Video Summary - The Arknights Beginners Guide 2026 and Beyond

Arknights Beginners Guide: Key Takeaways

Arknights combines tower defense with active strategy. Operators can be deployed, retreated, repositioned, and used to control enemy movement rather than simply placed and left alone.
The two basic damage types are physical and Arts. Compare an enemy’s defense and resistance:
- Lower defense generally makes physical damage more effective.
- Lower resistance generally makes Arts damage more effective.
- If both are high, consider buffs to increase your operators’ damage or debuffs to weaken enemies.
Tutorials introduce useful tactics such as retreating units to recover deployment points, arranging operators to cover more enemies, and “split boxing” a strong enemy between two units.
If a stage is difficult, check its recommended level. Matching the recommendation should make it more comfortable; being under-leveled can make it harder.
Support operators can help with roadblocks, but using a highly built operator too early may trivialize stages. Later, borrow operators not only for power, but also to try characters and skills before deciding whether to build or pull for them.

Build a broad roster first. Early on, keep a spread of operators across roles—such as medics, defenders, snipers, casters, and vanguards—at roughly similar levels.
A suggested progression:
1. Raise around 20 operators through Elite 0 and bring their skills to rank 4.
2. Promote them to Elite 1 and continue developing them.
3. Once you know which operators you prefer, focus resources on a smaller group, taking them toward Elite 1’s level cap and skill rank 7.
4. Promote your favorites to Elite 2, initially aiming for about level 30.
Skills can matter more than ordinary levels. Elite 1 unlocks another skill, Elite 2 can unlock a third skill for six-stars, and Elite 2 also opens access to skill masteries and modules.
Elite 2 levels above 30 become increasingly expensive for comparatively modest stat gains. The guide recommends prioritizing new operators and masteries before pushing units to high Elite 2 levels. Modules are a later-game luxury.
There is no single required team or “correct” operator to build. Meta operators can make some stages easier, but many less-used operators can still perform well with the right strategy and team. Playing favorites or using themed “niche” squads is also a valid way to enjoy the game.

Support units are especially useful for experimenting: choose a character, skill, and module to test how they play before investing in or pulling for them.
For the six-star selector, the guide says SilverAsh and Thorns need Elite 2 investment to feel especially strong. It also notes that several other options perform well already at Elite 1. Ultimately, there is no universally wrong choice; preference matters.
For the five-star selectors, Specter and Lappland are highlighted as especially strong beginner picks. Other choices are grouped by impact and playstyle, with the reminder that less meta picks can still be worthwhile if you like them.

The standard rarity rates are listed as:
- Six-stars: 2%
- Five-stars: 8%
- Four-stars: 50%
- Three-stars: 40%
On many banners, the featured operator has a 50% share of the six-star rate. Operators not featured can still be obtained from the broader six-star pool.
After 50 pulls without a six-star, the six-star rate increases with each additional pull until one appears, then resets. This pity carries between certain standard banner types, but does not carry into limited banners.
Limited banners feature two six-stars at 35% each, with other six-stars making up the remaining rate. They also have a spark shop: the guide describes featured operators at 300 pulls and older limited operators at 200. Saving for limited banners is one strategy, particularly for players who want to guarantee a specific character.
Potentials are not necessary for ordinary play. A single copy of an operator is generally enough; further copies are mainly for players who specifically want them.
Recruitment can produce three-, four-, five-, and, rarely, six-star operators. Tags can guarantee certain rarities or combinations. Use a recruitment calculator or guaranteed-tag sheet to check combinations, especially for Senior Operator and Top Operator tags.

Orundum comes from weekly Annihilation rewards, daily and weekly missions, and event rewards. Limited-time celebrations can also provide free pulls.
Originite Prime can be earned from first clears of story stages and replayable events. The guide estimates that a new player can access roughly 600 pulls’ worth of resources across available replayable events, story chapters, and Annihilation rewards, though collecting them takes time and sanity.
During farming events, prioritize stages that drop useful materials and event currency. Between major farming events, use available sanity to clear new stages and collect first-clear rewards.
The guide recommends tools or community resources to identify efficient farming stages. Lower-tier materials are common later, so focus longer-term farming on useful tier-three materials, then craft higher tiers in the base workshop.
Several operators are obtainable without gacha through event record restoration or information fragments. These welfare operators can expand a new account’s roster.

Originite Prime is commonly saved for pulls or operator skins. Skins return to the shop, so missing one is usually not permanent.
With green certificates, the guide recommends buying useful items from the early shop tiers while avoiding poor-value items and the expensive later tier unless there is a specific reason.
Yellow certificates can buy featured six-stars or five-stars. If exchanging them for pulls, the guide advises waiting until the full discounted pull set is available rather than buying early.
Furniture should be bought with furniture parts, not Originite Prime. The guide also cautions against spending certificates on unnecessary potential upgrades or luxury items.
For players who spend, the speaker recommends the monthly card as the best first purchase, followed by suitable starter or discounted packs. Direct Originite purchases are suggested mainly when other options are exhausted or a player specifically needs it.
For beginners, the base-building advice is to keep the dormitories, reception room, and office at level 1 initially, while upgrading other rooms as desired. The speaker says a separate guide will cover later base optimization.

When sanity runs out, try modes that do not consume it, including Integrated Strategies, Reclamation Algorithm, and limited-time activities such as Contingency Contract. The speaker encourages experimenting even if a new account struggles.
Friends can be added through support-unit menus. The speaker also recommends joining the community Discord for help.

Cookie — the speaker and guide creator.
Arknights Wiki — used in the video to demonstrate banner information.
Arkpedia — the speaker’s in-progress information website.
Recruitment calculators and guaranteed-tag cheat sheets are recommended as reference tools.
The speaker also points viewers toward their Discord server and additional beginner videos.