Developer
Yostar Limited

Category
Strategy

Game Version
0.9.02

Arknights: Free-to-play Tower Defense Game

Arknights is a Chinese tower defense game by Studio Montagne, Hypergryph. It was first released in China last May 2019. Its global server was released last January 16 this year by Yostar. It is a free-to-play 2D fantasy game with a huge amount of voice-acting and interesting characters to choose from. It features strategic defense gameplay; players deploy units on the battlefield based on their strategy. It has been taking the mobile game world by storm as soon as it was released with its amazing features and great success. Moreover, it was dubbed as the best mobile game this 2020.

The game mechanics might sound easy and simple, however, it involves a lot of thinking, planning, and preparation. This is why knowing each character by heart is important. To be able to adapt fully to Arknights’ battle system, players can run practice rounds beforehand. Surprisingly, the game has a great system that doesn’t make players rely on high tier characters. Although having high-tier units do give benefits due to their increased stats, how the game will turn out still depends on your strategy.

Storyline

Arknights is set in a dystopian world with a post-apocalyptic future setting of the planet Terra. The inhabitants of planet Terra have features of animal and mythological creatures. The world was destroyed by a catastrophe caused by a common mineral that can be found on the planet--Originium. It is a semi-transparent black crystal or ore that yields a huge amount of energy. The mineral was also found at the site of the entire catastrophe. It became a very valuable source and the basic material for the Art field works. It had no doubt helped the technological revolution in Terra.

Originium has offered a lot of benefits to the planet Terra but it also brings misfortune to its inhabitants. Those who are exposed to the energy of the crystal are dubbed as infected. Aside from that, prolonged exposure to the crystal increases an individual’s Art powers but also causes oripathy; an ailment that worsen over time and tapping to the improved powers can cause rapid deterioration and will eventually lead to death. Originium can be found in all places surrounding terra and the disease itself is easily transmitted making it a deadly pandemic and a threat to the human race.

Arknights players will take on the role of a “Doctor” (as referred to by other characters in the game) who suffers from amnesia. The Doctor was rescued by the Rhode Island organization, led by Amiya and her squad. As the Doctor, you will become a key member of the pharmaceutical company and will be leading a group of Operators to eliminate enemies that get too close to the resources. You will be responsible for recruiting and building the team of these Operators. You will train them, assign them roles to defend the innocent, and resist those who mean harm.

Combat

For those who are very well familiar with the very concept of a tower defense game and how it works, you will surely enjoy Arknights. By creating an RPG game with a dark story, developers have brought convenience and portability of its mobile platform to players while offering everything you expect in this game genre. Winning here isn’t a piece of cake; there are different parameters one should consider. This includes a variety of each operator’s skills, key roles, range, and attacks. The strategic depth of the game makes the difference whether it will be a win or loss.

Elite System

Each unit in the game has an upgrade access to Elite I but only those that belong to the 4-star tier and above have an access to Elite II. When a unit is upgraded to Elite, their level resets but their stats will remain the same. Units upgraded to Elite I will unlock a passive skill and will acquire a second skill while increasing its DP cost. Units upgraded to Elite II will upgrade its minor stats as well as its passive. However, 6-star operators unlock their third skill and second passive when upgraded to Elite II.

Currency

There are three currencies existing in Arknights; Gems, Originite Prime, and Lungmen Dollars. Gems are mainly used for Gacha pulls. For every 600 gems you acquired, you can do a single pull. Originite Prime is a stone that can grant you full stamina or 180 gems. It is acquired through clearing missions with 3-stars and passing its hard difficulty. Lungmen Dollars is mainly used for upgrading characters, base, or simply to make a character elite. You can get lungmen dollars through rotational daily missions and trading sites in the base as well.

Tickets

Tickets are used for exchanging materials or resources. There are three ticket colors that you should be familiar with; Green, Yellow, and Red. Green Tickets are awarded by pulling a 3-star or 4-star operator and used to obtain currencies such as lungmen dollars. Yellow Tickets can be obtained by acquiring a new operator for the first time. They can be exchanged for advanced materials such as catalysts or gacha tickets. Red Tickets are farmed only on specific days. They are the favorable resource to exchange for catalysts and can also be used to craft double chips sets for the elite.

Game Features

Arknights’ gameplay allows players to build their team of operators. In battle, each unit will be placed on the map to either attack, block, push enemies, or heal other operators on the team. In order to place each unit on the map, you will need Deployment Points or DP. They can be acquired as you progress in the game or via certain Operators’ abilities. Knowing when, where, and which operators are best suited for a certain role and position based on your strategy will determine the fate of the game.

Class Variations

There’s an extensive variety of classes in Arknights. Caster specializes in long-range attacks and art powers. Moreover, they are high-risk range magic units that inflict high damage to opponents but lack in attack speed. They are also skilled in controlling the effects of Originium which is more effective on enemies carrying special devices. Lastly, they are usually the go-to option to counter enemies with high DEF.

The Caster Archetypes are Single-Target which only attacks a specific enemy with low ATK; AoE where their attack affects multiple enemies; Channeler which uses Arts damage to all enemies within a range; Special which has unique characteristics that distinguish them from others.

Defender is a defense unit with a high level of HP and high DEF. They are responsible for blocking or holding off enemy attacks. For this reason, they are usually placed in front during battles. There are different Defender Archetypes: Tank focuses on resisting any form of attacks from opponents; Arts have high ATK but have low DEF, they also deal Arts damage when their skill is active; Healing which is capable of restoring their health as well as other units and they are resistant to Arts damage, and; Special which has special or unique characteristics different from other defenders.

Guard is the main unit for melee attack. They hold off danger and eliminate the enemy in time. Aside from that, they have comprehensive skills that cope with most enemies.

The different Guard Archetypes are Single-Target,which is also known as Duelist Guard, usually has the highest HP and ATK compared to the other guard archetypes to compensate for their low DEF and high attack interval; Arts which deal Arts damage instead of physical damage; Enmity are those that can recover HP from attacks, their buff activates when they are low in HP, and; Brawler which can deliver many hits with low attack interval; although, they have a very low ATK rate making them ineffective against enemies with high DEF.

Medic as the name suggests, provide treatment and health recovery assistance to other units. They are usually vulnerable and must be protected at all cost, especially from ranged attack enemies as they are the core of the team. The amount of HP level they can heal is measured by their ATK. The Medic Archetypes are Single-Target which can heal one target at one time with their high ATK in the expense of high DP cost; Wide Range which, as the name entails, has a wider range but lower ATK, and; AoE which can heal three units with low ATK.

Sniper class uses weapons like bows and firearms. They eliminate enemies before they even get close. The Sniper Archetypes are Single-Target Sniper which attacks an enemy with moderate ATK power with low DP cost and low interval. Moreover, they prioritize aerial enemies over others. This archetype has three sub-archetypes:. Short-Range has higher ATK with their skills powering up their DPS; Long-Range has the highest ATK in the expense of high attack interval and DP cost. Moreover, they prioritize enemies with lower DEF, and; Heavy prioritizes enemies with the heaviest weight. Also, it has a high ATK, high interval, and high DP cost.

Sniper class also has the AoE archetype. They deal wide-range damage among enemies in the adjacent tiles. Aside from that, they have high DEF and release high ATK, and with it comes a high attack interval with a high DP cost. They can be used for crowd control and are very effective at it, especially in Annihilation maps where they are most commonly seen. Lastly, the Close Range has a shorter range and lower ATK. Moreover, they hit every enemy within range with each attack. Enemies in front of this unit take more damage than the others.

Specialist class participates in combat with different ways to attack, and they must be deployed properly for them to be efficient. The different specialist archetypes are Shift which performs environmental skills, forcing enemies to holes into their death; Push which can stall enemies by pushing them back; Pull which can pull enemies towards the range of operators; Fast-redeploy which can eliminate high-priority targets and can be re-deployed once done; Controllers which can hit all enemies within range with an attack but has low ATK; Shooter which can damage operators even before applying it, and; Special which has unique characteristics.

Supporter class enhance their team’s combat operators and weaken those of enemies. They can also utilize summons during combat. This class has five archetypes: Enabler which has sub-archetypes: Buffer increases operator’s abilities and De-buffer that weakens the opponents; Slow which can be used to buy players some time to build a defensive line, and; Summoners which can deploy limited summons to act as multipliers and are counted towards the unit limit. Players must keep in mind that if a summoner has been killed off, its entire summons will be destroyed.

Vanguard has a significant amount of HP, ATK and DEF. They require low DP cost to be deployed which makes room for other units. Aside from that, they can handle the initial wave of enemies early in the game.

This class has four different archetypes: Defensive which has high DEF and low ATK, they are also useful in making way for high-cost units; Offensive which has high ATK and low DEF, they generate 1 DP for each kill and restores DP fully once retreated; Supportive which generates more DP when their skill is active although they cannot attack or block enemies, they also provide various ways to provide support, and; Specials are like the other specials.

Gacha System

What makes Arknights popular in the Otaku community is because of its Gacha system which is F2P friendly. You can collect various characters or Operators. Unlike most gacha based games, Arknights have done it right; they give fair gacha pulls for its players. The game doesn’t torture its players with its rate for materials although the rate for characters is considerably high; 5-star and 6-star characters are guaranteed during any pull from a new banner. Banners rotate roughly once every two weeks, players will have at least two high tier characters every month.

Incredible Visual and Voice Acting

As mentioned, there’s a ton of characters at your disposal. Those characters’ artwork shows incredible details, from main characters up to the minor ones. The characters were drawn in a chibi-based art style that gives players some anime feels. Even the static images used in the cut scenes during the game were given precise details. It is so well-designed that the visual or graphics isn’t the only impressive feature of the game, each character’s voice acting is amazing as well. The game gives players superb auditory experience; from its amazing soundtrack to the Japanese voice actors that dubbed each character.

Guides

New Player Banner

As soon as you finish the tutorial mission, you have enough resources such as Orundum and Orginite Prime. Now, use up all the 21 new player pulls you have available. By doing this trick, you will be able to know the things you should prioritize next. As soon as you spend up all resources, you can re-roll your account but if you luckily acquired some 6-star heroes this won’t be necessary. Those will be enough to get you through the early missions in the game.

Obtaining Characters from Recruitment

As you use up all resources, you will look for ways to obtain new characters. One of the reliable methods around is recruitment. If you select a good combination of traits and max out the recruitment timer, you will be able to get high tier characters. As long as you get the traits right, you will be able to obtain most, if not all, operators. The game allows players to choose recruitment cooldowns, you can choose from an hour to 9 hours. Keep in mind that getting high graded heroes depends on how long you wait.

RIIC Base Guide: Build It Right

Rhode Island Infrastructure Complex or RIIC will be your base. The place holds different kinds of facilities that provide operators significant benefits for each type. The Control Center, Dormitory, Power Plant, Factory, Trading Post, Reception Room, Workshop, Human Resources Office, and Training Room. Each operator’s RIIC skills will be active as soon as they are stationed in a facility. This is the main source of trust among operators. Each day an operator gains one trust point while their morale goes down as they work in each facility. It is crucial to balance who is stationed and who goes to battle.

The Control Center is considered as the Base Headquarters. Players can assign five operators or assistants consisting of one leader and four sub-assistants. When an operator is not assigned to any other facilities, the leader will hang out in the control center while sub-assistants go to dormitories. Placing operators with bonuses for this specific facility will increase the aspects or benefits the base gives. When stationed in the control center, even without a specific skill, operators will slow down morale reduction of other operators overall in the base. You should also consider upgrading the control center to allow base expansion.

Dormitory is for restoring the morale of operators. Placing operators here with bonuses specific to this facility speeds up the restoration of the operator’s morale. You should also take note that furniture in the dormitory increases the ambiance. The higher the ambiance level the faster the morale restoration is and it will reward more friend credits with a maximum of 50 per dormitory. To get an ambiance bonus, you must complete all the furniture sets. Try spreading furniture to other dormitories to maximize the ambiance benefits although keep in mind that each dormitory has a maximum of 1000 Ambiance Level.

The Powerplant, as the name suggests, provides power to the overall base. This facility produces drones used to build and upgrade rooms or enhance facility production. Placing the operators with bonuses specific to this facility will allow the increase of the drone regeneration rate. It is recommended to build three power plants to fully develop the base.

On the other hand, the Factory is responsible for generating resources such as Originium. You must place operators with bonuses to this specific facility to allow an increase in the facility's production and capacity limit. You can queue production past its capacity limit but it will be cut off once the limit is reached.

Trading Post is where players can sell Gold Bars or Originium for Orundum. If you place operators with bonuses specific to this place the Acquisition Efficiency and Order Limit will increase. It will be great to get more Orundum but it is not recommended due to the LMD and Sanity Cost that it implies. It will severely slow down Operator development. You may get 20 Orundum by trading 2 Originium shards.

Conversely, the Reception Room is where players can send, find, and receive clues. Placing an operator with bonuses on this specific facility will increase Clue Search Speed. It is important to upgrade to increase Support Operator slots.

The Workshop is where players process building materials. If you place an operator with bonuses in this specific facility the byproduct rate produced will increase. Meanwhile, the Human Resource Office allows players to unlock additional recruitment slots. Placing an operator with bonuses on this specific facility will increase HR accumulating speed.

Lastly, the Training Room is where players upgrade each operator’s skill mastery. You can upgrade mastery skills to its maximum depending on the facility level. If you place an operator with bonuses in this specific facility the training speed will increase. You may assign two operators here to gain trust points without morale reduction when no one is in training.

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These days, it is very easy to download mobile games to your PC. Some would need an emulator such as games.lol--which is very easy to use and navigate, by the way, you should check it out--while some such as this will only require a simple process of locating, clicking, and waiting. To start with, locate the download button on the screen and click on it, wait for the download prompter and click on it to start downloading and installing. You may take a coffee break or two while the game is still loading. Once it’s done, voila! You may now enjoy Arknights.

About Yostar

Yostar Games was founded in the year 2014. Their offices are situated in Shanghai, China and Tokyo, Japan. The company is a well-known mobile game publisher and has become the leading game developer and investor in China. They specialize in developing online games as well as global publishing and investment. Yostar strives to become the premier publisher of anime internet games and to bring the best games to everyone by pushing into the market with their creative and easy to play games. As a game publisher, Yostar Games had also done impressive ways of addressing its global community.

Games by Yostar

Azure Lane was the very first mobile RPG game released by Yostar Games. It was successfully released in Japan last September 2017 following the initial release in China in May of the same year then held its global release in 2018. It gained huge popularity in Japan and reached five million downloads only four months within the release date. It was voted one of the best games of 2017. In 2019, Yostar Games introduced its new mobile RPG, Arknights. It was well-received by fans, critics as well as the media and reached No.1 of the iOs top gross ranking.

What’s Next?

The company had announced the next mobile RPG on its lineup, Nekoparaiten. The announcement was made via Twitter during Anime Expo last 2019. Yostar had teamed up with Neko Works in developing a game based on the Nekopara Series. Nekopara is an adult visual novel mainly involving humans living alongside “Nekos” or cat-girls. Nekoparaiten will be a Neko romance simulation mobile RPG game set to be released this 2020. The game will be released in English for Android and iOS platforms. Players will be welcomed to immerse in a cat paradise where “all kinds of nekos worldwide will gather around you”.

There is still no news so far on the exact release date of Nekoparaiten and details about the game are scarce. But what we know is that just like the other games published by Yostar Games, this will be a free-to-play mobile game for everyone. It is safe to assume that we can expect many new characters as they are already introducing them one by one through the game’s official Twitter account. The developers and publisher already gave fans a glimpse of exactly what we will be seeing in the game. Check out the first trailer of Nekoparaiten here.

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