Arknights Tips: Master Strategy & Resource Management

## Level Up Your Doctor Game So you've downloaded **Arknights** and you're hooked on the unique blend of **tactical tower defense** and character collection. But maybe you're hitting a wall, or your resources are running dry faster than your Sanity. Don't worry, Doctor. Whether you're new to the gacha or a seasoned veteran, these **strategy tips** will help you optimize your gameplay, manage your resources like a pro, and tackle the toughest stages with confidence.  ## 10 Essential Arknights Tips for Smart Play Here are the **pro tips** that will transform how you approach this deep **strategy game**. These aren't just basic tutorials; this is the insider knowledge you need to truly master your strategy. ### 1. Master the Trust System for Free Stats **How to do it:** Always include operators you're leveling up in your squad, even if you're just farming easy stages. Deploy them in the base's Dormitories to recover morale and assign them to work in Facilities like the Trading Post or Factory. **Why it helps:** Every operator gains Trust through deployment and base work. At certain Trust milestones (25%, 50%, 100%), they receive permanent stat bonuses. This is **free power** that doesn't cost a single LMD or EXP card. Maxing out Trust is non-negotiable for optimizing your core team's strength. ### 2. Don't Sleep on Low-Rarity Operators **How to do it:** Build and promote operators like Kroos, Melantha, Spot, and Cuora. Invest in their skills. **Why it helps:** In **Arknights**, star rating isn't everything. Many 3-star and 4-star operators are incredibly cost-effective and have niche uses that even 6-stars can't replicate. They have lower Deployment Point (DP) costs, cheaper promotion costs, and their skills are often easier to master. They are the backbone of efficient **resource management**, saving your high-cost units for key moments. ### 3. The Base is Your Economic Engine **How to do it:** Prioritize upgrading your Base's Right Side (Power Plant -> Factory -> Trading Post). Aim for 2 Trading Posts and 4 Factories as your first major goal. Rotate operators with high relevant skills (e.g., "Trading" for Posts, "Crafting" for Factories) to maximize output. **Why it helps:** Your base generates LMD, EXP cards, and Orundum passively. A poorly managed base is the #1 reason players run out of resources. Optimizing it ensures a steady flow of materials to level your operators, which is fundamental to advancing your **strategy**. ### 4. Sanity is Your Most Valuable Resource **How to do it:** Plan your farming. Use tools like the Arknights Toolbox or community guides to identify the most efficient stages for the materials you need (e.g., 1-7 for Rocks). Never let your Sanity cap at 135/135. **Why it helps:** Sanity dictates your progression speed. Wasting it on inefficient stages slows you down dramatically. Using it on the highest efficiency stages means you get more materials per Sanity point, accelerating your operator development and saving you real-world time. ### 5. Understand the "DP on Kill" vs. "DP over Time" Tactic **How to do it:** At the start of a stage, check your Vanguards. Use "DP on Kill" Vanguards (like Bagpipe, Texas, Vigna) if you can quickly eliminate early enemies. Use "DP over Time" Vanguards (like Siege, Zima, Scavenger) for stages with a slow, steady enemy stream. **Why it helps:** Deploying the wrong Vanguard type can cripple your early game setup, leaving you without enough DP to deploy your defenders or medics in time. Mastering this initial **strategy** is key to a stable defense.  ### 6. Practice in Annihilation for Weekly Orundum **How to do it:** Don't just complete Annihilation once. Use the "Practice Plan" mode to experiment with strategies risk-free. Once you have a stable auto-deploy for a stage, run it weekly up to the 1800 Orundum cap. **Why it helps:** Annihilation is your primary **free source of Orundum** for headhunting (gacha pulls). Perfecting a stable run saves you Sanity in the long term and guarantees this weekly income, a cornerstone of **resource management** for F2P and low-spending players. ### 7. Skill Mastery is a Late-Game Power Spike **How to do it:** Before pouring all resources into Mastery (M1, M2, M3), research which skills are worth it. Community consensus is vital here. For example, SilverAsh's "Truesilver Slash" at M3 is transformative. **Why it helps:** Mastery levels improve skill performance, reduce SP cost, or shorten duration. However, it's incredibly resource-intensive. Prioritizing the right masteries gives you more strategic power than randomly mastering several mediocre skills. This is an advanced **strategy tip** for maximizing combat effectiveness. ### 8. Leverage Support Units to Clear Tough Stages **How to do it:** When stuck on a stage, before spending all your Sanity on attempts, browse your Friends' support units. Borrow a max-level operator that counters the stage's main threat (e.g., borrow a Surtr for a tough boss). **Why it helps:** It lets you clear a stage once for the first-time clear rewards and unlock it in the Intermezzi/Side Story tab permanently. You can then practice the stage at your leisure without spending Sanity. This is a crucial **resource-saving** technique. ### 9. Don't Immediately Promote Every 6-Star **How to do it:** Get your key 4-star and 5-star operators to Elite 1 first to build a balanced team. Only promote your 6-star operators to Elite 2 when you have a solid foundation and can afford the huge LMD and material cost. **Why it helps:** The cost to promote a 6-star to E2 is astronomical for a new player. Spreading your resources too thin early on will leave you with one strong operator and a weak supporting cast, which fails in most **tactical** scenarios. ### 10. Farm Event Shops Completely **How to do it:** During limited-time events, use your Sanity primarily on the event stages. Buy out the entire event shop, prioritizing high-value items like Headhunting Permits, Elite promotion materials, and LMD/EXP packs. **Why it helps:** Event shops offer materials at a far better Sanity-to-material ratio than the main story stages. This is the most efficient way in the game to stockpile rare resources. Missing an event shop is one of the biggest **resource management** mistakes you can make.  ## Pro Player Tricks Once you've got the basics down, here are two advanced tricks to integrate into your **Arknights strategy**. * **Stall for Skill Cooldowns:** Can't kill an enemy fast enough? Use a defender with high defense and a healer to "stall" a strong enemy in a safe lane. This buys precious seconds for your key damaging skills (like SilverAsh's or Eyja's) to come off cooldown for the next wave. * **Retreat for DP Refund:** Remember, when you retreat an operator, you get back a portion of their DP cost. Use this to recycle early Vanguards after they've done their job, refunding DP to deploy more expensive units later. ## Try These Out! The best way to internalize these **Arknights tips** is to apply them. Next time you log in, focus on one area: optimize your base rotation, or build that trust for your main squad. Small, consistent improvements in your **strategy** will compound into massive gains, letting you save resources and tackle content you never thought possible. Now get out there, Doctor, and show Terra what Rhodes Island is made of.