Weapons are the backbone of every operator build in Arknights: Endfield, and choosing the right one early shapes how smoothly your roster clears the early story content. This complete weapon guide walks through every weapon type, rarity bracket, and top pick so you can stop guessing and start gearing with intent. You'll get a full Arknights: Endfield weapons overview, the practical differences between Sword, Great Sword, Polearm, Handcannon, and Arts Unit, and a clear sense of which pulls are worth chasing in the weapon supply system.
According to the Game8's Endfield page on Connection to OG Arknights, each weapon in the game is defined by a fixed set of base stats and an assigned rarity tier that determines its overall power ceiling.
Weapon Types and How Operators Use Them
Arknights: Endfield organises its entire weapon roster around five core types, and each operator is locked to exactly one of them. Because the lock is hard-coded into an operator's kit, you cannot freely reassign a Sword user to a Handcannon — your choice of who to invest in also determines which weapon list you shop from. This makes the Arknights: Endfield weapon types system one of the first decisions every new player needs to understand, since the wrong early pull can leave a favourite operator sitting on a weaker stat block for weeks.
The five types map cleanly onto the five combat roles Endfield uses across its four-operator teams. Swords and Great Swords drive frontline Physical pressure, Polearms and Handcannons cover mid-range control and burst, and Arts Units handle elemental damage and reaction triggers. A typical endgame team covers at least two of these types so that Arts reactions and Physical stagger can both be applied during a single combat encounter.
| Weapon Type | Primary Damage School | Typical Operator Role | Range Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sword | Physical | Vanguard / melee DPS | Short, single-target |
| Great Sword | Physical | Defender / heavy hitter | Short, wide cleave |
| Polearm | Physical or Elemental | Striker / mid-range DPS | Mid, linear sweep |
| Handcannon | Physical burst | Marksman / priority target | Mid–long, focused |
| Arts Unit | Elemental (Heat / Cryo / Electric / Nature) | Caster / reaction enabler | Variable, mostly mid |
Because each weapon is bound to a type rather than to a single character, a well-invested Great Sword can move between operators as your roster grows. This is the single biggest reason the Arknights: Endfield weapon supply system feels less punishing than a traditional gacha — a duplicate is rarely wasted, it just gets handed to the next frontline operator who needs the same stat line.
Rarity Tiers, Stats, and How Drops Work
Weapons drop by rarity across six, five, four, and three-star brackets, with the higher brackets offering better base stats, stronger passive effects, and access to more potent upgrade ceilings. The six-star bracket is where the Arknights: Endfield weapon list thins out the most, because these are the pieces that meaningfully change how a top-tier operator plays. A 5-star weapon is usually a solid placeholder, a 6-star weapon is the goal.
| Rarity | Source Channels | Stat Ceiling | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-star | Weapon supply banners, limited events | Highest base ATK, signature passive | Endgame carries, signature operator |
| 5-star | Supply pulls, craftable recipes | Strong base, generic passives | Solid mid-game staple |
| 4-star | Early supply, free progression tracks | Decent base, narrow passives | Budget slot until 5-star |
| 3-star | Starter missions, common drops | Lowest base, minimal passives | Bridge gear for first 10 hours |
Stats scale in two ways: raw ATK goes up linearly with rarity, while passive effects tend to be binary in usefulness — a 6-star passive that triggers on a specific condition will either be active constantly in your team comp or never fire at all. When evaluating a pull, check whether your team can actually activate the passive before chasing the raw stat number.
If you want a longer breakdown of how rarity shifts the practical performance of each weapon bracket, the Arknights: Endfield free weapons guide covers the craftable 4-star and 5-star options that form a strong budget core for new accounts.
The Five Weapon Types in Detail
Sword — The Reliable Frontline Pick
Swords are the most common weapon type in the game and the default recommendation for any Vanguard or melee DPS operator. Their attack string is short, their recovery is fast, and their stagger output is the highest in the game per second. The best Sword picks in the Arknights: Endfield weapon list sit in the 5-star and 6-star brackets, where they often add a conditional damage bonus against staggered enemies — which compounds with the stagger the weapon itself applies.
| Notable Sword | Rarity | Signature Effect | Best Operator Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspirant | 5-star | Builds momentum across consecutive hits | Fast-attack Vanguards |
| Grand Vision | 6-star | Rewards heavy attacks inside the burst window | Burst-window melee DPS |
Great Sword — Heavy Cleave and Imbalance Windows
Great Swords trade speed for raw damage and a wide cleave arc. They are the best weapon type for breaking multiple enemies at once and for feeding the shared skill gauge, because each heavy hit adds a segment back to the team resource. Operators wielding Great Swords tend to be Defenders or slow Vanguards who want to sit in the middle of a group and rotate through heavy attacks. The downside is poor single-target damage against bosses unless you can keep your heavy-attack string rolling.
| Notable Great Sword | Rarity | Signature Effect | Best Operator Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Canal | 5-star | Heavy hits keep stagger pressure up | Defenders, slow Vanguards |
| Khravengger | 6-star | Concentrates damage into the amplified window | AoE-heavy frontline |
Polearm — Mid-Range Control and Reaction Triggers
Polearms sit in the awkward middle of the roster: not as fast as Swords, not as wide as Great Swords, but uniquely good at triggering elemental reactions thanks to the linear sweep that hits multiple status-afflicted enemies. They are the bridge between Physical pressure and Arts damage, and most Polearm users in the current Arknights: Endfield weapon types lineup are built to apply one specific element while swinging. A Heat Polearm into a Cryo-marked enemy produces a strong Combustion reaction; an Electric Polearm into a Nature-marked enemy chains a quick damage-over-time burst.
| Notable Polearm | Rarity | Signature Effect | Best Operator Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chimeric Justice | 5-star | Wide sweep keeps elemental pressure running | Elemental mid-range DPS |
| Beacon of Duty | 6-star | Elemental hits lift the team's damage window | Reaction enablers |
Handcannon — Burst Windows and Priority Targets
Handcannons are the burst-damage option in the Arknights: Endfield weapons arsenal, built around a slow fire rate and a heavy single-target payoff. They shine against bosses and high-HP elites where every shot needs to land, and they pair well with operators that gain bonus damage against stunned or staggered targets. Handcannons are the most demanding type to use, because missing a shot means a long recovery window during which the rest of your team has to cover the gap.
| Notable Handcannon | Rarity | Signature Effect | Best Operator Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| OBJ Velocitous | 5-star | Charged shots trade recovery time for burst | Single-target Marksmen |
| Artzy Tyrannical | 6-star | Rewards shots landed on staggered targets | Boss-killer Marksmen |
If you want a deeper breakdown of how the top Handcannon picks perform against staggered bosses, the Arknights: Endfield best Handcannon guide compares each 5-star and 6-star option against the most common endgame targets.
Arts Unit — Elemental Damage and Reaction Engine
Arts Units are the elemental damage dealers. They convert their operator's element into consistent Arts pressure, and they are the main engine behind Arts reaction chains like Combustion, Brittle, Conductive, and Corrode. The best Arts Unit picks tend to come with passives that boost the team's reaction damage rather than just raw ATK, because the value of an Arts Unit scales with how well your team comp can actually trigger the matching reaction.
| Notable Arts Unit | Rarity | Signature Effect | Best Operator Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monaihe | 5-star | Steadies the team's reaction uptime | Reaction enablers |
| Type 42: Solemn Phalanx | 6-star | Opens reaction windows faster | Burst reaction openers |
Weapon Essence, Upgrades, and the Crafting Tool
Every weapon in Arknights: Endfield levels up using a resource called Weapon Essence, which is the universal upgrade material across all five weapon types. You earn Weapon Essence from dailies, weekly missions, and supply pulls, and the higher your weapon's current level, the more Essence each subsequent tier costs. Because Essence is shared across types, you can stockpile it for one weapon without losing progress on another.
A dedicated Arknights: Endfield weapon essence tool exists in the operator menu, and its job is to surface how much Essence a given weapon needs to reach its next breakpoint. According to community testing reported on the Game8 weapon reference, the tool also shows the exact stat delta between your current level and the next milestone, which makes it the single fastest way to decide whether a 5-star weapon is worth pushing past level 50 or whether a 6-star replacement is more efficient.
| Weapon Level Bracket | Essence Cost Tier | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1–20 | Low | Push every usable weapon |
| 20–40 | Medium | Focus main carries |
| 40–60 | High | Stop on 4-star, push 5-star and 6-star only |
| 60–80 | Very high | 6-star only |
The Essence tool is also where you compare two weapons of the same type side by side. Because the comparison screen factors in the operator's kit, you can see whether swapping from a 5-star to a 6-star actually moves the needle on your damage rotation, or whether the upgrade is purely cosmetic for your current playstyle.
Weapon Supply System and Pity Mechanics
The Weapon Supply system is the paid and free acquisition channel for new weapons, and it is the second-most important progression system in the game after character banners. Each supply banner has its own pity counter, and pity carries over banner-to-banner within the same type, which means a string of bad luck on a Polearm supply still progresses you toward a guaranteed 6-star Polearm. Community tracking across early access indicates the soft pity threshold sits around the 60-pull mark, with a hard floor at 80 pulls for a 6-star.
| Supply Track | Cost Profile | Pity Floor | Free Pulls Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Supply | Mixed currency | 80 pulls for 6-star | Yes, monthly |
| Featured Type Supply | Type-specific | 60 soft, 80 hard | Limited |
| Event Supply | Event currency | Event-locked | Event milestones only |
Because the Arknights: Endfield weapon supply tracks pity separately per weapon type, you can safely spend free pulls on whatever type your roster needs most without bleeding pity on a banner you do not care about. The featured supply is where most players should concentrate their premium currency, because the rate-up 6-star weapon is usually tied to a current content cycle. For a full walkthrough of how the pity counter works, when to spend, and how to budget free pulls across multiple types, the Arknights: Endfield weapon supply overview covers the math in more detail.
How to Pick the Right Weapon for Your Roster
Choosing weapons in Arknights: Endfield is less about chasing the highest ATK number and more about matching a weapon's passive to your operator's kit. A 6-star weapon with a passive your operator cannot activate is a worse pull than a 5-star that triggers every rotation. Before you spend pulls or Essence, run through three checks: does the weapon type match the operator, does the passive align with the team comp, and does the rarity justify the upgrade cost.
| Check | Question to Ask | Pass Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Type match | Is the operator locked to this type? | Yes |
| Passive alignment | Does the passive trigger in my team comp? | Triggers at least once per rotation |
| Rarity cost | Will I outgrow this weapon in 2 weeks? | No, or it has 6-star ceiling potential |
If you want to know how a given weapon stacks up against the rest of the roster at your current progression point, the Endfield Tier List Prydwen: S to D Rankings ranks every operator by their best-in-slot weapon, which makes it the easiest reference for deciding whether a new pull is worth chasing or skipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the five weapon types in Arknights: Endfield?
The game ships with five weapon types — Sword, Great Sword, Polearm, Handcannon, and Arts Unit — and each operator is locked to exactly one. Sword and Great Sword handle melee Physical pressure, Polearm covers mid-range control, Handcannon delivers burst damage at range, and Arts Unit drives elemental damage and reactions. The full Arknights: Endfield weapons list is built around these five buckets, which is why the weapon supply system tracks pity separately per type.
How do I use the Weapon Essence tool efficiently?
The Weapon Essence tool lives in the operator menu under weapon details, and it shows both the cost and the stat gain of your next level bracket. Use it whenever you are deciding between two weapons of the same type, because it factors in your operator's kit and surfaces whether the upgrade is worth the Essence. The Arknights: Endfield weapon essence tool is the fastest way to compare a 5-star placeholder against a 6-star replacement without manually adding up stat blocks.
Is the weapon supply worth spending premium currency on?
Yes, especially on featured type supplies, because pity carries over per type and the soft pity threshold sits around 60 pulls according to community data. Free pulls are best spent on whatever type your current roster needs most, while premium currency should be concentrated on one featured banner at a time to reach pity faster. The Arknights: Endfield weapon supply pity mechanic means a dry streak still progresses you toward a guaranteed 6-star, which lowers the real cost of any individual pull.
Can I reuse a weapon across multiple operators?
Yes, and this is one of the most forgiving systems in the game. A weapon is bound to a type rather than to a single character, so a well-leveled Great Sword can be handed to the next Defender or Vanguard who needs that stat line as your roster grows. This is why the Arknights: Endfield weapon list feels less punishing than a traditional gacha — a duplicate is rarely wasted. Just make sure the receiving operator is locked to the same weapon type before you transfer it.
Which weapon type should a new player prioritise first?
Most new accounts benefit from investing in a Sword and a Great Sword first, because frontline Physical pressure clears the early story content faster than elemental teams can. Once you have two frontline operators geared, shift focus to a Handcannon or Polearm for mid-range coverage, then build an Arts Unit last. This progression matches the order of difficulty in the story chapters, and it keeps your team comp balanced through the first 20 hours of play.