Characters / Arknights Vanguards

Arknights Characters
Operators: Vanguards (A-M | N-Z) | Snipers (A-M | N-Z) | Guards (A-H | I-Q | R-Z) | Defenders (A-M | N-Z) | Casters (A-G | H-M | N-Z) | Medics (A-M | N-Z) | Supporters (A-M | N-Z) | Specialists (A-M | N-Z)
Factions: Rhodes Island | The Reunion Movement | Dublinn | The Military Commission of Kazdel | Allied Factions | Enemy Factions | Miscellaneous factions & characters | Nation States (A-M | N-Z) | Enemy Units Index

Vanguards are operators who, as the class name implies, act as the spearhead for any deployment. They're typically the first boots on the ground in a mission, where they can generate more DP to shore up the passive generation, providing the player with a firm foothold from which they can then eventually deploy the rest of their lineup. Vanguards fall into five separate subclasses, categorized based on their method of generating DP.

Pioneer

Default DP cost range (without potential upgrades): 7 - 14 DP

Pioneer Vanguards are well-balanced with 2 block and decent stats, and generate large chunks of DP at certain intervals with their skills. Operators in this subclass have access to two skill options, Charge, which automatically generates fixed amounts of DP based on its "type"^note Charge α recovers 6 DP quickly; Charge β recovers 9 DP at a medium rate; and Charge γ recovers 12 DP slowly, and Command, which is manually-triggered, but usually comes with a buff or tactical advantage. 3-star operators Fang and Vanilla are decomposite versions of this archetype, possessing Charge and Command skills, respectively. There are three subtypes within this archetype, Offensive, Defensive and Supportive DP-generating Pioneer depending on their statistics. Defensive Pioneers have skills that generate DP while also giving a defense boost, while Offensive Pioneer, while a little bit more squishy, generate DP with their attack-based skills. Meanwhile, Supportive Pioneers mostly shine in their passive ability to help other Vanguards, by giving them either boosts or a lower DP cost. Their respective subclasses are noted in their folders.

• 6★ Operators of this archetype: Flametail, Saga, Siege
• 5★ Operators of this archetype: Chiave, Kestrel, Poncirus, Texas, Zima
• 4★ Operators of this archetype: Courier, Scavenger
• 3★ Operators of this archetype: Fang, Vanilla
• 2★ Operators of this archetype: Yato

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Standard Bearer

Default DP cost range (without potential upgrades): 8 - 12 DP

Standard Bearer Vanguards are poorly-suited for combat, with sub-par stats and 1 block. They provide the greatest amounts of DP on command via their skills, which also bestow additional benefits like healing or stat buffs, at the cost of reducing their block to 0 for the entire duration, making them poor defense choices. They also provide buffs to specific classes via their talent.

• 6★ Operators of this archetype: Saileach
• 5★ Operators of this archetype: Elysium, Wanqing
• 4★ Operators of this archetype: Myrtle

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• Improbable Weapon User: Excluding Elysium, all of them use their flags to attack, one way or another^note Myrtle does this as her default attack, while Saileach throws her flag at an enemy with her S3.
• Support Party Member: Their intended use. Their poor base stats in addition to their 0 block when their skills are up make them for poor frontliners, but they are equipped with abilities that support others via their talents or skills. Their module further adds to this, changing the loss of their block count into an exchange, provided there is another Operator directly in front of them while the skill is active.

Charger

Default DP cost range (without potential upgrades): 8 - 13 DP

Charger Vanguards do not generate DP passively, but they gain 1 DP per enemy they personally kill, are (comparatively) cheap to deploy, and refund 100% of their initial deployment cost when they retreat. Being a more offense-oriented type of Vanguard, their base ATK is accordingly higher than the other archetypes, and their skills tend to be geared more towards high DPS, which can help with killing enemies swiftly to build up more Deployment Points. However, they normally only have 1 block, making them ill-suited for dealing with large swarms of beefy enemy units. Some specific operators of this subclass possess skills that temporarily give them more block, allowing them to play a more defensive role than usual. Do note that they have to be manually retreated if they are to refund their unit cost. Being eliminated by enemy attacks will not give you back their weight in DP. If they're redeployed and retreated again, they will still refund their initial DP cost instead of their increased cost, although unlocking certain Chargers' modules allows for the refund of the increased cost when retreated.

• 6★ Operators of this archetype: Bagpipe
• 5★ Operators of this archetype: Fang the Fire-Sharpened, Grani, Reed, Wild Mane
• 4★ Operators of this archetype: Vigna
• 3★ Operators of this archetype: Plume

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• Glass Cannon: With the exception of the defense-oriented Grani (though her resistance stat is 0), Charger Vanguards have bad defensive stats; though Bagpipe's third skill and Reed's talent dial down the "Glass" part, with the former boosting the "Cannon" part. They however make up for it with good attack stats (with Bagpipe being the most notable as she has the best attack stat out of all Vanguards) and at least one skill which allows them to hit harder. Also, most of them have at least one talent which can allow them to do more damage.

Tactician

Default DP cost range (without potential upgrades): 11 - 17 DP

Tactician Vanguards are able to deploy a single summon within their attack range, and deal 150% damage against enemies blocked by their summon. Their skills generally involve buffing or supporting their summon along with the usual DP generation typical of Vanguards. These summons do not cost DP or take a slot in the Deployment Limit. Said summons also become unable to block when their HP hits 0 and they will regenerate HP. After a set amount of time, they will be back into their default state again. ^note  Vigil does not have this trait to his summons Unlike most of the other Vanguards, they have staying power due to this. This operator archetype is a ranged archetype among a predominantly ground-based operator class.

• 6★ Operators of this archetype: Muelsyse, Vigil
• 5★ Operators of this archetype: Blacknight
• 4★ Operators of this archetype: Beanstalk

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• The Beastmaster: All of them have creatures obeying them that they command on the battlefield.
• Construct Additional Pylons: They summon the pylon of choice on a valid melee ^note  With the exception of Muelsyse who can also place her summon on ranged tile within their range. This 'pylon' will remain at the location it's deployed and cannot be redeployed. Due to this, they are the only Vanguard archetype that occupies both ranged and melee options, giving them versatility.
• Jack of All Stats/Master of None: They tend to be this, as they fulfill way more roles in addition to DP regeration - they can cover both aerial and melee and their skills often interact with their summons next to regenerating DP. This also causes their base damage to be average in comparison to the other archetypes within the class, but in modes like Integrated Strategies they can fill in for these roles within a pinch (especially Beanstalk, due to her cheap cost).
• Mook Maker: Pretty much the point of a Tactician is to summon them then use their skills to summon an extra unit or two, mostly to act as an extra blocker. To this end, they'll often have skills that enable them to support their summoned pets while also granting a burst of DP upon casting.
• Obvious Rule Patch: Even if their summon is not on the field, they can still cast their skills and thus generate DP, making them not completely useless when their summon cannot be placed (i.e due to unavailable tiles). The only exception on this rule is Vigil's second skill.

Agent

Default DP cost range (without potential upgrades): 10^note No 4-star operators released yet to have a lower bound cost - 11 DP

Agent Vanguards act as a cross between regular Vanguards and Executor Specialists. They have a reduced redeployment time and can attack enemies from a slightly extended range, but can still only be deployed on melee tiles. Unlike other Vanguards, their skills generate DP whenever they attack an enemy instead of passively or on kill.

• 6★ Operators of this archetype: Ines
• 5★ Operators of this archetype: Cantabile, Puzzle

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• Devious Daggers: Their weapons, much like the equivalent Specialist archetype they take after.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics: The Vanguard form of it.
• Loophole Abuse: Due to the way they typically generate DP, there is no real cap on how many DP they end up generating in their skills. This means that in scenarios when their ASPD is raised like Integrated Strategies or when standing on a Bleed tile, they can generate a large number of DP should there be something they can poke at.

Shared Tropes

• Construct Additional Pylons: The Pylons of choice. Vanguards of all manners are basically mandatory to have in every map due to their DP generation. Without a proper DP-generating Vanguard, expect to have nothing done, especially during Annihilation or some Challenge stages where the passive generation is either excruciatingly slow or non-existent.
• Crutch Character: Low-rarity Vanguards that you got early on are often this, especially Fang, Courier, and Plume. In ideal conditions, most maps will usually give you enough DP right out the gate to place down higher-end Vanguards like Texas, Zima, or Siege, without crimping yourself too much. However, certain maps with low starting DP or greatly-nerfed passive generation will necessitate the use of these lower-tier units due to their cheaper cost.
• Fragile Speedster: You can give them this outlook as their deployment times are relatively low in comparison to those of Medics and Casters. Notably, in particular Vanguards that are oriented towards offense (Charger Vanguards like Bagpipe and Offensive Pioneer Vanguards like Texas) often have a burst attack skill, letting them play a bit like Executioner Specialists, only slightly less efficient since their redeployment time is not as low as said archetype.
• Jack of All Stats: Statistically speaking, Vanguards boast average or above-average numbers in nearly every category for a melee Operator - HP, Attack, Defense, Cost, block number and attack time alike. This lets them carry their own weight in the early stages of a map.
• Master of None: However, Vanguards as a whole don't tend to specialize in any one stat or other specific role besides DP production, limiting both their offensive and defensive effectiveness outside of said role, unless their kits offer some meaningful abilities that may justify keeping them around longer, either a utility based skillset such as Saileach, Elysium, and Beanstalk, or an explicitly offensive skillset such as the likes of the 6-star Vanguards Siege, Bagpipe, and Saga. Otherwise, this often leads them to be retreated in the mid-stages of the map once they're done producing DP so that dedicated front-liner units can take their place. Apart from that, they can be used to stall certain enemies or helidropped as pseudo-assassins to deal some damage to high priority targets in a pinch, much like Executioner Specialists. Can ironically also count as a form of Crippling Overspecialization.

Operators

• A through M
• N through Z

Integrated Strategies operators

These operators can only be "recruited" when playing the Integrated Strategies mode and are unavailable elsewhere. Their unlock conditions are the same as any operator in this mode, but are recruited already at max level, though Integrated Strategies' promotion limiting still applies.

Vanguard Reservist

Rarity: ★★★

ID: No. 504

Subclass: Pioneer Vanguard

Tags: Defense

Skills: N/A

Talents: N/A

Affiliation: Kal'tsit Team - Rhodes Island

Race: Unknown

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Tulip

Tulip

Introduced: Integrated Strategies 3: Mizuki & Caerula Arbor
Voiced by: Yuko Iida (Japanese), Ruo Wu (Mandarin Chinese), Melissa Medina (English), Kim Chae-rin (Korean)
Artist: Chuzenji

Rarity: ★★★★★

ID:

Subclass: Pioneer Vanguard

Tags: DP-Recovery, DPS

Skills: Lingering Scent

Talents: Boundless Heart

Affiliation:

Race: Pythia

The officer-in-charge of Rhodes Island's Iberian branch. She was added to the pool of Elite Operators in Mizuki & Caerula Arbor.

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• Action Initiative: Her talent gives her greatly accelerated SP regeneration until she uses her skill two times, letting her fire them off very quickly after deployment and generate DP.
• Bilingual Bonus: Some of her lines in the English dub are spoken entirely in Spanish.
• Blade Spam: Her skill has her generate a burst of DP and launch up to 8 blade strikes at surrounding foes, each one also ignoring half of their defense.
• Enemy Mine: After she got captured by the Inqusition, the two sides had to temporarily ally to hold off a Sea Terror attack. Unfortunately, a Catastrophe struck the area shortly after, leaving her the Sole Survivor and infecting her.
• Just Like Robin Hood: Being a descendant of the Iberian pirates, she hates the Inquisition and would lead bandit groups to steal from the rich to give to the poor.

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