ARCANE BUILD GUIDE: WEAPONS, GEAR & TEAMS

Arcane, real name Li Zhiyan, is the headline 6-star limited operator of Version 1.4, and her banner goes live July 16, 2026. If you have been saving since her Chapter II sacrifice, this is the Arcane build guide you actually needed: which weapon to chase, which gear sets make her Nature damage hit, how her Intellect and Will stats secretly decide her entire playstyle, and the teams that turn her into either a Corrosion DPS or a battlefield-controlling support.

Here is the important caveat, stated once and up front so the rest of the guide can be practical: Arcane’s kit mechanics are officially confirmed from the Companionship Celebration program, but her exact damage values, cooldowns, and skill numbers land when the banner opens. So this is a day-one build direction grounded in her confirmed kit and the real systems already in the game (gear sets, the Corrosion reaction, the current roster), not a reprint of leaked spreadsheets. When a number is a launch unknown, we say so.

Before we dig in, here is the official operator showcase, “I will uphold the honor of the Yinglungs,” so you can see her Nature Arts and Array Arcana animations in motion:

//Arcane - Operator Showcase
"I will uphold the honor of the Yinglungs."

▼//Download game from official websitehttps://t.co/7ppoi3u1SD#ArknightsEndfield #Endfield #CompanionshipCelebration pic.twitter.com/fJhcITT0MN

— Arknights: Endfield (@AKEndfield) July 11, 2026

Official operator reveal card for Arcane (Li Zhiyan). Source: Arknights: Endfield official (@AKEndfield). (C) Gryphline.

TL;DR - Key Points

• Arcane is a 6-star Nature Caster who wields an Arts Unit and is the first operator whose entire role flips based on a stat comparison.
• Array Arcana is the whole gimmick: when Intellect is greater than or equal to Will she plays as a Nature DPS (INT state), and when Will is higher she plays as a support and controller (WILL state).
• BiS weapon is her signature Solemn Phalanx (Arts Unit, Intellect main, Ultimate Gain Efficiency sub), which is close to purpose-built for the INT damage build.
• Best DPS gear revolves around Corrosion payoff sets: Hot Work and Xiranflow, with Mordvolt Insulation and Tide Surge as Arts-scaling alternatives.
• Corrosion is her engine. She applies Nature and Cryo Susceptibility and force-applies Corrosion in INT state, so she wants an Electric or Cryo partner to chain reactions.
• Best teammates are Liino (her banner-mate Electric support), Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica, and Arclight, with Ardelia as the Nature healer.
• Two builds, two stat goals: INT build stacks Intellect above Will; WILL build stacks Will above Intellect. Mixing them by accident is the single most common mistake.
• Banner: Phase 1 “North Yearns the Rift Vigile” runs July 16 to August 9, with Mi Fu and Camille as off-rate 6-stars. Keep a 120-pull floor.

Who Arcane Is and Why She Is Different

Arcane is a Liberi officer, captain of the Yinglung Special Task Force under the Hongshan Academy of Sciences, and, as of Version 1.4, a cooperating partner of Endfield Industries. Players first met her as the ice-cold NPC who sealed herself and Ardashir inside the Ink Scroll to protect the Marker Stone. If you want the full story and her history with Chen Qianyu, our Li Zhiyan (Arcane) story profile covers all of it. This guide is about how she plays.

Mechanically, she is unlike anyone else on the roster. Every other operator has a fixed role. Arcane has two, and she does not choose between them with a button. She chooses with her stat sheet. That single design decision is what makes building her interesting, and what makes it very easy to build her wrong. Her English voice is provided by Julia Gu, and her weapon type is the Arts Unit, the same caster class used by Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica, and Ardelia.

Before we touch weapons or gear, you have to understand the stance system, because it dictates every other choice you make.

Array Arcana: The INT and WILL Stance System

Arcane’s core mechanic is called Array Arcana, and it reads her Intellect against her Will:

• Array Arcana: INT activates when Intellect is greater than or equal to Will. This is her damage stance. She casts her Battle Skill and Combo Skill more often, applies Susceptibility and Corrosion, and unlocks the second phase of her Ultimate.
• Array Arcana: WILL activates when Will is greater than Intellect. This is her support stance. Her Battle Skill pulls enemies together, and her Combo Skill and Ultimate spread any Arts Infliction on the field to nearby targets.

The practical takeaway: you commit to one stance through your gear and essence, then build entirely around it. A half-Intellect, half-Will Arcane is not a flexible Arcane, she is a confused one who does neither job well. The only confirmed “breakpoint” in her entire kit is this Intellect versus Will comparison, so treat it as the first rule of building her, not an afterthought.

Arcane’s Kit, Skill by Skill

Exact multipliers are a launch-day reveal. What follows is the confirmed behavior of each skill and how the two stances change it.

Basic Attack

Her standard Arts Unit attack chain deals Nature damage and builds toward her skill economy. Full attack-string details were not itemized in the reveal, so treat the moment-to-moment combo as “confirm at launch.” What matters for building is that her damage identity lives in her skills and Ultimate, not her basic chain.

Battle Skill

An area attack that applies Nature Infliction stacks.

• INT state: deals more damage, the straightforward DPS version.
• WILL state: pulls nearby enemies toward the center. This is the grouping tool that lets her play the role Gilberta normally fills, bunching a pack so a hypercarry can hit everything at once.

Combo Skill

This is her signature control-and-debuff tool. It imprisons enemies and applies Nature and Cryo Susceptibility, a vulnerability-style debuff that increases damage the target takes.

• INT state: triggers on a Nature Infliction (or two stacks of a non-Nature Infliction) and runs on a shorter cooldown, so it fires often in a damage rotation.
• WILL state: triggers on any Arts Infliction and applies additional Arts Infliction stacks, which is the engine that spreads reactions across a whole pack.

Ultimate: Gloompurge Arcana

She summons a Gloompurger Array that deals large area damage. While it is active, Final Strikes performed by the operator you are controlling deal up to two additional instances of damage, which rewards swapping to your carry during the window.

• INT state: forcibly applies Corrosion and accesses a stronger second phase.
• WILL state: adds another stack of whatever Arts Infliction is already present, deepening the reaction setup rather than adding raw damage.

Corrosion and Susceptibility: How Her Damage Actually Works

Nature’s Arts Reaction in Endfield is Corrosion, the same way Heat has Combustion, Electric has Electrification, and Cryo has Solidification. Corrosion shreds enemy defense and amplifies the damage they take, and it can be consumed to apply Susceptibility, exactly the loop the in-game Ardelia tutorial demonstrates: apply Corrosion, then consume it to stamp Susceptibility onto the target.

Arcane’s INT Ultimate force-applies Corrosion by itself, so she is not fully dependent on a partner to see the reaction. But Corrosion gets much richer when a second element is already on the enemy, and several of her best gear sets literally pay out when Corrosion or Electrification is consumed. That is the mechanical reason her ideal teams pair her Nature with an Electric or Cryo applicator rather than stacking more Nature. Hold that thought for the team section. If you want the deeper reaction theory, our triple-slot essence guide breaks down how Susceptibility and Amp stack in the current meta.

INT-State DPS Build: Best Weapons

For a damage Arcane, you want an Arts Unit that pushes Intellect (both to raise damage and to keep her in INT stance) and, ideally, feeds her Ultimate cadence.

Solemn Phalanx pairs an Intellect main stat with an Ultimate Gain Efficiency sub, which is almost a description of the INT build itself: more Intellect keeps her in the damage stance, and faster ultimate cycling means more Corrosion force-applications and more Final-Strike damage windows. If you are pulling her to deal damage, her weapon banner “Military Grade Issue” is the strongest single upgrade you can chase. If you skip it, an Intellect-main 5-star like OBJ Arts Identifier holds the stance and lets her function while you farm.

INT-State DPS Build: Best Gear Sets

The repo of live gear sets already contains excellent Nature-DPS options, and two of them are practically written for her.

Hot Work is the on-theme first pick for solo DPS value because the Corrosion trigger is one she supplies herself. Xiranflow overtakes it in a team that reliably feeds Electrification or extra Corrosion for her to consume. Both are correct depending on your roster, which is a running theme with Arcane: her ceiling is a team property, not a solo one. For a full walkthrough of which slots to prioritize while you farm, our efficient gear priority guide is the companion read.

WILL-State Support Build: Weapons and Gear

The WILL build is the counterintuitive one, and it comes with a trap. Because the stance flips only when Will is greater than Intellect, the Intellect-main Solemn Phalanx actively works against a support Arcane. Equipping her signature weapon on a WILL build can shove her back into INT stance, which is the opposite of what you want.

Support Arcane is about her Battle Skill pull, her Combo Skill imprison, and spreading Arts Inflictions across a grouped pack so a hypercarry cleans up. Eternal Xiranite is especially natural here because she is constantly applying Susceptibility, though remember it does not stack, so do not double it up with another support already running it.

Stat and Essence Priority

The stance rule turns stat priority into two clean, opposite lists.

INT-state DPS:

1. Intellect (main stat, and it must stay at or above Will)
2. ATK
3. Crit Rate / Crit DMG
4. Ultimate Gain Efficiency
5. Nature DMG where available

WILL-state support:

1. Will (must stay above Intellect)
2. Ultimate Gain Efficiency
3. Support stats (SP generation, cooldown reduction)
4. HP for survivability

For essence specifically, INT Arcane wants Intellect and Arts or Nature DMG lines, while WILL Arcane wants Will and Ultimate Gain lines. The one thing you must never do is split Intellect and Will evenly. There is no hybrid stance, only a mistake. If you want to sanity-check a loadout, the operator build tool lets you model her stat lines before you commit essence.

Best Teams for Arcane

Every strong Arcane team answers one question: what second element sits on the enemy so her Nature can react? Here are the compositions that fall out of her confirmed kit and the current roster.

Nature and Electric Corrosion Team

Arcane (INT DPS) . Liino . Perlica . Ardelia

This is the intended showcase team, and it is not a coincidence that Liino shares Arcane’s version. Liino’s Cosmovoice stance force-applies Electrification and grants Nature Amp, which does two things at once: it lays the Electric status Arcane needs to enrich Corrosion, and it directly amplifies her Nature damage. Perlica adds more Electrification and team ATK, and Ardelia is the Nature healer who also stacks Susceptibility. Arcane is your on-field carry, swapping out only for the Final-Strike window under her Ultimate.

WILL-Support Hypercarry Enabler

Arcane (WILL support) . Zhuang Fangyi . Perlica . Arclight

Here Arcane drops damage and becomes the setup piece. Her Battle Skill pulls the pack together, her Combo Skill imprisons and spreads Inflictions, and Zhuang Fangyi’s chain lightning melts the grouped, debuffed cluster. This mirrors the current SS-tier “Wuling Authority” template, with Arcane flexing into the grouping role. Arclight is the SP battery that keeps the ultimates flowing. If you run this shell, our Zhuang Fangyi complete guide covers his side of the rotation in detail.

Cryo and Nature Reaction Team

Arcane (INT DPS) . Tangtang . Xaihi . Ardelia

If your Electric bench is thin, Cryo works just as well as the second element. Tangtang and Xaihi’s Cryo support layer Solidification and Cryo Susceptibility for Arcane’s Nature to bounce off, and this shell echoes the SS-tier “Cryo-Nature Executioners” comp. Xaihi’s Intellect-scaling support also happens to share Arcane’s stat language.

F2P and Budget Team

Arcane . Perlica . Antal . Fluorite

You do not need a whale roster to make her work. Perlica and Antal are accessible Electric applicators, and Fluorite is the 4-star Nature enabler that keeps the reaction loop going. Give Arcane an Intellect-main 5-star weapon, run Hot Work, and she carries.

Rotation Direction

INT Arcane wants a simple loop: open with the Battle Skill to lay Nature Infliction, fire the Combo Skill on its short cooldown to imprison and apply Susceptibility, then cast Gloompurge Arcana to force Corrosion and open the Final-Strike window, swapping to your highest-damage operator for the extra hits. Repeat, keeping Corrosion uptime high so Hot Work or Xiranflow stays live.

WILL Arcane inverts the priority: lead with the Battle Skill pull to group, chain the Combo Skill to spread Inflictions across the cluster, and time the Ultimate to add another Infliction stack right as your carry commits. Exact cooldown timings are a launch-day detail, so refine the sequence once her real numbers are live.

How to Build Arcane by Player Type

• F2P and light spender: Run INT DPS with an Intellect-main 5-star weapon and Hot Work. Skip the signature and let her Corrosion self-loop carry you. She is fully functional without duplicates.
• Mid-spend: Decide your role before her banner opens. If your roster lacks a Nature DPS, go INT with Solemn Phalanx. If you already have carries and need control, build WILL and save the weapon pull.
• Whale: Solemn Phalanx plus a Corrosion-consumption gear set is the ceiling for INT. Watch for how her duplicates affect the Intellect versus Will math, since anything that widens her stat lead makes stance-locking easier.
• Support main: The WILL build is genuinely rare utility (grouping plus Infliction spread plus imprison CC in one unit). Just remember to keep Will dominant and skip her Intellect signature.

Pull and Banner Advice

Arcane headlines Phase 1 of Version 1.4, the “North Yearns the Rift Vigile” banner, running July 16 to August 9, with Mi Fu and Camille as the off-rate 6-stars and her weapon banner “Military Grade Issue” carrying Solemn Phalanx. She is a limited operator, so keep a 120-pull floor before you start, since the featured guarantee does not carry between banners. Note that the free 6-star sword Farsight everyone receives this patch is not for her, she uses an Arts Unit. Run your own numbers in our pity calculator before you commit, and if you also want Liino in Phase 2 for the designed synergy, budget closer to double. The full patch context, rewards, and the ENDFIELDRENEW code are in our 1.4 Homecoming program recap.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Splitting Intellect and Will. There is no hybrid stance. An even stat spread gives you a worse version of both roles. Pick one.
• Putting Solemn Phalanx on a support Arcane. Its Intellect main can flip her out of WILL stance. Signature weapon, wrong build.
• Building her solo. Her damage sets pay out on Corrosion and Electrification consumption. Without a reaction partner she loses a large chunk of her ceiling.
• Stacking more Nature. A second Nature operator does not enable her reactions. She wants Electric or Cryo alongside.
• Doubling Eternal Xiranite. The team buff does not stack. If another support already runs it, put Arcane on a different set.
• Treating pre-release numbers as gospel. Her mechanics are confirmed, but if you see exact damage figures floating around right now, they are estimates. Verify at launch.

What Would Change This Guide

A few reveals at launch will sharpen these recommendations:

1. Her real skill multipliers and cooldowns, which decide whether Hot Work or Xiranflow wins for solo play and how tight her rotation is.
2. The exact Intellect versus Will thresholds at level cap, which determine how much stat budget each stance actually costs.
3. Her duplicate (potential) nodes, currently unpublished, which may shift the whole build toward or away from the signature weapon.
4. Liino’s finalized Phase 2 kit, since the Arcane and Liino pairing is the designed synergy and her Nature Amp values are the multiplier that matters.

We will update this guide with confirmed numbers the moment her banner is live.

Final Verdict

Arcane is the most flexible operator Endfield has shipped, and the flexibility is the whole point. As an INT Nature DPS she force-applies Corrosion, shreds defense, and rewards a Solemn Phalanx build in an Electric or Cryo reaction team. As a WILL support she groups, imprisons, and spreads Arts Inflictions to feed a hypercarry, filling a role usually reserved for Gilberta. The trap is the same as the strength: her stance is decided by your stat sheet, so a careless build gives you neither. Decide the role first, stack the matching stat, feed her a second element, and she is a premium, meta-relevant pull. Build her by accident, and she underperforms. Choose deliberately.

Frequently Asked Questions

What element and class is Arcane? Arcane is a 6-star Nature Caster who uses the Arts Unit weapon type. She is the first operator whose role changes based on whether her Intellect or Will stat is higher.

Is Arcane a DPS or a support? Both, and you decide which by her stats. When Intellect is at or above Will she is a Nature DPS (INT state). When Will is higher she is a support and controller (WILL state). Build for one, not a mix.

What is Arcane’s best weapon? Her signature Solemn Phalanx (6-star Arts Unit, Intellect main, Ultimate Gain Efficiency sub) is best in slot for the INT DPS build. Oblivion and the 5-star OBJ Arts Identifier are strong non-signature options. A WILL support build should avoid Solemn Phalanx and use a Will-main weapon instead.

What are Arcane’s best gear sets? For INT DPS, Hot Work (Corrosion into +50% Nature DMG) and Xiranflow (reaction-consumption stacks) are the top picks, with Mordvolt Insulation and Tide Surge as Arts-scaling alternatives. For WILL support, Frontiers, Catastrophe, and Eternal Xiranite fit her utility role.

How does Corrosion work for Arcane? Corrosion is Nature’s Arts Reaction. It shreds defense and can be consumed to apply Susceptibility. Arcane’s INT Ultimate force-applies Corrosion, and pairing her with an Electric or Cryo applicator enriches the reaction and activates gear like Xiranflow.

Who are Arcane’s best teammates? Liino (her banner-mate Electric support with Nature Amp), Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica, and Arclight, with Ardelia as the Nature healer. The common thread is a second element on the enemy so her Nature can react.

When does Arcane’s banner release? Her banner, “North Yearns the Rift Vigile,” is Version 1.4 Phase 1 and runs July 16 to August 9, 2026. Mi Fu and Camille are the off-rate 6-stars, and her weapon banner “Military Grade Issue” carries Solemn Phalanx.

How many pulls should I save for Arcane? At least 120 for the featured guarantee, since it does not carry between banners. If you also want Liino in Phase 2 for the intended synergy, plan for closer to double.

Is Arcane worth pulling? If you want a top-tier Nature DPS or a rare grouping-plus-Infliction-spread support, yes. She is a premium limited unit. Just commit to one role when you build her, because her stat-driven stance punishes indecision.

Do I need her signature weapon? No. An Intellect-main 5-star like OBJ Arts Identifier holds her INT stance and lets her function. Solemn Phalanx is the ceiling for a damage build, not a requirement, and it is actively wrong for a support build.

Endfield Hub is a fan-made resource for Arknights: Endfield and is not affiliated with Hypergryph or Yostar. Arcane’s exact numbers will be confirmed at launch, and we will update this guide when her banner goes live.