What is Trust in Arknights: Endfield beta?

If you’ve played any other gacha games or JRPGs, there’s a high chance you’ve seen the Trust system in some variety before. Even so, Arknights: Endfield puts its own unique spin on the mechanic, so here’s everything you need to take advantage of it.

How does Trust work in Arknights: Endfield?

In Arknights: Endfield, Trust is a unique leveling mechanic, separate from the standard one, that applies to all playable characters except forꦇ the main character, the Endminstrator. It serves as the chief mechanic for unlocking information about the personalities and backstories of your characters, offering insight into who they are as individuals. If you enjoy exploring the lore and backend info about the characters you own, then leveling up Trust is already a worthwhile venture for you.

However, Trust also serves a true gameplay purpose that makes it a valuable mechanic to keep a note of. Every character in Arknights: Endfield (except the Endminstrator) has locked Attribute bonuses in their Ability Matrix, which can only be accessed by obtaining high enough Trust for that character.

For example, Arclight, the speedy Electric DPS, has a Trust-locked node called Skirmisher that increases her Agility Attribute by 10. This requires her to reach 50% Trust to unlock, however. Once that amount of Trust is reached, you’ll be able to unlock the node like any other. The question then becomes: how do you increase the Trust of your characters?

How to Level Up Trust in Arknights: Endfield

The process of leveling up Trust revolves around giving special consumables items called Gifts to your characters on a daily basis. They are primarily obtained via direct purchase from the Ladonn, the Protocol Exchange vendor located on the OMV Dijiang.

Protocol Exchange sells an assortment of items ranging from generic experience consumables to Gifts, but all of them cannot be purchased through conventional means. Instead, you’ll need Valley Convection Certificates, a special currency only obtainable by completing Outpost Orders regularly.

Each completed Outpost Order rewards a pre-stated amount of certificates, so I highly recommend automating this process as much as you can while having multiple Outpost Orders active at the same time. The more that are active and automatic, the more certificates you’ll receive per minute. By completing Outpost Orders and visiting the Protocol Exchange, you’ll be able to constantly purchase Gifts to improve the Trust levels for your characters.

How to give Gifts in Arknights: Endfield

When you’ve obtained a few Gifts and are ready to increase the Trust of a character(s), you’ll need to first give them the Gift directly. You can only give Gifts to your characters while you are aboard the OMV Dijiang, so make sure you’re in the right place. Any playable characters you own will be actively walking around the ship, so locate them first and foremost. Once you’ve found them, speak with them and select the Offer Gift option.

When you do, you’ll be presented with a scroll bar of potential Gifts you can give that character. Select the Gift(s) you purchased earlier, and click Confirm Gift. You’ll notice that this act will increase the Trust level of the character. Note that characters can only receive up to five Gifts per day, so the process may take some time if you’re aiming to reach a specific Trust level.

You want to ensure that you’re giving your characters their preferred Gift to gain the most Trust from them. A preferred Gift is differentiated from a normal one by the yellow heart present on the icon. Different characters prefer different Gifts, so make sure you’re aware of what you’re giving, and to whom.

For example, Gilberta is my favorite character, and I decided to show my affection by giving he꧒r give her a Gift.

When I spoke with her and offered her a Gift, I, unfortunately, did not have any of the preferred Gifts she would like, so I had to improvise and give her a less favorable option. These Gifts still increased her Trust level, but since none of them were preferred, I didn’t gain as much Trust as ideal. It is still worth giving your characters non-preferred Gifts if you will miss the Daily Limit by having it reset.