Tier lists tell you who’s strong. Team building tells you how to make them stronger together. Arknights: Endfield rewards compositions where every operator amplifies the others rather than four individuals doing their own thing. The gap between a well-constructed team running optimized rotations and a random collection of high-tier characters is massive, often the difference between one-cycling a boss and struggling through extended fights.
I learned this the hard way. My early teams featured whatever operators had the highest individual ratings, and I couldn’t understand why content felt harder than it should. Once I started building around elemental synergies and practicing actual rotations, the same content became trivial. The game clicked in a way it hadn’t before.
understanding the rotation philosophy
Endfield’s combat system revolves around burst windows. Enemies have stagger meters that fill as you deal damage. When the meter breaks, they enter a stunned state taking 30% increased damage for several seconds. That window is when you dump everything.
The rotation philosophy is simple in theory. Build resources through basic attacks and skills. Stack buffs from supports and enablers. When the stun happens, unleash every ultimate and burst ability simultaneously. If executed correctly, enemies die during that single window. If not, you’re stuck grinding through another rotation cycle.
Perfect rotations assume you start fights with zero energy and no pre-cast abilities. Current content lets you get away with sloppy play, but difficult endgame challenges enforce these restrictions. Learning proper rotations now builds habits that pay off when content actually demands them.
electro team composition
Electro is the most free-to-play friendly element in the game. The entire core consists of four and five-star operators, making full optimization achievable without premium pulls. Despite the accessibility, electro teams hit hard enough to compete with compositions requiring six-star investments.
Core members:
- Perlica (electro applier and sub-DPS)
- Arkite (SP battery and electro amplifier)
- Abiwena (main DPS)
- Gilberta or Antal (damage amplifier)
Perlica is mandatory because she applies electrification more consistently than any other character. Electrification causes enemies to take increased elemental damage, which benefits the entire team. Abiwena specifically needs electrified targets to maximize her spear recall damage.
Arkite generates SP through her combo and ultimate while amplifying electro damage. The Perlica plus Arkite combination creates a battery support core that keeps abilities flowing throughout extended fights.
Abiwena serves as the primary damage dealer. Her playstyle revolves around embedding spears in enemies through combos and her ultimate, then recalling them with her skill for massive damage. Proper electrification setup multiplies her output dramatically.
Gilberta or Antal fill the fourth slot as damage amplifiers. Gilberta performs better but arrives on a later banner. Antal works adequately if she’s unavailable.
electro rotation breakdown
Start with basic attacks on Perlica to apply electrification. Switch to Arkite and use her skill to generate initial SP while the electrification debuff is active. Her combo triggers automatically, providing team damage buffs.
Switch to Abiwena and begin her spear cycle. Basic attacks into skill plants the first spear. Repeat the sequence to plant additional spears. Her combo activates once enough spears are embedded.
When the enemy staggers, activate Gilberta’s ultimate for the damage amplification zone. Use Perlica’s ultimate for its high scaling burst. Trigger Abiwena’s skill to recall all spears simultaneously, dealing massive damage to the debuffed and stunned target.
The entire sequence flows naturally once practiced. The key timing is ensuring Gilberta’s amplification zone is active before Abiwena’s recall hits.
fire team composition
Fire teams center around Laevatain, a six-star striker with the highest AoE damage in the game. She requires significant setup from teammates but rewards that investment with screen-clearing destruction.
Core members:
- Laevatain (main DPS)
- Wolfgart (fire applier and sub-DPS)
- Akuri (SP battery)
- Ardelia (healer and damage amplifier)
Laevatain’s empowered skill requires absorbing four fire stacks. Without teammates consistently applying fire, she can’t access her strongest abilities. Wolfgart solves this problem completely, applying stacks rapidly through his skill and combo.
Akuri provides SP generation through easy combo activation. Her skill also contributes fire stacks, feeding Laevatain’s requirements while keeping team abilities flowing.
Ardelia brings healing alongside corrosion application. When corrosion triggers, Laevatain gains a fire stack automatically through her combo. This interaction makes Ardelia specifically valuable in fire compositions beyond her universal healing utility.
fire rotation breakdown
Open with Wolfgart applying fire stacks through basic attacks and his skill. His combo triggers when enemies have combustion, dealing damage and amplifying fire damage for the team.
Switch to Akuri and use her skill for additional fire application while generating SP. Her combo provides team damage buffs that will multiply Laevatain’s upcoming burst.
Switch to Ardelia and trigger her combo to apply corrosion. This automatically grants Laevatain another fire stack. Use Ardelia’s skill to consume corrosion for even greater damage amplification while spawning healing ships.
With four fire stacks accumulated, switch to Laevatain and activate her empowered skill. The spiritual sword ultimate summons a massive blade that attacks repeatedly, devastating grouped enemies.
During the stun window, ensure all amplification buffs are active before Laevatain’s biggest hits land. The damage scaling with proper buff stacking reaches absurd levels against multiple targets.
ice team composition (yvonne variant)
Ice teams offer two viable paths depending on whether you build around Yvonne or Last Right. The Yvonne variant focuses on sustained single-target damage through extended ultimate uptime.
Core members:
- Yvonne (main DPS)
- Shai (healer and ice amplifier)
- Alesh (SP battery and freeze enabler)
- Gilberta or Florit (support)
Yvonne’s ultimate transforms her into a pistol-wielding damage machine, unloading sustained fire against frozen targets. The burst window is longer than most ultimates, allowing for massive cumulative damage against bosses.
Shai provides healing while amplifying ice and nature damage through her ultimate. Her combo applies ice stacks and lowers enemy ice resistance, directly boosting Yvonne’s output.
Alesh is the only character capable of freezing enemies that already have ice applied. This unique capability keeps targets frozen longer, maximizing Yvonne’s damage bonus against frozen enemies.
yvonne rotation breakdown
Begin with Shai applying ice stacks through her combo while providing healing coverage. Her skill offers strong single-target healing if needed.
Switch to Alesh and use his abilities to freeze the iced target. His SP generation supports team energy needs while maintaining the frozen state.
Activate Shai’s ultimate to amplify ice damage for the team. Switch to Yvonne and trigger her ultimate while the target remains frozen and all buffs are active.
Yvonne’s ultimate duration allows sustained damage throughout the stun window and beyond. Maintain freeze uptime through Alesh to keep her damage bonus active as long as possible.
ice team composition (last right variant)
The Last Right variant trades sustained damage for burst windows with even higher peak damage. Her ultimate has arguably the highest scaling in the game when fully amplified.
Core members:
- Last Right (main DPS)
- Shai (healer and ice amplifier)
- Florit (ice enabler and sub-DPS)
- Akuri or Ardelia (battery or healer)
Last Right needs three ice stacks on enemies to trigger her burst combo. Florit’s combo specifically activates when enemies have two ice stacks, applying a third and enabling Last Right’s detonation.
The fourth slot flexes between Akuri for SP generation or Ardelia for healing depending on content requirements. Difficult fights favoring survivability want Ardelia. Faster clears want Akuri’s battery support.
last right rotation with akuri
Start with basic attacks on Last Right, using her skill to apply the first ice stack. Repeat the sequence to apply a second stack. This triggers Florit’s combo, applying the third stack automatically.
With three stacks active, Last Right’s combo becomes available. Execute it for massive damage and apply ice susceptibility to the target.
Activate Shai’s crystal for healing and damage amplification. Continue building ice stacks while charging ultimates. Florit’s grenade applies corrosion for additional resistance shredding.
When the enemy staggers, activate Shai’s ultimate for ice damage amplification. Use Florit’s ultimate for damage and another ice stack. Trigger Akuri’s ultimate for the 20% damage bonus link.
Finally, unleash Last Right’s ultimate. It hits three times, each strike dealing massive damage multiplied by every active buff. Against properly debuffed targets, the total damage output rivals anything else in the game.
last right rotation with ardelia
The Ardelia variant casts Last Right’s ultimate twice per rotation cycle instead of maximizing single burst damage. Total cycle damage compensates for lower individual ultimate power.
The rotation follows similar principles but weaves Ardelia’s corrosion application and healing throughout. Last Right needs slightly more energy regeneration to cast two ultimates, achieved through weapon choice or gear adjustments.
This variant works better with five-star weapons while the Akuri variant excels with six-star signature weapons. Choose based on your available equipment.
physical team composition
Physical teams mix with ice mechanics for freeze-shatter synergies. Breaking frozen enemies deals bonus damage and applies vulnerability, enabling the crush mechanic that defines physical burst.
Core members:
- Endmin (main DPS)
- Chen Qianyu (vulnerability applier and sub-DPS)
- Progritnik or Stella (battery or freeze enabler)
- Snowshine or Ember (survivability)
The Endmin applies crush through his skill, consuming vulnerability stacks for massive damage. Chen provides those stacks consistently while contributing her own burst through her ultimate.
Premium builds use Progritnik for superior SP generation and breach mechanics that amplify physical damage taken. Free-to-play builds substitute Stella for freeze enabling and physical susceptibility application.
physical rotation breakdown
Open with Chen applying vulnerability stacks through her skill and combo. Build toward four stacks on the target for maximum crush damage.
If running Stella, use her to freeze the target. Breaking the freeze applies physical susceptibility and another vulnerability stack.
Switch to Endmin and activate his skill to consume vulnerability stacks with crush. The damage scales with how many stacks existed before consumption.
Build crystals through Endmin’s combo while regenerating abilities. His ultimate consumes accumulated crystals for additional burst during the stun window.
Repeat the vulnerability stacking and crush cycle until the enemy dies. Physical rotations feel less explosive than elemental teams but provide consistent damage against targets resistant to specific elements.
adapting rotations to content
Perfect rotations assume ideal conditions that don’t always exist. Multiple enemies disrupt single-target focus. Certain bosses have attack patterns interrupting your sequences. Survival pressure forces defensive ability usage that breaks optimal timing.
Learn the baseline rotations first, then adapt based on what specific content demands. Sometimes surviving matters more than maximizing damage. Sometimes AoE situations reward different ability priorities than single-target boss fights.
The fundamentals remain constant regardless of adaptation. Build toward burst windows. Stack buffs before big damage. Exploit stun phases for maximum output. Everything else is refinement.
keep practicing
Team building and rotation mastery separate good accounts from great ones. Characters you already own become dramatically more effective when placed in synergistic compositions and played with proper sequencing.
For individual operator evaluations and tier placements that inform these team building decisions, check out the Arknights: Endfield tier list. For comprehensive coverage of every game system from factory optimization to daily routines, the ultimate Arknights: Endfield guide has you covered.
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