Arknights: Azure's 5★ Selector Tier List (2024)

As part of the 2nd Anniversary rewards coming with theDossoles Holidayevent arriving this January, all players (including future accounts!) will receive a SeniorOperator Transfer Permit, which will allow you to choose and obtain one launch-date 5★ fromTexastoCroissant(excluding operators that are not part of the Headhunting pool).

This permit was originally given as part of theUnder Tidesevent, but due to differences in schedule, we will be getting it later. You can read all about it in the article below.

This tier list presents which operators will provide the best optionsto new players once they redeem the Selector. Remember that Operators are not ordered within tiers.

Specteris the best 5★ Operator in the game, and there's no denying that.

Her unique status as anAoE/Centurion Guardwith toggle-able invincibility (thanks to her second skill,Bone Fracture)makes her both an absolute killing machine and an undisputed queen of survival who can be used for both general content and the most challenging stages Arknights has to offer, such as High Risk Contingency Contract, where her invincibility lets her tank even the most dangerous enemies, even if just for a while.

Not only that, but she also pairs extremely well withGladiia, a welfare unit, which gives her a passive regeneration so massive it could even putThornsto shame.

If you still do not have her, there's very little reason not to get her from this Selector right now.

Kal'tsitaside, it is not a farfetched idea to callWarfarinthe most powerfulSingle Target Medicin the game.

Whereas her 6★ counterpart Shiningis focused on providing strong defensive buffs to Operators,Warfarininstead opts for powerful offensive support with her second skill,Unstable Plasma,that pairs extremely well with many top tier Operators, especiallyAshandExusiai, but that every other Operator can also take advantage of.

Not only that, but if you're already covered in the offensive aspect her first skill, Emergency Triage, can provide some great emergency recovery that only activates when it's needed the most.

While Silence is no longer an incredibly useful status effect,Lapplandstill maintains her position as a really powerful 5★ Operator thanks to her archetype and kit, which lets her hold lanes pretty well with a mix of Physical and Arts damage.

Newer players will also find her status effect very powerful, as early on most enemies are not immune to it and sometimes, like with the dangerous Infused Originium Slugs, get crippled by it. There may be more options to apply it now (such as the 4★Podenco), butLapplandstill retains the title of the best Silence applier.

Texasis a very difficult operator to place in this Tier List. She is an incredibly powerfulVanguard, and often the preferred choice of herPioneer Vanguardarchetype for harder content, but as of a recent update at the time of writing she has becomeFREEthrough the Pinboard Missions, which every player can complete with ease.

Still, asshe is aVanguardduplicates remain very powerful to her, since the decreases in DP cost are most powerful and impactful for this class that needs to be deployed as quickly as possible. If you are not interested in other Operators in this Selector, it might be worth considering getting a duplicate forTexas.

Even if our server's understanding ofPtilopsishas (finally) evolved away from her being the undisputed most powerfulAoE Medicin the game (or sometimes the most powerful5★ entirely), there's no doubt that she's still a great Operator to own.

Her second skill,Enkephalin, is an amazing burst heal option for when many Operators need to be taken care of at once, and her talent, the thing she's most known for, is still a great option to have. While 0.3 extra SP per second to all Auto Recovery skills is no longer considered game-defining, it's by no means useless.

Liskarmis quite a bit different from mostNormal/Protector Defenders. While she's not as tanky as otherDefenders, both in her own rarity and in lower ones, she can provide your Operatorswith the best SP Battery in the entire game if she can keep her talent going.

Thanks to her, strong DPS Operators likeEyjafjallacan constantly spam their skills if the conditions are right, or at least use them quite a bit quicker than they usually would if there's a constant stream of enemies. Other, more technical operators likeWeedycan also benefit from this talent greatly, making her a solid choice for a lot of teams.

On-demand Stun with a short cooldown is a really powerful option for many teams, and Projekt Redis the best at it. Her usage is incredibly simple, but having such an Operator available opens up a lot of new strategies.

Additionally, her first skillExecution Modeis great for taking care of specific, dangerous enemies that are not extremely tanky (such as the aforementionedInfused Originum SpidersorMortar Gunners), even if her second skill,Wolfpack, is the most used one for its interrupting and stalling abilities.

Much likeTexas, she's also a great Operator to buy duplicates for if you aren't interested in any other one in this Selector.

Nearlis a powerfulHealing Defenderthat acts as a strong upgrade to the lower-rarityGummy. Thanks to her healing capabilities, she can act as both a powerful, self-reliant tank and support other operators around her, often removing the need to bringMedicsor reducing the load they have to bear.

However, keep in mind that she gets replaced bythe6★Healing Defender Saria, who provides stronger recovery with more tankiness and an incredible DPS Support skill which cements her as one of the most powerful Operators in the game. Still, she's incredibly good for players that do not own her.

Additionally, she's the only operator in this list with anAlternateform,Nearl the Radiant Knight, so keep in mind that you won't be able to have both in the same team and their uses are completely different.

Both theseMarksman Snipersare really powerful options that perfectly compliment the higher-rarity ones with their specialized roles.

WhilePlatinum specializes in high Attack, long range shots to punch through tankier enemies thanks to her second skillPegasian Sight; Blue Poisoninstead focuses on multi-target attacks that more easily take down larger clumps of weaker enemies with both her skills, especiallyVenom Spray.

Still, keep in mind that certain low rarity Marksman Snipers (particularlyMay) are incredibly powerful and competent.

ThePusher Specialistarchetype is a very scarce one. So much so that, withoutFEateror the 6★ OperatorWeedy, players are forced to use the free 4★Shaw, who unlike the other two options in this archetype cannot reach Force 3 to push heavier enemies. While this is not an incredibly game-breaking option to have andFEaterwill eventually always be replaced byWeedy, the scarcity of the ability makes her an option worth considering.

Another thing of note is her really good base skill if you're interested in getting a new Factory worker, as she provides a 30% boost to EXP Production right out of the gate at E0.

Texasis toScavengerasZimais to Courier. While she's often considered a worse alternative compared to the otherVanguardin this list (partly to her more defensively-oriented stat spread),Zimacan provide some great buffs to your party if you decide to have yourVanguardsout for a longer time than usual.

HerVanguard-cheapening talent has seen some use in harder content, even if just primarily to boost the efficiency of other, more powerfulVanguards without higher Potentials.

Summoner Supportersare hard to use, there's no doubt about that, and newer players will struggle to useMayerproperly and may benefit much more from raising the simple-to-use andFREEOperatorScene, but that doesn't makeMayerany less powerful.

Meeboproficiency is a skill that must be acquired by usingMayera lot, but if you learn how to she'll become a powerful operator able to cover multiple lanes at once, or even support other operators when they need just that extra bit of burst damage to take down a dangerous enemy.

Newer players are often recommended to raise 4★Shirayukiif they are in need of anAoE Sniperdue to her Arts conversion and her support in the form or her slowing capabilities, butMeteoriteis also a very powerful option, if a bit more expensive to raise.

Her damage-oriented kit greatly helps in thinning out large groups of enemies within the massive range of her explosive shots, making her a decently good options for players in need of AoE attackers, even if there are similar options available in lower rarities or if they don't hold up too well for the later parts of the game.

While not incredibly more powerful that her lower-rarity competitorPodenco,Istina's skills can provide both a good deal of damage to single enemies with her first skill while keeping them slowed down for a really long time, or use her second skill to chip away at multiple enemies at a time in a large range around her.

If you haven't pulledAngelinayet, she can be quite a good option to cover her role. Just be aware that her damage will be lower than most goodSingle-Target Casters, especially if she's hitting single targets!

Croissantis one of the bestNormal Defendersat soaking damage in the game and... that's about it, really.

While her dodge makes her a better option than evenHoshigumawhen things get really tough, her archetype as already almost completely phased out of relevancy before that happens, and until it does lower rarity alternatives likeCuoraorBubbleare already excellent at fulfilling that role.

Don't get me wrong,Croissantis powerful, but not something worth building (or selecting!)without a good excuse.

Provenceis a very powerful Operator with tons of potential DPS that can even out-damage rarer Operators if all her conditions are met.

Still, her archetype is difficult to operate for newer players and her damage is heavily dependent on positioning, so actually realizing her true potential is much easier said than done. I'd recommend raising some different ranged DPS Operators first before consideringProvence.

While buffs and debuffs are undoubtedly an important part of theArknights lategame, operators such asPramanixonly shine when they truly have someone to actually support, and there are better options when it comes to this, such asShamare.

All of this isn't to say that she's bad by any means, but players should instead consider covering their most basic needs first before delving into these kinds of Operators,

Firewatchhas powerful skills that let her provide both great, sustained single-target damage or drop big nukes of burst damage every so often to get rid of more dangerous threats. Either way, she's quite powerful.

I wouldn't choose her over more consistent and versatileSniperslike the ones in higher tiers (PlatinumandBlue Poison), but she's still a nice option to have.

Sora's buffs are somewhat powerful, but not enough to make selecting her from this ticket a worthy choice, especially as you're unlikely to have something that can make good use of it if you're a newer player. The same applies for her Sleep-inducing first skill, which even less operators can take advantage of in any way.

In the end, you're probably going to be better off pickingWarfarin, though be aware that she's the only Operator of this archetype you will be able to obtain any time soon, as the only other (and much, much better) alternative,Skadi the Corrupting Heart, is a Limited operator.

I wouldNOTrecommend any player use their certificate on units of this tier.

They are either mostly overclassed by Operators in very high tiers (SilencewithWarfarin), are generally considered very poor investments altogether (Skyfire) or are already free and do not benefit from potentials in any meaningful way (Cliffheart).

If you already have all or most of the units in the tiers above, you're much better off purchasing a duplicate of a better Operator to increase their potential, such asTexas.