Elemental Arts & Reactions Guide

Arknights: Endfield's combat revolves around elemental interactions called Arts. Understanding how to stack Arts Inflictions, trigger Arts Bursts, and create Arts Reactions is essential for maximizing damage and controlling enemies.

The Five Damage Types (Arts)

Endfield has five damage types, split into Physical and Elemental (Arts):

Each operator deals damage with one of these types based on their weapon.

Arts Inflictions vs. Arts Bursts vs. Arts Reactions

Arts Inflictions

When you hit enemies with elemental damage (Heat, Electric, Cryo, or Nature), you apply an Arts Infliction—a debuff that sticks to the enemy and deals bonus damage of that element.

You can stack up to 4 Arts Inflictions of the same element on an enemy.

Arts Bursts (Same Element Stack)

Each time you add a new stack of the same element, you trigger an Arts Burst—an elemental explosion that deals extra damage.

Heat + Heat = Heat Burst (bonus Heat damage)
Electric + Electric = Electric Burst (bonus Electric damage)

Arts Bursts are great for mono-element teams that spam the same element repeatedly.

Arts Reactions (Different Element Stack)

If you apply a different element while an enemy already has an Arts Infliction active, you create an Arts Reaction—a unique effect based on which element triggers the reaction.

Nature Infliction already on enemy + Heat attack = Combustion (DoT)
Heat Infliction already on enemy + Nature attack = Corrosion (Defense reduction)

Critical rule: The order of elements matters. Applying Nature → Heat is different from Heat → Nature.

The Four Arts Reactions

1. Combustion (Heat Trigger)

Trigger condition: Apply Heat damage to an enemy with another elemental debuff

Effect: Creates an explosion and applies a strong damage-over-time (DoT) effect

Best against: Tanky enemies with high HP pools

Strategy: Apply Nature, Electric, or Cryo first, then trigger Combustion with Heat attacks to burn them down over time.

Heat Operators:

• Laevatain
• Ember

2. Corrosion (Nature Trigger)

Trigger condition: Apply Nature damage to an enemy with another elemental debuff

Effect: Lowers enemy defense over time, making them take more damage from all sources

Best against: High-defense enemies

Strategy: Trigger Corrosion early in fights to make enemies squishier for the rest of the battle.

Nature Operators:

• Fluorite
• Gilberta

3. Electrification (Electric Trigger)

Trigger condition: Apply Electric damage to an enemy with another elemental debuff

Effect: Makes enemies take more Arts damage from all elemental attacks

Best against: Any enemy when running multi-element Arts teams

Strategy: If your team deals mostly elemental damage, Electrification amplifies everyone's damage. Trigger it early and maintain it throughout the fight.

Electric Operators:

• Ardelia
• Arclight

4. Solidification (Cryo Trigger) + Shatter

Trigger condition: Apply Cryo damage to an enemy with another elemental debuff

Effect: Freezes the enemy completely, stopping them in their tracks

Special mechanic: Frozen enemies can be Shattered

Shatter: When you hit a frozen (Solidified) enemy with Physical damage, you trigger a Shatter—a massive burst of Physical damage that breaks the freeze.

Best against: High-threat enemies that need to be disabled

Strategy: Apply any other element → Trigger Solidification with Cryo → Shatter with Physical damage for one of the strongest combos in the game.

Cryo Operators:

• Yvonne
• Snowshine

Physical Damage System (Vulnerable Stacks)

Physical damage works completely differently from Arts damage.

Vulnerable Stacks

Physical attacks apply Vulnerable, which stacks up to 4 times on enemies.

Once you've built up Vulnerable stacks, you can trigger one of four Physical status effects:

1. Crush

Effect: Consumes all Vulnerable stacks to deal massive Physical damage

Damage scaling: More Vulnerable stacks = bigger hit

Best for: Deleting enemy health bars

2. Breach

Effect: Consumes all Vulnerable stacks to lower enemy Physical defense

Defense reduction scaling: More Vulnerable stacks = weaker defense

Best for: Setting up Physical damage dealers

Strategy: Stack 4 Vulnerable → Breach to lower defense → Follow up with Crush

3. Lift

Effect: Adds another Vulnerable stack + deals extra Stagger damage + lifts enemy into the air

Best for: Building Vulnerable stacks while disrupting enemy attacks

4. Knock Down

Effect: Adds a Vulnerable stack + deals Stagger damage + knocks enemy down

Best for: Crowd control and Vulnerable stack building

Physical Damage Strategy

Optimal Physical combo:

1. Stack 4 Vulnerable with Lift/Knock Down
2. Use Breach to lower enemy Physical defense
3. Finish with Crush for maximum damage

Physical Operators:

• Wulfgard
• Catcher
• Last Rite

Team Building for Arts Reactions

Mono-Element Teams (Arts Burst Focus)

Focus on one element and spam Arts Bursts for consistent damage.

Pros:

• Simple to execute
• Consistent damage output
• Works well when enemies are weak to a specific element

Cons:

• Less versatile
• Misses out on powerful Arts Reactions

Example mono-element team:

• 3-4 Heat operators for repeated Heat Bursts

Multi-Element Reaction Teams (Arts Reaction Focus)

Mix different elements to trigger Arts Reactions deliberately.

Pros:

• Higher damage potential
• Better crowd control and debuffs
• More flexible against varied enemy types

Cons:

• Requires coordination
• More complex rotation planning

Example reaction team:

• Nature operator (apply Corrosion first)
• Heat operator (trigger Combustion)
• Cryo operator (trigger Solidification)
• Physical operator (Shatter combo)

Recommended approach: Multi-element teams usually outperform mono-element teams due to the power of Arts Reactions and debuffs.

Combat Tips for Elemental Mastery

General Strategy

• ✅ Always check what elemental debuffs are already on an enemy before attacking
• ✅ Plan your operator rotation to trigger desired reactions
• ✅ Against frozen enemies, switch to Physical damage dealer for Shatter combo
• ✅ Use Corrosion early to make enemies squishier for the entire fight
• ✅ Electrification amplifies all Arts damage—trigger it before bursting with elemental attacks

Advanced Tips

• Stagger synergy: Some Arts reactions deal Stagger damage, helping you fill Stagger meters faster for Finisher attacks
• Element-weak enemies: Some enemies are weak to specific elements—mono-element teams shine here
• Freeze priority targets: Solidification is one of the best crowd-control tools—use it on high-threat enemies first
• Shatter timing: Don't waste Shatter on low-HP enemies—save it for tanky targets

Operator Elements Reference

Heat Operators

• Laevatain
• Ember

Electric Operators

• Ardelia
• Arclight

Cryo Operators

• Yvonne
• Snowshine

Nature Operators

• Fluorite
• Gilberta

Physical Operators

• Wulfgard
• Catcher
• Last Rite

Common Elemental Mistakes

FAQ