Chinese video game studio Hypergryph is developing their new free-to-play RPG Arknights: Endfield. The game is a 3D action take on the studio’s hit mobile tower defense game Arknights, and while a release date is yet to be announced, its second round of beta testing is scheduled for November 28. At a recent media conference taking place on November 10, the developers talked about improvements they implemented ahead of the upcoming beta test, meant to address “party composition issues” pointed out by players during the previous round of testing.
Namely, a problem that prevailed throughout the previous versions of Endfield was players discovering a “meta.” It didn’t take long for everybody to start using a similar set of characters and the same combat tactics to progress in the game – which wasn’t the intended playstyle, according to devs. This time around, Hypergryph has added new battle mechanics and elements to the game which help expand the range of efficient party combinations.
Specifically, you’ll be able to mix and match characters of both low and high rarities and still end up with parties that are strong and fun to play. As explained by the devs, this is also an effort to bring the game closer to the original Arknights. Despite being a character oriented gacha game, the 2019 Arknights doesn’t punish its players for using low-rarity (easily obtainable) Operators. Those skilled enough can easily build powerful and fun-to-play squads with just the low-rarity characters – and Hypergryph hints that Endfield is aiming to take on a similar direction when it comes to party building.
Unlike the 2019 Arknights, Endfield limits your party to only four active members, however, it seems that low-rarity Operators will still get their time to shine, especially as the character roster expands further. This sounds quite promising, and hopefully the upcoming beta tests will aid Hypergryph in expanding and polishing their idea for more flexible party combinations.
Arknights: Endfield is currently in development for PC, PS5 and mobile. Beta Test 2 starts on November 28.
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