How To Level Up Characters in Arknights (The Fast Way)

Arknights is taking the world by storm with many new players trying the gacha tower defense game each day. There are tons of available characters to recruit with many different classes, fighting styles, and skills to improve. This system will likely appeal to players of other recent gacha pull games like Romancing SaGa Re;UniverSe and its classic RPG combat. Others may feel more aligned with Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and its tactical spin-off War of Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.

With so many potential Operators it can sometimes be difficult picking favorites for each map. Since the main character, the Doctor only has enough “sanity” resources to spread among each operation it is a wise idea to find the strongest units and advance them to higher levels. After some time one can even start upgrading high-level characters to Elite 1 and Elite 2, giving them even better stats, abilities, and level caps.

Material Operations in Arknights

Leveling Operators can be a great way of improving their combat performance. To advance a character, players will need a few main materials: Battle Records that grant EXP and LMD which is a universal currency needed for many tasks. Note that 1 and 2 Star ranked Operators have a limited level and skill cap, making it hard to justify investing in them. However, sometimes they will be the only option for early and midgame parties. Rank caps are as follows:

• 1 and 2 Star: 30
• 3 Star: 40
• 3 Star, Elite 1: 55
• 4 Star: 45
• 4 Star, Elite 1: 60
• 4 Star, Elite 2: 70
• 5 Star: 50
• 5 Star, Elite 1: 70
• 5 Star, Elite 2: 80
• 6 Star: 50
• 6 Star, Elite 1: 80
• 6 Star, Elite 2: 90

Daily Operations are the most efficient and fastest means of getting the need Battle Records and LMD. When deciding on an operation, one will want a strong team of diverse and strong classes. It is recommended to have reliable Snipers, Casters, Defenders, Medics, and Vanguards before attempting to grind. Also, only undergo an operation you are likely to easily clear. Even if higher-end maps give better rewards, it is not worth risking a failed mission and wasting the Doctor’s sanity points.

Tactical Drill

Battle Records can randomly drop from story-related missions, however, Tactical Drills (LS) give guaranteed rewards. Drill Battle Records (200 EXP) and Frontline Battle Records (400 EXP) drop from all LS missions. LS-3 will begin dropping Tactical Battle Records (1000 EXP). Finally, LS-4 and LS-5 are the means in the game to get the powerful Strategic Battle Records (2000 EXP). This means that LS-3 and LS-4 will likely be the most comfortable spots when starting the leveling process.

Cargo Escort

All maps give some base LMD, around 10x the amount of sanity spent. But Cargo Escorts (CE) will give an increased bonus on LMD. Cargo Escorts are only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Each higher tier of CE will reward bigger boosts to LMD; CE-1 will grant about 1400 LMD and CE-5 nearly 6000.

Class Chips

3 to 6 Star ranked Operators can advance beyond their initial level cap by promoting with Chips, 10k-100k LMD, and various specific materials of T2-T5 level. Because the stronger Elite 2 is exclusive to 4-6 Stars, it may be better to level them first when possible. Chips can be gained from Chip Operations (PR), with certain classes being unlocked each day:

• Monday: Defender, Medic, Sniper, Caster
• Tuesday: Sniper, Caster
• Wednesday: Vanguard, Supporter, Guard, Specialist
• Thursday: Defender, Medic, Vanguard, Supporter
• Friday: Defender, Medic, Sniper, Caster, Guard, Specialist
• Saturday: All classes
• Sunday: Vanguard, Supporter, Guard, Specialist

Resource Search

While not a beginning requirement for leveling, Resource Search (SK) will grant materials to improve Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals and make future leveling more consistent. SK missions are open only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. SK-3 will be needed to gain Carbon Bricks for forging Concrete Building Materials. The higher-end SK-4 and SK-5 will also drop Carbon Packs, which are used to make Reinforced Building Materials for the highest grade facilities.

Rhodes Island Production in Arknights

It can be taxing to gather up Battle Records and LMD just from operations. This can be further compounded by the limit amount of sanity points the Doctor character has each hour. Thankfully, materials can be produced passively via the Factory and Trading Post facilities within the Rhodes Island complex. Keep in mind that all rooms require Operators manning stations to function. This also leads to drained Morale stat and need to retire characters to the Dormitory until they recover.

Factory Items

Players will first need to already have made a Power Plant with a Light Building Material. The initial Factory will also require its own Light Building Material, and can be fully renovated with 180 Drones collecting from cleaning rooms, 3 Concrete Building Materials, 5 Reinforced Building Materials, and a level 4 Control Center (240 more Drones, 3 Keel, 4 Light Building Materials, 4 Concrete Building Materials, and 8 other existing level 2 rooms).

With these full upgrades, Drill Battle Records can be made every 45 minutes, Frontline Battle Records in 1 hour 20 minutes, and Tactical Battle Records after 3 hours. Additionally, Pure Gold can be made once every 72 minutes.

Trading Post

It might be unclear what Pure Gold is used for at first. With the invention of the Trading Post facility, this item can be used to buy more needed LMD. However, the amount and frequency depend on how advanced the player’s Trading Post is. The initial Trading Post costs a single Light Building Material and can be made right after the Factory. Upgrades can be done with 180 Drones, 3 Concrete Building Materials, 5 Reinforced Building Materials, and a level 4 Control Center (which players will already likely have).

At base construction, up to 12 Pure Gold can be traded for 6000 LMD. At second grade 24 Pure Gold can be exchanged for 12,000 LMD. And last at highest grade, 40 Pure Gold will reward 20,000 LMD.

Workshop

The Workshop will be a needed room for 3 to 6 Star Operators seeking to Promote to Elite 1 and Elite 2 status. Outside of ton of additional LMD, the promotion ability requires many T2-T5 materials that are either exclusive or much easier to acquire with a Workshop. Each character and class will need different sets of materials for each of their promotion tiers. This room can be added to Rhodes Island after the Trading Post for 1 Light Building Material. It can be upgraded to max with another 3 Light Building Materials, 6 Concrete Building Materials, and the level 4 Control Center.

After the Workshop itself is made, basic T2 upgrades can be constructed from T1 materials. T1s drop from various map operations, especially story and side quests, and can be bought from the store using Credits. Credits themselves are rewarded for the ambiance rating of the Dormitories, with a max of 50 a day per room and a total of 200 if four rooms are at full ambiance level.

Leveling can be tedious at first, but with an experienced Doctor and fully constructed base, the Rhodes Island team will soon become a well-trained superior military unit.

Arknights is available now on Apple iOS and Android.

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