Arknights: Endfield Beginner’s Guide: Choosing Your Best Free 6-Star

2026-01-28

The wait is over—Arknights: Endfield is now live. To kick off your journey, the game offers a free 6-star character through early objectives. Here, we’ll dive into the top picks for your free starter unit and show you how each one plays.

Arknights: Endfield – Best Free Starter 6-Star Operator to Choose

How to Get Your Free 6-Star Operator
Your free 6-star Operator is guaranteed through the special New Horizon Banner. This starter banner uses its own unique tickets (separate from other banners) and promises at least one 6-star within 40 pulls.

All 40 required pulls can be earned for free by progressing through the early main story. Since the guarantee ensures one 6-star within those pulls, there is also a chance to obtain multiple 6-star Operators along the way.

The available 6-star Operators in the New Horizon Banner pool are:

Lifeng

Pogranichnik

Ardelia

Ember

Last Rite

Pogranichnik

A 6-star Vanguard who empowers Physical damage teams by restoring ally SP and applying Physical Effects that deal significant damage to enemies. He wields a sword as his primary weapon.

Pogranichnik is a versatile support unit for Physical teams, packing multiple utilities into one kit. His Battle Skill and Combo Skill help trigger special Physical Effects on enemies, boosting team damage and replenishing SP. With his Ultimate, he summons multiple soldiers to attack, crowd-control enemies, and increase the team’s overall damage output.

In short, Pogranichnik significantly raises the damage ceiling of Physical teams and enables key Physical Effects, making him a core pick for many Physical-focused compositions.

Ardelia

A 6-star Supporter who specializes in dealing Nature damage, healing the team, and significantly increasing damage output through resistance reduction.

Ardelia’s kit allows her to apply Corruption to enemies, then consume those stacks to inflict both Physical Susceptibility and Arts Susceptibility, causing enemies to take increased damage from both damage types. In addition, she provides substantial party-wide healing through her Skill and Ultimate, enabling her to sustain the team while amplifying their damage.

With her powerful blend of healing and vulnerability debuffs, Ardelia fits smoothly into a wide variety of team compositions and offers consistent, flexible support—making her an exceptionally strong and versatile operator.

Ember

A 6-star Defender of the Heat element, Ember specializes in protecting the team and counterattacking whenever an ally is hit.

Her core mechanic lies in her Combo Skill, which triggers automatically when an enemy attacks an ally. This allows her to strike back, heal allies based on her own stats, and grant them the Protect status. Additionally, her Ultimate grants all allies a damage-absorbing shield, further reducing incoming team damage.

With her exceptional defensive utility, Ember excels at sustaining the team’s HP while also enabling various Heat and Physical effects—making her a cornerstone for teams built around those elements.

Last Rite

A 6-star Resonator of the Cryo element and Striker class, Last Rite specializes in dealing sustained damage to inflict high Stagger on enemies. She also serves as a key enabler for Cryo teams by rapidly applying Cryo Infliction to trigger various Cryo-based Arts Reactions.

Her role centers on staying on the field to continuously deal damage and stack Cryo Infliction, setting up powerful Cryo Reactions for her team to exploit. Additionally, when she consumes stacks of Cryo Infliction, she applies Cryo Susceptibility to enemies, further increasing the damage they take from Cryo attacks.

Last Rite fits perfectly into Cryo-focused teams as a supportive damage dealer. She not only activates multiple Cryo-related effects but also boosts the team’s overall damage output through Cryo Susceptibility, making her a valuable core unit in Cryo compositions.

Lifeng

A 6-star Guard who provides crucial support for Physical teams through crowd control and by applying key Physical debuffs to enemies.

Lifeng excels at inflicting Breach on enemies, enabling Physical Reactions for his teammates to exploit. Using his Battle Skill, he can also apply Physical Susceptibility, significantly increasing the team’s overall damage output.

As a powerful Physical support, Lifeng not only amplifies his team’s damage but also contributes reliable crowd control and respectable personal damage, making him a valuable and versatile asset in any Physical-focused squad.

Who Should You Pick?

Based on this analysis of their abilities and roles, here’s our recommendation for the top-priority pick among the free 6-star Operators available in the New Horizon Banner:

– Best Value: Pogranichnik & Ardelia
Pogranichnik is a core enabler for Physical teams, dramatically improving both damage output and skill rotation through his SP support and effect triggers.
Ardelia stands out for her exceptional versatility—she buffs both Physical and Arts damage, provides team-wide healing, and fits into almost any composition. While she is given free to all players, obtaining additional copies (Potentials) is highly valuable due to her strong upgrades.

– Strong Niche Picks: Lifeng & Last Rite
Lifeng and Last Rite perform similar roles as on-field damage dealers who also support their teams by applying Susceptibility debuffs. Each maximizes damage for their respective element (Physical or Cryo) and is an excellent choice if you are building toward one of those dedicated teams.

– Lower Priority: Ember
While Ember excels at defense and counter-attack healing, she offers minimal offensive utility. In a meta where sustain can often be combined with damage amplification (such as through Ardelia), Ember’s purely protective role makes her a less flexible and lower-value pick from this banner.

Conclusion

Now that you know the strengths of each free 6-star Operator, you’re ready to make an informed choice and jump into Arknights: Endfield. Pick the one that best fits your playstyle, and enjoy your journey!