Introduction: Why Your Factory Matters (and How This Guide Helps)

Arknights: Endfield adds a rich layer to base management: the factory. Whether you’re aiming to maximize output for rare mats, produce mass consumables for events, or experiment with anime characters and themed layouts, a smart factory design saves time and in-game currency. This guide distills community-tested strategies, simulator-driven validation, and integration tips for creators and competitive players.

We also cover how hobbyist tools—like micro-apps and Raspberry Pi nodes—help the community test layouts offline and how to showcase your factory runs to viewers. For builders curious about making or hosting tools, see practical quickstarts like Build a Micro-App in a Week to Fix Your Enrollment Bottleneck and the weekend version Build a 'Micro' App in a Weekend: A Step-by-Step Quickstart for Non-Developers to get prototypes running fast.

1. Understanding Factory Mechanics in Endfield

Core Resources, Inputs and Outputs

At its heart, a factory converts inputs into outputs across production cycles. Different recipes consume distinct inputs and have specific time-to-complete. Knowing the precise recipe stats is the first step to optimization: categorize recipes by throughput (fast vs slow), rarity of inputs, and sensitivity to operator bonuses.

Operator Roles and Buffs

Operators give passive and active bonuses to production speed, yield, or resource consumption. Some anime characters have factory-centric perks: prioritize operators whose skill sets align to your recipe goals. We'll show pairing strategies later.

Bottlenecks and Queuing

Common bottlenecks are shared input pipelines (single supply nodes feeding multiple lines), operator cooldowns, and energy/power allocation. Modeling queues helps you prioritize which bottleneck to tackle first — production speed, storage, or raw input scarcity.

2. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Factory Optimization

Throughput (Units / Hour)

Measure throughput both per line and for the entire factory. Track short windows (10–30 minutes) for stability and longer-term rates for daily goals. Use simulator runs to estimate realistic throughput under random events.

Resource Efficiency (Inputs → Outputs)

Inputs-per-output determines how many runs you can complete given your stockpile. Efficiency improvements often beat raw speed upgrades because they reduce grind. Always compute marginal gain per commodity when swapping operators or modules.

Reliability & Variance

High throughput with high variance is less useful during event deadlines. Aim for consistent yields: if a layout produces slightly less on average but more reliably, it's the better choice for time-limited pushes.

3. Factory Layout Archetypes — Which One Fits Your Playstyle?

Linear Conveyor (Simplicity and Predictability)

Linear designs chain production nodes so inputs move one way. Advantages: easy debugging, predictable throughput, and straightforward operator assignment. Drawbacks: a single failure can cascade, so redundancy is limited.

Clustered Cells (High Redundancy)

Clustered cells group multiple short lines together with shared inputs but redundantly placed operators. This reduces variance and is ideal when you have many moderate operators but fewer optimizing modules.

High-Throughput Complex (Speed-First)

Designed for maximizing raw units/hour. Usually requires premium operators and upgrades. Risk: input scarcity and power constraints can make this fragile unless you control feedstocks well.

Pro Tip: If you stream or record factory layout trials, simple layouts test faster and make viewer walkthroughs clearer. For building stream tools and overlays, reference guides like Build a Micro-App to Power Your Next Live Stream in 7 Days for quick integrations.

4. Detailed Layout Blueprints (Step-by-Step)

Blueprint A: Balanced 4-Cell Cluster

Slots: 4 production cells, 2 shared input lockers, 1 buffer. Operator mix: 2 speed buff operators + 2 yield enhancers. When to use: midgame farms for mixed outputs. The built-in buffer smooths short input shortages and keeps uptime above 90% in simulator runs.

Blueprint B: Minimal Footprint (Mobile Players)

Slots: 2 tightly-coupled cells, single dedicated operator with broad buff. Use when you have limited unlocks or limited time per session. Great for daily logins and rapid mission cycles.

Blueprint C: Event Push — High Throughput

Slots: 6 production cells, distributed operators specializing in recipe tiers. Requires steady input supply; pair with resource farming schedules and priority crafting. This is the layout to use during limited-time events where raw output matters most.

5. Operator Selection and Pairing Strategies

Speed vs Yield — Which Do You Need?

Speed-focused operators shorten cycle time; yield-focused produce more units per cycle. For recipes with high input cost, yield operators often deliver better ROI. For cheap recipes with long timers, speed operators help you stack repeat cycles.

Synergy and Anime Character Bonuses

Some anime characters have unique synergies — e.g., a speed buff that also reduces input consumption or a passive that triggers at specific cycle thresholds. Profile your characters and build combos that complement each other rather than overlapping identical bonuses.

Rotation and Cooldown Management

Rotate operators with long cooldowns across staggered production lines to maintain steady buffs. Simulate staggered skill usage in your community tool to see where cooldown overlaps create dips in production.

6. Resource Flow, Supply Chains, and Inventory Management

Sourcing Inputs Efficiently

Map all input sources: daily missions, node farming, event drops, and exchanges. Prioritize stable farms for high-use inputs and save volatile sources for event spikes. Keep a rolling inventory threshold — when below X units, trigger a farm session.

Buffers, Storage, and Overflow Handling

Use buffers to decouple input variability from production. Design overflow paths so excess output doesn't bottleneck production (e.g., stagger completion times or route overflow to a secondary locker).

Cost-Benefit for Conversion and Upgrades

Before investing in factory upgrades or operator promotion for production bonuses, calculate cost-per-unit reduction. If a hardware or upgrade option reduces input consumption by 10% but costs more than the saved resources' market value, delay that upgrade.

7. Using the Community Simulator Tool: Setup, Run, Validate

Why Use a Simulator?

Simulators let you test layouts without consuming resources in-game. Community-built tools reproduce game rules and random events, allowing many runs to compute average throughput and variance. For creators interested in hosting these tools locally, check