Chen Qianyu Build Guide: Strengths, Weaknesses, Best Weapon And Gear | Arknights: Endfield

*ENDMIN! HOW ARE —— Oh. Okay, stick with the process. Here goes. Endfield operator Chen Qianyu, reporting for duty!*

In Arknights: Endfield, building a reliable core team early on is key to a smooth start on Talos-II. Among the initial roster, Chen Qianyu stands out as a powerful, accessible, and versatile 5-star Guard who excels at controlling the battlefield. This guide will cover everything you need to know to maximize her potential, from her skill mechanics and optimal gear to team compositions and playstyle strategies.

Chen Qianyu Overview

Chen Qianyu is a 5-Star Physical Guard operator who joins the Administrator early in the story. Armed with a sword, she specializes in dealing Lift and Stagger effects. Her primary role is that of a sub-DPS and debuff enabler, excelling at applying Vulnerable stacks to enemies and setting them up for her allies to finish off.

Class: Guard Weapon: Sword Element: Physical

Strengths: Excellent at applying crowd control (Lift/Stagger) and debuffs (Vulnerable). High physical damage potential, especially against debuffed or airborne enemies. Obtained for free, making her a cornerstone for beginner and budget teams.

Weaknesses: Her performance peaks when paired with teammates who can trigger her combo or capitalize on her debuffs. As a free 5-star, she may be outclassed in pure damage by some premium 6-star operators in the late game.

Skill Overview

Understanding Chen's skills is crucial to mastering her flow in combat.

Skill	Type	Key Effect & Description	Strategic Purpose
Soaring Break	Basic Attack	A 5-sequence Physical DMG combo. Final Strike against a staggered enemy becomes a high-damage Finisher.	Primary damage source and resource (SP) generation tool.
Ascending Strike	Battle Skill	Deals Physical DMG and applies Lift to a target. Also applies Vulnerable stacks.	Core skill for initiating combos, applying debuffs, and enabling air attacks.
Soar to the Stars	Combo Skill	Trigger: Enemy becomes Vulnerable. A dash that deals Physical DMG and Lift to enemies in its path.	Key damage and crowd control ability. The cycle of using Battle Skill to trigger Combo Skill is central to her playstyle.
Blade Gale	Ultimate	A 7-sequence slashing attack on a single target. The final hit deals massive damage.	Powerful execute tool, especially against enemies below 50% HP (enhanced by her first Potential).
Slashing Edge	Combat Talent	Gains an ATK buff for 10s each time a skill hits an enemy. Stacks up to 5 times.	Major source of her sustained damage ramp-up. Managing skill timing to maintain stacks is important.
Momentum Breaker	Combat Talent	Interrupting an enemy's charged attack deals extra Stagger damage.	Enhances her role as a disabler and makes her valuable against certain boss mechanics.

 

Best Weapons and Gear

Weapons

Best-in-Slot

Rapid Ascent - Offers an excellent balance of Critical Rate, Agility, and Physical DMG, scaling well into the late game.

Signature Weapon

Aspirant - Her lore-accurate weapon, a Tang-style blade designed to synergize perfectly with her kit.

Free-to-Play Alternative

Sundering Steel - A solid and accessible option that provides reliable stats for her role.

Gear Sets

The Swordmancer set is highly recommended for its synergy with her Stagger-focused playstyle and Physical damage.

• Armor: Bonekrusha Heavy Armor T1
• Gloves: Swordmancer TAC Fists
• Kits: Swordmancer Flint x2

Set Effect: Increases Stagger efficiency and boosts damage against enemies with Physical status effects.

 

Skill Priority

To build Chen effectively, prioritize upgrading her skills in this order:

Battle Skill (Ascending Strike) > Ultimate (Blade Gale) ≥ Combo Skill (Soar to the Stars) > Basic Attack (Soaring Break)

Maximizing her Battle Skill first ensures higher debuff uptime and more frequent Combo Skill triggers. Focus on her Battle Skill first as you are incentivized to use Chen to Interrupt enemies for extra Stagger. After this level up skills as you can, with a higher priority for her Ultimate and Combo Skill.

 

Potential

Chen's Potential upgrades provide consistent, linear power increases:

P1 - Shadowless: +20% DMG to enemies below 50% HP. Great for securing kills with her Ultimate.

P2 - Heirloom Martial Arts: Flat stat increase to Agility and Physical DMG.

P3 - Dual-Wielding Swordmancer: Increases the damage multiplier of her Battle, Combo, and Ultimate skills by 1.1x.

P4 - Improvised Chi Xiao: Reduces Ultimate Energy cost by 15%.

P5 - Bonded with the World: Reduces Combo Skill cooldown by 3 seconds.

 

Chen Qianyu Best Teams

Chen's value shines in teams built around Physical damage and debuff synergy. Here are two effective compositions:

Physical Starter Team

This team leverages free or early-game units to form a solid foundation.

Endministrator	Chen Qianyu	Ardelia	Akekuri
Endministrator	Chen Qianyu	Ardelia	Da Pan
Endministrator	Chen Qianyu	Ardelia	Ember

Endministrator (Controlled): The versatile protagonist.

Chen Qianyu: Applies Vulnerable and controls the field.

Ardelia: A support who can further exploit debuffs.

Akekuri : Provides additional physical damage or utility.

Good F2P Starter team using 3 free Operators + Akekuri. Endministrator and Chen is really good and a solid Physical Core for any team. Akekuri can also be replaced by any of the 6 Star Physical characters: Ember, Lifeng or Pogranichnik even Da Pan.

Advanced Physical Breach Team

A more synergistic team for players who have accessed a wider roster.

Lifeng	Chen Qianyu	Pogranichnik	Ardelia
Lifeng	Chen Qianyu	Pogranichnik	Alesh

Lifeng (Controlled): Acts as main DPS.

Chen Qianyu: Primary debuff applicator (Vulnerable).

Pogranichnik: Excels at consuming Vulnerable stacks for bonus effects and generating SP for the team.

Ardelia / Alesh: Offers support, healing, or additional damage.

This setup creates a powerful loop: Chen applies debuffs, allies consume them for powerful effects and energy, fueling more skill usage.

 

How to Play

Chen's gameplay revolves around a debuff-and-strike cycle:

1. Initiate: Use Ascending Strike (Battle Skill) on an enemy to apply Lift and Vulnerable stacks. This also triggers your Slashing Edge talent for an ATK buff.

2. Follow-Up: The applied Vulnerable instantly enables Soar to the Stars (Combo Skill). Use it to dash through enemies, dealing damage, reapplying Lift, and stacking more Vulnerable and ATK buffs.

3. Capitalize: Switch to a teammate like Pogranichnik or the Endministrator to use their skills on the debuffed enemy for enhanced effects.

4. Execute: Use Blade Gale (Ultimate) to finish off high-priority or low-health targets.

Pro Tip: Space out your skill usage slightly to maintain the 5 stacks of your Slashing Edge ATK buff for maximum sustained damage.

 

Portrait

Beyond combat, Chen Qianyu is a core member of the Endfield Industries Crisis Team. A Lung (dragon) race individual with over eight years of combat experience, she is fiercely loyal, upbeat, and driven by a strong sense of justice. Her background is connected to the legendary "Chi Xiao" sword style, which she has adapted into her own "Chi Xiao Swordmancy".

 

Conclusion

Chen Qianyu is more than just a free starter unit. She is a versatile and powerful enabler whose value extends from the first mission well into the mid-game. By mastering her debuff cycle and pairing her with synergistic allies, you can build a formidable Physical team capable of controlling the battlefield and dismantling even tough enemies. Invest in her, learn her rhythm, and she will reliably be a cornerstone of your squad on Talos-II.

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