Base Facility Upgrades & Unlocks — Arknights Guide

Guide on Arknights Base Facility upgrades and unlocks. Optimize your base layout and operator efficiency for peak performance on Rhodes Island.

Optimizing your Base is crucial for long-term success in Arknights. Strategic facility upgrades provide essential resources, enhance Operator efficiency, and unlock advanced gameplay features. This detailed guide will walk you through the most impactful upgrades and the steps to achieve them, ensuring your Rhodes Island operates at peak performance.

Automated Industry Complex (AIC)

The Automated Industry Complex (AIC), often simply referred to as the Factory, is the heart of your resource production. Upgrading it is a top priority as it directly impacts your ability to craft materials and expand other facilities, providing crucial Battle Records and crafting components.

• Initial Unlock: The AIC becomes available early in the game, typically after completing initial tutorial missions and reaching Control Center Level 1. You'll usually construct your first Factory in the designated slot on the Base layout.
• Upgrade Tiers & Benefits: Each upgrade tier for the AIC increases its production capacity, allowing it to hold more orders and produce materials faster. Higher tiers also unlock new crafting recipes or higher-tier material synthesis, essential for advanced Operator promotions and facility upgrades.
  • Level 1: Basic production.
  • Level 2: Increased production speed and order capacity. May unlock advanced recipes.
  • Level 3: Further increased production speed and capacity. Unlocks the highest tier of crafting recipes, such as Pure Gold or Battle Records that yield more EXP.
• Required Materials: Upgrades typically demand a combination of LMD (Lungmen Dollars), Battle Records, and various raw materials like Orirock Cube, Sugar, or Device. Higher tiers will require more advanced materials, often obtained from later story stages, Supply Operations, or the Workshop.
• Actionable Steps:
  1. Prioritize upgrading your Control Center first, as its level often gates the maximum level of other facilities, including the AIC. For instance, to build a Level 3 Factory, your Control Center often needs to be Level 3 or higher.
  2. Focus on farming materials from Supply Operations (e.g., Tactical Drill for Battle Records, Resource Search for LMD, Material Collection for raw materials) that are specifically needed for your next AIC upgrade. Consult the in-game material drop locations for efficiency.
  3. Assign Operators with Manufacturing skills to the AIC to boost production efficiency and reduce crafting times. Look for skills like "Production Efficiency Up" (e.g., Dobermann, Ptilopsis) or "Material Cost Reduction" (e.g., Mayer). Matching the Operator's skill to the item being produced (e.g., Battle Record production bonus for Battle Records) is key.
  4. Regularly check the AIC's available recipes and craft materials that are frequently used for other facility upgrades or Operator promotions. Early game, focus on Battle Records and Pure Gold for LMD generation via the Trading Post.
  5. Consider the "2-4-3" or "2-5-2" base layouts (refer to the "General Upgrade Strategy" section) which dictate the optimal number of Factories for efficient resource generation.

Relay Tower

The Relay Tower is a critical facility that enhances your Base's overall functionality, particularly by increasing the number of available dormitories and expanding your base's operational capacity. It acts as a foundational structure for larger, more efficient base layouts.

• Initial Unlock: The Relay Tower is typically unlocked after reaching a certain Control Center level, often around Level 2 or 3. The game will guide you to construct your first Relay Tower in a designated slot.
• Key Benefits:
  • Increased Dormitory Capacity: Each upgrade to the Relay Tower directly increases the number of available Dormitories you can construct. More dormitories mean more morale recovery for your Operators, allowing them to work longer and more efficiently in other facilities without needing to be swapped out as frequently. This is vital for maintaining high uptime on your Factories and Trading Posts.
  • Base Expansion: Upgrading the Relay Tower can also unlock additional building slots within your Base, providing space for more Factories, Trading Posts, Power Plants, or other specialized facilities. These slots are crucial for implementing advanced base layouts.
  • Morale Recovery Bonus: While the Dormitories themselves provide the morale recovery, the Relay Tower facilitates their existence and expansion, indirectly boosting your overall morale management capabilities.
• Upgrade Requirements: Similar to the AIC, Relay Tower upgrades require LMD, Battle Records, and various common and uncommon materials. The specific materials will vary by tier, often including Orirock, Sugar, and Device variants. Higher levels will demand more advanced materials like Orirock Cluster or Sugar Pack.
• Strategic Importance & Upgrade Path:
  1. Aim to upgrade your Relay Tower in tandem with your Control Center. A higher Relay Tower level allows for more Operators to recover morale, which is essential for maintaining high productivity across all your facilities. For example, to achieve a "2-4-3" layout (2 Trading Posts, 4 Factories, 3 Power Plants), you'll need sufficient Relay Tower upgrades to unlock the necessary building slots and Dormitory capacity.
  2. The number of Relay Towers you can build is limited (usually two). Upgrading both of them to their maximum level is crucial for unlocking all possible building slots and Dormitory capacity.
  3. Consider the "2-4-3" or "2-5-2" Base layouts (2 Trading Posts, 4 Factories, 3 Power Plants, or 2 Trading Posts, 5 Factories, 2 Power Plants) as popular and efficient strategies that heavily rely on having enough Dormitories and building slots, which the Relay Tower provides. Without sufficient Relay Tower levels, these layouts are impossible to achieve.
  4. Assign Operators with Control Center or Dormitory Management skills (e.g., Kal'tsit, Closure, Silence) to maximize morale recovery and overall base efficiency. While the Relay Tower itself doesn't directly house Operators, its function is intrinsically linked to the efficiency of your Dormitories.
  5. Common Pitfall: Neglecting Relay Tower upgrades can severely bottleneck your base expansion. If you find yourself unable to build more Factories or Dormitories despite having the LMD and materials, check your Relay Tower levels and your Control Center level. They are often the gating factors.

General Upgrade Strategy

A well-planned base upgrade path can significantly accelerate your progress in Arknights. Here’s a general strategy to follow:

• Control Center First: Always prioritize upgrading your Control Center. It acts as the bottleneck for most other facility upgrades, dictating their maximum level and unlocking new building slots. Without a higher Control Center, you cannot progress other facilities past a certain point.
• Power Plants: Ensure you have enough Power Plants to support your expanding Base. Each new facility and upgrade consumes power, and a power deficit will halt production across your entire base. Build them as needed, but don't overbuild early on, as they consume valuable building slots. Aim for 3 Power Plants in most optimal late-game layouts.
• Resource Management: Keep a close eye on your material stock. Use the Workshop to craft necessary materials, and don't hesitate to farm specific stages for rare components. The in-game material drop location guide is your best friend. Plan your farming around upcoming upgrades.
• Operator Assignment: Regularly review and optimize your Operator assignments. Their base skills can significantly boost production, reduce costs, or speed up morale recovery. Don't leave slots empty, and always assign Operators with relevant skills to maximize output.
• Early Game Focus: In the early game (up to Chapter 3-4), focus on getting your Trading Posts and Factories to a decent level (e.g., Level 2 or 3) to establish a steady income of LMD and Battle Records. This will fuel your Operator promotions and initial facility upgrades. Aim for at least one Trading Post and two Factories initially.
• Mid-Game Expansion (Chapter 4-6): This is where you'll start aiming for more advanced layouts like the "2-4-3" (2 Trading Posts, 4 Factories, 3 Power Plants) or "2-5-2" (2 Trading Posts, 5 Factories, 2 Power Plants). This requires significant investment in Relay Towers and Control Center upgrades to unlock all necessary building slots and Dormitory capacity. The "2-4-3" layout is generally recommended for a balance of LMD and EXP, while "2-5-2" prioritizes EXP.
• Late Game Refinement: Once your core production facilities are maxed out, focus on upgrading your Dormitories for maximum morale recovery and your Reception Room for faster clue collection and friend credit generation. The Office for recruitment slot expansion is also a continuous priority.