JUNCTION POINT & GOLDEN AGE: BEST USERS

The Protocol Pass: Blighted Sea Weapon Supply adds two brand new redeemable 6-star weapons to Arknights Endfield: Junction Point, an Arts Unit built around Intellect and Nature reactions, and Golden Age, a Polearm built around Electric damage and team healing. Both are free progression rewards, which raises the real question: who should you actually equip them on? The short version is that each weapon is a near-copy of an upcoming signature weapon, so they are best-in-slot for a very specific operator and merely passable filler for everyone else. This post breaks down both weapons stat by stat, then works through every operator who can equip them and exactly what the weapon does (or fails to do) for that kit.

The Protocol Pass: Blighted Sea Weapon Supply screen, with Junction Point and Golden Age flagged as the new season’s 6-star weapons.

TL;DR - Key Points

• Junction Point is an Arts Unit: Intellect Boost main stat, Ultimate Gain Efficiency Boost sub. Its trait raises Nature DMG and, when the wielder applies Arts Susceptibility or Arts Infliction via a combo skill, grants the wielder and team an ATK buff (max 2 stacks).
• Golden Age is a Polearm: Will Boost main stat, Treatment Efficiency Boost sub. Its trait raises Electric DMG, gives the wielder Treatment Efficiency when its combo skill deals damage, and grants the whole team Arts DMG when its combo skill heals allies.
• Junction Point is a free Solemn Phalanx. It is best-in-slot for Arcane (Li Zhiyan) on an Intellect build and the top current-roster pick for Ardelia, both Nature Intellect users.
• Golden Age is a free Bedazzling Night Debut. It is purpose-built for Liino, an Electric Will-scaling support who heals.
• Only six operators can even equip Junction Point (the Arts Unit users), and only five can equip Golden Age (the Polearm users). Element and stat lines gate the real value hard.
• No current-roster Polearm operator is a healer, so Golden Age’s headline team-buff clause stays dormant on everyone except Liino.
• Off-element users can still take either weapon as a stat stick, but they leave half the trait unused.

Protocol Pass: Blighted Sea Weapon Supply, In Brief

The Weapon Supply track of Protocol Pass: Blighted Sea lets you redeem a rotating pool of 6-star weapons across the season. The full redeemable list this season is Glorious Memory, Umbral Torch, Phantom Pain, Home Longing, Navigator, Beacon of Duty, Flickers in the Mist, and Opus: Etch Figure, plus the two new additions this post focuses on: Junction Point and Golden Age. If you want the wider version context, our Homecoming 1.4 program recap covers the Protocol Pass alongside everything else in the patch.

Because these are free, the value question is not “should I pull,” it is “where does this weapon actually earn its slot.” Weapons in Endfield gate their value three ways: the weapon type decides who can equip it at all, the main stat decides who scales with it, and the element line and trigger clauses decide who unlocks the trait. A weapon can pass one gate and fail the others, which is exactly what happens with both of these on most of the roster.

Junction Point: Stats and Trait

Junction Point is an Arts Unit, the ranged orbiter weapon used by Casters and Arts-oriented supporters. Its profile:

The Efficacy: Feedback Loop trait does two things. First, it raises Nature DMG Dealt as a flat line, which only benefits Nature operators. Second, when the wielder applies Arts Susceptibility or Arts Infliction with a combo skill, both the wielder and other team members gain increased ATK for a set duration, stacking up to 2 with each stack timed separately.

That combination is almost identical to Solemn Phalanx, Arcane’s signature Arts Unit (Intellect main, Ultimate Gain Efficiency sub). Junction Point adds a Nature DMG line and a team ATK payoff on top of the same stat shell, which makes it a genuine free substitute for the signature for the right owner. The catch is the same one Solemn Phalanx carries: the Intellect main stat is not neutral, it actively favors Intellect scaling and, on Arcane specifically, pushes her toward her INT stance.

Who Should Use Junction Point

Only six operators in the current roster use an Arts Unit and can equip Junction Point: Ardelia, Gilberta, Zhuang Fangyi, Perlica, Xaihi, and Antal. The new limited operator Arcane (Li Zhiyan) also uses an Arts Unit and is the single best target overall. Here is what the weapon does for each.

Arcane (Li Zhiyan): best in slot on an INT build

Arcane is a 6-star Nature Caster whose INT-state Ultimate force-applies Corrosion, and consuming Corrosion stamps Susceptibility. That means she satisfies every clause of Feedback Loop by herself. The Nature DMG line buffs her element directly, the Intellect main stat raises her damage and keeps her locked in INT stance, the Ultimate Gain Efficiency sub accelerates her Corrosion force-application cadence, and her own kit applies the Arts Susceptibility and Infliction that trigger the team ATK buff. It is functionally a free Solemn Phalanx for a damage Arcane. The one caveat, identical to her signature, is that the Intellect main stat sabotages a WILL-state support Arcane by shoving her back into INT stance, so reserve Junction Point for the INT-DPS build. Our Arcane build guide covers the full stance trap in detail.

Ardelia: the best current-roster home

Ardelia is a 6-star Nature Supporter on an Arts Unit, scaling on Intellect, whose kit revolves around applying Corrode and Susceptibility plus HP Treatment. She checks the same three boxes Arcane does: Nature element for the DMG line, Intellect for the main stat, and a Susceptibility-application loop to trigger the team ATK buff. As a support, her personal damage matters less than her team contribution, so a weapon that hands the whole team an ATK buff every time she applies Susceptibility is squarely on-role. Until Arcane arrives on your account, Ardelia is the cleanest reason to redeem Junction Point.

Gilberta: strong element fit, wrong main stat

Gilberta is a 6-star Nature Supporter on an Arts Unit whose kit applies Arts Susceptibility and Nature Infliction and groups enemies with Lift. She lights up two clauses: the Nature DMG line buffs her element, and her Susceptibility and Infliction application fires the team ATK buff. The mismatch is the main stat, since Gilberta scales on Will, not Intellect, so the Intellect Boost is largely wasted stat budget. For a pure buffer whose job is enabling the team rather than dealing damage herself, that is a tolerable loss, and Junction Point remains a reasonable pick behind her on-type options like Delivery Guaranteed and Opus: Etch Figure. Just know you are paying for a stat she does not use.

Perlica: off-element, but a real stat and utility fit

Perlica is a 5-star Electric Caster on an Arts Unit who scales on Intellect and applies Electric Infliction and Electrification. The Intellect main stat is genuinely good for her, and her Electric Infliction application triggers the team ATK buff, so two of the three clauses land. Only the Nature DMG line is dead weight since she is Electric. For an Intellect-scaling Electric support, Junction Point is a legitimate alternative to picks like Stanza of Memorials, especially if you value the team ATK uptime. You lose the element line but keep the stat and the buff.

Antal: the budget version of the same idea

Antal is a 4-star Electric Supporter on an Arts Unit scaling on Intellect with Arts Susceptibility and Amp in the kit. The logic mirrors Perlica exactly: the Intellect main stat fits, the Susceptibility application triggers the team ATK buff, and the Nature line is unused. As a 4-star, Antal is an easy home for a spare Junction Point when you want a team-ATK enabler without spending a signature-tier weapon elsewhere.

Xaihi and Zhuang Fangyi: skip

Two Arts Unit users can equip Junction Point but should not prioritize it. Xaihi is a 5-star Cryo Supporter scaling on Will: her Cryo Infliction does trigger the ATK buff, but the Nature line is dead and the Intellect main stat is wasted on a Will scaler, and her existing Chivalric Virtues already delivers team ATK on heal more cleanly. Zhuang Fangyi is a 6-star Electric DPS striker scaling on Will: as a damage dealer she wants an Electric, Will-statted Arts Unit like Flickers in the Mist, and Junction Point’s Intellect main plus Nature line does almost nothing for her output.

Junction Point fit summary

Golden Age: Stats and Trait

Golden Age is a Polearm, and its profile reads like a support healer’s tool:

The Pursuit: Great Hero trait raises Electric DMG Dealt, then layers two combo-skill clauses. When the wielder’s combo skill deals damage, the wielder gains increased Treatment Efficiency for a set duration. When the wielder’s combo skill grants HP Treatment to other operators, the entire team gains increased Arts DMG Dealt for a set duration. Effects of the same name do not stack.

This is the near-twin of Bedazzling Night Debut, Liino’s signature Polearm (Will main, Treatment Efficiency sub, built for Medicant-style supports). The design intent is unmistakable: Golden Age wants an Electric, Will-scaling operator who heals allies through a combo skill, so the healing clause converts into a team-wide Arts DMG buff. The Treatment Efficiency sub only pays off if the wielder actually heals.

Who Should Use Golden Age

Five operators use a Polearm and can equip Golden Age: Lifeng, Camille, Avywenna, and Estella from the live roster, plus the new limited operator Liino. The important honest caveat up front: none of the four current-roster Polearm users is a healer, so the weapon’s headline team Arts DMG clause simply does not fire on them.

Liino: the operator this weapon was designed for

Liino is a 6-star Electric Supporter on a Polearm scaling on Will, and her whole kit is built on team healing. Her combo skill Delightful Harmonics heals the operator you are controlling, deals Electric damage, and restores Ultimate Energy, while her Ultimate Dawnstar Concerto heals the entire team and her Vocalist Stance provides sustained healing. Every clause of Pursuit: Great Hero lands: the Electric DMG line buffs her element, the Will main stat matches her scaling, the Treatment Efficiency sub amplifies the healing she is constantly outputting, her combo skill deals damage for the self Treatment buff, and her healing kit is exactly what the team Arts DMG clause is written around. In practice Golden Age is a free stand-in for her signature Bedazzling Night Debut, sharing the same Polearm, Will, and Treatment Efficiency profile. If you play Liino as a support, redeem Golden Age. Our Liino build guide covers how her healing and Electric buffs chain together.

Avywenna: half a weapon

Avywenna is a 5-star Electric DPS striker on a Polearm scaling on Will with Arts Susceptibility in her kit but no healing. On stats alone she looks tempting: the Electric DMG line and the Will main stat both fit a Will-scaling Electric carry. The problem is the trait’s payoffs. She has no HP Treatment, so the team Arts DMG clause never triggers, and the wielder Treatment Efficiency buff is meaningless on an operator who does not heal. She gets a flat Electric DMG line and a matching stat, and nothing else. That makes Golden Age a usable stat stick if she has no better Polearm, but you are running half a weapon. Her actual best-in-slot is JET.

Estella, Camille, and Lifeng: wrong on every axis that matters

The remaining three Polearm users fail the trait almost completely. Estella is a 4-star Cryo sub-DPS scaling on Will: only the Will main stat matches, the Electric line is dead, and she does not heal, so the trait is dormant. Camille is a 6-star Heat Vanguard scaling on Agility who works as an SP battery and Heat-susceptibility support rather than a healer: wrong element, wrong stat, no healing, and she already has her own signature and Beacon of Duty as on-role picks. Lifeng is a 6-star Physical Guard scaling on Agility with crowd control and Physical Susceptibility: Golden Age offers him nothing, since Electric DMG, Will, and Treatment Efficiency are all irrelevant to a Physical Agility bruiser.

Golden Age fit summary

Junction Point vs Solemn Phalanx and Opus: Etch Figure

For a Nature Intellect Arts Unit user, three weapons cluster together: the signature Solemn Phalanx, the free Junction Point, and the Protocol Pass Opus: Etch Figure. Solemn Phalanx keeps the crown for a damage Arcane because it is her tuned signature, but Junction Point is unusually close for a free weapon, since it shares the Intellect main and Ultimate Gain sub while adding a Nature DMG line and a team ATK payoff that Solemn Phalanx does not have. Opus: Etch Figure leans harder into the Nature DMG main affix and suits a Gilberta-style buffer who does not need Intellect. In practice, redeem Junction Point as your bridge to Solemn Phalanx, then decide whether the signature’s tuning is worth the pull.

Golden Age vs Bedazzling Night Debut and Cohesive Traction

For Liino, the weapon ladder is Bedazzling Night Debut (signature) at the top, Golden Age as the free near-equivalent, and Cohesive Traction (a 5-star with Will and Electric DMG) as the strongest non-signature alternative that leans into her combo-skill cadence. Golden Age slots neatly between them: it is not tuned quite as tightly as her signature, but it is free and shares the exact stat shell, so it is the obvious pickup if you are not spending Arsenal Tickets on Bedazzling Night Debut. Since Golden Age has no other real home in the current roster, Liino is essentially the entire reason to redeem it.

Should You Claim These? By Player Type

• If you play or plan to pull Arcane: redeem Junction Point immediately. It is a free INT-build weapon that carries her until (or instead of) her signature.
• If you run Ardelia or Gilberta: Junction Point is worth redeeming as a team ATK enabler for your Nature core, best on Ardelia thanks to her Intellect scaling.
• If you play or plan to pull Liino: redeem Golden Age. It is the free version of her signature and the only weapon that unlocks its full trait.
• If you run neither Nature Arts Unit nor Liino: these are low priority. Redeem them for the collection and treat them as emergency stat sticks, but do not reshuffle your roster around them.

Common Mistakes

• Equipping Golden Age on Avywenna and expecting the team buff. She does not heal, so the marquee Arts DMG clause never fires. She only gets a flat Electric line and a Will stat.
• Putting Junction Point on a WILL-support Arcane. The Intellect main stat pushes her back into INT stance, breaking the support build. Reserve it for INT-DPS Arcane.
• Chasing the Intellect line on a Will scaler. Gilberta, Xaihi, and Zhuang Fangyi all scale on Will, so Junction Point’s main stat is wasted budget even when the trait clauses partially fire.
• Treating element lines as universal. Nature DMG on Junction Point and Electric DMG on Golden Age only help matching-element operators. Off-element users keep the stat and trigger clauses but lose the flat damage line.

What Would Change This

The single biggest variable is future operators. Golden Age in particular is built for a role the live roster barely fills, an Electric Will-scaling Polearm healer, so any new operator in that mold instantly becomes a prime user. Watch each new Polearm and Arts Unit operator’s element, scaling stat, and whether their combo skill applies Susceptibility, Infliction, or HP Treatment. Those three questions decide whether one of these free weapons suddenly has a new best home.

Final Read

Both weapons are textbook examples of free progression rewards tuned around one operator each. Junction Point is a free Solemn Phalanx that turns Arcane and Ardelia into stronger team enablers, with real off-element utility for Intellect supports like Perlica and Antal. Golden Age is a free Bedazzling Night Debut that only fully works on Liino, since the current roster has no other Polearm healer to trigger its team Arts DMG clause. Redeem the one that matches your roster, and if neither fits yet, bank them as collection pieces until the right operator arrives.

FAQ

What weapon type is Junction Point?

It is an Arts Unit, the ranged orbiter weapon used by Casters and Arts-oriented supporters. Only operators who use an Arts Unit can equip it.

What weapon type is Golden Age?

It is a Polearm. Only Polearm users can equip it, which in the current roster means Lifeng, Camille, Avywenna, Estella, and the limited operator Liino.

Is Junction Point better than Solemn Phalanx?

For a damage Arcane, Solemn Phalanx remains best in slot as her tuned signature, but Junction Point is very close and completely free, adding a Nature DMG line and a team ATK buff that the signature lacks. It is the ideal bridge weapon.

Who is the best user of Junction Point?

Arcane (Li Zhiyan) on an Intellect build overall, and Ardelia as the best pick in the current roster, since both are Nature Intellect Arts Unit users who apply Susceptibility.

Who is the best user of Golden Age?

Liino. She is an Electric, Will-scaling Polearm support whose healing kit triggers every clause of the weapon’s trait, effectively making it a free version of her signature.

Can Avywenna use Golden Age?

She can equip it, and the Electric DMG line and Will main stat both fit her, but she does not heal, so the team Arts DMG clause and the Treatment Efficiency benefits stay unused. It is a stat stick at best for her.

Do off-element operators get anything from these weapons?

Yes, they keep the main stat and any trigger clauses their kit can fire, but they lose the flat element DMG line. For example, Perlica benefits from Junction Point’s Intellect and team ATK buff but not its Nature DMG.

Why does Junction Point hurt a support Arcane?

Arcane’s stance flips to WILL only when Will exceeds Intellect. Junction Point’s Intellect main stat raises Intellect, which can force her back into INT stance and break a support build.

Are these weapons free?

Yes. Both are redeemable 6-star weapons from the Protocol Pass: Blighted Sea Weapon Supply track, so they cost progression rather than pulls.

Will these get better later?

Golden Age especially depends on future operators. A new Electric Will-scaling Polearm healer would become an instant top user, so both weapons are worth banking even if your current roster does not fit them.

Note: The content shown here is for demonstration purposes only and may differ from the actual game. Please refer to the in-game information for specific weapon stats and effects.