Arknights Endfield Base-Building (AIC) System Explained: Features & Automation
Arknights: Endfield’s AIC (Automated Industry Complex) turns base-building into a full logistics and factory simulation, where you harvest resources, route them along conveyors, and mass-produce gear, meds, food, and explosives to power your account. Beta Test II then layers on blueprints, batch tools, and smarter power systems so players can automate almost everything, or borrow layouts from others.
What the AIC System Does
The AIC is your main base and production hub, processing raw materials gathered in the field into high-value products used for operators, weapons, and exploration tools.
- You place facilities (mines, refineries, workshops, labs, planting units, etc.) and link them with conveyor belts or pipelines to form production lines.
- These lines can craft items like gear components, medicine, food rations, explosives, and special exploration tools.
- The AIC becomes a major source of long-term resources, meaning efficient layouts translate directly into faster progression.
Some AIC facilities also influence the overworld, providing ziplines, bounce devices, and combat structures to aid exploration and battles in specific regions.
Core Loop: Automate, Craft, and Expand
Endfield’s base loop can be summarized as: explore → gather → process → upgrade → expand.
- During exploration on Talos-II, you gather ores, plants, and special materials, then bring them back to the AIC.
- At base, you design multi-step production chains: raw ore → refined ingots → weapon parts, or herbs → medicine ingredients → consumable items.
- As you upgrade the AIC and raise Regional Development Level, you unlock new facilities, recipes, and region-specific tech like Xiranite gear and Wuling-exclusive buildings.
Knowledge about advanced AIC tech is also delivered through VR Simulator terminals scattered across Talos-II, which work as tutorials and unlocks for more complex systems.
Blueprint System and Automation Tools (Beta II)
Beta Test II massively improves usability via a deep Blueprint System and batch editing tools.
- System Blueprints: Completing simulations and tutorials grants pre-made line designs that can be auto-placed, giving players ready-made factory layouts for common products.
- My Blueprints & Sharing: You can save your own lines, then share them via codes so other players can copy or adapt them, or import optimized layouts from the community.
- Batch Mode: A dedicated mode lets you blueprint, copy, move, and stash entire chunks of your factory, enabling large-scale redesigns or quick replication of a successful chain.
For players who dislike min-maxing logistics, using community blueprints means you can still get an efficient base with minimal manual design.
Power, Logistics, and Precision Control
AIC production depends on power networks and item routing, both of which see upgrades in the latest beta.
- Auto-Connecting Power: New Wuling tech (Xiranite Relays and Pylons) automatically links to your Automation-Core and nearby power structures, removing older manual wiring steps.
- Production Line Logistics Facilities: Tools like Item Control Ports and Pipe Control Ports let you control exactly which items and how many are allowed onto a belt or pipe, preventing jams or resource starvation in complex lines.
- Smart Tips & Error Flags: A Smart Tips system highlights abnormal production lines on the formula page and suggests fixes, reducing trial-and-error frustration.
These features support the “factory sim” fantasy while keeping it manageable for non-engineer players.
Farming, Plants, and Region Interaction
The AIC also covers agriculture and environmental support.
- Planting Units automate the mass production of common plants; sprinklers provide automated irrigation for large plots, unlocking bulk farming later in progression.
- Some rare plants still need manual planting and care, forcing you to occasionally step in for high-value crops.
- Region-specific facilities like the Forge of the Sky in Wuling convert Xiranite into special materials for gear and AIC structures.
As your Regional Development System level rises, exploration, AIC output, and trade link together, with visible environmental and economic changes across regions.
Why the AIC Matters for Progression
Reviewers and beta players consistently describe the AIC as one of Endfield’s most distinctive pillars, deeply tied to overall account growth.
- A well-built AIC reduces grind by passively supplying upgrade mats, consumables, and money.
- Automation and blueprints turn Endfield into a hybrid of ARPG and factory-builder, providing long-term goals beyond combat.
For Ultimategacha.com, this system is ideal for guides on starter layouts, late-game T4 builds, blueprint recommendations, and “lazy” auto-setup options, all anchored in the evolving beta feature set.
