Specialist operators play a vital role inArknights, offering unique skills and abilities that set them apart from other classes. From ranged specialists to pullersand trapmasters, these operators excel in burst damage, debuffs, and map control, making them invaluable assets for essential team composition.
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One notable aspect of specialist operators is their proficiency in crowd control. They excel in managing and restraining enemy movements, allowing for better tactical positioning and control over the battlefield. Their abilities to immobilize, hinder, or redirect enemies provide strategic advantages in dealing with challenging situations.
10Aak
The first ranged Specialist, Aak, possesses impressive single-target DPS and crowd-control capabilities. His base ATK (Attack) ranks high among ranged Specialists, and his attack rate is faster. With a substantial HP pool and average DEF, he is surprisingly tanky however, he will stillneed a Medic. He has 10 RES, which is rare in his class.
His first skill significantly increases ASPD, enabling him to maintain crowd control and continuous attacks even during downtime. Furthermore, Aak’s third skill provides a powerful burst DPS buff, particularly benefiting operators with high damage per hit. As a versatile operator, he excels in crowd-control, burst DPS, self-sustain, and buff abilities. Aak finds excellent synergy with various allies,including Liskarm, Surtr, Silver Ash, and Młynar, who can significantly benefit from his buffs.
9Gladiia
The Puller Specialist, Gladiia, possesses exceptional skills that distinguish her from others in her class. While her ATK is comparable to Cliffheart’s, Gladiia boasts a higher HP, and her DP Cost aligns with her, deviating from the usual rarity-based cost discrepancy. Her first talent provides her with HP regen based on her Max HP, making her reasonably tanky. In contrast, her second talent enhances her damage output against enemies with a Weight level of 3 or lower, making her a perfect partner for operators that can affect enemy weight.
However, what she is known for is her third skill. Gladiia summons a maelstrom that immobilizes and hampers enemy movement, gradually dealing Arts damage and drawing nearby enemies towards its center. This skill synergizes with AOE damage dealers, effectively creating a kill zone allowing them to dispatch enemies quickly.
8Texas The Omertosa
Texas The Omertosa, or Texas Alter, as she is better known, is an operator with incredible strength, high survivability, and the ability to unleash devastating AoE Arts damage. Her first and second talents bolster her ATK, ASPD, and damage mitigation. When deployed, her Skills immediately activate, and her second Skill delivers immediate Arts damage, debuffs enemy RES, and strikes twice with Arts damage.
However, strategic retreats and redeployments are necessary to fully utilize her skills, which is quickly done due to her low DP (deployment) cost and redeployment time. With her immense damage and crowd control, Texas is a versatile operator capable of interrupting enemy attacks with micro-Stuns and adeptly repositioning herself to block and engage multiple targets.
7Weedy
Unlike most of her peers who rely on lethal terrain, Weedy overcomes this limitation with overwhelming force, making her an exceptional Push Specialist capable of surprisingly High damage. Her talents enable her to deploy up to two temporary Water Cannons that push enemies backward and gain SP when the Water Cannon is deployed beside her. Skill 1, Barrel Burst, also automatically triggers a pushing effect and stuns enemies in thisgreat tower defense-like game. While her second skill transforms her basic attacks into powerful ranged shots that push and damage enemies.
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However, her true power lies in her third skill, which fires a highly-pressurized Liquid Nitrogen that propels enemies in a straight line, inflicting massive true damage based on the distance pushed. Weedy thrives on long hallways to maximize her damage output and requires sufficient space beside her Water Cannon for optimal performance.
6Specter the Unchained
Dollkeepers are a sub-class of Specialists that swap into a different version, known as a Substitute, with additional abilities when their HP reaches zero. Specter the Unchained, or Specter Alter, is a Dollkeeper that utilizes her HP to activate powerful effects in combat. She can prevent her own HP from falling to zero, allowing her to block dangerous enemies while dealing with powerful attacks. At the same time, her Substitute inflicts a Movement Speed reduction and deals Arts damage to surrounding enemies.
Besides her substitute, she is known for her other talent and skills. Her second talent boosts the Max HP of all Abyssal Hunter Operators, including herself, giving her an extra layer of Health. Additionally, her second skill boosts her ATK and ASPD. While her third and best skill increases her ATK and Max HP, allows her to hit multiple enemies up to her Block count, and deals a secondary hit to enemies with higher Max HP, which is perfect for holding a lane.
5Phantom
The Executor archetype is a Specialist sub-class that activates their skill immediately upon deployment and has a short redeployment time. Phantom belongs to this archetype, encouraging players to repeatedly deploy, retreat, and redeploy him during battles to maximize his effectiveness. With his second skill providing a significant ATK boost, Phantom can eliminate priority threats out of reach for other operators.
However, what sets Phantom apart from other Fast-Redeploy Operators is his Talent, Phantom in the Mirror, which enables him to deploy a clone of himself. This clone possesses the same Skills as Phantom and operates on its deployment timer. Essentially, deploying Phantom means having two Fast-Redeploy Operators in a single unit slot, capable of attacking, blocking, and utilizing their skills in different locations and at other times.
4Gravel
Gravel, an Executor, utilizes her formidable Defensive abilities to halt the enemy’s advancement and withstand powerful enemy Skills. With a swift Redeploy Time and a meager DP cost, Gravel can be deployed multiple times during a battle to delay targets, absorb damage, and neutralize dangerous abilities. Her Talents further reduce her DP cost, enhancing her effectiveness.
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Her Skills are designed to support this stalling strategy. Herbase skillprovides a substantial DEF boost, while her second grants her a formidable damage-soaking shield. Both activate upon deployment and dissipate quickly. Gravel is the most reliable if players are having trouble with the blasts of exploding spiders or the binding spell of Sarkaz Casters.
3Lee
As part of the Merchant archetype, Lee faces an inherent weakness; he continuously depletes DP while on the battlefield, effectively neutralizing the natural DP generation. However, their Redeployment Timer is significantly reduced to 30 seconds, enabling redeployment strategies to mitigate the DP drain by keeping them off the field unless necessary. Additionally, Merchants are inexpensive to deploy, quickly charge their skills, and are meant to be used like Executors.
Lee’s Talents grant him an ASPD boost and allow him to expend 5 DP to block Stun or Freeze effects and return Stun to the attacker, making him suitable for countering these effects. However, his third Skill makes him unique; it increases his Attack Range, ATK, and DEF, pushes enemies away, and grants Taunt and evasion against outside attacks. It turns him into a bottleneck, making him effective against multiple weaker foes likea powerful assassin, and Lee is especially useful against enemies that bypass the block.
2Dorothy
Dorothy is the first 6-star Trapmaster Specialist, this unusual archetype focusing on versatile landmines that change the effect depending on which Skill is equipped. Dorothy exhibits exceptional versatility as a Trapmaster Specialist, excelling in map control, debuffs, and stalling abilities.
Her unique Skills replenish Traps and modify their behavior upon activation without occupying Deployment Slots but requiring vacant tiles. One of Dorothy’s talents enables her to deploy multiple Resonators, summoning two at random locations within the range. Another talent empowers Dorothy with a stacking ATK buff, amplifying her offensive capabilities up to 10 times.
1Cliffheart
Cliffheart is a5-star operatorcapable of shifting enemies' positions by pulling them with her climbing tools. She is a physical melee damage dealer who can also be deployed on Ranged Grids. Cliffheart’s first Skill, Chain Hook, effectively accomplishes this by pulling the target towards her while inflicting additional Arts damage. Her second Skill, Binding Chains, enhances her utility by allowing her to pull multiple targets, dealing DEF- and RES-ignoring damage and stunning them briefly.
The true value that sets Cliffheart apart from other operators is the stun effect applied by her hook, which is particularly useful for immobilizing hovering enemies. Pullers like Cliffheart may face certain challenges, but her S2M3 (Skill 2 Mastery 3) is remarkably potent. A 3-second stun on a 15-second cooldown is already impressive, and she gains the rare ability to deal True Damage on top of it.
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