Arknights Endfield Should You Start as a New Player if You Never Played Arknights?

You can absolutely start Arknights: Endfield as a complete newcomer to the franchise, and most impressions from non-Arknights players say it stands alone mechanically and narratively. Knowing OG Arknights just adds extra context and Easter eggs rather than being required homework.​

Do You Need to Play Arknights First?

• Community Q&As and dev comments are consistent: you do not need to play mainline Arknights to understand or enjoy Endfield.​
• Endfield’s opening explicitly re-explains core lore ideas (Originium, Reconveners, setting) so new players can follow along, while veterans just recognize references faster.

If you are only interested in action gameplay and Talos-II, you can safely jump straight into Endfield.

How New-Player-Friendly Is Endfield?

• Beginner guides describe Endfield as mechanically dense but approachable, with tutorials and early regions designed to teach combat, elements, and base systems step by step.​​
• New players receive a large influx of early pulls and at least one guaranteed 6★ carry within the first days, which makes early progression smoother even if your gacha luck is average.

Expect some systems bloat, but not a “you needed three years of Arknights experience” wall.

What You Gain (and Miss) by Skipping Arknights

• You gain:
  • A fresh entry into the universe with modern action combat and better onboarding, without needing to grind through years of tower-defense content first.​​
  • The perspective of someone learning Talos-II and its factions at the same pace as the in-game protagonist.
• You miss:
  • Extra appreciation for returning factions/ideas and subtle references; veterans recognize names and themes that may just feel “new” to you.

Reddit threads stress that the story is written to work on its own, then layered with rewards for existing fans.

Things a Brand-New Gacha Player Should Watch For

• A launch review from a non-Arknights fan praises Endfield’s combat and visuals but calls the gacha and currency presentation “predatory” and confusing, especially if you are used to more transparent pity systems.​​
• Creator breakdowns frame Endfield’s pity as serviceable for dedicated daily players and moderate spenders, but warn that it expects long-term commitment like other big gachas.

If you are sensitive to aggressive monetization, it is worth going in with a strict “no spending or low-spend” plan from day one.

So, Should You Start Endfield as a New Player?

Endfield is a good starting point if you:

• Want an action RPG with squad-based combat and base-building,
• Do not care about playing every prior Arknights story, and
• Are comfortable treating it as a long-term, mostly F2P gacha project.​

If you end up loving the world, you can always explore mainline Arknights later for more lore, but it is optional, not a prerequisite.