Arknights: Endfield Factory Guide

Learn to design your first production chains in Arknights: Endfield, starting from raw materials and building towards both gear and trading goods. You'll be able to set up mining, power, and layout decisions so your factory runs smoothly and avoids clogs, while understanding when to dedicate a line and when to stash spare stock.

Quick answer

What	Answer
First priority	Mine raw materials with electric rigs as soon as possible
Main base materials	Originium ore, amethyst, and fium ore
Outpost reward	Stock bills
Gear input	Cryston components for purple gear
High-tier gear	Xiranite components
Power trade	1 Originium ore every 8 seconds for 50 power
Forge limit	Two Forge of the Sky buildings

Check in game

The base materials called out are "Originium ore, amethyst, and fium ore", but in-game names may differ — trust the actual item text when planning your lines. These names may predate a balance patch.

Get raw materials flowing

Set up mining and power to get your basic resources to storage automatically:

Start with portable rigs Portable rigs place directly onto ore sites but must be collected manually. 1:00
Upgrade to electric mining rigs Electric rigs connect to grid power and automatically send ore to storage. 1:00
Connect rigs with electric pylons Pylons need to cover all rigs and use the subpack's "start transmission" function to link to the grid. 1:30
Extend power to distant beds with relay towers Relay towers have an 80 meter range to chain power across regions. 1:30
Track main base materials Focus on Originium ore, amethyst, and fium ore as your first steady supply. 1:58

The game screen showing a subpack structure, with the interface highlighting PAC Output Port 2, plus 'Start Transmission' and 'Protocol Management' options to the right. — This is the hub that routes materials between storage and machines.

Two electric mining rigs placed on an ore node, with an electric pylon placement preview showing coverage area and placement options on screen. — Preview of connecting electric mining rigs to grid power using an electric pylon, showing coverage and placement options.

Check in game

Originium ore, amethyst, and fium ore are the core base materials. The exact game names may differ from those in older guides or videos; rely on in-game labels and tooltips.

Choose what each line should make

Decide which products are worth building dedicated chains for:

Trading goods for outposts are your early ticket to progress. Outpost exchanges convert crafted materials (like Origocrust) into stock bills, a currency used for upgrades, expansions, shop items, and unlocking new features. Stock bills let you buy depot buses, expand areas, upgrade depot nodes, access delivery minigames, earn summon tickets, tea creds, standard currency, unique weapons, and gifts.

Consumables (like industrial explosives and buck capsules) are useful in the open world, both for combat and for selling. Make enough to support your needs but avoid overproducing — extra stock can quickly accumulate.

If your goal is gear, keep in mind the materials required. Purple gear uses Cryston components — these are a major investment and should be planned as a long-term line. High-tier gear relies on Xiranite components, which involve later-game materials and are restricted by region. Gear lines become the main output once you pass the early game.

Outpost Refugee Camp interface showing level, stock bill savings (420,000), goods trade setup, Valley IV Stockpile (54,000), trade options, and assignment effects for stock bill earning. — The Refugee Camp outpost screen demonstrates how goods are traded to generate stock bills for progression.

Build chains from base materials first

Avoid dead-end setups by ensuring intermediates are supplied reliably:

Build intermediate lines upstream If a blueprint calls for Origocrust (or any intermediate), set up a separate line for its base ore or plant to avoid running dry. 2:25
Configure output ports for base materials Set output ports to raw ore or plants, not just the crafted intermediates. 2:56
Prevent starvation in specialized setups Dedicated setups for Origocrust guarantee supply but leave little surplus. 3:24

Production setup with two output ports: the left configured for a base ore, and the right for a plant, above 'Shredding Unit' facilities. — Example output ports configured for raw ore and plant, illustrating how to start production lines from base materials.

Spot and fix clogged facilities

Efficient factories require diagnosing—and fixing—blocked machines:

Check for red clog symbols A red icon indicates a machine is blocked — investigate immediately. 5:44
Determine the cause If storage is full, clear or re-route items. If the machine is idle, its input line is too slow. 6:12
Inspect the final machine's timer Continuous timer resets mean peak throughput; idle time implies an upstream bottleneck. 6:17

Machine interface for 'Forge of the Sky' showing a red clog symbol above the material output, backpack inventory with 16/35 capacity, and Xiranite output at 0. — This machine has a red clog symbol above its output, demonstrating how to spot a blocked facility in the production chain.

The final machine detail panel showing the production timer and idle behavior. — The last machine tells you whether the whole chain is keeping up.

Improve throughput with better ratios and tighter layouts

Compare byproduct ratios and layout optimizations to maximize flow:

Ratio or Layout	Efficient Practice	Reason
Shredder produces two outputs per input	Feed two belts to avoid backup	Prevents clogging and maintains constant supply 6:42
Shredder produces three powders per input	Use all three output ports	Avoids loss and leverages full production capacity 11:35
Final machine still pausing	Add another refiner or shredder	Extra units boost supply and reduce idle time 8:43
Conveyor belts between machines	One belt is usually enough	Minimize wasted space without starving machines 7:10
Space for pylons	Leave gaps only where needed for power	Keep layouts tight except where pylons run 7:10

Use blueprints without breaking the chain

Blueprints allow for quick replication without rebuilding each segment:

Select and save a factory segment Bulk-select a working area and save as a blueprint for future use. 7:35
Paste blueprints at other bases Reusing blueprints keeps efficiency and saves setup time in new regions. 7:45
Respect Forge of the Sky limits Only two Forges of the Sky are allowed after unlocking expansions; avoid wasting space on extras. 7:45
Copy compact layouts for repeated lines Blueprints are ideal when the same line must be made in multiple regions. 8:08

New Blueprint screen with a selected production block, blueprint size 13x25, facility list showing 10 facility types and the Save button highlighted. — Saving a working block lets you rebuild it elsewhere without starting over.

Top-down view of a compact factory segment with interconnected production units, including two gear-making units labeled 'G', several supply units labeled 'S', and multiple conveyor belts connecting inputs and outputs. — This is the kind of compact layout worth copying once it works.

Power the whole base efficiently

Compare power chains and generator options for efficient supply:

| Power Solution | Input Rate | Output | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Thermal banks fed with ore | 1 Originium ore every 8 seconds | 50 extra power | Low material cost for moderate capacity 12:22 | | Blue thermal banks | Battery chain feed | 420 power each | Custom battery chains can spread production across four banks 13:03 | | Generic power units | Flexible | Instant extra capacity | Provided by tutorial for temporary boosts 12:15 |

Blueprint placement screen showing four blue thermal banks in a cluster, a thermal bank being connected below, and power chains linking to various units, with placement options visible. — Blueprint placement for four blue thermal banks demonstrates how to increase base power efficiently by connecting them with production chains.

Balance surplus against perfect efficiency

A perfectly dedicated line leaves no surplus for other uses, but sometimes you want some stock on hand.

If your production is entirely directed into one final machine (for gear or a facility upgrade), you will not accumulate extra product for trading, repairs, or secondary crafting. To build up surplus, you can pause the final machine for a period, let stock accumulate in storage, then resume normal operation.

Another approach is to redirect a fraction (such as a quarter) of the flow into storage for future needs. This sacrifices peak efficiency but gives flexibility with materials like Origocrust or Xiranite that you may need for multiple recipes or for trading.

Lines dedicated to Origocrust and Xiranite are especially prone to scarcity — plan ahead if you need stock beyond the immediate crafting chain.

Also worth knowing

Worth checking

Protocol stashes can replace depot loaders — Save one space and allow for more unloaders, which lets you expand storage connections. Energy cost is minor after setting up high-capacity batteries.
Sandleaf shredding ratio is crucial — One Sandleaf shredding unit produces three powders, enough to supply three grinding units. If you only connect two, the byproduct clogs and eventually cascades through the factory.
Water pipe splitters layout trick — Leave a gap near the main depot connector; placing pipe splitters there lets three pipe lines cross depot buses cleanly.
Items like Origocrust can quickly hit storage caps — Excess stock may need to be traded or stored differently to prevent output blockages.

Frequently asked

What should I make first in the factory?

Start with base materials before anything else. If a chain depends on a crafted intermediate, build that intermediate line too or it will eventually starve. The early recommendation is to get raw ore and plants flowing, then use them to support the first useful product you actually need.

What is the easiest early product to sell to outposts?

Origocrust is presented as the easiest and fastest early product for outpost trading. Outpost goods convert into stock bills, which are used for major upgrades, expansions, and shop items. That makes them a strong early priority even if they are not the final product you want to keep.

Why does my machine show a red clog symbol?

A red clog symbol means the machine is blocked. The usual causes are that storage for that item is full or that the line feeding the machine is not efficient enough to keep the final building running without idle time. Checking the last machine in the chain is the fastest way to spot the bottleneck.

How do I know if a production line is efficient?

Look at the final machine in the chain and watch its timer. If the timer resets immediately after finishing, the line is keeping up; if it idles first, something upstream is too slow. That usually means the bottleneck is in an earlier belt, shredder, refiner, or input source.