Arknights: Endfield Beginner’s Guide: Talos-II, Squads and Factories
New to Arknights: Endfield? The setting on Talos-II, the Endministrator, four-operator squad combat, the factory layer, headhunting rules, platforms and rating.
Arknights: Endfield is Hypergryph’s follow-up to Arknights, the mobile tower-defense game that built a large following from 2019 onward. Despite the shared name, Endfield is a very different game: a real-time 3D action RPG with exploration, squad-based combat and a substantial factory-automation layer. It launched worldwide on January 22, 2026, published outside mainland China by Gryphline, on PC, PlayStation 5, Android and iOS.
This guide covers what a new player should know before starting: the setting and premise, how squad combat works at a high level, what the factory system is for, how headhunting (the game’s gacha) is structured, and the practical details of platforms and ratings. As with every game on this site, nothing here requires spending money.
The setting: Talos-II and Endfield Industries
Endfield takes place on Talos-II, a moon colonised by human pioneers roughly 152 years before the story begins. Life on the frontier is shaped by environmental hazards, an energy-rich but dangerous material called Originium, and a spreading threat known as Corruption, along with hostile creatures called the Aggeloi.
You play as the Endministrator, a figure with a significant but initially mysterious role in Endfield Industries, the organisation working to develop and protect the colony. The story follows the Endministrator’s return to activity and their work with Endfield’s operators as they push into new areas, rebuild infrastructure and confront the threats facing the colony.
Arknights fans will recognise some concepts, including Originium, Arts and references to Rhodes Island, but Endfield is set in a separate location and time. You do not need to have played Arknights to follow it.
How Endfield differs from the original Arknights
| Arknights (2019) | Arknights: Endfield (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Tower defense / strategy | Real-time 3D action RPG with factory automation |
| Main platforms | Mobile | PC, PS5, Android, iOS |
| Combat | Placing operators on a grid to stop enemy waves | Controlling a squad of four in real-time fights |
| World | Stage-based maps | Explorable 3D regions with base building |
| Setting | Terra | Talos-II |
The core difference is that Endfield trades the original’s abstract strategy layer for direct control and exploration, while keeping a strategic element through its factory system.
Squad combat at a glance
Combat in Endfield revolves around a squad of four operators. You control one at a time and can switch between them, while the others contribute through their own abilities. Some core ideas to understand early:
- Switching and teamwork. Each operator has their own skills, and combat is built around combining them rather than relying on a single character.
- Shared skill gauges. The squad shares a pool of skill gauges, so using one operator’s skill affects what is available to the others. Managing this shared resource is a key part of combat flow.
- Imbalance and executions. Enemies can be pushed into an imbalanced state, which opens them up to powerful execution attacks. Recognising when an enemy is close to imbalance and timing your strongest moves around it is one of the first skills to learn.
- Elements and roles. Operators have different damage types and roles, and some enemies are more vulnerable to particular approaches. Experimenting with the operators the story provides is the best way to learn.
Early fights are forgiving, and the game introduces mechanics gradually through its tutorials. Reviewers have noted that the tutorials and menus are dense at first, so it is fine to take the opening hours slowly.
The factory layer: the Automated Industry Complex
The feature that most sets Endfield apart from other gacha games is its factory system, the Automated Industry Complex (AIC). Instead of all materials coming from drops and shops, many are produced by automated production lines that you design and build yourself.
At a high level, the factory system involves:
- Resource extraction. Gathering raw materials from deposits in the world.
- Processing facilities. Machines that turn raw materials into components, gear, batteries, explosives, tactical items and other resources.
- Logistics. Conveyor belts move materials between machines, and ziplines and other infrastructure connect locations in the world.
- Power. Facilities need electricity. Endfield’s mobile headquarters, the OMV Dijiang, is central to supplying power to the AIC.
Factory output feeds directly into progression: the items you produce support exploration, combat and character growth. Critics have generally praised how the factory is woven into exploration, so building infrastructure feels like part of opening up the world rather than a separate minigame. Players who enjoy automation games will find a familiar satisfaction in optimising a production line; others can build what they need and move on.
Factory tips for new players
- Follow the tutorials closely. Factory mechanics build on each other, and the early quests introduce them in a sensible order.
- Keep it simple at first. Working production lines matter more than elegant ones.
- Watch your power. Many factory problems come down to facilities lacking electricity.
- Revisit later. As you unlock new facilities, older lines can be rebuilt more efficiently.
Headhunting: how Endfield’s gacha works
New operators are recruited through Headhunting, Endfield’s gacha system. Headhunting uses permits as tickets, which can be obtained with the game’s premium currency, Oroberyl. The game also sells paid currencies, a battle pass and other bundles; none of them are required to play.
According to the in-game rules as documented by the community wiki at the time of writing, the character headhunting rules include:
- A 0.8% base rate for a 6-star operator per pull.
- A rising rate after 65 pulls without a 6-star, and a guaranteed 6-star by the 80th pull.
- A guarantee that the featured 6-star operator arrives by the 120th pull on a limited banner. This guarantee can trigger once per banner and does not carry over to later banners.
- The general 6-star pity counter does carry over between headhunting banners of the same type.
Weapons use a separate system. Rules can change between versions, so always check the details page on each banner before pulling. Our pity systems explainer explains why the worst-case figure, not the hopeful one, is the number that belongs in any plan. The banner-specific featured guarantee that does not carry over is a particular reason to avoid pulling halfway on a banner you are not committed to.
Platforms, rating and cross-play basics
- Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Android and iOS, launched together on January 22, 2026.
- ESRB rating: T (Teen) for Mild Language, Suggestive Themes and Violence, with notices for Users Interact and In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items).
- Multiplayer: The game supports single-player play and also includes multiplayer features.
The “Includes Random Items” notice is the ESRB’s label for loot boxes and gacha mechanics. Parents should note that age ratings describe content, not how intense a game’s monetisation is.
What to focus on in your first weeks
- Follow the main story. It unlocks regions, operators, factory facilities and systems in a sensible order.
- Build the operators you get for free. Story and event operators are designed to carry you through early content.
- Set up basic factory lines early. Steady automated output makes later progression much smoother.
- Explore. Exploration rewards currency and materials and is free.
- Decide on a spending limit now. Zero is a perfectly valid choice. Endfield’s full story is playable without spending, and our free-to-play guide covers how to plan pulls with earned currency.
Common beginner mistakes
- Treating it like the original Arknights. Knowledge of the tower-defense game helps with lore, but combat and progression work completely differently. Approach Endfield as a new game.
- Skipping factory tutorials. The AIC is not optional decoration. Many resources you need for progression come from it, and falling behind on factory development makes later content feel like a grind.
- Overbuilding too early. Sprawling production lines before you understand power and logistics tend to break. Small, working setups are easier to expand later.
- Spreading resources across too many operators. Upgrade materials are limited, especially early. Focusing on one squad of four makes story progress smoother than levelling everyone a little.
- Pulling on a banner without a plan. Because the featured guarantee resets with each banner, stopping halfway on a limited banner can leave you with neither the operator you wanted nor carried-over progress toward that specific guarantee.
- Trying to do everything every day. Like other live-service games, Endfield has daily and weekly routines. Missing some is fine.
Quick answers
Do I need to play Arknights first?
No. Endfield has its own setting and story. Arknights fans will recognise some terms and references, but newcomers are not at a disadvantage.
Is Endfield on Xbox or Nintendo platforms?
At launch it was released on PC, PlayStation 5, Android and iOS. Check official announcements for any later platform additions.
Can I play the whole story without spending?
Yes. As with other major gacha games, the main story is free, and the operators the story provides are enough to progress.
Do I have to like automation games?
Not necessarily. You will need to build some factory infrastructure, but the depth you go into beyond that is largely up to you.
Is Endfield for you?
Endfield suits players who enjoy action combat with a strategic layer, exploration, and especially automation and base building. Reviewers praised its visuals, music, combat feel and the integration of its factory with the world, while criticism focused on repetitive combat, heavy menus and tutorials, slow narrative pacing and grinding. It holds a “mostly positive” Metacritic score on PC.
If you prefer pure combat or pure exploration, other games may be a better fit, but if the idea of building a working production network on an alien frontier sounds appealing, Endfield offers something no other major gacha game currently does.
