Arknights: Endfield Is Better Than Before, Streamlining Its Combat And Factory System

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I started following Arknights: Endfield when the first global test version came out in January 2024. I was drawn in by its unique art style – a mix of anime and realistic graphics – and because it reminded me of RPGs like Genshin Impact that I already loved. I quickly discovered a fascinating world with complex battles and base-building features that made it stand out. Now, with the newest version of the game, the developers at Hypergryph have improved those features, making them feel smoother and easier to use than before.

So, the developers, Hypergryph, have seriously overhauled Arknights: Endfield. They’ve redone almost all of the cutscenes and dialogue – like 80-90% of it! Plus, a huge chunk of the maps and level design are different from what I remember playing back in 2024 – probably around half of it. I got to preview it again for over five hours before the beta launches, and honestly? I’m already hooked. I know I’ll easily sink another twenty hours into this game, no problem.

I jumped right into Arknights: Endfield and the gameplay felt instantly familiar, throwing me into a really exciting battle. You play as the Endministrator – we just call them Endmin – and they can use this energy source called Originium to fight and build all sorts of cool machines. It’s pretty awesome! I soon found out that the Endmin actually built a lot of the tech we’re using and used to run Endfield Industries. Also, Perlica, who’s the face of the game, and Chen Qianyu are both part of the same group, and Qianyu is basically a version of Ch’en, a character a lot of us loved from the first Arknights!

The game’s opening didn’t quite grab me. It featured a fast-paced but confusing boss fight and a lot of backstory delivered through lengthy scenes and flashbacks, which disrupted the flow. Thankfully, things improve after about 20 minutes once Perlica teams up with the Endmin for their initial assignment, and the story really starts to get going.

Arknights: Endfield is an open-world action RPG where you build and manage your own mining and transport systems. In battles, you control one of up to four deployed characters at a time. Each character has unique skills powered by skill points earned through combat – things like attacking and dodging. You can also unleash powerful combo skills by manually activating them while controlling a different character, as long as certain requirements are met.

In the first mission, a message popped up allowing me to use Perlica’s combo skill after the Endministrator briefly stunned an enemy. I could already chain skills together in earlier tests to deal more damage, but this combo skill added a new level of strategy to the combat, which I found really engaging.

Making combat snappier than before

Ryan, a co-founder of HyperGryph and the lead designer for the original Arknights, explained the changes his team made for the second beta test, specifically how combat works differently. Now, as lead designer for Arknights: Endfield, he focuses on the game’s overall systems and manages all design aspects, from characters to environments.

We’re making changes to the combat system based on player feedback that it wasn’t always smooth. Players told us basic attacks were often interrupted, breaking their combos. To fix this, we’ve added a dodge feature and adjusted the core combat mechanics. The goal is to create a much more fluid and satisfying combat experience with seamless combos.

Dodging in Endfield works like it does in many action games – pressing a button at the right moment helps you avoid getting hit. But unlike other games, a successful dodge also builds up a meter, letting your characters use powerful attacks more often.

You can now build up your special move meter by simply attacking and combining moves, not just dodging. Before, I could only quickly move with a dash, but a proper dodge makes avoiding attacks much easier and fixes some of the frustrating parts of the old combat system from 2024. It’s also great that the game now rewards skillful play by letting you charge your special moves more easily.

Using combo skills can restore your skill points, but they take more effort to use effectively. Each character has a unique combo skill that activates under certain conditions, so you might need to carefully choose your team to make the most of these abilities.

An easier to understand factory system

Ryan was also in charge of redesigning the core factory system in Arknights: Endfield. I quickly started experimenting with it during the preview – within the first hour and a half, I reclaimed an area to serve as the main power source. This meant learning how to set up machines to automatically process raw materials into better building components. The game encourages you to use this factory system to make resource gathering easier, create fast travel points between important locations, and eventually sell what you produce.

Arknights: Endfield feels similar to other gacha RPGs in how you fight and improve your characters, but it stands out because of its building system. Unlike other games in the genre, you can construct and place buildings on the map that actually serve a purpose. Within a limited area, you can build things like towers and ziplines to power your machines or move around quickly. I was able to create automated ore collectors and machines that process raw ore into materials for building even more structures.

I also enjoyed using the factory system to figure out environmental puzzles. It was satisfying to find broken-down machines and bring them back to life. For instance, I’d often locate machines needing power and then build connections – like relay towers – between them and the central AI Core. Once powered up, these machines would unlock gates leading to valuable treasure.

The newest beta version makes learning the factory system much easier with a step-by-step tutorial. As someone who had to relearn building, I found this really helpful. It also introduces a blueprint system, allowing you to use layouts created by other players, so you don’t have to build from scratch if you’re stuck or just prefer not to. Thanks to the improved tutorial and blueprint feature, the factory system is now significantly more user-friendly.

Players have told us the factory system can be overwhelming and hard to learn. Meanwhile, our experienced players want more room to build and test advanced designs. To address both of these problems, we’ve developed a blueprint system. It will help new players get started and give our veterans the space they need to experiment.

Sci-fi is more complicated than you think

I asked Ryan what subtle but important detail of Endfield he thought players might overlook. He mentioned the sci-fi concept art, drawing a comparison to Arknights: Endfield.

Players might not notice huge differences between sci-fi and fantasy games, but creating sci-fi games is actually much more challenging for developers. Sci-fi designs – everything from the world itself to the creatures and objects within it – need to feel logical and believable. This requires a lot more thought and planning during the design process. While players may not consciously recognize these details, we believe this attention to detail will ultimately lead to more unique and original games.

Okay, so if you haven’t played Arknights on mobile, Endfield is set in the same world, but way, way in the future. It’s a super futuristic place – think tons of chrome everywhere, with buildings, machines, and all sorts of structures. You get the feeling this civilization is seriously advanced when it comes to tech and science, with things like shelters and farms built into the landscape.

Arknights: Endfield begins in Valley IV, a region that feels like a post-apocalyptic tech hub. The machinery there is worn down, but you can still tell what it was originally used for – things like mining or watering crops. I recently spent about 90 minutes playing, and also checked out Wuling City, which has been updated since the last test. It’s designed like a busy city with tall buildings, but also incorporates water features that blend with the surrounding landscape.

I heard from Ryan that really diving into the Wuling area – focusing on all the story stuff – will probably take most players between 20 and 30 hours! So, don’t expect to fly through it as quickly as I did. It’s cool to know that Wuling City was actually inspired by the China Academy of Arts, where a lot of the Hypergryph developers went to school!

The map isn’t a direct copy of any one building, but it’s heavily inspired by the China Academy of Arts. This inspiration extends beyond just the building’s structure; some of the designs were actually created by professors from the Academy, according to Ryan.

You’ll notice details and elements throughout the game are inspired by various sources, particularly the areas of Wuling City.

It’s never too late for this gacha

Finally, let’s talk about the game’s gacha system. Like popular games such as Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, Arknights: Endfield is free-to-play and uses a ‘gacha’ mechanic where you can try to obtain characters through random draws. These draws are often featured in limited-time events with better odds, and characters come in different rarities, including 5-star and 6-star options.

I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to try out the gacha system during the preview, so I asked Ryan about it. He couldn’t give me specific details about how the pity system will work – like exactly how many pulls it’ll take to guarantee a rare character – but he did say that Arknights: Endfield won’t just be using the same gacha system as games like Genshin Impact. That’s good to hear, and I’m curious to see how it will be different!

In most games, special characters are only available for a few weeks. After that, you have to wait for them to reappear in a rerun. Arknights: Endfield is changing this – characters introduced in limited-time banners will remain available in the game even after the banner ends. While the banner will still offer better chances of getting them, after it’s over, they’ll become permanently available through the regular character pool, just like any other character.

There will be two types of character pools available: a standard pool and a limited-time pool. Importantly, characters featured in the limited-time pool won’t vanish immediately after the event ends. They’ll remain available for a period, giving more players a chance to obtain them, as explained by the developer.

Currently, Ryan has confirmed that Perlica, Chen, and Wulfgard will be the three characters available to play for free when the game is in this stage of development. These characters were really helpful during the first beta test, and the updated abilities for Perlica and Chen felt even smoother than before.

I’m so excited! If you’re like me and can’t wait to play, you can sign up for the second beta of Arknights: Endfield right now on the official website. It officially starts on November 28th, 2025 – mark your calendars!

Arknights: Endfield is slated to release in early 2026 for PlayStation 5, PC, and mobile devices.

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2025-11-15 00:42