Arknights Mastery Priority Guide: Optimizing Tips to Your Roster for Endgame in Late 2025

As the Act or Die event is here this year, it’s a good time to decide which operator skills you should upgrade first. Choosing the right ones makes a big difference when taking on Contingency Contract Risk 18, climbing through Integrated Strategies 5, or clearing Chapter 15 without too much struggle. So, this Arknights mastery priority guide focuses on the most important meta operators that shape strong teams. And you’ll find out which masteries are truly worth your resources as well.

Why Mastery Matters?

Mastery unlocks after your operator reaches Elite 2, giving their skills stronger effects like higher attack, faster SP recovery, longer duration, or even bigger range. You can think of it like tuning an engine to reach full performance with these.

• M3 gives around 60–70% of the total boost and is great for quick improvements.

• M6 provides solid, consistent upgrades for endgame content.

• M9 pushes the skill to its full potential, offering 20–50% stronger results overall.

However, the best mastery choices depend on what you play.

• For story missions and everyday use, focus on burst damage and useful skills.

• In Contingency Contract, prioritize skills that improve survivability and skill cycling.

• For Integrated Strategies, fast skill rotations help most, though the mode is becoming less important as new operators grow stronger.

Long-Term Benefits of Arknights Mastery

Mastery upgrades in Arknights are permanent, so once you invest, the improvements stay forever. They also strengthen modules and talent effects, making your operators much more efficient.

So, you better try to farm certificates regularly from the weekly CC shop (up to 40 each rotation), event rewards, and Annihilation runs. Before you rush to spend them, make sure your base modules are equipped first, since they make your mastery upgrades even more effective.

As of now, with operators like Tragodia offering powerful control abilities, giving a better Arknights mastery priority and an investment can help you finish tough stages with fewer retries and more reliable single-squad victories.

Arknights Mastery Priorities for Key Meta Operators

Your main squad is the heart of your Arknights gameplay. These operators from the Arknights tier list can carry you through most of the game, even if you don’t have a huge collection of limited units. Before chasing new event banners, focus on these trusted picks as they work well in almost any mode, from tough boss fights to large enemy waves.

• Surtr: Surtr takes the lead as the queen of true damage. Her Skill 3 (S3) at M9 can completely ignore defense and resistance, melting bosses within seconds. If you’re still building your endgame team, you can aim for M6 first because the improvement is instantly noticeable. Surtr also pairs perfectly with debuffers such as Suzuran, creating powerful boss-melting setups.

• Suzuran: Suzuran’s S2 at M6 lowers enemies’ ATK and RES, boosting your team’s total damage by up to 40%. Her fast SP recovery helps her stay active in longer fights, making her one of the most flexible support units even compared to newer ones.

• SilverAsh: Next comes SilverAsh, whose S3M9 fills the battlefield with a flurry of high-speed attacks. His skill’s snowfield effect boosts ATK and ASPD, giving you unmatched burst power for Contingency Contract stages or story missions with heavy risk modifiers.

• Mudrock and Thorns: Don’t overlook your defenders. Mudrock’s S3M9 turns her into a near-immortal tank that regenerates HP while dealing AoE damage. She can hold entire lanes by herself. Thorns’ S2M9 is another top-tier choice. It keeps attacking automatically after activation, making him ideal for auto-battles or long missions where you need steady damage.

• Kal’tsit: For mixed offense and support, Kal’tsit’s S3M9 is amazing. Her skill unleashes orbital strikes while healing allies, letting her handle both offense and defense in one slot.

• Mountain: Lastly, Mountain’s S2M9 gives you a cost-effective powerhouse who can tank, heal, and deal strong damage at the same time. For specific stages with water-heavy enemies, Skadi’s S2M6 remains a solid backup option thanks to her burst potential.

These seven operators are your best long-term mastery investments. Reaching M9 on them ensures they stay powerful through future updates without needing constant new upgrades.

The New Generation: 2025 Operators Worth Mastery

Recent events held by Arknights have introduced plenty of new faces, but not all deserve your yellow certificates. So, here we bring the best operators that stand out and fit smoothly into meta teams without replacing your core lineup. Make sure that you focus on pulling the SS-tier units and start mastering them once they reach Elite 2.

From “The Masses’ Travels” (October 2025)

This event brought two snipers that reshaped how ranged combat works: Exusiai the New Covenant (Alter) and Lemuen.

Exuisai Alter

Exusiai Alter is a must-have unit. She combines strong damage with defensive support. For story stages, prioritize S2M6 first and it steals ASPD from barriers, speeding up your allies while reducing SP costs for nearly constant uptime. For advanced CC content, switch to S3M6, where she can deploy a beacon and create powerful shields that allow more aggressive plays. Even at M3, she outperforms most damage dealers, but pushing her higher gives huge attack boosts against enemies with high RES.

Lemuen

Working alongside her, Lemuen excels as a splash-damage sniper with near-global range. Her S3M6 is her best all-around skill, perfect for hitting groups of enemies quickly. Mastery improves her charge speed, making her ideal for Integrated Strategies or elite-heavy stages. If you prefer boss damage, S2M3 works fine, but S3 provides much better overall value in today’s multi-enemy metas.

Both of these snipers need E2 investment, but Exusiai Alter stands out as the better spark or priority pick for most players due to her flexibility and power.

Exodus from the Pale Sea (June 2025): Thorns Lodestar and Rose Salt Bring Strong Sustain

The Exodus from the Pale Sea event introduced some great frontline units that focus on survival and long-term damage as follows:

Thorns the Lodestar 

Thorns the Lodestar, the limited Guard Alter, stands out as one of the strongest picks from this banner. His Skill 2 (S2) at M6 should be your main focus. It delivers powerful ranged damage and constant self-healing, with a charge-based system that lets him attack almost nonstop. Mastery also reduces the SP cost, making his rotations much smoother. This skill truly shines in Contingency Contract, where steady damage is more useful than short bursts. You can also try S3M3 for a field that lowers enemies’ RES and DEF, especially if you often use Suzuran. However, S2 provides most of his overall value.

Rose Salt

The welfare unit, Rose Salt, is also another strong addition. As a 5-star medic, she performs way above her rarity. Her S2M3 turns incoming damage into a spreading damage-over-time effect (DoT) that heals allies effectively, even outperforming Perfumer in some cases. Mastery reduces her skill’s charge time, letting her heal faster and more efficiently. If you don’t have Nightingale, she’s a great budget option and fits perfectly into any lineup. She’s low-cost but gives impressive results.

Act or Die: Tragodia Redefines Crowd Control

Arknights Act or Die banner features Tragodia (Phantom Alter), which is a dream unit for players who love crowd control. Her S2M3 is already shaping up to be an SS-tier skill across all content. It releases a lure that pulls enemies in and explodes with strong Arts damage, stacking Nervous Impairment (NI) to paralyze enemies. With mastery, she gains +10 ASPD and faster activation, letting her stall large groups of enemies almost indefinitely. Even at Skill Level 7, she’s already strong, but M3 takes her to another level entirely.

Her S3M3 also deserves attention, ranking in the A to S tiers. It summons additional blockers during NI bursts, allowing you to hold enemies for longer than the skill’s duration. Mastery improves how fast she applies NI, making her effective even against enemies with low RES.

You can safely skip Tippi and Miss Christine for mastery right now. Their S2M3 skills rank much lower and are easily outperformed by Tragodia and Contrail in current metas. If you’re planning to spark, Tragodia is the clear best choice on this banner.

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People Also Ask

How many masteries can a F2P player afford monthly?

You can aim for 1-2 M3s or one M6 on a core like Surtr and budget 200-300 certs via events and CC, which is saving extras for sparks.

Does mastery affect operator modules? 

Indirectly yes. Modules boost base stats that mastery amplifies, so level them in tandem for 20-30% extra efficiency.

Are there mastery regrets in Arknights? 

It is rare if you core-first. Versatile skills like Thorns S2 age well, but avoid over-M9ing event niches that rotate out.

Conclusion

So, that is all from our guide to Arknights mastery priority. As the game continues to evolve, it’s smart to recheck your mastery priorities every few months. Mastering all these operators mentioned here turns your grind into growth, making your Arknights journey smoother, stronger, and far more rewarding. So, dive in, claim your freebies with Arknights codes, and lead yourself to the best power.

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