If you’re looking for a good gacha game, you don’t have to look any further than Arknights!

It’s a Tower Defense! It’s a Gacha! It’s a Tower Defense Gacha!

Arknights marries the idea of a tower defense game and a gacha game that has the typical gacha classes, like medic, supporter, and defender. Of course, there’s a whole bunch of different classes you could use other than these. There’s a large pool of these anime characters, called Operators, to collect!

How Do I Recruit ‘Em All?

When you’re leveling up and trying to collect even more operators, progressing through the game is the only way to unlock the many various characters to play with. Of course, no gacha game is complete without a way to move quickly through the game using real-life money. However, let’s take a look at how to set up an Arknights recruitment permit farm with a quick guide.

Gathering these Operators is limited to two methods.

Headhunting is the traditional gatcha method of acquiring Operators in Arknights. You use premium currency to pull from different banners. Each banner weighs its rates more heavily towards the featured units. You probably know the drill already.

The second method, which is unique to Arknights, is Recruitment. In order to recruit Operators, you will need LMD and a ticket called a Recruitment Permit. This method will yield you a semi-random Operator which can even be up to 6* level. By choosing up to 3 tags during recruitment, you can control up to a certain degree which Operators you get. Check a tier list to start putting together your desired team.

Recruitment Permits aren’t items you can buy, however, but the game offers a variety of ways to obtain them regularly. In this guide, we’re going to break down just how to farm up your Recruitment Permits to maximise your Recruitment capabilities.

Even if you recruit three times a day using the daily quest, you’ll have the minimum amount you need to accumulate a healthy stock of recruitment permits. You don’t need to run to your office for a calculator because the math is pretty easy.

Just How Many Permits Can You Get?

You can get as many as 88 total recruitment permits in a month!

• Completing your weekly missions, will net you 10 from just that. That’s 40 recruitment permits.
• Completing the daily missions will net you 1 each and every day, adding up to 30.
• Sign-in rewards provide another 3.
• Work on the first phase of the green certificate store, and you’ll get a whooping 15 more!
  (Note: The amounts stated here may change as the months pass and the game gets updated)

Green Certificate Store

Green certificates – or Commendations – are earned through various activities, including logging in and doing side missions. You even earn them by pulling 1* and 2* duplicates. In order to maximize your Recruitment Permit acquisition, you need to save up some of your green currencies. The Green Certificate shop will stock up a total of 15 recruitment tickets per month, so be sure to pick them up when available!

Log-in Bonus

You don’t need to be told by us how important it is to log in at least once a day to get the free bonus Arknights gives away. These bonuses include 5 Recruitment Permits per month, divided between Day 3 and Day 24.

Daily Missions

The Daily Mission is also one that you will want to complete regularly as it rewards you with a single Recruitment Permit ticket. That’s 28-31 permits depending on the month so don’t skip out on these.

Weekly Missions

Arknights’s Weekly Mission is also a must for racking up those recruitment tickets. Completing these missions diligently will reward you with 10 Recruitment Permits each time for a total of about 40-50 per month.

Don’t You Know that it’s Lucky?

Add them all up, and what do you get? A lovely 88 permits within the first month of your gameplay! To provide some insights into local culture, since Arknights is from a Japanese studio, the number 8 is considered a lucky number. Having two of them instantly signifies double the luck, which we hope will be passed onto you in getting your SSR Operators!

Pitfalls

Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind so you don’t run out:

• Aim to only do the “3 recruitments per day” challenge. You could end up spending too many and having to settle for 1-2 recruitments during the last few days of the month.
• Don’t be tempted by the recruit timer. You can build up your collection over time without spending your ticket stockpile. The process may be semi-random but it’s still based on luck, in the end.
• Believe it or not, office 4 is not really needed. Even if you’re at level 3, you can get 5 recruit permits just from that.

By following this Arknights Recruitment Permit farm guide, you will earn yourself a consistent 88 tickets per month (or more!) This is enough to sustain 3 Operator recruitments per day to help you build up your collection. This recruitment process along with the gatcha rewards make Arknights a relatively generous free-to-play mobile game. Be sure to take full advantage of their freebies!

So, stay positive and keep at the recruiting for the best operators! “88” to everyone!

Gamepleton’s Operator Tier List

Arknights has an incredibly large and diverse cast of Operators. You can collect them all, but do you know which ones you should use? Remember, not every Operator starts out great from the get-go. That’s the whole point of the game after all — recruit ’em all! This endeavor requires pushing through the game’s progression during which you’ll inevitably hit a brick wall or two. For that matter, you’ll need to know which are the best Operators to help you press on.

Generally speaking, an Arknights tier list can be a tough guide to put together due to how situational some abilities are. In a lot of cases, some Operators simply excel at their own particular specialty, rendering a tier discussion moot. For this reason, you should use Gamepleton’s Arknights Operator Tier List as a point of reference rather than a strict outline of who works best in each category.

Instead of providing an ordered list from S-D Tier, we will discuss some of the best Operators for each broad category. We’ll also include the more situational Operators within those categories. This should help you make better decisions when choosing how to use your Recruitment Permits.

Best Casters

Casters are versatile and powerful units with strong abilities. As a category, they’re typically separated into two types: AOE and ST.

In terms of abilities that will clear out the field from swarms, you can count on the following Operators, from strongest to weakest:

1. Mostima
2. Skyfire
3. Gitano
4. Greyy
5. Lava
6. 12F

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Lava may not be that high on the list but she is one of the more easily obtainable AOE Casters in Arknights. Aim to pull her when you’re still at the early stages. Mostima is just an amazing overall pick thanks to the SP she grants the rest of your Operators when entering the field.

For ST Casters, you want to pick those that can deal serious single target damage while also providing some added debuffs and support. Check out the following Operators from strongest to weakest:

1. Eyjafjalla
2. Amiya
3. Nightmare
4. Haze
5. Steward
6. Durin

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Amiya is a solid Operator that you have from the start of the game. If you’ve been unlucky with pulling Eyjafjalla, you can’t go wrong (is that “Ei-ya-fi-al-la” or “Ei-jaf-ja-la” or…?). Nightmare can make a fairly good pick as well thanks to her slowing capabilities.

A special note needs to be made for Ifrit, the Burninator, who’s in a class all of her own. Her powerful AOE damage over time is her unique specialty. Her E2 Talent can also recover additional SP over time. Solid if you need the added SP boost!

Best Defenders

Defenders in Arknights are great for keeping enemies at bay while your DPS makes quick work of them. As Operators, they’re quite situational but some can be divided into categories based on their talents and skills.

Healing Defenders

The first subcategory has Healing Defenders who are able to keep themselves and the rest of the team alive through subtle healing. Here are the best ones from strongest to weakest:

1. Saria
2. Nearl
3. Gummy
4. Spot

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Sarja is hands down the most versatile of this group! Not only is her heal quite potent compared to other defenders, she also restores some SP to those she heals. Great for Caster-heavy teams. For early game players, Gummy is the easiest to pull with a well-balanced set of skills.

Pure Defenders

Defenders are also categorized into Normal Defenders, meaning pure meat-shields. They’ve got skillsets that keep them alive through damage mitigation while inflicting debuffs to enemies. Here are the best Normal Defender Operators from strongest to weakest:

1. Hoshiguma
2. Liskarm
3. Croissant
4. Bison
5. Cuora
6. Matterhorn
7. Beagle
8. Cardigan
9. Noir Corne

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Hoshiguma is like an Alpha Defender. Her E2 boosts other Defenders’ DEF stat and her general talent gives her a chance to resist both Physical and Arts damage. For those still at the early stages of the game, if you need a good Normal defender, Beagle is the best to shoot for your Recruitment Permits.

Another strong mention needs to go to Vulcan who’s more of an Enmity Defender. She has a solid balance between damage and high HP but can be squishy against high arts type enemies.

Best Guards

Guards are your frontline Operators. They deal melee damage to enemies and bring the pain. They’re typically divided into Duelists (single target damage), AOE and Ranged.

Duelist Guards

For the best Duelist Guard Operators, check out the following list from strongest to weakest:

1. Skadi
2. Franka
3. Flamebringer
4. Matoimaru
5. Melantha

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Skadi has all the right stats to take on enemies one-on-one and win. She is near-perfect for both bosses and larger enemies. Her S3 practically turns her into an epic boss herself. If you’re still low on your Operator collection, Melantha should be the Duelist to shoot for.

AOE Guards

AOE Guards do what it says on the tin — they attack multiple enemies around them and contribute massive amounts of damage. Here’s a list of them from strongest to weakest:

1. Specter
2. Savage
3. Estelle
4. Popukar

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Specter just simply has too high of a damage potential compared to the rest of the Guards on this list. She’s also very resilient thanks to her Talents. More common AOE Guards aren’t actually present in the game so any of the others on the list will make a great replacement.

Honorable mentions need to be given to the two Brawler Guards, Indra and Beehunter. They can both win fights against high DEF enemies and can sub-tank with your defenders in a pinch while dealing good damage.

Best Medics

Need heals? Medics are what you need to keep your team alive during high swarm and boss battles. Their main categories are AOE and ST, similar to casters.

AOE Medics

AOE Medics don’t have the most potent skills in the game but they can keep your Operators topped up when things get overwhelming in support of ST Medics. Here are the best AOE Medics from strongest to weakest:

1. Ptilopsis
2. Nightingale
3. Perfumer
4. Breeze

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Ptilopsis can’t be beaten thanks to her ability to increase SP gains from Skills when deployed. Her trait enables her to heal up to 3 party members at once and has extended range to assist even the furthest allies. AOE healers aren’t easy to obtain so any of the rest on the list will do if you need area heals.

ST Medics

ST Medics provide powerful single-target healing while also supporting with other debuffs and skills. From strongest to weakest, here are the best of them:

1. Shining
2. Warfarin
3. Silence
4. Gavial
5. Sussurro
6. Myrrh
7. Hibiscus
8. Ansel

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Shining just has it all, even the looks. Besides being the coolest-looked Operator, she’s also amazing at keeping defenders in the fray as well as making other units more resilient. Her S3 allows all units to turn into mini-tanks that can withstand powerful boss attacks. She can also prevent Defenders from getting one-shotted. Best common pickups here are Gavial and Ansel with Gavial being a more solid choice if you can pull her.

Best Snipers

There are a lot of Snipers in Arknights that will be tough to categorise for a tier list. Some Snipers excel at dealing with airborne enemies while others can do good AOE damage. For countering air units, check these ones out:

1. Exusiai
2. Platinum
3. Blue Poison
4. Vermeil
5. Jessica
6. Meteor
7. May
8. Kroos
9. Adnachiel
10. Rangers

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Exusiai is the best at dealing with air targets thanks to the bonus damage that she deals to them. She even tears through low DEF enemies with ease. For easier Recruitment Permit picks, go for Jessica and Kroos.

If you’re looking for both range and AOE, the best pick you’ll find is Meteorite. Her projectile causes splash damage on impact and has long-range. With the right buffs, she can even destroy a field of high DEF enemies.

For a high Nuke-capable Sniper, Firewatch is amazing. She’s particularly effective against DEF enemies as she prioritizes them. She also has extra attack damage against ranged enemies.

Best Specialists

Specialists are, for all intents and purposes, special in that they have their own little niche that they operate in. In terms of ranking into tiers, it’s not the type of category that can be done in. Instead, we will list the best Operator by specialty.

A Controller Specialist excels at controlling crowds so you’ll want to pick one when dealing with high swarm operations. The best at this is Manticore who has high damage and one of the best slows abilities in the game.

Fast Redeploy Specialists can re-enter the fight fairly quickly. Projekt Red is your gal for this situation. Her re-deploy time is greatly reduced and has decent damage against high DEF enemies.

Pushers can help push back the enemy to greatly slow their efforts and allow ranged Operators to do more damage to them. FEater is your best bet for this situation as she has a powerful dodge that keeps her alive and pushing power that can move even large enemies.

Best Supporters

Supporter Operators in Arknights provide a variety of benefits. Like Specialists, they occupy a niche so it’s tough to categorise them so we’ll list them based on what they do best.

Buffers make your units stronger and for that you’ll want to pick up either Sora or Pramanix. They’ll greatly increase damage and survivability.

Slower Operators generally slow down enemy forces. If your units have such talents themselves, you may not need these Supporters generally. For the best pick here, go for Angelina who’s got amazing stats and the most slowing power in Arknights.

Best Vanguards

Vanguards are jacks-of-all-trades. They can do a variety of things in battle while also staying alive quite well. Here are the best Vanguard Operators, from strongest to weakest:

1. Siege
2. Texas
3. Zima
4. Courier
5. Scavenger
6. Vanilla
7. Fang

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Siege regains 1 SP for every enemy dying adjacent to her which keeps her abilities ticking longer. She has a powerful S2 AOE ability that will flatten large crowds. She can also buff all other Vanguards on the field. Overall, solid pick. Courier and Vanilla are your easiest pulls from Recruitment Permits if you’re still starting out.

Take Control of the Operation

With that many Operators in the field, and with some cherry-picked by us, we sure hope you’ll be raking in the rewards! But, as with our Marvel Strike Force Tier List-616, there isn’t only one Arknights Operator Tier List out there. What’s your tier list, and who are your best Operators?