Arknights Endfield How to Disable, Tweak, and Use Auto Combat Efficiently

Arknights: Endfield doesn’t have a classic “full auto battle,” but it does have hybrid auto attacks, auto‑defense modes, and automation in AIC/base that you can toggle and exploit for efficient farming. The key is knowing when to let the game handle basics and when to take full manual control.

1. What “Auto Combat” Actually Means in Endfield

Endfield’s combat is manual-first with AI helpers, not a fire‑and‑forget auto mode.

• You directly control one operator at a time (movement, dodges, skills).
• The other three squad members auto‑attack nearby enemies and reposition but will not use their own skills or ultimates unless you input them.
• Basic attacks are animation‑locked chains, but you can dodge without breaking combos in current versions, making manual control more responsive.

So “auto” in Endfield = teammates handling basic attacks and positioning, while you still handle skills, dodges, stagger, and reactions.​

2. How to Disable and Toggle Auto Behavior

Because there is no full auto-battle button yet, “disabling auto” mostly means taking charge of everything you can.

• To minimize automation in normal combat:
  • Stay actively on your main DPS or tank and manually move, dodge, and use skills/ultimates.
  • AI allies will still auto‑attack, but if you want full control over skill timing, simply never rely on them to act without your input.
• Community note:
  • Players on PC and console have requested a true auto-battle toggle, which does not exist as of late January 2026; Reddit threads explicitly say “the game needs an auto-battle feature.”​

For now, if a fight matters, treat it as manual mode with background basic attacks.

3. Auto‑Defense and AIC Automation

The places where Endfield does have real automation are Auto‑Defense and AIC mining/crafting, which behave like “auto combat” for base content.

• Auto‑Defense (combat layouts):​
  • You first clear a Risk level in Operator Intervention (manual wave defense) to unlock Auto‑Defense at that Risk.
  • Then you design a turret/pylon layout and let the game run the defense automatically, without stepping in mid‑wave.
  • If your layout fails, you adjust placement and try again, effectively creating a repeatable auto layout for that map.​
• AIC mining/farming (factory auto):​
  • AIC setups let you auto‑mine ore, refine materials, and craft items while you explore or log off.​
  • Optimized layouts with short belts and compact storage give fully automated resource production and are ideal for passive farming.​

Use Auto‑Defense and AIC as your true “auto” tools to remove repetitive base content from your manual workload.

4. When to Use Manual vs Semi‑Auto in Combat

Guides are clear: manual wins any content that actually matters.

• Use full manual for:
  • Bosses and elite-heavy stages.
  • New story chapters and challenge missions.
  • High-difficulty / endgame (Chaos tiers, late resources) where stagger, Perfect Dodge, and reactions matter.
• Use semi‑auto only when:​
  • You massively outgear the stage and enemies die to basic attacks.
  • You’re running low-level story or resource nodes just to dump stamina.

Semi‑auto here means you let AI basics run while you occasionally swap or press skills, not AFK the entire fight.​

5. How to Use Auto Efficiently

To get the most benefit from the hybrid system:

• Build “auto-friendly” teams for farm stages:
  • Durable frontliner, self-sufficient DPS, and at least one healer or sustain source, so AI basics don’t get your team killed in the background.
• Overpower farm nodes first:
  • Only switch to semi‑auto on stages where your team is several upgrades ahead; guides emphasize auto is unsafe on content that’s still challenging manually.​
• Automate the base, not the fights that matter:
  • Use AIC auto-mining/crafting and Auto‑Defense layouts to generate resources while you focus your manual play on story, bosses, and tough missions.

In short, Endfield’s “auto” tools are best used as support automation, AI basics, turret defenses, and AIC factories, while you keep critical combat fully manual for true efficiency and high-level play.