speeds.

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Casters

• Single-Target: Focus on dealing high arts damage to a single enemy.
• Area of Effect (AoE): Deal arts damage to multiple enemies in an area.
• Slow Support: While dealing damage, they also slow enemies.

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Medics

• Single-Target Healer: Provide strong healing to one ally.
• AoE Healer: Heal multiple allies simultaneously but often at a lower amount per ally.

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Supporters

• Slow: Slow down enemies, giving your team more time to handle them.
• Summoner: Can summon entities to assist in battle.
• Debuff/Buff: Either debuff enemies or buff allies, enhancing the battlefield in your favor.

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Specialists

• Push/Pull: Can reposition enemies, either pushing them away or pulling them closer.
• Fast-Redeploy: Have a reduced redeployment time, allowing for tactical flexibility.
• Burst: Deal massive damage in a short period.
• True Damage: Inflict damage that bypasses defenses.
• Stealth: Can become invisible, avoiding enemy detection.

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Each archetype has its role, and understanding when and where to deploy each type is key to mastering Arknights.

The versatility and variety in these archetypes make team-building both a challenge and a joy.

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Base System Insights

Your base is a goldmine for XP, LMD, and more, aiding your game progression.

While building it, consider:

• Keeping your reception room and office at level 1 initially.
• Avoid the Orundum production option; it's inefficient.

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Resource Gathering

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• Terminal's Supplies Page: Different stages open daily, allowing you to target specific resources like XP cards, LMD, or specific upgrade materials.
• Material Stages: As you progress, you'll unlock stages with better drop rates for essential materials. Knowing when to progress versus when to farm is crucial.

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Game Modes

Regular Tasks

Regular Tasks are routine missions that players can engage in to earn rewards and further enhance their operators. They include:

• Annihilation: These are long, tedious stages where you face off against 400 enemies. The challenge here is endurance and strategic deployment, as you won't have natural Leader Point (LP) regeneration during these stages. Vanguards, which generate LP, are essential. Completing these stages either partially or fully rewards players with Orundum, the game's primary gacha currency. As you clear more stages, your weekly Orundum limit increases.
• Stationary Security Service (S.S.S.): This isn't immediately available to newer players. Unlocked after promoting a unit and equipping them with a module, S.S.S. offers materials every few weeks. These materials help boost your modules, providing further enhancements to your operators. Given the RNG nature of this task, there aren't any fixed strategies, and players often need to adapt on-the-go.

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Integrated Strategies

Integrated Strategies is Arknights' take on a roguelike game mode, where each run can be vastly different based on choices and RNG:

• Players start with a currency named "Hope." This is used to recruit operators for the run. Different rarity operators require different amounts of Hope.
• As you progress, you gain more Hope primarily through combat stages.
• During the run, players will encounter various events. Some may offer buffs, while others introduce debuffs or mini-boss battles. Strategizing based on these encounters is crucial.
• The goal is to adapt, build a strong team for the run, and overcome the challenges presented.

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Contingency Contract (CC)

Contingency Contract is a unique game mode in Arknights that offers players a customizable difficulty level:

• Players are presented with a stage and can choose to introduce various "risks." Each risk makes the stage harder by strengthening enemies, weakening your team, or introducing new challenges.
• The more risks you take on, the higher the potential rewards. During specific CC events, rewards are provided up to a certain risk level, encouraging players to challenge themselves.
• Outside of these events, a rotating training map allows players to familiarize themselves with the CC mechanics without the pressure of limited-time rewards.
• The currency earned from these challenges, "Tokens," can be used to purchase materials during events or to acquire skins and operators.
• Contingency Contract tests players' adaptability, understanding of game mechanics, and operator knowledge.

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Each of these game modes offers a different kind of challenge, ensuring that Arknights remains fresh and engaging for players.

Whether you're planning a long-term strategy in Annihilation, adapting on-the-fly in Integrated Strategies, or customizing difficulty in Contingency Contract, there's always something to challenge.

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To Sum It Up

• Always use green certificates and credits.
• Regularly farm the supplies page.
• Be thoughtful when using yellow certificates and OP.
• Enjoy the Arknights experience. The real joy is in the journey, not just the meta.

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Remember, Arknights is about the experience, not just winning.

Embrace the journey, and you'll find tons of enjoyment.

Wishing you a fantastic Arknights adventure!