If you’ve been playing Arknights you know how important team composition is. Having the right unit at the right place can be the difference between victory and defeat.
In this guide you’ll learn which core classes you absolutely need to bring (Vanguards, Snipers, Casters, and Medics) and which levels you’ll need to bring a Specialist. I will try to keep this guide as free to play as possible.
Core Classes
When building your team for anything from LS-3 (EXP) to Story mode you’ll need these core classes. Vanguards, Snipers, Casters, and Medics. Bringing a Defender will make life easier but is not 100% necessary depending on the stage and your Vanguards.
I recommend bringing 2 Vanguards, 2 Snipers (at least one being anti-air) , 2 Casters, and 2 Medics.
The Operators in the image are all incredibly useful and free/easy to obtain. With these members as your core you’ll be able to clear almost everything. Including Annihilation 400 kills, LS, SK, and CE stages up to the 4th one. These units can all be swapped out for higher tier operators but those operators don’t usually shine until they are promoted to E1.
Promoting 4,5 and 6 ★ operators will cost tons of resources and items you have to farm for, which will not be possible if you do not have a solid team. This is why it is recommended to power up the lower level operators as they are very easy to upgrade and can do the job.
The Rest Of The Team
When it comes to filling out the rest of the team it really depends on the stage. For example, in stage 2-7, S2-8, and S2-9 if you bring Shaw and place him in the spot where he can push enemies off the buildings you will have a much easier time clearing the stage.
You might be thinking why not just keep your same composition you’ve been using all the other times but when you find out that the spiders that come out sometimes are incredibly tanky and strong you’ll see it’s worth it to bring Shaw. Also he’s a free unit so there’s no trouble in obtaining him. For those stages he can replace a Caster, Medic or Defender.
Bring a Defender or 2. Often times you’ll find yourself in a sea of mobs and Vanguards can usually only stop up to 2 enemies. Defenders can stop 3 and some can even stop 4 (Cuora after promotion). This is extremely helpful so that your damage dealers will have more time to work on the enemy.
Guards are also a great addition to a team. Specifically Melantha.
This operator is easy to obtain and easy to upgrade. This operator hits incredibly hard and has the HP to stay in a fight. You’ll be dropping this operator whenever there is a boss unit or something that’s hard to kill. Since it only blocks 1 enemy make sure to place it well so that it can 1v1 properly.
When it comes to stuff like Support and Specialist, it is hard to say whether they can work in all situations. Which is why they are up to you. If you particularly like how a support will slow enemy units then you should use them. If you are a beast at using Projekt Red and have great awareness then more power to you.
Team Composition Specifics
Now, that you are familiar with the core classes, it is time to get into specifics like bringing anti-air and AoE (Area of Effect Damage) vs ST. (Single Target)
Vanguards – They fall into two sections, Auto DP-Recovery and DP-Recovery on Kill. DP being Deployment Points which are used to send out units. Units like Courier and Fang are Auto DP-Recovery which is the safer option to use. Send these units out as fast as you can and watch them rack up DP for you.
If you have the operator Vigna who falls in the DP-Recovery on Kill category then you might want to consider powering her up and investing in her. This unit is incredibly strong once you promote and E1 her. Plum is another DP-Recovery on Kill unit but isn’t as good and not really worth investing in.
(Vigna after you promote her twice and E2 her)
Snipers – Snipers also have two main categories, Anti-air and AoE. They are very necessary as they deal a lot of damage from very far away.
You have to bring an Anti-air Sniper. This can either be the free Jessica or Kroos. Kroos is more beginner friendly and easier to promote so I tend to stick with Kroos. The reason you need an Anti-air unit is because of all the drones that are flying around in the map. Anti-air units will specifically target those units first and take them out. If you don’t bring Anti-air, your units might take a lot of damage or even die when big mobs spawn and drones are causing havoc.
Casters – Casters have two main categories, AoE and ST. Casters are a lot of fun to use and deal crazy amounts of damage. Also, they are an important stable to the team because of how armor-heavy the enemies usually are and Casters rip right through them.
Lava is a great AoE Caster and easy to power up. If you have someone like Skyfire, power her up and promote her! She has one of the coolest skills in the game and is very powerful. Once you promote her, her attacks turn into meteorites that fall from the sky and stun enemies.
When it comes to ST Casters, the free Amiya will do the job and well. When you promote her and level her up she becomes an absolute monster shredding targets from long range and firing multiple shots at once. Very good versus those beefy bosses that refuse to die.
Medics – Medics have two main categories, AoE and ST. When it comes to medics you can use almost anyone. If you chose Silence as your free 5 star then you’re in for a treat because she is awesome. If you didn’t, well there is still Gavial, Hibiscus, and also the legendary Lancet-2 who is surprisingly clutch.
If you have any of the AoE healers then you should add them to your team as they are easy to use and manage. Silence is an incredible operator because once you promote her you will gain access to her ability which allows her to place a healing drone on the map which recovers most of your allies HP. With just this skill alone she is able to be your only solo healer which is bonkers.
If you didn’t choose her then you still have Hibiscus who is easy to promote and level and Gavial who you can get for free from the credit shop. Both are great healers with Gavial being slightly better and can get the job done.
Let’s talk about Lancet-2, this little robot is surprisingly amazing. A 3 DP cost unit that ignores the Deployment limit and does an AoE heal when it is dropped. If you max out the talent by increasing the potential, then you will gain a burst heal of 500 when you drop Lancet-2 on the field. But once it’s on the field it provides very small heals and could take up a useful space. This little robot can be very clutch so don’t count it out.
Who To Level?
The next thing you need to know after making a team is who to prioritize first and level up. Since Battle Records (EXP) and LMD (money) are limited by your Sanity (Energy) it is important to level things in the right order. Leveling should go Vanguards, Snipers, Medics, and Casters. If you plan on using Defenders then level them up along side Medics. It will be very easy for you to level and power the 3 ★ units so you can put those first on the list.
Specific Stages
This game allows you to be very flexible but with so many options comes confusion. Here are some tips on some important stages.
Tactical Drills – These units are beefy, bring more casters and you have an easier time.
Cargo Escort – AoE Casters and Snipers plus Defenders are your best friend when dealing with these stages.
Story Mode – Check the map and see where you can exploit stuff like holes and rooftops.
Annihilation – This place is all about placement and timing, but also make sure your vanguards are strong. Bring a balanced team which is usually your core doubled.
If you’re looking for more information about the game or just some more tips, you got to check out our must see beginner guide! It might have some information you don’t know yet!