Arcane Best Build Guide: Skill, Gear, Weapons and Teams | Endfield 1.4

Arcane is set to arrive in Arknights: Endfield's Version 1.4 "Back to the North" update, obtainable through the Phase 1 headhunting banner. Real name Li Zhiyan, she's the captain of the Yinglung Special Task Force (YSTF). She's a Nature-focused Caster who wields an Arts Unit, with a kit built around applying Nature Infliction, slowing enemies, and amplifying the Nature and Cryo damage they take, before cashing out with a large AOE Ultimate. This guide covers her skill priority, best weapons, gear direction, and team comps based on currently available kit information, with unconfirmed numbers marked as such.

Overview

Rarity: 6-star | Class: Caster | Weapon: Arts Unit | Element: Nature

Arcane is a setup-and-payoff Nature Caster. Her Battle Skill tags enemies with Nature Infliction, her Combo Skill turns that setup into slows and a damage-taken debuff, and her Ultimate opens a burst window that rewards Finishers and Final Strikes. She can function as a main damage dealer or as a Nature/Cryo amplifier for other carries, depending on gear and team composition.

 

Skills & Leveling Priority

Basic Attack — Artillery Interdiction

Arcane can chain up to 5 basic attack sequences, dealing Nature DMG to enemies. Landing a Finisher converts the attack into a much bigger hit that deals massive Nature DMG and restores some SP. Her dive attack details are currently unknown. The basic attack string mostly exists to build into that Finisher loop, which matters because her Ultimate specifically rewards Finishers and Final Strikes.

Battle Skill — Jadecrushing Grid

This is Arcane's core setup tool. It drops a field beneath the target, deals damage, and applies Nature Infliction — the same Infliction her Combo Skill needs to trigger properly, so this skill usually opens her rotation.

In INT Mode (Array Arcana: INT), the grid deals more damage, making it the pick when you want personal output. In WILL Mode (Array Arcana: WILL), the grid pulls enemies inward while dealing damage, which is better for scattered mobs or fights where grouping matters more than raw numbers. Rule of thumb: spread-out enemies call for WILL Mode to group them first, while an already-controlled or clustered target favors INT Mode for damage.

Combo Skill — Yinglung Stance IV

This is where Arcane's team value really shows up. In both modes, the skill slows enemy actions and increases the Nature and Cryo DMG the target and nearby enemies take, which is why she fits both Nature teams and Cryo-heavy comps.

In INT Mode, if her Battle Skill hits a target affected by this debuff, it triggers a second instance of massive damage — the trigger condition is the target carrying Nature Infliction or at least 2 stacks of non-Nature Arts Infliction, making this mode better when she's the main carry. In WILL Mode, the skill applies another stack of Arts Infliction of the same element to the target and nearby enemies when Arts Infliction is already present, leaning more into supporting reaction flow for the team.

Use this skill right before your main damage window: it slows enemies, makes them softer to Nature and Cryo damage, and sets up easy punishes from Arcane's own Battle Skill or from Cryo teammates like Xaihi, Tangtang, Last Rite, or Yvonne.

Ultimate — Gloompurge

Gloompurge creates a Gloompurger Array that deals Nature DMG across a large AOE. If an enemy inside the array is hit by a Finisher or Final Strike from the controlled operator, the array launches up to 2 additional rounds of attacks against that enemy. The Ultimate then shifts into Gloompurge Arcana, dealing massive damage to enemies ahead in a large AOE.

The mode effect matters a lot here too. In INT Mode, the array forcibly applies Corrosion to enemies inside its AOE when created — this pairs directly with the Hot Work gear set, which rewards Corrosion with a big Nature damage bonus. In WILL Mode, the array targets enemies already carrying Arts Infliction and stacks another instance of the same element, leaning toward reaction-heavy support play.

Her ideal burst pattern: apply Nature Infliction with Battle Skill, trigger Yinglung Stance IV, cast Gloompurge once enemies are grouped or debuffed, land a Finisher or Final Strike inside the field to trigger the array's bonus attacks, then close with Gloompurge Arcana.

Based on this, Ultimate > Combo Skill > Battle Skill > Basic Attack is the sensible leveling order. The Ultimate carries the most weight because it decides the ceiling of the whole burst window. Combo Skill comes next since the slow and damage-taken debuff affect the entire team's output. Battle Skill is the setup button that starts her rotation. Basic Attack is last, mostly filling time and feeding the Finisher loop rather than driving real damage.

 

Best Weapon

Best in Slot

Type 42: Solemn Phalanx	Rarity: 6✦ Type: Arts Unit Base ATK: currently unknown
	Intellect Boost: currently unknown Ultimate Gain Efficiency Boost: currently unknown Detonate: currently unknown
As Arcane's signature weapon, this Arts Unit gives Intellect Boost, Ultimate Gain Efficiency Boost, and Detonate — a near-perfect match for her role as a Nature Caster who wants strong burst uptime. Since her Ultimate is the single most important part of her kit, anything that speeds up reaching Gloompurge has clear value, making this the likely best-in-slot pick.

Alternative

Junction Point	Rarity: 6✦ Type: Arts Unit Base ATK: currently unknown
	Intellect Boost: currently unknown Ultimate Gain Efficiency Boost: currently unknown
Junction Point covers the same two core stats as her signature weapon, making it a practical fallback if you don't pull Solemn Phalanx. Its exact standing can't be ranked yet without fuller weapon math.
Oblivion	Rarity: 6✦ Type: Arts Unit Base ATK: 485
	Will: +156 Nature DMG Bonus: +43.30% Twilight: Humiliation — Crit Rate +14.0%. Casting an Ultimate grants Arts DMG Dealt +67.2% for 15s. Casting a Combo Skill grants Arts DMG Dealt +33.6% for 15s. The two effects don't stack with themselves. (all at max rank, requiring full weapon potential)
Oblivion works well as a burst-window weapon rather than a passive-uptime one. Her Ultimate cast and Combo Skill cast both trigger a separate Arts DMG buff, and since her core rotation naturally chains Combo Skill into Ultimate, she can realistically stack both buffs back to back during her main damage window rather than relying on constant small triggers.

 

Best Gear Set

Note: The gear pairings below are community speculation based on Arcane's currently known skill mechanics. Official BiS gear for her hasn't been announced yet, so treat these as a starting direction rather than confirmed picks until real testing is available.

Main DPS

Armor	Gloves	Kit	Kit
Hot Work Exoskeleton	Hot Work Hands PPE	Hot Work Insulation Slab	LYNX Slab

This is a 3-piece Hot Work build rounded out with one LYNX kit piece rather than a full 4-piece Hot Work set. The 3-piece Hot Work bonus still does the heavy lifting here: Arts Intensity +30, plus Nature DMG +50% for 10 seconds whenever the wearer applies Corrosion — which lines up directly with her INT Mode Ultimate forcibly applying Corrosion to everything caught in the Gloompurger Array. Hot Work Hands PPE adds a solid Heat/Nature DMG Bonus roll on top of Intellect and Will, while Hot Work Insulation Slab boosts all three of her active skills at once (Battle Skill, Ultimate, and Combo Skill), which is a clean fit since her rotation leans on all three. The LYNX Slab is slotted in purely for its Main Attribute roll, giving a flat stat boost that a full 4-piece Hot Work set wouldn't otherwise provide in this slot.

Sub DPS / Support

Armor	Gloves	Kit	Kit
Eternal Xiranite Light Armor T1	Eternal Xiranite Wraps	Eternal Xiranite Bracing Slab	Eternal Xiranite Bracing Slab

This is a full 4-piece Eternal Xiranite build, running two copies of the Bracing Slab kit piece alongside the armor and gloves. The set's 3-piece bonus gives Flat HP +1000 and grants the team DMG Dealt +16% for 15 seconds whenever the wearer applies Amp, Protected, Susceptible, or Weakened — which is relevant here since her WILL Mode kit is built around stacking Nature and Cryo Susceptible on enemies. Eternal Xiranite Wraps leans into Will and Ultimate Gain Efficiency, helping her reach Gloompurge faster in a support rotation, while the two Bracing Slabs stack Sub Attribute on top of more Will, reinforcing the Susceptible-value scaling her talent relies on.

 

Potential Recommendation

Arcane's Awakening (potential) data hasn't been revealed. Without confirmed dupe effects, there's no reliable basis yet for recommending copies beyond A0. The safest plan is to pull one copy, test how her rotation feels, and wait for full details before investing further.

 

Best Team Comps

A good Arcane team needs to do three things: keep Arts Infliction active, help her trigger Yinglung Stance IV, and make full use of her Nature/Cryo damage amplification.

Arcane

Xaihi

Perlica

Gilberta

This is the cleanest main DPS structure available right now. Xaihi isn't just a healer — her kit restores HP when the controlled operator lands a Final Strike, or grants a temporary Arts Amp instead if the operator is already at full HP, which lines up well with Arcane's Ultimate rewarding Finishers and Final Strikes. Xaihi's Ultimate also grants the whole team temporary Cryo and Nature Amp that scales with Intellect, directly boosting Arcane's main damage type. Gilberta pulls enemies together and applies Nature Infliction on impact, making Arcane's AOE tools easier to land on multiple targets, while her Ultimate adds more Nature Infliction, slow, and Arts Susceptibility on top of Arcane's own damage-taken debuff. Perlica rounds the team out with Electric coverage — her Combo Skill can apply temporary Electrification after a Final Strike, helping stack the non-Nature Arts Infliction that Arcane's INT Mode Combo Skill wants to trigger.

Arcane

Xaihi

Perlica

Tangtang

This version trades Gilberta's grouping and Arts Susceptibility for stronger Cryo field control. Tangtang's Waterspouts apply Cryo Infliction and can add Arts Susceptibility once multiple spouts are up, while her Whirlpools grant allies Haste and slow enemies — stacking nicely with the slow from Arcane's own Combo Skill. It's a good pick when you want more tempo control and don't mind a slightly messier grouping game than the Gilberta version.

Arcane

Xaihi

Gilberta

Tangtang

The most control-heavy version, dropping Electric coverage entirely to stack Nature Infliction, Cryo Infliction, Arts Susceptibility, grouping, Haste, and slow all at once. This works best in fights where enemies can be bunched up and held inside AOE zones, letting Arcane's Jadecrushing Grid and Gloompurge land cleanly while Tangtang keeps Cryo pressure rolling.

Arcane can also play a pure support role. Paired with Last Rite, Tangtang, and Xaihi, she softens targets with Nature Infliction and the Cryo damage-taken debuff while Last Rite consumes Cryo Infliction stacks for burst. Paired with Yvonne, Xaihi, and Gilberta, her Nature Infliction gives Yvonne more stacks to convert into Solidification for a stronger payoff. Both setups ask her to prioritize keeping Infliction and debuffs active rather than greeding every burst window for herself.

 

Conclusion

Arcane looks like a flexible pick who can carry as a Nature main DPS or slot in as a Nature/Cryo damage amplifier depending on how you build her. Her full attribute scaling, Awakening effects, and gear math haven't been confirmed yet, so her final meta standing will depend on live testing after launch. Getting ready for Arcane? LDShop helps you top up Endfield safely, with better prices and fast delivery.