Your first ten hours in Arknights: Endfield decide whether the next hundred feel like a smooth ramp or a stalled grind. This walkthrough focuses on the decisions that pay off immediately: securing your starting region, getting a working AIC production loop online, and learning the three-gauge combat system before the story throws elite enemies at you. The first ten hours matter more than any single banner pull, and a solid foundation here saves dozens of farming hours later. Below is a tight beginner walkthrough built around the order in which systems actually unlock, with concrete priorities rather than vague advice.
Setting Up Your First Ten Hours in Arknights: Endfield
The opening hours of any Arknights: Endfield walkthrough look deceptively simple: run the tutorial, pick a starter squad, push the first story node. What the tutorial does not explain is that almost every system you unlock in the first ten hours feeds into the AIC base loop, and the base is the real progression engine. A working production line generates upgrade materials continuously; a neglected one forces you to farm by hand for the rest of the week.
Hour 0–2: Secure the Starting Region
Before you touch the AIC interface, clear every supply cache, side objective, and fast-travel point in the opening zone. Community testing confirms that early zones respawn only after a long cooldown, so leaving chests unopened is a permanent resource loss. Loot priority in this window is straightforward: any blueprint fragment, augmentation material, or operator EXP data pad ranks above raw currency because the first two feed the factory and the third feeds your active squad.
The first boss is designed to teach the imbalance gauge, not to wall you. If you die once or twice, treat the attempt as a free tutorial rather than a fail state. Your team composition is fine; your rotation is the variable that needs work.
Hour 2–5: Get the AIC Base Online
Once the base unlocks, drop everything else. The Arknights: Endfield factory guide covers the long-term layout philosophy, but the only thing that matters in the first session is one self-contained production line: input node → assembler → output node → power. A single working loop that produces one consumable reliably is worth ten half-built blueprints that stall every 30 seconds.
| AIC Component | First-Hour Priority | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Assembler Mk.1 | Place immediately | Unlocks all other production recipes |
| Power Pole | Place before any machine | Machines without power idle forever |
| Conveyor Belt | Connect input to assembler | Bottleneck #1 for new operators |
| Storage Box | Place near output node | Prevents item overflow shutoffs |
| Sorter | Skip until line works | Sorts are a day-3 optimization, not day-1 |
Power is the silent killer in every beginner base. The first time your assembler idles and you cannot figure out why, check the power grid before checking the recipe. Operators new to automation frequently place machines faster than they extend the grid, and an unpowered machine looks identical to a working one until the conveyor backs up.
Hour 5–10: Story Chapter Pacing
The story chapters you can clear in this window are limited, but each one unlocks a system you will use for the rest of the game. Push them in order rather than skipping ahead, because later chapters assume you have already unlocked the system the earlier chapter rewards.
| Chapter | Unlocks | Beginner Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Imbalance gauge tutorial | Learn the heavy-attack rhythm here |
| Chapter 2 | Combo skill pairing | Pair your two highest-rarity operators first |
| Chapter 3 | Logistics dispatch | Send the slowest mission first, then queue the rest |
| Chapter 4 | First weekly boss | Clear it once, even on a weak team, for the weekly reward |
Understanding the Three-Gauge Combat System
Combat in Arknights: Endfield runs on a four-operator team, but every operator on the field shares one pool of three skill gauges, and reading that system correctly is the single biggest skill check in this beginner guide. Operators you are not actively controlling still auto-attack with basic hits, which keeps chip damage flowing while you reposition, and the shared gauge means you are constantly trading one resource for another rather than managing four independent cooldown timers.
How the Shared Gauge Actually Feeds
Any operator can spend a gauge segment on a tactical skill, and the gauges refill over time rather than by landing hits. Heavy attacks are the pivot of the whole loop: each heavy hit adds a segment back to the shared gauge and pushes the target's imbalance meter upward. This is the core exchange — you spend gauge on a skill, then earn it back through heavy attacks, then spend again inside the imbalance window.
The mistake almost every new player makes is firing skills the moment they are off cooldown. A skill used against a target whose imbalance meter is still half empty does decent damage and accomplishes nothing else. The same skill used the instant the meter fills converts into an execution attack and multiplies your damage for the rest of the window. Patience with the gauge is the skill that separates day-one players from day-thirty players.
Heavy Attacks, Stagger and Execution Timing
Every enemy carries an imbalance value that rises as you land heavy attacks. When the meter fills, the target enters an imbalanced state: incoming damage is amplified and your very next heavy attack is promoted into an execution attack. According to the Wikipedia's Arknights: Endfield article, that window is temporary, and once it closes you have to rebuild the meter from scratch.
| Combat Phase | Action | Gauge State |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Basic attacks, reposition | Gauge refilling passively |
| Building | Heavy attack string on main target | Gauge earning back segments |
| Imbalance | Dump burst skills, ultimates | All three gauges spent at once |
| Recovery | Basic attacks only | Letting gauges refill before next burst |
The practical skill is timing your burst skills and ultimates inside the window instead of firing them while the meter is still half empty. Combo skills are the second layer on top of tactical skills: chaining them lets a team break defenses faster than any single operator can alone, and the game rewards pre-planning which two operators you want to pair. Ultimates sit outside the shared gauge system and charge individually, so the common pattern is to open with a tactical skill for stagger value, run your basic attack string to refill the shared gauge, then dump combos and the ultimate inside the imbalance window.
Operator Roster Decisions for New Players
The starter roster is generous by gacha standards, and the free units plus one targeted pull will carry you comfortably through the first ten hours. Spending gacha currency in the opening week is usually a mistake, because the free roster plus a single selective pull outperforms a wide-but-shallow roster in every content mode currently available. Reroll advice and account-level decisions are covered in the Arknights: Endfield account guide, but the short version is: pick one role you enjoy, raise that operator first, and ignore banner hype.
What to Raise First
The optimal early raise order is one main DPS, one support who can heal or shield, one off-element DPS for elemental coverage, and one flex. The flex slot is where most beginners waste resources by leveling four different roles to mid-tier. Pick one flex and leave it at level 1 until you have a clear reason to invest.
| Role | First 10-Hour Target | Resource Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Main DPS | Level 40, base skills unlocked | Highest single-operator priority |
| Support/Healer | Level 30, healing skill maxed | Required to survive elite fights |
| Off-Element DPS | Level 30, basic skill unlocked | Elemental coverage beats raw stats |
| Flex Slot | Level 1, untouched | Replace with new pulls before raising |
Free Roster vs. Banner Pulls
The free roster is curated to cover the elemental triangle and one healer archetype. Pulling a duplicate element before the triangle is complete is a waste of pulls. According to community data, players who save their first ten-pull for a specific off-element or support banner report smoother progression than players who pull on every featured operator.
The other early decision is whether to spend the starter currency on a 10-pull for a chance at a 6-star, or to convert it into upgrade materials. New players in a hurry tend to pull; new players who clear all story content first tend to convert. Both paths work, but pulling before your support is leveled leaves you with a 6-star you cannot field for another 30 hours of leveling.
Resource Economy and What to Spend On First
The resource economy in Arknights: Endfield is split into three streams: factory output, mission rewards, and shop currency. The beginner mistake is treating all three as interchangeable; they are not. Factory output is renewable but slow, mission rewards are one-shot, and shop currency is the most efficient pull on operator EXP if you spend it weekly.
Spend Priorities by Resource Type
The table below maps the first-week resource decisions in the order they pay off. Spend in this order and you will not starve any single progression track.
| Resource | First 10-Hour Spend | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Operator EXP | Main DPS, level 40 | Shop refresh, mission reward |
| Augmentation Mats | Main DPS, skills unlocked | Factory output, daily missions |
| Blueprint Fragments | One full assembler line | Story chapter rewards |
| Pull Currency | Save for off-element banner | Weekly missions, events |
| Base Expansion Parts | One storage box, one power pole | Story chapter rewards |
The long-term efficiency plays — like throughput optimization and conveyor routing — are covered in the Arknights: Endfield logistics guide and become relevant once you have a working base. In the first ten hours, the most efficient factory is a small one that actually runs, not a sprawling one that stalls every other cycle.
Daily and Weekly Mission Filtering
Daily missions look optional, but they are the only consistent source of pull currency in the early game. Pick the three dailies that align with what you would farm anyway — for most players that means any mission that drops the element your off-element DPS needs — and skip the rest. Weekly missions are mandatory for free players; they are the single largest pull income before the first event, and skipping a week costs you roughly ten pulls in missed rewards.
According to community reports, players who finish all weekly missions in the first reset cycle progress through the first five story chapters roughly 30% faster than players who skip weeks. The math is simple: weekly missions reward the exact material types that gate story chapter entry, and running them on schedule keeps your bottleneck moving.
Common Beginner Mistakes and Quick Corrections
Most of the friction in the first ten hours comes from a small set of repeating mistakes. Catching them early saves real time, and the corrections are simple once you see the pattern. These are the highest-frequency errors reported by new players, ordered by how much time they cost.
Mistake 1: Pulling on Every Banner
The gacha is generous but the economy punishes spread investment. A roster of seven leveled 4-stars outperforms a roster of three leveled 6-stars and four benched 4-stars in almost every content mode. Hold your currency, pull on a specific role gap, and resist the urge to "test luck" on a featured banner you do not need. The exception is the very first selective pull, which is worth spending because it lets you target a specific role or element.
Mistake 2: Half-Built Factory Blueprints
The factory sandbox is the most fun part of Arknights: Endfield for a specific kind of player, and the most dangerous part for everyone else. A sprawling blueprint that stalls every 30 seconds produces zero items, while a tiny single-line blueprint that runs uninterrupted produces hundreds per hour. Build small, get it running, then expand. The factory rewards operational discipline over architectural ambition, and the Arknights: Endfield factory automation guide covers the expansion philosophy once your base is stable.
Mistake 3: Skipping the Imbalance Window
The imbalance gauge is the most-skipped mechanic in the game, because it requires you to slow down and read the meter. New players who ignore it clear content roughly 40% slower than players who time their bursts. The fix is mechanical: stop firing skills off cooldown, watch the meter, and only dump your burst when the bar is full. One timed burst does more damage than three random ones, and the window is long enough to fit a full combo if you pre-plan your pair.
Mistake 4: Neglecting Operator Synergies
Operators have passive synergies that only activate when specific team compositions are met. The synergies are not advertised in the operator screen, so new players assemble teams by rarity rather than by passive. The fix is reading each operator's full kit, including the small text at the bottom of the screen, and matching two operators whose passives trigger off the same condition. According to community testing, a synergy-matched 4-star team clears early elite content faster than a non-synergized mixed-rarity team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a new player do first in Arknights: Endfield?
Clear every chest and fast-travel point in the opening zone before touching the AIC base, then place one working production line with power, assembler, and output before expanding. This beginner guide order is the most efficient because the base generates the materials you need to clear the rest of the content.
How long does the Arknights: Endfield walkthrough take to reach endgame?
Most players reach the first endgame loop, which is the weekly boss and full factory automation, in roughly 25 to 35 hours. The first ten hours are the steepest part of the curve because every system unlocks at once; after that, progression is steady and most of your time is spent in the base.
Are there essential Arknights: Endfield beginner tips for the gacha?
Save your starter currency for a specific role or element gap rather than pulling on every featured banner, and finish all weekly missions every reset because they are the largest source of pull income for free players. Avoid pulling on the first banner you see, and convert spare currency to operator EXP only after your support is leveled.
Can I clear the first weekly boss with the free roster?
Yes, the free roster plus one selective pull clears the first weekly boss on standard difficulty. The key is matching two operators with a passive synergy, then timing your burst skills inside the imbalance window rather than dumping them on cooldown.
What is the best use of pull currency in the first week?
The most efficient first-week spend is saving the entire pool for a banner that fills your roster's elemental gap. Pulling on a featured operator you already have covered converts 70% of the pull value into duplicate resources, and the same currency saved for two more weeks lets you hit the pity threshold on a target you actually need.