Arknights 2025 Free Welfare Operators Guide - Best Free Units for New Players
Trying to get into Arknights in 2025 with a great start? Then make sure to have your best Arknights operators. As an F2P player, you may be searching for the free units in this game, and for your luck, there are free units who are known as the welfare operators. But still, you have to choose the best of them if you are looking for a top tier performance. So, this Arknights 2025 free welfare operators guide will lead you for choosing the best free units in Arknights. Let’s start.
Contents
What Are Arknights Welfare Operators?
Welfare operators are free characters you can earn from special events or side stories, as described in official event documentation. You don’t need to use any Originium Prime or pull from the gacha to get them. Instead, you unlock them by clearing event stages or reaching certain milestones.
In 2025, most past event operators are available through Story Collections (rerun events that stay permanently) or Record Restoration, which you can unlock using Records earned from completing older stages.
These operators are also easier to max out because their Operator Tokens are easily available. When you raise them to full Potential, they get a +49 stat boost, often making them stronger than regular same-rarity units that require duplicates.
As an Arknights beginner, you can start collecting them once you reach around Chapter 8 and open the Story Collections section. There’s no need to rush, since they stay available permanently.
Why You Should Raise Welfare Operators in 2025
Free units in Arknights are surprisingly strong, and that is why you should focus on them early. Other than that, these are the key reasons why you must focus on raising welfare operators:
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They cost nothing to get: You can fill key roles like DPS, healing, and crowd control without spending your gacha currency.
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They’re easy to use: Their skills work well even at lower promotion levels (E1 or E2), so you don’t need to overinvest.
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They stay useful long-term: Some, like Gladiia, continue to shine in late-game modes such as Integrated Strategies.
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They save resources: Maxing their Potential gives higher stats than typical recruited units, helping you clear later chapters faster without wasting shop currencies.
Free Welfare Operators Tier List – 2025
So here we have listed the eight of the best Arknights welfare operators that you can have for free by their versatility, ease of use, early-game carry potential, and their meta viability. In terms of ranks, S tier here can dominate well through events and stories while A tiers are staples for them. And when it comes to the B tier, they can be situational and perform well in certain niches.
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Operator and Rarity / Class |
Key Strengths and Acquisition |
|
S Rank |
|
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Gladiia 6 Star Hookmaster Specialist |
Gladiia excels at moving enemies and allies around the map while dealing solid damage. She’s perfect for maps that need careful positioning and setup. |
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Silence the Paradigmatic 6 Star Abjurer Supporter |
Silence deals powerful Arts damage while providing team heals. She’s a hybrid medic and DPS unit, ideal for tough bosses. |
|
Lumen 6 Star Therapist Medic |
Lumen provides global-range healing and bind control, keeping your whole team alive with ease. |
|
A Rank |
|
|
Tequila Liberator Guard |
Tequila’s branch attacks hit multiple enemies and his Skill 2 deals high burst damage. He can often clear lanes solo. |
|
Flamebringer 5 Star Dreadnought Guard |
Flamebringer is a near-immortal tank who heals himself while dealing damage. He’s excellent at holding frontlines indefinitely. |
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Wanqing 5 Star Standard Bearer Vanguard |
Wanqing generates DP quickly and boosts allies with healing and attack speed. He’s a solid replacement for Myrtle in long pushes. |
|
B Rank |
|
|
Grani 5 Star Charger Vanguard |
Grani gives DP on kills and provides defense buffs. She’s a strong early-game DP battery. |
|
Robin 5 Star Trapmaster Specialist |
Robin can place traps anywhere on the map, giving great crowd control in chokepoints. |
Recommended Upgrade Order for Welfare Operators
When upgrading your Arknights free operators, focus your LMD and materials on getting them to Elite 2 (E2) since that unlocks their strongest skills. In the early game, keeping them at Elite 1 (E1) is good enough until you have more resources. Always decide who to upgrade first based on what your team lacks. If your team struggles to survive, focus on sustain units before DPS.
Here’s the suggested order for 2025:
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Gladiia (Top Priority E2) – She fits in almost any team and offers great crowd control. Level her Skill 3 to Mastery 3 for the best performance.
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Silence the Paradigmatic (E2) – Boost Skill 2 to Mastery 3 for a strong mix of healing and damage.
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Lumen (E2) – His Skill 2 at Mastery 3 gives amazing healing for the whole squad.
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Tequila (E2) – Focus on Skill 2 Mastery 3 to increase his burst damage.
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Flamebringer (E2) – Level up Skill 2 to Mastery 3 for better survival and self-healing.
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Wan Qing (E1 Level 7 or E2) – Skill 1 Mastery 3 gives faster attacks and helps with DP generation.
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Grani (E2) – Skill 2 at Mastery 3 is worth it if you have a free vanguard slot.
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Robin (E1 Level 7) – Skill 2 at Mastery 1 works fine since she’s more of a situational trap user.
Once you reach E2 for key units, unlock their modules for extra power as:
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Gladiia (IN Module): Improves her hook skill.
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Silence the Paradigmatic (PA Module): Strengthens healing.
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Lumen (LU Module): Enhances his bind recovery support.
Building Teams with Free Operators
With the above recommended Arknights free welfare operators, try to create a balanced team of 12 to 14 operators. This gives you enough flexibility to handle different stages. A good balance usually includes:
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2 Vanguards
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2 Guards
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2 Defenders (you can use Cuora as a base pick)
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2 Medics
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2 Snipers or Casters
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A few Specialists or Supporters for extra control
Suggested Beginner Story Team
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Vanguards: Wan Ching (front), Grani (back)
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DPS: Tequila and Flamebringer
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Healers: Lumen (global healing) and Silence the Paradigmatic (single target)
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Flex Slots: Gladiia (pulling and crowd control), Robin (trap setup)
Event Team Setup
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Use Wan Ching and Flamebringer to hold the frontline.
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Gladiia can reposition or pull enemies off the field.
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Silence and Lumen manage arts damage and healing.
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Tequila handles waves of enemies with his strong skills.
Quick Tips
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Set your Skill 2s to auto-activation for Silence and Tequila for smoother gameplay.
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Place Gladiia in the middle of the map so her pulls cover more range.
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Use Wan Ching instead of Myrtle for better team buffs and early DP generation.
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These setups work great even in Integrated Strategies 4, all without needing gacha pulls.
Multi-instance + Sync: Create multiple instance and execute the same operation simultaneously, upgrade your kingdom quickly
Ultra-Wide Screen: Get a full view of the battlefield and seize the strategic opportunities.
Keyboard Mapping: Constructe buildings, place combat units and release skills more convenient and accurately
Landscape: Widen vertical screen by landscape, with a wider field of view and smoother operation for SLG games.
How to Get All 8 Welfare Operators in 2025
You can follow these steps to collect all the free operators easily:
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Reach Chapter 8 in the main story to unlock Story Collections.
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Use your Sanity to clear event stages and hit the event milestones (for example, complete MB-4 to unlock Robin).
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Claim each operator through event shops or mission rewards once milestones are done.
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Farm their Operator Tokens to reach Potential 5 for bonus stats. Each token set costs around 400 to 900 currency, and the events are permanent, so you never miss your chance.
People Also Ask
Can these welfare operators clear Contingency Contract for beginners?
Yes. Gladiia handles repositioning risks, Silence shreds arts-weak foes, and Lumen sustains through bursts. So you can aim for Risk 8-10 clears with E2 investments.
Are these free units viable in Integrated Strategies modes?
Absolutely. We have Lumen who provides cross-map sustain in roguelike runs, and Gladiia excels in tight node pulls. Tequila also bursts elite packs, and they all are strong picks.
How long does it take new players to unlock all these welfares?
It will take like-2 weeks of daily Sanity after Chapter 8; prioritize main story to 9 for Collections, then 2-3 days per event.
Conclusion
And these are the best Arknights welfare free operators we can recommend you to make up most of what you need as a new player. Units like Gladiia, Silence the Paradigmatic, and Lumen alone can help you finish a huge part of the game without spending anything. So, invest your time and resources into them first, then save your pulls and claim Arknights codes as well to rise into the power as you wanted with them.
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I’ve spent over 6 years exploring MMO, RPG, and Simulation games, breaking down complex mechanics to create guides that make gaming easier and more fun. I am a 24 year old computer science student who love studying computer systems, design patterns, and numerical planning in games as those are my field. Beyond that, I enjoy photography and cinematography in general. For me, sharing knowledge is as rewarding as playing itself
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