Operator
| Operator | Alternates | Welfares | Limited |
Operators are the playable characters in Arknights. Acting as the "towers" in Arknights' tower defense setting, Operators are placed in locations around the battlefield to engage enemies and keep them from reaching the objective.
Operators come in six grades determining their overall performance, denoted by a number of stars from 1 to 6.
Overview
Operators have many functionalities, ranging from directly fighting the enemy either with melee or long-ranged weaponry, using Originium Arts to attack the enemy with destructive magic, healing other Operators, or providing some form of offensive or defensive support.
There are two types of Operators: melee and ranged. Melee Operators are deployed on lower ground, or "melee tiles," while ranged Operators are deployed on higher ground, or "ranged tiles."
Most Operators have at least one and at most three skills to use, up to two base skills, and various talents.
The majority of Operators are aligned with Rhodes Island, although some of them act as contacts or liaisons of their faction, mercenaries, or volunteers. This does not affect Operators' accessibility and usage during gameplay, however.
Specific Operators also have their own Operator Records and Paradox Simulation. Refer to the respective articles for details.
Squads
Operators are assigned into squads, with a player having four squads to assign their Operators into that can be renamed to their liking.
Outside of Integrated Strategies and Stationary Security Service, a squad is made up of 12 Operators. As Operators are unique, only one of each Operator may be in a squad at a time. However, the alternate version of an Operator can be present alongside the original Operator in a squad.
Classes
- Main article: Class
Attributes
- Main article: Attribute
Operators' attributes are displayed on the left side of the Character Details page, above the character name.
As the Operator gain levels, their attributes will be increased. The attribute cap will be increased when the Operator is promoted.
Increasing the Operator's potential and Trust will also provide a bonus to their attributes.
Acquisition
There are two main ways of obtaining Operators: headhunting and recruitment.
Certain 6★ and 5★ Operators are available for purchase in the Distinctions Store for 180 
and 45 , respectively; the available Operators differ in every standard headhunting banner rotation.
Courier, Dur-nar, and Gavial can be purchased at the Credit Store.
Ethan, Pudding, Quartz and Caper can be purchased at the Purchase Certificate Store for 150 
. Qanipalaat, Breeze, Honeyberry and Diamante are also available for 600 .
Obtaining duplicates of Operators the player already own will give the respective Operator's Operator Token instead, which can be used to improve the Operator's Potential and traded for 
Commendation Certificate or 
Distinction Certificate once the corresponding Operator's potential is maxed out.
Roles
Operators are defined by their roles or specializations that they are suited to be used as a combination of their class, attributes, trait, skills, and talents.
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| AOE | Deals damage towards multiple targets, hence the name which stands for "area-of-effect". |
| Crowd-Control | Limits the enemy's actions or disable them outright, mostly by inflicting Negative Statuses. |
| Debuff | Weaken enemies by inflicting various debuffs on them, hence the name. |
| Defense | Withstand attacks or hold off enemies. All Defenders beside Noir Corne innately specialize in Defense. |
| DP-Recovery | Generates additional DP to facilitate unit deployment. All Vanguards beside Yato innately specialize in DP-Recovery. |
| DPS | Deals damage in a sustained rate, hence the name which stands for "damage per second". |
| Elemental | Have abilities related to Elemental Damage, either by inflicting them on enemies or interacting with them. Currently only Ritualist Supporters and Primal Casters that specializes in Elemental. |
| Fast-Redeploy | Can be easily relocated due to their shorter redeployment time than other Operators. Executors and Merchant Specialists, and Agent Vanguards innately specialize in Fast-Redeploy. All Dollkeepers also have the Fast-Redeploy tag although they do not have a shorter redeployment time. |
| Healing | Restores the HP of friendly units. All Medics and Guardian Defenders innately specialize in Healing. |
| Nuker | Deals as much damage as possible in a short timeframe, usually towards multiple targets. |
| Shift | Displace enemies through the namesake mechanic. Push Stroker and Hookmaster Specialists are innately specialized in Shift. |
| Slow | Hinders the mobility of enemies. Decel Binder Supporters innately specialize in Slow. |
| Summon | Utilizes the namesake to act as force multiplier. Summoner Supporters beside Magallan innately specialize in Summon. |
| Support | Provides offensive and defensive backup for friendly units, allowing them to gain an advantage over enemies. |
| Survival | Can last longer on the field than other Operators, allowing them to hold back enemies on their own. |
List
Currently the Global server has 323 out of 342 Operators available on the CN server.
New & upcoming
| Server | Operator(s) | Introduced in (date) |
|---|---|---|
| CN | Blaze the Igniting Spark • Surfer • Xingzhu • Yu | Such is the Joy of Our Reunion (January 22, 2025)
|
| Global |     |
Adventure That Cannot Wait for the Sun (January 16, 2025)
|
| TW |     |
Here A People Sows (January 20, 2025)
|
Exclusive
There are Operators exclusive to certain game modes; because of this, their Potential cannot be improved in any way and they do not have base skills.
Unless noted otherwise, all following Operators are available in Integrated Strategies (through Temporary Recruitment), Stationary Security Service (as Reinforcements when the Operator Strategy is set to Free Plan), and Rhodes Island Icebreaker Games.
| Elite |      | |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve |      | |
- Reserve Operator - Defender and Tulip are introduced in Mizuki & Caerula Arbor.
- Reserve Operators are unavailable in Rhodes Island Icebreaker Games.
Stronghold Protocol
| Elite |    | |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve |    | |
Trivia
- After The Wheat and the Anthem headhunting banner, the number of new 4★ Operators have significantly declined; with exceptions to collaboration/crossover events and Purchase Certificate Store, all 4★ Operators after that point, with the exception of Lutonada who is released alongside the Babel event, are introduced only in headhunting banners debuting alongside a new Main Theme episode.
- In the beta version of Arknights, all Operators' grade were one star lower than what they were in the final release (e.g. Exusiai would be a 5★ instead of the 6★).
- Interestingly, a majority of the male 6★ Operators released thus far notably have an unusual trend of being heavily skewed towards being a Guard or Specialist, whereas all of the male 5★ or lower Operators and female Operators are far more varied in regards to their class.
- The only few examples of male 6★ Operators who do not follow the above trend are operators such as Gnosis, Lumen, and Vigil, whom have the distinction of being the first male 6★ Supporter, Medic, and Vanguard, respectively.
- As of December 11, 2024, there are no male 6★ Snipers or Defenders (not counting Mechanist and Stormeye in Stronghold Protocol).
- As of December 11, 2024, there are more 5★ or lower Operators with alternates than 6★ ones.