GEARING NEW TEAMS IN ENDFIELD: APRIL 2026 | ENDFIELD

TL;DR - Key Points

• Build 2-3 teams, not 4 — Day-one players can maintain two polished squads plus a slowly developing third
• Level 80 is the floor, 90 for carries — Supports stay at 80 with level 80 weapons; main DPS gets the 90 investment
• Masteries: M3 for DPS, 9 for supports — The jump from 9 to M3 on a carry is meaningful; on supports not worth purple mats
• Artificing is passive and mandatory for DPS — Costs zero sanity, runs on stock bills and factory time
• Essences: focused over spread — One great essence beats three mediocre ones; sanity cost is brutal
• Prepare for Crisis Contract now — Build foundations while content is easy and resources flow freely

How Many Teams Are You Actually Building?

Right now I’m running two solid teams and slowly working toward a third. Day-one players generally have enough resources to maintain two or three fully functional teams, with some already eyeing a fourth. Most people focus on one polished team and keep secondary operators at a functional baseline.

The exception is players experimenting with different elements or actively preparing for the upcoming Crisis Contract mode. Those folks are building out multiple squads much more aggressively, and it’s easy to see why.

I’m not rushing toward four teams. Two polished squads beat four half-baked ones. New operators will come, compositions will shift, and burning resources on a team you stop using two patches later is a real risk.

Level 80 Is the Practical Floor — But 90 Is Worth It for Carries

Supports stay at level 80 with level 80 weapons. That baseline handles everything in current content. But for main DPS? Going to 90 makes a real difference — not just in numbers, but in how fast dailies go and how cleanly bosses trim down.

The credits to go from 80 to 90 are steep. But if you’ve been playing since launch, you probably have the stockpile for at least one or two carries. One maxed carry per element you play, everything else at 80 — that split works.

Skills follow the same logic. Push masteries to M3 on main DPS and stop at rank 9 for supports. The jump from 9 to M3 on a carry is meaningful. On a support it’s usually not worth the purple mats unless you have excess.

Artificing Is a No-Brainer — Stop Sleeping on It

This is the one I feel most strongly about. Artificing costs zero sanity. It runs on stock bills and factory time, not stamina. There is almost no excuse not to do it for your main DPS. The DPS gain is real and it’s completely passive once the factory queue is running.

I held off on artificing supports. Gear sets get replaced fast and sinking weeks of wuling into something you swap out next patch is painful. The rule: artifice your core carry fully, then wait for the meta to settle before touching anyone else’s gear.

Essences: Pick Your Battles

Essence etching for the main carry is worth it — the damage boost is significant. But spreading thousands of sanity thin across multiple essences just dilutes everything. Better to have one great essence than three mediocre ones.

Some argue that a wide roster beats a single hyper-invested carry for long-term value, and they’re not wrong. But if you’re aiming to push fast clears or prep for harder content, a maxed carry with a great essence carries harder than a spread-out roster of 80s.

The CC Question Is Rethinking Everything

If you played the original Arknights, you know the pattern. CC drops, people aren’t ready, and suddenly everyone wishes they’d prepared months ago. Not going full doomsday prep, but being deliberate about having at least one well-invested carry and a real second team ready before that mode lands.

Current content is easy enough that investment feels optional. That’s exactly when you should be building the foundation — while there’s no pressure and resources are flowing.

The Playbook

• Push main DPS to 90 with maxed skills and M3 masteries
• Artifice their gear now — no excuse not to
• Etch a strong essence for your core carry
• Keep supports at 80 with rank 9 skills
• Leave support gear alone until the comp is stable
• Build toward two real teams before CC hits
• Keep reserves so you’re not scrambling when harder content lands

You don’t have to be a meta-slave. Just be invested in the characters you actually enjoy playing — and don’t let perfect resource efficiency stop you from having fun with the game.