Considering how you’re always guaranteed at least one 5-star in your first 10 pulls in Arknights, you might be wondering which of these would be worth your time while you lament your bad luck in not getting a 6-star. You can check out our rankings on the 6-stars here, whenever you get one.

Once again, this will only cover global releases and excludes limited / event units pending their availability. There’s far more 5-stars than 6-stars, so this list is limited to the more “notable” or easier to use ones.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

OPERATOR	COMMENT
AMIYA	Promotion required for story progression.
KAFKA	Challenge runs have opted NOT to promote her to keep her DP cost low. In special mentions due to her tendency to be prevalent in said challenge runs, but not necessarily a priority pick.

NICHE

These 5-stars offer somewhat more unique skillsets that you won’t necessarily need, but could prove valuable in the right circumstances.

OPERATOR	CLASS	COMMENT
ANDREANA	Sniper	A wide-range Sniper capable of incredibly high single-target damage. Has some fun synergy for Abyssal Hunter squads.
APRIL	Sniper	The "fast-redeploy" Sniper niche. Would prefer more Potentials to be more effective, which could be a hard ask.
ASBESTOS	Defender	AOE Arts damage, can target airborne enemies when skill is active. Talent offers "utility" as Arts tank, if required.
BEESWAX	Caster	Has a 3 Block skill, provided there is space to deploy it. Can be bait herself thanks to regeneration abilities. Doesn't attack outside of skill cast, though.
BIBEAK	Guard	Obtainable from Contingency Contract Permanent Store. Potential for permanent stuns with wide range damage, provided she gets targets to charge SP off of.
IRIS	Caster	Rapid fire or burst damage. Potential for very explosive combos with good timing.
LISKARM	Defender	Generally used as an SP bot for adjacent allies. Outside of that, you may prefer someone more flexible.
FIREWATCH	Sniper	Best known for her tactical nukes. Random targetting does make this unreliable, and some investment is required for skill mastery for one extra nuke.
GLAUCUS	Supporter	Prioritizes drones. Nuke has relatively low cooldown and deals extra to airborne targets. Requires working around her different range if you want to use her as a Sniper replacement.
MAYER	Supporter	Could hold the line with Meeboos. Primary usage is typically the exploding Meeboos for stun, nuke damage that can also target air.
REED	Vanguard	Dual-type damage and +1 DP on kill could be quite useful. Modifiers may not be high enough for some, and her Arts resistance is almost negligible in most content.
SCENE	Supporter	Obtainable from Contingency Contract Permanent Store. Summoner who can more easily stock up summons, though the stun after skill duration may not be desirable if you're not already a summoner enthusiast who plays with timings. An option to remove enemy invisibility, if needed.
SILENCE	Medic	Drone extends her range, allowing her to provide AOE / burst heals should there be a free deployable tile.
SORA	Supporter	If you have the limited Skadi the Corrupting Heart, Sora could be considered power-crept. Offers utility in being able to Sleep enemies that enter her range. Could cycle skills quickly if her Talent activates.
WHISPERAIN	Medic	Utility in providing status resistance with her heal. Less crucial to have her in specific as more Operators in this archetype get introduced, but can still be considered.
HONEYBERRY	Medic	The option to heal elemental damage e.g. status effects available from the in-game shop through Purchase (Red) Certificates.
CORROSERUM	Caster	Has utility in inflicting Silence. All things considered, simply going with Ifrit instead might be preferable more so with enemies more likely to be immune to Silence.
MULBERRY	Medic	The gacha option to heal elemental damage. Mulberry can hold charges compared to Honeyberry, as well as provide AOE Elemental Damage reduction.
KAZEMARU	Specialist	Being able to summon the substitute to doubleteam with both physical and Arts damage is nice, though potentially more trouble than it's worth when you can fill that slot with other Operators.
ERATO	Sniper	Available through the Contingency Contract permanent store, she further plays with the Sleep meta. It's not one everyone likely plays around with, but there is another option.

ALRIGHT

These are solid Operators, and can be considered acceptable replacements for their 6-star equivalent until you get them. Some also bring more unique Talents to the table too.

OPERATOR	CLASS	COMMENT
ASTESIA	Guard	Master of none with her simple kit. She's fine if you need some melee Arts damage, but doesn't bring enough to elevate her any higher than "okay".
CHIAVE	Vanguard	Offers AOE Arts damage, while also reducing Arts resistance and DP. His Talent allows you to play around with the 1-star Robots a little more.
GREYTHROAT	Sniper	A rapid fire Sniper. One of her biggest weaknesses is arguably needing targets to attack to charge up her skills, so it might not come up on time. Also if you have Exusiai, most would favour the 6-star over her.
METEORITE	Sniper	Long range can be nice, and Spread Shot can offer quite a lot of damage. Mastery can make it even better, giving her more chances to trigger her Talent.
NEARL	Defender	Most would opt for Saria instead. Nonetheless, she's still a solid Healing Defender, with her Talent improving ally heals.
PROJEKT RED	Specialist	AOE stun or snipe off single targets. Her sniping abilities comes with a buff to her dodge chance, not making her the most reliable assassin should RNG not favour you.
PRAMANIX	Supporter	Skillset focused on debuffing enemies in her range, with multi-target auto attacks at Elite 2. Effectiveness can vary depending on how much your core team can take advantage of those debuffs.
SHAMARE	Supporter	More flexible debuff thanks to her portable doll. Much like Pramanix, the debuffs she offers may have varying efficiency depending on your core team.
WARFARIN	Medic	Can offer a single-target burst heal. Often seen in damage showcases, though the buff's random targetting may be troublesome to work around.
BLACKNIGHT	Vanguard	The star of the "sleep" meta for challenge runs. Outside of that, she's got more stats than her 4-star counterpart in Beanstalk, with less blocking capabilities outside of the snoozing.
HIBISCUS THE PURIFIER	Medic	Hibiscus has promoted to a harmacist! She can inflict Arts Fragility and skill can slow down enemies.
GREYY THE LIGHTNINGBEARER	Sniper	If you don't have Rosmontis, he's the permanent version of her archetype. He does have the same weakness in that he can't hit flying enemies.
CANTABILE	Vanguard	A fast-redeploy Vanguard capable of gaining DP with every attack. Especially fun in Integrated Strategies with ASPD relics.
HIGHMORE	Guard	A better free unit from Integrated Strategies 3 than Shalem. She can't be healed like La Pluma being in the same archetype, but she can at least recover some elemental damage on her own.
QANIPALAAT	Caster	Has a self-synergizing talent with his Skill 2. Will be available for free for easy Potentials as well.

CAN’T GO WRONG

No matter what other Operator you get, the ones in this category can remain universally useful thanks to their skill set or Talents.

OPERATOR	CLASS	COMMENT
BLUE POISON	Sniper	Pseudo-AOE capabilities, with added Poison damage over time. Her Base Skill for up to 80% byproducts in crafting could be your tipping point.
LAPPLAND	Guard	Silencing enemies may be falling off, but Arts damage can still be relevant. Being able to target airborne enemies as a ground unit can't be bad either.
PLATINUM	Sniper	Trading her attack speed for more range, she can still make her mark. Her main weakness would be her wind-up time.
PTILOPSIS	Medic	You may always exclude Medics from your squad, but her Talent to increase SP recharge should be something to take into consideration. Note that SP regeneration does not stack.
TEXAS	Vanguard	Her Talent alone can be good enough reason to raise her. Pretty common sight challenge runs, while outside of that, damage, stun and DP is nice.
LA PLUMA	Guard	Give her the space to ramp up and there shouldn't be too much concern to let her hold a lane solo. No external heals can certainly be troublesome depending on how you prefer to play.

GREAT

These Operators are worthwhile to raise as soon as possible, thanks to their skillset.

OPERATOR	CLASS	COMMENT
ELYSIUM	Vanguard	Start printing that DP! Regularly in challenge runs as well, thanks to removing invisibility, slowing enemies down and debuffing their defenses. Bonus points for being a Sniper assist.
SPECTER	Guard	Preferably Elite 2 for best efficiency. Has self-regeneration and manual activation immortality, at the cost of stunning herself. Needs Mastery to improve her helidrop performance.

5-stars in Arknights tend to have a lot of fringe case uses, and this is by no means a truly definitive list. You could always try to find a place to use your favourites no matter what, so be sure to have fun.

Download

Arknights Global

Publisher: Yostar Inc

Developer: Hypergryph

Release Date: 2020-01-16

Android, iOS

Take on the role of a key member of Rhodes Island, a pharmaceutical company that fights both a deadly infection and the unrest it leaves in its wake. Together with your leader Amiya, you’ll recruit Operators, train them, then assign them to various operations to protect the innocent and resist those who would thrust the world into turmoil. Your tactics will determine the future of Rhodes Island. Fight for the Dawn!