Perhaps only Eagle's Edge could have created the Endlands

Currently, mobile games under development in the industry generally follow a testing cycle pattern: the first round focuses on technical testing, the second on user experience, and the third on monetization. Once a mobile game enters its third round of testing, barring any major unforeseen issues, the content and features presented during this phase will not differ significantly from the version released in the open beta.

As the saying goes, “You can tell a person’s character by the age of three.” By the same token, by evaluating the overall quality of a mobile game during its third beta test and considering external factors such as the developer’s reputation, we can get a sense of where it will likely fit within the broader ecosystem of its genre once it officially launches.

Nine months after its second closed beta, Yingjiao’s *Arknights: The End* (hereinafter referred to as *The End*) launched its third closed beta on November 28.

Earlier this month, I analyzed why *The Land of the End* still retains a strong *Eagle's Corner* vibe from both an artistic and interactive perspective.

Endland’s meticulous attention to detail in its anime-inspired realistic art style, modeling precision, world-building, and even UX/UI design all demonstrate that the shift toward 3D graphics and larger-scale production has not diluted Yingjiao’s consistent commitment to unique style and visual design in its development philosophy.

Now that the third closed beta has officially begun, I finally have enough free time to really settle in and experience the core gameplay loops that drive *The End*: “Integrated Industry” and the combat system.

And gameplay is another dimension through which Eagle's Nest truly showcases its unique character.

01

The Vehicle for Strategic Thinking: The Factory

No one would deny that Eagle Corner has always respected players' intelligence.

They are committed to providing players with plenty of challenges and a wide variety of solutions, and they are constantly experimenting with new content and gameplay mechanics. What’s rare is that they don’t dismiss the criticism players offer; instead, they genuinely aim for continuous improvement and don’t let setbacks derail their progress.

It is precisely for this reason that *Arknights* has naturally demonstrated to the market that casual gamers do not inherently reject “deep strategy” or “hardcore gameplay.” The rise of various Arknights strategy groups, the success of integrated strategies, and even the “Xianshu Cup” that emerged around them all serve as compelling evidence of this point.

The first-kill videos from Crisis Contracts have become a unique highlight of the game.

The success of the integration strategy is further proof of this

Essentially, casual gamers, like any other gamers, expect gameplay that is both fun and deep. However, their motivation to spend is strongly driven by content—so much so that it can offset the tedium caused by gameplay shortcomings.

This has given certain mobile games an excuse to prioritize character art and narrative presentation, treating gameplay design as a mere "afterthought" and shifting toward a "content-heavy, gameplay-light" approach. The current struggles faced by many mobile games stem from this very issue; after all, intense competition in visual design has become the norm, and gameplay has become severely homogenized. As a result, the fun of these games has shifted toward "collecting" rather than the act of "playing" itself, leaving players with little reason to continue playing non-top-tier titles or to invest time in new releases.

Clearly, Yingjiao has not fallen into this trap when refining the second title in the Arknights IP. In my view, the gameplay dimensions of the third closed beta for *The End* represent an attempt to recreate the signature Arknights gameplay philosophy—"strategy-focused, where brainpower trumps finger speed"—within the context of 3D real-time combat.

bend at the waist

One of the most direct ways to implement endgame strategy is, of course, through the automated assembly line gameplay mode known as "Integrated Industry."

The mechanics of this game are actually quite straightforward. In a nutshell, players must use the Protocol Core (similar to the main base in an RTS game) as their central hub to deploy an energy transmission network across their territory, building a comprehensive industrial network that spans the entire map and encompasses resource gathering, processing, and finished product manufacturing.

If I were to summarize it in such broad terms, I could easily classify the integration industry as a standard automated assembly line game—or, put another way, as an idle system designed to generate resources.

However, as one of the underlying principles of the entire Endland framework, the strategic nature of “integrated industry” clearly cannot be defined so simply.

First of all, the map of the End is not an open world, but rather consists of a series of enclosed, limited-area zones. This immediately rules out the kind of gameplay found in *Factory*, where players can expand indefinitely once they’ve mastered the mechanics.

Take Valley 4, for example. This scene consists of five map areas. Although you can move seamlessly between each section, the terrain is complex and features significant elevation changes. This creates conflicts between path planning and terrain constraints. Sometimes, when designing a power transmission network, I have to dismantle previously installed relay towers just to bypass a high platform, and then plan a new route.

The Composition of the Fourth Valley in the Endlands

Furthermore, since the protocol core serves as the medium for automated input and output, it is unique within a single cell, and the number of input and output ports is limited. Additionally, we can assume that the protocol area of the assembly line is bounded by physical constraints. Consequently, deciding how to lay out the conveyor lines within this limited space and which resource processing pipelines to select becomes a critical decision-making task.

The challenge of integrating power transmission with wiring is actually quite similar to a spatial puzzle design with a touch of topology.

In addition, the core of the regional protocol includes restrictions on power generation and load; each functional building has a specified power consumption value.

However, if you set up too many large-scale production lines, exceeding the current protocol’s upper limit for core energy production efficiency, the entire production line will grind to a halt.

The power limit prevents players from mindlessly building massive production lines, but failing to optimize the layout and connect production units in series will result in low production efficiency.

Simply put, this is a unique take on the "backpack problem" commonly found in games—how to make strategic trade-offs within the constraints of limited power and load capacity. This is the challenge presented by The End, and players must weigh various factors to find the build strategy that works best for them.

At the same time, the strategic nature of "Integrated Industry" is also reflected in its integration with the combat system; in the game, production lines generate equipment needed for character development, as well as consumables required during combat, and so on.

The footage is from the demo version released before the start of the third beta test.

Players need to assess their resource shortages. If you urgently need to level up your character to take on a boss, you should adjust your production line to prioritize crafting materials for gear. If you frequently die unexpectedly while exploring, you may need to reorganize your production line to mass-produce healing items and the like.

In a sense, this dynamic adjustment requires players to constantly monitor their inventory; production lines aren’t something you “set up and forget,” but rather something that demands real-time adjustments to production capacity based on current combat needs. The pressure of this “on-demand production” adds another layer of depth to the game’s industrial strategy.

The integration with the combat system also addresses, to some extent, the question of “why produce” in the Endlands—especially given the limited scope of factories there. Of course, character development has its limits, and combat logistics needs aren’t infinite either; thus, the ultimate goal of “Integrated Industry” production ultimately comes down to cross-region trade.

So as you can see, "Integrated Industry" perfectly captures the flow experience of an automated assembly-line factory game:

At first, there were only a few machines, and the conveyor belts weren’t organized—everything was chaotic, with frequent jams, material shortages, and belt blockages. Since a resource recycling system hadn’t been established yet, there were always shortages of materials whenever we needed to craft equipment or resources.

As the power grid is laid out and factory layouts are planned, players can begin to consider material balances, production schedules, line lengths, and spatial layouts, linking mining, transportation, processing, storage, and research together to ultimately form a cohesive, large-scale system.

“Industrial Assembly” is a bit like playing with Legos, but with a touch of engineering thinking thrown in. Every production line can be broken down into an input → processing → output structure. When I play, I naturally start calculating: How many furnaces can a single conveyor belt feed? What components from the previous stage does a prototype machine need? Where are the bottlenecks?

These challenges lead to constant tweaking and restructuring: making the line run a little faster, creating a more symmetrical and visually appealing layout, and keeping all machines running at full capacity without stopping. The driving force behind playing *Integrated Industry* does not come from the missions; on the contrary, the missions that ultimately involve this gameplay are mostly instructional in nature. In other words, this self-motivation stems from the players’ own curiosity and their pursuit of efficiency.

Essentially, "Integrated Industry" tests players' strategic thinking regarding macro-level architecture. By leveraging the player's strategic thinking as an external force, it achieves entropy reduction at the system level; this sense of control is the core source of satisfaction in the "Integrated Industry" gameplay.

Another key aspect of the automated factory gameplay is that it should give players a sense of satisfaction from participating in the construction of a grand-scale project.

Whether it’s *Dyson Sphere Program* or *Factory*, the essence of the experience always lies in that moment when, after building a massive production line, we realize that this colossal structure—brimming with industrial charm—is the culmination of the basic production lines we’ve personally assembled and fine-tuned, like grains of sand forming a tower.

Integrated Industries has achieved this as well.

Of course, Eagle角 is well aware that not everyone is interested in delving deeply into this gameplay mechanic, so they introduced the blueprint system in the third beta test to allow players to “copy others’ work.” This further lowers the already low barrier to entry for integrated industry, and since integrated industry is completely decoupled from monetization, it has minimal impact on game progression.

So, for players who enjoy experimenting, they can refine the most efficient production layout through repeated iterations. For casual players, taking their time to build—or simply copying someone else’s setup—and enjoying watching the machines run on their own while letting things optimize naturally is perfectly fine too; there’s no downside to that.

Automated production lines—a gameplay mechanic that clearly has strategic elements—are naturally a key feature of *Endland* that positions it closer to the strategy game end of the spectrum. However, since the Integrated Industry system is merely one component of *Endland*’s overall framework, if other parts of the game completely disregard strategic elements, then even though the Integrated Industry system is linked to other systems through resource production and consumption, it will inevitably feel somewhat “decoupled” or “disconnected.”

Eagle's solution is to extend strategic thinking further into the combat and exploration phases.

02

Continuing the Strategic Approach: Combat

Just by watching the combat demo from the third beta test of *The Endland*, many players might think it’s not much different from traditional 2D games. However, once you actually play it, you’ll discover that the underlying mechanics of *The Endland*’s combat are vastly different from the mainstream 2D game models currently on the market.

In most 2D games that involve real-time combat, the core thrill of battle often comes from the standard "dodge/parry—combo—burst" sequence, which tests players' reaction speed, muscle memory, and, of course, their stats.

In the Endgame, the emphasis on ACT has been intentionally reduced, replaced by a more macro-level strategic focus centered on "resource management" and "tactical planning."

In The End, there is no distinction between "frontline" and "backline." Once combat begins, all four Operatives in the squad fight simultaneously. The only difference is whether a character is currently under the player's direct control; characters not under direct control will automatically target enemies and launch attacks.

During combat, players can freely unleash the skills and ultimate abilities of all operatives in their squad without switching the active character.

Yingjiao has consolidated the basic attack mechanics into a single button. Characters in *The End* no longer have the light and heavy attack variations found in most mobile games based on the duration of button presses; instead, players simply need to hold down the basic attack button for the character to perform a full basic attack cycle.

In terms of controls, *The End* doesn’t place high demands on player input, and the characters’ movement mechanics are designed to be very restrained. Additionally, the absence of a front-and-back row character rotation system significantly reduces the number of elements players need to monitor during combat.

However, in the third beta version, Eagle角 further enhanced the action elements of *The End*, introducing the ability to dodge twice in a row. The game also features extreme dodging and interrupt mechanics (notably, this update includes an "offset" system that allows players to continue their combos after dodging), among other designs that enhance the game's action-oriented gameplay.

So, how did Eagle角 strike a balance between strategy and action to ensure the combat remains deep and engaging?

Let me start with the conclusion: in my view, when Eagle Corner was refining the combat system for the third beta version, their solution was to “compensate” with strategic depth. They very cleverly adapted their signature “tower defense-style strategy”—specifically, their mastery of the timeline, skill cooldowns, and interrupt mechanics—and applied it to a 3D environment.

I’m sure many of you have already seen the wide variety of physical and magical status effects in The Endlands; this system serves as the cornerstone for crafting combat strategies.

First, building on this foundational system is a feature that distinguishes itself from the rotation mechanism: the synergy skills that allow operators to work together.

The co-op skills of Endland operatives are somewhat like QTE skills with prerequisites; essentially, they transform the "switch" mechanic into a combo.

In short, Character A’s basic attack or ability can inflict a status effect, but this is not merely a debuff; it also serves as a prerequisite for Character B to trigger a powerful follow-up attack.

Take our Miss Chen Qianyu, for example: the trigger condition for her combo move is when an enemy’s defense is broken.

Since nearly all physical characters—including Xiao Chen herself—have the ability to inflict physical status effects on enemies, she can even trigger her own combo skills.

Therefore, in Endlands, there are strong logical connections between characters' skills, which leads to deep team-building strategies: you can't just fill your party with four high-stat characters; you must also consider whether their skills "complement" each other—that is, whether the four characters can form a complete chain reaction and trigger each other's combo skills.

Whether or not combo moves are used to fill out the combat sequence has a massive impact on the entire team's DPS ceiling.

Furthermore, due to limitations in technical skill and resources, real-time combat in the Endlands also requires a certain degree of skill rotation. The order in which minor skills are cast determines the sequence in which character combos are triggered; if cast haphazardly, the party will be reduced to a primitive state where they can only perform basic attacks in a "farmer combo."

In actual gameplay, this strategic setup creates a sense of excitement akin to a "relay race." After a player uses their current character to apply a status effect, they can quickly switch characters via a QTE, allowing the newly entered character to seamlessly unleash their skills. This not only avoids the stun caused by switching but also maintains the pressure of the combo.

Combos allow even less-skilled players to pull off flashy chains, ensuring that combat in the Endlands remains thrilling, while skilled players with a clear grasp of the mechanics can fully unlock the combat fun offered by the system.

If the combo system, which is based on chain effects, represents the "internal loop" of combat strategy in the Endlands, then the design of combat interactions with enemies constitutes the "external loop."

This external loop is based on a very classic "skill interruption" mechanism.

In the End, when a boss or elite enemy is about to unleash a full-screen ultimate or a high-damage ability, a distinct red warning circle will appear. At this point, simply casting a damaging ability will forcefully interrupt the wind-up animation.

Due to the limitations of the skill gauge, deciding whether to save points for interrupts becomes a crucial consideration during combat. Combined with combo moves, decisions regarding resource management are a constant factor throughout battles in The End.

Furthermore, in terms of boss design, the Endlands incorporate certain mechanics commonly found in MMOs. For example, Rodan, the first boss in the Valley, uses a full-screen AoE attack that requires players to take cover behind the terrain features he creates. Other familiar designs include the three-in-one tower capture mechanic and the DPS check for handling the flying swords of the prologue boss.

In summary, the combat system in Endland revolves around "waiting for cooldowns, matching elements, and exploiting openings." It doesn’t place a high demand on players’ reaction speed or micro-management skills; instead, it encourages players to focus on team composition before battles, resource management during battles (mana, ultimate energy, and resilience depletion), and timing decisions (interrupts).

The four attributes—Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Willpower—in role-playing games, along with class specializations, also serve to differentiate characters in preparation for battle.

Furthermore, the turrets provided by Integrated Industries will also serve as a valuable asset in certain battles. For example, in map events like "Energy Accumulation Points"—which involve mowing down hordes of enemies—we can deploy a cluster of assault turrets and other offensive structures, using 3D tower defense tactics to let the "Angels" experience the "dimension-lowering strike" of Endland technology.

So, even if we can’t fully explain the combat in Endland using a “strategy-over-skill” combat design, it does indeed give players the ability to solve problems through strategic planning rather than just skill alone—and this approach to game design is very much in line with Eagle角’s style.

In fact, aside from industrial and combat elements, the strategic aspects—or rather, the engineering mindset—of The End are evident in many other areas, such as sandbox exploration and mini-games.

To be honest, having grown accustomed to the high mobility offered by open-world games, the movement mechanics in *The End* feel very “old-school”—characters can’t climb walls and “dissolve” when they come into contact with water. Yet I hardly feel any frustration while exploring, not to mention the high density of events on the map and the zip-line transportation provided by the infrastructure.

In fact, you can freely set up zip lines anywhere on the map to travel long distances quickly.

Eagle's Corner's map design is undoubtedly the key to reducing the tedium of exploration.

Take the Abeli Quarry as an example: this mini-map features extreme elevation changes. Before the zipline was introduced, players essentially had to traverse the entire area on foot. However, Eagle's Nest utilized mission guidance and path design, allowing players to alter the terrain with power switches and follow electrical wires, all supplemented by elevators and the massive tower crane at the quarry's center, enabling players to move freely across the varying elevations.

There are no backtracking routes anywhere in the map. Throughout the journey, players can either focus solely on quests and push forward relentlessly, or use teleportation nodes as hubs to explore the area while upgrading the zipline network. This ensures that exploring the map in The End is no longer just about taking in the scenery, but involves simultaneously advancing quests, collecting map data, and repairing the transportation network.

These three paths ultimately converge at the same endpoint—the completion of the mission. By this point, regional transportation routes have been established, resources have been fully gathered, and mining sites have been opened. This sense of satisfaction doesn’t stem from “exploration”; rather, much like integrated industry, it’s the thrill of efficiency gains achieved through engineering optimization.

What’s more, certain elements woven into the gameplay—such as the search-and-repair puzzles—not only feature an interface that’s entirely industrial-instrument-style, with a look that blends oscilloscopes and logic gates, but also use Sudoku as the solution method, giving me the illusion that I’m a math whiz.

Thus, Eagle's unique sense of strategy—or, as I mentioned at the beginning, its respect for players' intelligence—is consistently evident throughout the entire gameplay experience in *The Endland*.

Getting back to the topic of niche markets, I find it hard to identify any existing game—whether in the anime/manga genre or elsewhere—that truly rivals *The Endland*. Because *The Endland* truly blends anime/manga content with gameplay, I believe it might just usher in a new era for anime/manga games.

Conclusion

Although I’ve talked a lot about gameplay, as I mentioned in my previous article, The End’s visual presentation has never been a weak point. Beyond the so-called textures and rendering, the character animations in The End also hold up to close scrutiny.

In most open-world games, characters' idle animations consist of a loop of one or two animation sequences, whereas in *The End*, certain characters have camera distance detection built into their animations.

Let’s take our Miss Chen Qianyu as an example again. If you zoom in on her from behind while she’s standing still, she’ll sense your gaze, turn around, and wave her fist playfully.

So cute!

Camera zooming is a common feature in games, but cross-dimensional interactions that break the fourth wall—building on this foundation—are rare. Most games that incorporate such elements typically stop at eye tracking; however, when Xiao Chen turns his head, spins around, blushes, and raises his fist, this sequence of movements naturally and convincingly conveys the character’s personality to the player off-screen, effectively establishing a connection.

This collection of unique assets is not only the clearest evidence of the team’s relentless refinement of visual presentation, but also demonstrates that while Eagle角 explores new gameplay possibilities, it has not lost sight of the cornerstone of mobile gaming—character development.

In addition, Eagle's Nest has always been a community with a strong creative atmosphere, and the Endland has also become a platform for anime and manga creators to showcase their work. Artwork from illustrators around the world appears in the Endland as bonus rewards for enhancing Operatives' potential.

You can also display your favorite paintings in the living room

Signatures, titles, and names in various languages intertwine, filling this corner of the Endlands with the purest anime and manga vibes.

I suppose that’s one of the reasons why only Yingjiao could have created the Endlands.

In fact, it’s clear that Eagle角 places a strong emphasis on *The Last Land*, both within and outside the game.

This is not hard to understand. As Yingjiao’s most important product in recent years (without a doubt), *The End* marks the company’s first foray into developing a large-scale 3D game, representing a massive technological leap and a development investment on par with AAA titles.All of these represent entirely new endeavors as Yingjiao steps out of its comfort zone. Although *Arknights* remains a long-standing hit, *The Land of the End* is not a do-or-die, all-or-nothing gamble; however, its success or failure will, to a certain extent, determine the upper limit of what Yingjiao can achieve in the future.

Externally, when viewed within the broader mobile game category, *Endless* ultimately hints at a potential direction for the evolution of mobile games: moving beyond a content-driven approach centered on characters to place a greater emphasis on gameplay mechanics, thereby pioneering a new paradigm known as “gameplay-driven.” Prior to this, *Arknights* was perhaps the mobile game that came closest to achieving this level of sophistication (and perhaps the only one).

Of course, meaning must be grounded in reality, and the final stage of the third beta test provides us with an opportunity to assess whether it can live up to these expectations. Judging by its current performance, perhaps the day when the seeds of meaning bear fruit is not far off.