PATCH 1.2: ZHUANG FANGYI TEAMS & FACTORY META | ENDFIELD BLOG

ARKNIGHTS: ENDFIELD — PATCH 1.2 COMMUNITY Q&A ROUNDUP

Compiled from r/Endfield weekly help threads · Patch 1.2

Everything the community is asking about Zhuang Fangyi’s release, electric team building, factory optimization, and the upcoming Contingency Contract mode.

TL;DR - Key Points

• Zhuang Fangyi requires Electric support — summons 2 Sunderblades per skill cast during ult without teammates; electric inflictors boost this significantly
• Perlica is core in ZF teams — equip Wild Wanderer (not Oblivion) since Arts Burst doesn’t proc in this lineup
• Two expanded crucibles = one full xircon belt — each produces 15 xircon/min; pair them for optimal belt throughput
• No current need for second team — Contingency Contract incoming but format unknown; fully invest in one team first
• Save arsenal tickets for signature weapons — rotation purchases have high wrong-weapon risk; use generic 5-stars as substitutes
• Xiranflow set is priority farm — Zhuang Fangyi’s BiS gear; Qingbo set strong for Perlica/Tangtang/Wulfgard
• No safe pull tracker exists — export tokens contain login credentials; wait for Gryphline to change token generation
• Wuling liquid transport via bottles — use Filling Unit + Separating Unit to “teleport” sewage/acid between bases

01 — ZHUANG FANGYI: TEAM BUILDING

Patch 1.2’s new limited 6-star Zhuang Fangyi has dominated the help threads. She’s an electric damage dealer who generates Sunderblades and depends on consistent Electric infliction and Electrification stacks from her teammates.

Core Mechanic

Without teammates, ZF summons 2 Sunderblades per battle skill during her ult (the first cast guarantees 3). Teammates who apply Electric inflictions can increase this. Running her without dedicated electric support noticeably hurts her output.

Best Team Slots

PERLICA [Core] — Highly reliable due to her combo skill. Considered unlikely to ever be replaced in the ZF lineup. In a ZF team she does not trigger Arts Burst, so equip Wild Wanderer over Oblivion for better support output.

ARCLIGHT [Core] — Strong choice in the third slot. Provides electric infliction and synergizes well. Her signature weapon doesn’t work in a ZF team so use a generic vanguard weapon instead.

GILBERTA [Flex] — AoE grouping and infliction utility. Considered safe to build regardless of team. Battle pass weapon doesn’t work in a ZF team — use Stanza of Memorials or Arts Identifier instead.

ANTAL [Flex] — 60-second cooldown skill that spikes damage numbers, great for boss fights. Pair with Detonation Unit or Arts Identifier.

ARDELIA [Flex] — Solid general play option. Safe investment for the 4th slot.

Combo Skill Order Tip

When multiple combo skills trigger simultaneously, they follow your team slot order. To have Perlica’s CS resolve before ZF’s, place Perlica in slot 1. However, the time-stop mechanic means quickly spamming two CSs in succession causes the second one to typically finish first — worth understanding before making slot changes.

02 — WEAPONS & GEAR REFERENCE

Weapon priority for the ZF team and beyond (via community veteran Elyonee):

Weapon Priority List

Arsenal Spending Advice

The community strongly recommends saving arsenal tickets to roll for signature weapons rather than buying from rotation — the chance of getting the wrong weapon is too high. Use generic 5-stars as substitutes until a signature drops naturally.

New 1.2 Gear Sets Priority

Xiranflow set — Zhuang Fangyi’s designated gear set. Farm and max this first.

Qingbo set — Strong for Perlica, Tangtang, and Wulfgard. Reduces combo cooldowns — a double win for Tangtang.

Frontier set — Benefits Arclight, Akekuri, and Alesh — the secondary attribute piece helps hit intellect caps.

Swordmancer set — Chen’s new best-in-slot for stronger ult damage nuking.

03 — DO YOU NEED A SECOND TEAM?

One of the most common returning-player questions this patch: is it worth splitting resources to build a second team?

“Not currently, but the upcoming endgame mode (CC) might change that, so I’d keep an eye out.” — hchan1

The community is largely aligned: there’s no current content that requires two teams. Contingency Contract (CC) is incoming but its exact format for Endfield hasn’t been detailed yet.

Recommended Approach

Fully invest in one team first. Supporters can stay at level 60–80 while only the main DPS needs to be pushed to 90. Once your primary team is solid, leveling to 60 is cheap enough that building out a bench for future CC is a low-cost option.

For players with both Surtr and Rossi, the community consensus is that all teams are capable of clearing current content. Neither powercreeps the other. Focus on whichever playstyle you enjoy more while the CC ruleset remains unknown.

04 — LAEVATAIN: HONEST ASSESSMENT

Strengths

• Excellent AoE
• Dominates melee bosses and multi-boss fights
• Farms stamina dailies in a single ult
• First limited main DPS released

Weaknesses

• Team does little damage outside of her ult
• SP hungry across the whole lineup
• Vulnerable during Smouldering Fire
• Struggles vs. Nefarith

“Laevatain is fantastic against melee bosses, bosses + ads, or multi boss fights. Nefarith is a very bad matchup… Laevatain will get better with stronger teammates — a fire vanguard or fire support. Until then, she will struggle.” — wawrzon

UX Issue Flagged

The thread also flagged a UX issue: the mandatory camera zoom during her melee attacks combined with heavy fire effects during her ult makes it difficult to react to incoming attacks. Players are hoping the devs add toggle options.

05 — FACTORY: EXPANDED CRUCIBLES EXPLAINED

The expanded crucible is the biggest factory addition in 1.2.

Key Insight

You need 2 expanded crucibles per full xircon line. Each expanded crucible produces 15 xircon/min (a half belt). Two together produce one full belt. They also combine multiple recipe steps, significantly reducing the footprint compared to the old 5-regular-crucible method.

Optimal Inputs Per Pair of Expanded Crucibles

Outputs Per Pair

• 1 full belt of xircon
• 2 belts of inert xircon effluent (feeds the new Purification Unit)

The reduction from 5 regular crucibles to 2 expanded ones saves significant space and simplifies pipe routing.

Overflow Protection

Add an inert xircon overflow buffer between Heavy Xiranite production and your xircon line. If Heavy Xiranite fills up, it stops consuming xircon effluent — this backs up into the purification unit and can halt your entire battery production line.

06 — BASE MANAGEMENT: WULING TIPS

Consolidate Liquid Production

Move everything that uses pipes to the same base. The Wuling City base has easy acid access — bring your xircon, cuprium refining, and heavy xiranite here to keep sewage and inert effluent co-located.

Bottling Fluids Enables Inter-Base Transport

You can fill bottles with sewage and acid using a Filling Unit, then unpack them at another base with a Separating Unit. This effectively lets you “teleport” liquids between outposts.

Hetonite vs Syringe A — Same Stock Bill Rate

Switching cuprium from Syringe A production to Hetonite Components yields approximately the same stock bills per unit of cuprium. Hetonite is preferred since it’s needed for new buildings and the next patch will likely require it.

Yazhen and Jincao Burn More Efficiently

Both plants yield 2 carbon per unit in the Refining Unit, versus 1 from Buckflower/Citrome. This is not listed in the recipes until you’ve made it at least once — a hidden efficiency upgrade worth knowing.

Protocol Stash as Belt Balancer

The Stash balances belt inputs even when unpowered. Example: two inputs of 5 and 1 items become outputs of 3 each. Keep them in storage mode (as Kyostin recommends) to prevent premature filling — they only buffer when the downstream line backs up.

07 — PULL STRATEGY & GACHA NOTES

Returning Players

Skipping Tangtang patch entirely? Community estimates enough pulls to reach 90 before ZF banner ends — though a monthly pass helps.

Origeometry

Save for skins — no skins exist yet but the currency will almost certainly fund alternate looks when they arrive. Don’t spend freely.

Gilberta Rerun

A shared banner with Pog, Gil, Laev, and Ardelia launches May 14th. Selector for one unit at 120 pulls.

Weapon Pity

Whether weapon pity carries over to reruns is still unconfirmed — the community will be watching the May 14th banner closely for data.

Pull Tracker Situation

There is currently no safe pull tracker for Endfield. The export token the game generates contains sensitive login data alongside pull history — any tracker website that ingests this token would have access to your credentials. Gryphline would need to change how tokens are generated before a safe tracker can be built.

08 — MISCELLANEOUS & LORE

ZF’s Backstory

The original Wuling Science Station team tried to use Xiranite to shrink or close the VLR, but it backfired horribly — the rift expanded and swallowed the research station, killing ZF’s original team and causing the famines and disasters ten years ago, including the events at Qingbo Stockade.

Performance Issues in 1.2

Nvidia driver updates over the past few months have caused stuttering independent of the patch. Update or roll back drivers if you’re seeing new freezes.

Network Error 0

Use phone hotspot + reboot modem while connected to mobile data to “unbrick” your wifi connection for future sessions.

Energy Sediment Cap

Overworld/essence farm mob levels were capped at 60 (down from 70) a few weeks ago. Max exploration level = best possible rewards regardless.

Clue 7 Abundance

It just has a naturally higher drop rate — a carry-over from the original Arknights. Not a bug or a Last Rite bug.

Compiled from r/Endfield weekly help megathread · Patch 1.2
Community contributions from Elyonee, PHASE04, Djinnfor, HiroAnobei, Xeorm124, minaseclyne, and many others.