Promotion

“	Promotion increases an Operator's maximum stats and grants new Talents or Skills.	”
	—Loading screen tip

In Arknights, Operators can be promoted to further improve them by increasing the cap of their level and attributes, and unlocking new skills and talents. Only 3★ and above Operators that can be promoted; 1★ and 2★ Operators are stuck at their maximum level of 30.

There are two possible promotions: Elite 1 and Elite 2, or simply E1 and E2, respectively.

Elite 1

To promote an Operator to E1, they must reach the maximum level first (40 for 3★, 45 for 4★, 50 for 5★ and 6★).

• 3★: 10000
• 4★: 15000 , 3 Chips, few T2 upgrade materials
• 5★: 20000 , 4 Chips, some T2 upgrade materials
• 6★: 30000 , 5 Chips, many T2 upgrade materials

Elite 2

Only 4★ Operators and above can be promoted to E2; 3★ Operators are stuck at the maximum level of 55 at E1.

To promote an Operator to E2, they must be promoted to E1 and reach the maximum level (60 for 4★, 70 for 5★, 80 for 6★).

• 4★: 60000 , 5 Chip Packs, many T3 upgrade materials
• 5★: 120000 , 3 Dualchips, some T3 and T4 upgrade materials
• 6★: 180000 , 4 Dualchips, some T4 and T5 upgrade materials

All Operators gain alternate artwork when promoted to E2.

Tips

E2 promotions are time-consuming and expensive due to the resources needed, especially for 6★ and 5★ Operators, so the following should be considered before promoting Operators to E2.

• Team composition: E2 Operators may or may not have an impact in a squad due to the benefits they provide. For instance, Texas' E2 Tactical Delivery increases the initial DP count by 2, which can make all the difference in most situations.
• Value: "Quality over quantity" is the best phrase to describe this consideration. One E2 Operator with more utility is better than multiple of them who rely on their stats alone. This is especially noticeable in 6★ Operators who gain a new skill and talent at E2.

It is recommended to promote DPS Operators (Casters, Guards, and Snipers) to E2 first, followed by frontline Operators (Defenders and Vanguards), Medics, and finally Supporters and Specialists, in that order.

E2 priority

Below is a list of Operators who are recommended to be promoted to E2 as soon as possible.

This section is being rewritten to be more consistent as new Operators are added. You can help in contributing here.

Operator	Description
Lappland	Spiritual Destruction now Silences the enemy for 5 seconds. Having an attack interval of 1.3 seconds, this means that Lappland can effectively shut down her enemies' abilities indefinitely – provided that she keeps attacking on the same target – and rendering Defense Crushers and even Crownslayer impotent.
Myrtle	Every Mastery level takes seconds off her skills, which means getting that all important DP faster, which means other Vanguards can be out sooner, which means more DP, and so on. Any mission with low DP generation (like Contingency Contract or Annihilation missions) can be trivialized. The 25 HP per second may not sound like much but it can take a lot of weight off of healers in the early game, allowing more focus to be put on getting out powerful operators, getting long charging skills up earlier (like Thorns Destreza see below), or dealing with map challenges before they become a problem.
Ptilopsis	The doubled effectiveness of Skill Point Halo (+0.3 SP regeneration rate for Operators with automatic SP recovery) means that most Operators can use their skills more often than ever, and even for some, keep them active throughout much of the operation.
Thorns	Destreza is an incredibly powerful ability giving Thorns the ability to solo whole lanes and take down anything short of a boss in seconds. It takes a little while to charge up, but once it is there is very little he will need help dealing with. Especially powerful in Annihilation missions where there is plenty of time (and enemies) to charge it on. Echoes of Ancestral Waves lets him heal up if given even only a short time to recover, alleviating the need for healers to keep him topped up between waves. when combined with Protective Spikes he can tank as well as many of the top Defender operators. The increase to Nerve Corrosion may be less impactful but it can help tip the balance against enemies that Thorns might otherwise struggle against, like those with high DEF, particularly ranged ones like Shielded Senior Casters.
Nightingale	Since Arts damage has become more and more relevant in current stages it is recommended to promote her for her White Fiend's Protection talent which increases Operators RES in her range. Promoting her also unlocks Sanctuary, an extremely valuable and powerful skill in mitigating Arts damage which, not only boosts Operators RES in the skill range and expands her heal range but also gives them Arts Dodge. She's always seen being used in boss stages and maps where the main source of damage are Arts-based. Unlocking her module is also strongly recommended because it boosts her first Talent's RES boost and also increases her healing amount.
Lumen	Currently the only operator in the game capable of completely removing negative statuses. It's recommended to promote him simply because of that and his wide range healing. He's also free to obtain from the Stultifera Navis event.