In Arknights, the goal is for players to defend the blue points from waves of enemies, and the basic frontline unit that does this best is the Defenders. These units possess high HP and DEF, allowing them to withstand heavy damage on the front lines.
They can block up to three enemies, making them formidable barriers against enemy advances. Defenders excel in one crucial task in completing missions– holding the line, and none can do it better. Consequently, here are some of the best defender operators in Arknights that players should take note of.
10 Asbestos
The usual Defender is built around DEF, able to take a lot of punishment but weak to arts damage as most do not have resistance. However, Asbestos thrives on art damage; as an Arts Protector, she has innate resistance, and her skills increase it even more. Additionally, she has more ATK than most Defenders, so she can tank and still dish out damage.
What sets her apart is her proficiency in dealing with AOE arts damage. She buffs her ATK damage and DEF through her second skill while expanding her range and transforming her attacks into AOE damage. Additionally, her talent grants her more resistance and the capability to recover SP when subjected to arts damage, ensuring her skills stay readily available.
9 Liskarm
The typical role of Defenders is to stop enemy advances while the DPS operators deal with them. However, Liskarm, a 5-star operator, breaks this mold by being one of the rare ranged Defenders who can effectively engage ground and aerial units. Furthermore, her second skill enhances her offensive capabilities by boosting her ATK, converting it to arts damage, and allowing her to strike up to three targets simultaneously for 20 seconds.
Despite her offensive capabilities, Liskarm remains a Guardian who can still tank. However, what truly sets her apart is her unique ability to generate SP for adjacent operators whenever she sustains damage, making her a blocking, shooting battery of SP. This remarkable trait makes her an invaluable ally for operators like Thorns, who rely on charging their skills over time.
8 Cuora
Cuora is an exceptional four-star Defender and one of the few that can compete with the other six stars. She is a Protector class Defender meaning she specializes in absolute defense, and boy, is she good at it. On top of her huge defensive stats, her second skill, just at level 7, doubles her DEF, allows her to recover 1% of her Max HP per second, and adds 1 to her block count, making her almost impossible to take down.
The reason why she is not at the top of the list is because of her niche. Most of the time, the amount of DEF she brings is overkill. Most players would instead get someone with just the right amount of DEF and still deal damage.
7 Nian
As a Protector Defender, Nian specializes in high DEF, but her ability to bolster her allies also sets her apart. With her first talent, all Defenders on the team receive a substantial +16% Max HP buff simply by having her in the lineup, eliminating the need to deploy her directly.
Her third skill gives nearby allies an ATK and DEF buff and increases their block count. This makes her a perfect partner for other Defenders like Eunectes and Coura. Her second skill buffs her DEF and block count by one. Furthermore, she deals arts damage when attacked and silences her attackers, making her perfect for eliminating those annoying freezing and exploding spiders.
6 Blemishine
While most Guardian Defenders focus on healing their allies, Blemishine can deal damage, and she also has one of the best base skills in the game. Despite being a Guardian Defender, she has a single-cell range and can deal significant damage. Her second skill increases her ATK, puts enemies to sleep, and heals nearby allies when she attacks.
Additionally, her second talent makes her prioritize sleeping enemies and allows her to damage them significantly. However, her strength comes from her third skill, which increases her ATK and DEF while enabling her to heal a nearby ally for a large amount of her attack power. At the same time, her first talent lets all operators with defensive recovery also gain SP when attacking.
5 Horn
There are many ways to be a tank. You can be a wall with spikes like Hoshiguma, a swinging wrecking ball like Mudrock, or a shooting bastion like Horn. She is one of the few long-range Fortress Defenders specializing in AOE damage and DEF. Her base skill shoots a flare that deals enormous damage and reveals invisible enemies in the area for up to 8 seconds.
She is also known for her second skill, which gives ten ammo charges that increase her AOE attack damage for the first five and deals additional Arts damage for the second half of the ammo. If the skill is deactivated manually, fire all remaining ammo and nuke the target dealing massive damage. However, doing so will damage her— equal to 60% of her HP.
4 Eunectes
Arknights has a lot of enemies, but Eunectes is different from your average Defender. She specializes in dealing huge DPS to a single target as a Duelist class. She also excels in locking down and defeating elite units with her second skill, increasing her ATK and enabling her to stun-lock enemies.
This unique ability makes her highly effective against Bosses that can be stunned. Moreover, she is known for her signature third skill, which further boosts her already high ATK and enhances her DEF, provides HP regeneration, and provides a +2 to her block.
3 Hoshiguma
Just like Coura, she is a Protector class Defender, except instead of increasing her DEF, her talent allows her to block damage completely. Additionally, her second skill provides a DEF buff to all Defenders when she is deployed helping her allies.
Her second skill makes her suitable, increasing her DEF and returning damage to the attacker every time she is attacked. Additionally, her third skill increases her ATK and DEF while she spins her shield to shred all enemies at one tile in front of her. This makes her great at dealing with large groups of attackers.
2 Mudrock
In Arknights, there are times when players will be forced to have a single operator to defend a lane; among the Defenders, none can do it better than Mudrock. Although medics can not heal her as a Juggernaut, her skills and talents will do it.
Her first talent gives her a shield that stacks up three times. This shield can block any instance of damage and heal her for 20% of her Max HP when broken. Her second skill restores 6% of her Max HP and deals AOE damage. Mudrock can do it all day if players need to cover a lane.
1 Saria
When it comes to utility Defenders, Saria is the best. None of the other Defenders can bring what she does to the table. A notable feature is her second talent, enabling her to replenish up to 2 SP for those she heals, resulting in a remarkable synergy with all her three skills.
What makes her so good is not because she is the best tank, lane defender, or healer; she is the best because she can do all this simultaneously. Not only does she empower herself, but she also boosts the performance of your other DPS operators. She is all you need in a Guardian class Defender (Healer Defender).
Arknights is available on Android and iOS.