After my time at PAX West 2024 when I had a chance to try out the gameplay of Arknights: Endfield, the upcoming open-world, real-time 3D RPG with strategic elements, I wanted to be able to have a bigger taste of the game and how its systems work. So, when I heard that there was going to be a closed beta test, I went all in on trying to get my way into the game and play to understand what was coming when it would eventually be released. Once I got access on January 17th, 2025, I logged in and got myself into the story and the systems that were involved.
Starting as an Endministrator
Your player character in the game can be male or female, as you are able to choose your avatar from the get-go. The tutorial starts with you playing the role of the Endministrator, tasked with stopping a world-ending threat. Just as you are about to defeat the final boss, you lose and then wake up in front of Perlica. It turns out that those were probably memories from before your character went into cryo-sleep.
Combat remains similar to what I experienced at PAX West 2024, with some enhancements—such as the ability to include more party members and more roles. In terms of roles, you have casters, guards, defenders, supporters, and specialists. Casters typically deal significant elemental damage. Guards excel in physical damage and physical defense. Defenders have excellent defensive capabilities and, at times, effective stun and crowd-control abilities. Supporters usually focus on buffing or healing other characters in the party. Specialists often shine in one-on-one combat scenarios.
As you progress, characters join your party until you form a full team of four. Around this time, the gacha system also goes live. This system includes a pity mechanic where you are guaranteed a 5-star unit with each multi-pull, and eventually, you can obtain a 6-star unit. The 6-star units are the ones to aim for. I managed to get two through pulls and one from login gifts. My main team ended up being my three 6-star units and my Endministrator. There’s an in-depth tutorial for each character’s mechanics, and completing these tutorials rewards you with in-game currency.
The gacha system also extends to weapons. With currency earned or traded, you can either directly obtain specific weapons or invest in a grab bag of 10 weapons, with a chance of getting a 6-star weapon. I secured one 6-star weapon from four 10-pulls and spent the rest of my currency on individual weapons I knew would fit my strategy.
You can also acquire currency that can be exchanged for other types, such as for character pulls or weapon pulls. I recommend prioritizing character pulls, as frequent pulls on the character banner reward you with plenty of arsenal tickets for weapon pulls.
One aspect that may be confusing for players accustomed to Hoyoverse games is the rate-up system here. In Genshin Impact, there’s a clear distinction between standard and limited pools. However, in Arknights: Endfield, rate-up characters are featured on banners but can still appear in other banners. Essentially, all characters remain obtainable across banners, with rate-up characters just having higher odds. For example, I managed to pull Laevatain from the Yvonne banner, even though she had her own limited banner during the beta.
Building Your Team
Building Your TeamEarly on in Arknights: Endfield, you gain access to a base-building mechanic that allows you to construct a variety of facilities. These facilities can gather resources, refine materials, provide electricity to outposts in the world, and even assist in gear construction. The gear can be equipped onto your characters to enhance their stats. However, the better the gear’s stats, the rarer the resources required to construct it.
Combat in Arknights: Endfield emphasizes teamwork. Beneath your health bar, there are three skill bars. When one bar is full, you can activate a skill from any member of your party, which consumes that bar. With all three bars full, you can chain together up to three different skills. Additionally, during combat, a character’s icon may pop up on the screen after completing an action. Pressing the designated button allows that character to perform an extra skill, with its activation depending on the character’s passive ability.
During my time in the Arknights: Endfield closed beta, I encountered a few issues. The lack of controller support stood out as a significant drawback. While the keyboard controls were generally intuitive and well-implemented, the placement controls for building facilities felt somewhat clunky.
Another issue I encountered was the stamina bar placement. Whenever you dashed or dodged, a small stamina bar appears beside your character. However, it can easily be obscured by enemies or debris, making it hard to see. There were moments when I either couldn’t locate it or forgot where it was because I was so focused on the enemies and the red markers indicating their attack zones.
Overall, I’d say Arknights: Endfield is in a good place for a beta test. I’m hopeful that controller support will be added soon, and that the stamina bar will receive a rework to make it more visible and user-friendly. It’s a solid game, and I’m excited to see how it evolves from here.
Arknights: Endfield is currently in development for PlayStation 5, PC, and mobile devices.
