The factory system in Arknights: Endfield is not optional endgame fluff. It is the backbone of long-term progression, weapon upgrading, healing sustainability, and efficient credit farming. If your factory is underdeveloped or poorly optimized, everything else in the game feels slower and more restrictive.
This guide walks through the factory system the way most experienced players eventually understand it: why it matters, how Valley IV and Wuling differ, which resources people miss early, and how to set up production lines that actually scale into endgame without constant micromanagement.
Arknights Endfield Factory Guide – Blueprints, Valley IV
The factory is where endgame power quietly comes from. Weapon essences, gear upgrades, engraving permits, batteries, syringes, explosives, and even the strongest healing items in the game all trace back here. On top of that, factory output feeds directly into Valley IV and Wuling outposts, which then convert those materials into credits, stock bills, and long-term progression currencies.
Once properly set up, the factory works while you’re offline. A single optimized 24-hour cycle can completely clear Valley IV and Wuling stock shops without additional farming.
Valley IV Factory
Valley IV is where most players first realize how powerful factories can be. Batteries and Buck Capsules generated here are traded directly for Valley Credits, which then buy engraving permits and weekly rewards.
A properly running Valley IV factory can, within a single day, generate enough Buck Capsules and HC Valley Batteries to fully deplete the Valley IV stock shop. That alone tells you how important production efficiency is.
Valley Credits are especially valuable because they unlock Valley Engraving Permits, which are required to farm endgame weapon essences. These permits are not optional if you plan to push high-tier builds.
The ideal Valley IV setup focuses on:
- HC Valley Battery farms
- Buck Capsule A farms
- Basic plant loops for long-term material stability
Once these are in place, Valley IV essentially funds your entire weapon progression loop.
Wuling Factory: Catalysts, Syringes, and Zeronite
Wuling serves a different purpose. Instead of engraving permits, it supplies Artificing Catalysts, Yajin Syringes, and materials tied to signature weapon essences.
Every week, the most important purchases in Wuling are the Wuling Artificing Catalysts, especially the ones discounted by 95%. These are so efficient that most experienced players plan their entire Wuling output around depleting these every reset.
Syringes produced in Wuling are also deceptively strong. They trade for credits and, more importantly, are part of the best healing formulas in the game. Some of these heal for 20% max HP plus a flat value, outperforming most factory-made healing items.
Zeronite forging is the real gate here. Unlocking Zeronite production and its expansion allows you to craft:
- High-tier gear components
- Structural tools like pylons and relays
- Liquid Zeronite for exploration puzzles
Without Zeronite, Wuling progression stalls hard.
Resources
A surprising amount of progression is hidden behind systems players ignore or skip.
Tutorial rewards are one of the biggest examples. Many tutorials now retroactively reward blueprints, account experience, and Aurora Rolls. You don’t replay them. You simply open the tutorial menu and claim everything. Valley IV simulations also hide additional free Aurora Rolls this way.
The Crafting Manual is another overlooked system. Many plant entries require rare variants that don’t appear consistently in the overworld. Instead of aimless exploration, setting up farms in Valley IV and Wuling lets you naturally harvest rare plant variants over time, filling out the manual without effort.
This also ties into healing formulas, where crafted remedies outperform basic factory heals by a large margin.
Farming Smarter, Not Harder
Plant farming should always be automated through factories, not manual overworld gathering.
In Valley IV, growing Buck Flowers and Reed Rye over time produces both normal and rare variants naturally. In Wuling, growing Tint, Yajin, and other specific plants gives chances at rare drops like Thorny Yajin or Fluffed Ginseng.
Once farms are set, you only need to check them periodically. Over days, not hours, your crafting manual fills itself.
Depot Jobs and Credit Transfers
Depot Nodes are another subtle efficiency boost. When starting a delivery job, you can transfer that job to friends or alliance members. They complete it, and you still receive the credits.
This is especially useful for Wuling jobs, which are more attractive for other players to complete. Valley IV jobs are less popular, so if you want guaranteed Valley Credits, it’s often better to complete those yourself.
Environmental Monitoring in Wuling is also easy value. Each run gives a large chunk of credits for minimal effort and should never be skipped.
Factory Progression Order (Very Important)
Before worrying about layouts, you must raise region development levels.
Upgrade everything:
- Mining nodes
- Outpost prosperity
- Recycling stations
- Depot nodes
- Stock redistribution coverage
- Area expansion
Higher development directly increases mineral purity and output. Many players blame their layouts when the real problem is underdeveloped regions.
Early Warning Terminals can wait. They permanently increase output, but they’re much easier once you unlock stronger towers. Waiting until Marsh Gas, Sentry, and grenade towers are available makes them trivial instead of frustrating.
Optimal Valley IV Factory Layout
The most stable Valley IV setup uses:
- Three HC Valley Battery production lines
- Three Buck Capsule A farms
- Shared thermal bank power
- Modular blueprints that scale with area expansion
This setup produces batteries every few seconds and Buck Capsules fast enough to drain Valley IV daily. Modular layouts matter more than perfection, because you’ll expand and rearrange as your region grows.
Wuling Factory Layout
Wuling factories revolve around Zeronite.
A strong setup includes:
- Zeronite forging with water-fed fluid pumps
- Battery production to sustain power
- Optional gear component production that can be toggled on or off
- Syringe production tied to Yajin and Sand Leaf loops
Gear production consumes Zeronite and ore, so it should only run when needed. Battery and syringe production should stay active permanently.
Liquid Zeronite setups are niche but necessary for exploration puzzles. They don’t need to run constantly, just when required.
Long-Term Factory Mindset
The factory is not something you “finish.” It’s something you stabilize.
Once stabilized, it feeds:
- Valley IV credits
- Wuling catalysts
- Endgame weapon essences
- Superior healing
- Exploration tools
- Gear upgrades
At that point, the rest of the game opens up. Combat becomes easier. Farming becomes passive. Progress stops feeling gated.
If your factory feels overwhelming, that usually means you’re trying to rush everything at once. Build Valley IV first, then Wuling, then refine. When the factory is right, Arknights: Endfield stops being grindy and starts feeling smooth.