Ardelia Build Guide – Arknights Endfield

Ardelia stands out as one of the premier support operators in Arknights Endfield, bringing powerful debuffs, team buffs, and consistent healing to any squad composition. She is a 6-star Nature Arts Unit Supporter who applies Corrosion through her Combo Skill and immediately consumes it with her Battle Skill to apply long-lasting Physical and Arts Susceptibility debuffs — boosting your entire team’s damage output while keeping everyone alive.

If you’re just getting started with the game, check out our comprehensive Arknights Endfield guides hub for everything you need to know. This guide breaks down Ardelia’s optimal build, covering how to get her, weapons, gear sets, skill priority, Potentials, and stat priorities to help you get the most out of this versatile support character.

How to Get Ardelia in Arknights Endfield

Ardelia is one of the most F2P-friendly characters in the game. You can obtain her for free on Day 3 of the Awakening Sign-In permanent event — simply log in daily for your first two weeks. Her signature weapon, Dreams of the Starry Beach, is also free from the same event, meaning most players can build a fully optimized Ardelia from day one without spending any premium currency.

She is also available as a Standard Operator on Basic Headhunting, New Horizons Headhunting, and limited banners at a 0.8% drop rate.

Quick Build Summary

Best Weapons:

• Dreams of the Starry Beach (Signature, Best for Arts Teams — also F2P)
• Stanza of Memorials (Best for Physical Teams)
• Monaihe (Budget Alternative / Ultimate-Focused)

Best Gear Set:

• Eternal Xiranite (4-piece, Best Overall)
• LYNX Set (Alternative: Best for pure healing focus)

Priority Stats:

• Intellect (Primary)
• Will (Secondary — scales healing directly)
• Ultimate Gain Efficiency (Essential)

Skill Priority:

• Battle Skill (Highest — core debuff and healing engine)
• Ultimate (Second)
• Basic Attack / Combo Skill (Last)

Best Weapons for Ardelia in Arknights Endfield

Dreams of the Starry Beach (Best for Arts Teams)

Ardelia’s 6-star signature weapon is her absolute best choice when supporting Arts damage teams — and it’s completely free to obtain. At max level it provides Intellect +156 and Treatment Bonus +46.43%, directly boosting both her primary stat and healing output. Its passive effect (Infliction: Tidal Murmurs) gives her a Secondary Attribute boost, and after she consumes Corrosion via her Battle Skill, the target enemy suffers Arts DMG Taken +16% for 25 seconds.

This transforms Ardelia from a pure healer into a genuine damage amplifier for Arts teams. The debuff stacks with her Physical and Arts Susceptibility, creating powerful combined damage windows.

Important limitation: Dreams of the Starry Beach provides no team utility when Ardelia is supporting Physical damage teams. In that case, switch to Stanza of Memorials instead.

Stanza of Memorials (Best for Physical Teams)

This 5-star option is Ardelia’s go-to weapon specifically when running Physical-focused teams. It grants Max HP, ATK%, and provides a significant ATK boost to all non-Nature teammates for a long duration whenever Ardelia activates her Ultimate. Since her signature weapon does nothing for Physical teams, Stanza of Memorials becomes the clear choice in those compositions, offering consistent team-wide damage uplift tied to her Ultimate cycling.

Monaihe (Budget / Ultimate-Focused Alternative)

Monaihe is a solid fallback if you lack either of the above weapons. It focuses entirely on buffing Ardelia’s personal attributes — providing Will, Ultimate Gain Efficiency +37.14%, and Arts Intensity. The increased Ultimate Gain Efficiency lets you cast Wooly Party (her Ultimate) more frequently for additional healing uptime. It’s a good stopgap and worth farming basic Essences for while working toward her signature weapon.

Early Game Option: Freedom to Proselytize can be acquired from Stock Redistribution without spending premium currency and works well in early progression before you have access to the weapons above.

Best Gear Sets for Ardelia in Arknights Endfield

Eternal Xiranite Set (Best Overall Build)

The Eternal Xiranite set is Ardelia’s best gear in the late game. Its 3-piece set effect grants Wearer’s HP +1000 and after the wearer applies Amp, Protected, Susceptibility, or Weakened, other teammates gain DMG Dealt +16% for 15 seconds. Ardelia triggers this constantly since her Battle Skill applies Susceptibility every time she consumes Corrosion.

Here’s the recommended piece setup:

Eternal Xiranite Gloves T1 — Provides Intellect, Will, and Ultimate Gain Efficiency. All three stats work in perfect synergy to boost healing potency and Ultimate frequency.

Eternal Xiranite Auxiliary Arm (x2) — Since Auxiliary Arms fall under the Kit gear category, you can equip two without breaking set bonuses. Each provides Will, Intellect, and Ultimate Gain Efficiency. Running two copies completes your 4-piece set bonus while maximizing Ardelia’s key stats.

Flex Gear Option

Tide Fall Light Armor — For your remaining gear slot, this piece provides a substantial Intellect boost alongside extra Ultimate Gain Efficiency without interfering with your Eternal Xiranite set bonus.

Alternative Gear Options

LYNX Set (Pure Healing Focus) — If you want to maximize Ardelia’s raw healing output, a LYNX set build is the top alternative. It improves her healing considerably and the Aegis Injector piece can be mixed with Eternal Xiranite pieces (you only need 3 pieces for the set bonus), keeping the team ATK buff active while boosting her heals. Note that the LYNX set’s DMG Reduction effect only triggers when the controlled operator picks up Shadows of Mr. Dolly, so it won’t proc on non-controlled allies.

Link Set — If Eternal Xiranite is already occupied by another teammate, Link is a solid healing-focused alternative that improves sustain and adds defensive utility.

Early Game: Use gear providing Will and Healing Bonus to strengthen her sustain before you have access to the endgame sets. Mordvolt Resistant set is the recommended early option for the Will and Intellect it provides.

Stat Priority Breakdown

Focus on these stats when rolling or upgrading gear:

Intellect (Highest Priority) — Ardelia’s primary stat. Directly scales her healing output. More Intellect means bigger heals and better sustainability during extended fights.

Will (Secondary Priority) — Ardelia’s secondary stat and the direct scaling stat for her healing formula (HP restored = 45 + Will × 0.38 per Shadow of Mr. Dolly at base). Stacking Will meaningfully increases her heal amounts per pickup. Don’t neglect this stat.

Ultimate Gain Efficiency (Essential) — Determines how often you access Wooly Party (her Ultimate). Since her Ultimate provides crucial healing and healing zone generation, more frequent casts directly improve team survivability. Prioritize this on gear substats. The general rule: prioritize Intellect on main stats, chase Ultimate Gain Efficiency on substats.

For more details on how stats work in the game, take a look at our stats guide.

Skill Priority for Ardelia

Ardelia is not resource-intensive and her skill priority is straightforward:

Battle Skill — Dolly Rush (Highest Priority) — This is Ardelia’s core ability. It rams a target, consumes Corrosion, and applies Physical and Arts Susceptibility — her main team DPS boost and the trigger for her healing shadow engine (spawning Shadows of Mr. Dolly). Always upgrade this first.

Ultimate — Wooly Party (Second) — Her healing and damage ability. Summons Mr. Dolly copies that deal Nature DMG and spawn healing shadows on the field. Upgrading this increases healing output and damage.

Basic Attack / Combo Skill (Last) — Upgrade these only after the above skills are maxed, or if you want a bit more damage output. Ardelia usually isn’t the main on-fielder, so the Basic Attack’s close-range sequences are lower priority.

Ardelia Potentials

Most of Ardelia’s Potentials improve her healing output. The most impactful ones are P1 and P5 — invest up to P1 early for the best value, then only continue to P5 if you have the resources.

Potential 1: Increases the Susceptibility Effect when consuming Corrosion, boosting the damage of everyone on the team. Best early investment.

Potential 2: Allows her Combat Talent to heal both the controlled operator and the teammate with the lowest HP%. Improves team-wide sustain.

Potential 3: Improves her Ultimate and increases the chance to trigger healing shadows on the field.

Potential 4: Reduces the SP cost of her Ultimate, enabling more frequent casts and more healing uptime.

Potential 5: The best late-game Potential. Reduces her Combo Skill cooldown, increases its damage, and extends the duration of the Corrosion it applies — meaning more Corrosion cycles, more Susceptibility uptime, and more team damage amplification.

Vertical investment in Arknights Endfield is generally not recommended. Treat Potentials 2–5 as a bonus if duplicates come naturally from pulls.

How to Play Ardelia Effectively

Ardelia’s gameplay revolves around a clear loop: apply Corrosion, consume it for Susceptibility debuffs, then heal the team with her Ultimate and Talent. Here’s how to execute it correctly:

Triggering her Combo Skill: Ardelia requires a Final Strike against an enemy with no stacks of Vulnerability or Arts Infliction to trigger her Combo Skill (Eruption Column). This launches a Volcanic Cloud that forcibly applies Corrosion to nearby enemies. Missing this window means losing Corrosion cycles — always start fights before your team applies any Inflictions or Vulnerability stacks. During a fight, watch for moments when those stacks are consumed, then immediately weave in a Final Strike during that clean window.

The core rotation: Land a Final Strike to trigger Eruption Column → Corrosion applies → use Battle Skill (Dolly Rush) to consume Corrosion → Physical and Arts Susceptibility applied for 30 seconds → teammates deal increased damage from all sources → Talent spawns Shadows of Mr. Dolly on field → your controlled operator picks up shadows to heal themselves or the teammate with lowest HP.

Mountainpeak Surfer Talent (unlocked at Promotion II): Triggering the Battle Skill’s additional effect while a Corrosion enemy is nearby immediately casts the Battle Skill again — effectively double-dipping on Susceptibility application. Prioritize unlocking this Talent when reaching E2, then go back to finish upgrading Friendly Presence.

Ultimate usage: Cast Wooly Party (her Ultimate) whenever available to spawn additional healing zones. With high Ultimate Gain Efficiency, you’ll access it frequently enough to handle most threatening situations. During high incoming damage phases, hold the Ultimate for emergency recovery. When your team is stable, focus on maintaining Susceptibility debuffs.

Best Team Compositions for Ardelia

Ardelia is one of the most universally flexible supports in the game. She fits into almost any team with one key exception: avoid teams that leave lingering Inflictions on enemies, since these prevent her from using her Combo Skill properly.

Arts / Nature Team (Signature Weapon Best): Ardelia pairs exceptionally well with Laevatain in a full Arts damage team. Her Combo Skill triggers Corrosion, which in turn triggers Laevatain’s Combo Skill for faster resource generation. This creates a feedback loop where Ardelia supplies Corrosion and debuffs while Laevatain converts Heat stacks into massive damage. A strong example: Laevatain + Ardelia + Akekuri + Antal (or Wulfgard if available).

Physical Team (Stanza of Memorials Best): Ardelia applies both Physical and Arts Susceptibility, so Physical teams benefit from her kit too. Switch to Stanza of Memorials in these comps for the ATK buff to non-Nature teammates during her Ultimate.

Electric / Cryo Teams: Ardelia can support other elemental teams including Perlica-led Electric comps (where Electrification provides additional Arts Susceptibility stacking) and Cryo teams using Stanza of Memorials for ATK buffing.

Want to optimize Ardelia’s team compositions? Check out our best teams guide to see which operators synergize best with her kit.

Weapon Essences for Ardelia

In the endgame, Essences provide repeated stat boosts and enhanced passive effects to your weapon. Farm these based on which weapon you’re using:

Dreams of the Starry Beach: Farm Intellect Boost, Treatment Efficiency Boost, and Infliction Essences from Originium Lodespring and Power Plateau.

Monaihe: Farm Will Boost, Ultimate Gain Efficiency, and Inspiring Essences from The Hub and Wuling City. A +1/+1/+1 Essence setup on Monaihe is sufficient as a temporary weapon while working toward her signature.

Essences can be further upgraded through Etching, which is a long-term investment. Consider farming and Etching Essences for her signature weapon even before you obtain it if you plan to get it in the future.

Getting Started with Ardelia

You can download Arknights Endfield from the Google Play Store or Epic Games Store to start building your roster. If you’re looking to reroll for specific characters, our reroll guide walks you through the most efficient methods.

For newer players, understanding the gacha system and character promotion mechanics will help you progress more efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions