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Endfield’s Automated Industry Complex (AIC for short) is the part of the game that keeps running whether you’re actively playing or not, which makes it one of the few systems where setting things up a day earlier has a real, compounding benefit. Treating it as optional busywork rather than a core system is the most common way new Endministrators leave resources on the table.

The AIC runs while you’re doing anything else

Once a production chain is actually set up, the AIC continues extracting and refining resources even while you’re out exploring, fighting, or logged off entirely. That means the real cost of ignoring it isn’t just “I have to do this eventually.” It’s every hour it sits idle instead of producing something you’ll need later.

Production is chained, not standalone

The factory system works by linking production nodes together into chains: raw resources get mined, then refined, then turned into crafted gear or materials through connected stages, rather than each building working in isolation. Planning a chain end-to-end, even a simple one, tends to produce more usable output than setting up several disconnected single-step buildings.

Stock Bill ties your base to your combat progress

Stock Bill, one of Endfield’s currencies, is regional (each region has its own, and they can’t be moved between regions). You earn it largely by trading AIC products at Outposts, and spend it on upgrades, gear crafting and a rotating shop, which means base output indirectly feeds back into how quickly you can gear up for combat. The AIC isn’t a side activity separate from getting stronger. It’s one of the ways you actually get there.

The limits you’ll actually hit: power and capacity

Two numbers shape every region’s factory:

  • Power. Most facilities need electricity. Each region’s grid starts at 200 power capacity, and you raise it by building a Thermal Bank, connecting it to the grid and keeping it supplied. Electric Pylons and Relay Towers carry power to facilities spread across the map.
  • Protocol Capacity. Each region also limits how many facilities you can place outside the main base area. Once it’s full, nothing more can be built there until you raise it through the region’s Regional Development Level.

New facilities are unlocked through AIC Factory Plans, and each region’s Protocol Automation-Core (PAC) is the hub for its power grid and depot. Watch your storage too: when the depot is full of an item, factories simply stop producing it, so a “working” chain can quietly stall.

Outposts turn production into Stock Bills

Outposts are where your AIC output becomes currency: you trade AIC products there for that region’s Stock Bills, which also raises the Outpost’s Prosperity and unlocks upgrades. An Outpost’s Stock Bills build up over time to a cap, so trading regularly keeps them accumulating. You can also assign an Operator as the Outpost’s Liaison; when their faction, hobby and expertise match what the Outpost needs, it earns more.

Start simple — a working small chain beats an ambitious idle one

It’s tempting to plan an elaborate, fully-optimized production layout before building anything, but a modest chain that’s actually running produces more over a day than a bigger one still being planned. Get something basic online first, then expand or reroute it once you understand what you’re actually short on.

A practical way to approach your base

  1. Set up at least one complete extraction-to-refinement chain in your first session, even a small one.
  2. Check what your gear crafting or upgrades actually consume before deciding what to prioritize producing.
  3. Expand chains incrementally rather than redesigning your whole base at once.
  4. Revisit your AIC layout whenever you unlock a new region or resource, since early chains rarely stay optimal forever.

The AIC rewards consistency more than optimization. A simple chain that’s been running for days will usually outproduce a perfect one you’re still designing. Pair that with getting comfortable switching Operators in combat for the fastest early progress, or visit the Arknights: Endfield hub for more.

Sources

Facts in this guide were checked against these pages in October 2026: