Arknights’ collaboration with Delicious in Dungeon introduces two distinctive operators to the popular strategy gacha game: Laios and Marcille. Understanding their skill sets, playstyles, and effective deployment strategies can significantly enhance your gameplay experience.​

Both of these characters are obtained from their corresponding Crossover Limited Headhunting banner, which means most players will need to wait out the gacha system before they can actually attempt to unlock them. Regardless, once you do obtain one of these units, you’ll obviously want to get the most out of them, which is why we’ve created this guide.

Let’s begin!

Laios: The Curious and Calculated Frontliner

Laios is a 5-star melee unit classified under the Dreadnought Guard branch, which typically means strong, single-target offense. But what makes him stand out in The Doctor’s roster is the way his kit rewards players who pay attention to enemy types and take advantage of repeated spawns. He isn’t the kind of unit you can just drop into any fight and expect top-tier results. Instead, he’s designed for players who plan ahead and know how to play around his quirks.

His stats are average across the board, but his true strength comes from his talent, which ramps up his damage when he defeats enemies of the same kind. This makes him a great choice for maps that repeat the same enemy waves or spawn similar mobs in clusters. The longer he’s out, the more value he generates as he starts slicing through units with reduced resistance.

Quick Facts

• Class: Guard
• Branch: Dreadnought
• Position: Melee
• Tags: DPS, Crowd-Control
• Trait: Blocks 1 enemy
• Availability: Crossover Limited Headhunting

Talent: Dungeon Monster Expert

This talent is the core of Laios’s gameplay loop. Once he defeats an enemy, he gains a permanent DEF ignore bonus against other enemies with the same name. At Elite 1, that’s 20% DEF ignore, and at Elite 2, it jumps to 40%. This allows him to snowball damage on maps with repeat enemies. You’ll want to position him where you expect consistency—think repeat spawns, early waves, or choke points. The effect stacks subtly in practice but can make a huge difference against tankier foes later on.

Skills and Usage

Laios has two skills, and each plays into his personality from the source material while offering something different on the field.

• Cowardly Kensuke: This passive skill gives Laios an ATK buff when his HP is full, helping with early engagements. However, when a boss appears, he gets disarmed for 15 seconds, leaving him unable to attack. It’s a flavorful mechanic that adds risk in high-stakes moments, meaning you’ll need backup during boss waves.
• Intimidation Tactics: A manual skill that disarms Laios and places the “Frighten” status on the enemy he’s blocking. After 10 seconds, he deals big physical damage to the affected enemy. It’s less about constant uptime and more about timing for a high-impact burst or to interrupt dangerous enemies.

This disarm mechanic makes Laios feel very different from standard guards. You’re not using him for brute force—you’re using him for control and pressure, especially in scenarios where managing enemy types pays off. The skill timing also gives you opportunities to stall and burst in a controlled way, especially when paired with other operators who can hold the line while he’s disarmed.

Building and Synergy

To unlock Laios’s full potential, you’ll want to get him to Elite 2. This enhances his talent, gives him better base stats, and opens up the option to equip modules. From there, focus on upgrading Intimidation Tactics to improve its cooldown and burst damage.

Recommended Development Path:

• Promotion Priority: Elite 2 (to maximize DEF ignore and unlock modules)
• Skill Upgrade Focus: Intimidation Tactics for consistent impact
• Best Potentials: DP cost reduction and redeployment time for more field flexibility

In terms of synergy, Laios benefits from tanky defenders or support casters who can compensate for his disarmed periods. Slower enemies, crowd-control units, or those with defensive buffs can help cover his downtime. If you’re running other Laios’s Party characters, like Marcille, the synergy from her Elite 2 talent adds even more value to keeping him on the field.

Marcille: Tactical Mana Management with AoE Punch

Marcille is a 6-star Splash Caster with a very non-traditional setup. Unlike standard casters who rely on standard SP recovery, Marcille uses a unique mana system that regenerates only when she’s off the field. This gives her a different tempo—one based on timing, rotation, and short bursts of high-impact skills. She also brings healing and crowd-control into the mix, making her a flexible option that fills multiple roles depending on how you use her.

Managing Marcille correctly means understanding when to deploy her and when to pull her back so she can recover mana. Her damage output and effectiveness are directly tied to how much mana she has stored, so it’s crucial to think of her as a strategic unit rather than a sustained presence.

Quick Facts

• Class: Caster
• Branch: Splash
• Position: Ranged
• Tags: AoE, Healing, Crowd-Control
• Trait: Deals AoE Arts damage
• Availability: Crossover Limited Headhunting

Talents and Mana System

Her first talent, Top Student In The Magic School’s History, is what defines her playstyle. While she has mana, she gets a large ATK bonus and her splash radius increases. But she doesn’t recover mana while on the field—only while waiting in your squad. This means you’ll need to be selective about her timing and make sure she enters battle with a decent mana pool.

At Elite 2, she unlocks Reliable Companion, which gives her 25 initial mana and adds a powerful team-wide buff when your squad includes four or more Laios’s Party members. With this talent, everyone in that group gets a bonus to ASPD and DEF, giving a serious boost to both offense and survivability.

Skills and Combat Use

Each of Marcille’s three skills offers different utility and damage profiles, but they all center around how much mana you’re willing to spend and when.

• A Top Student’s Abilities: A burst skill that uses mana to enhance Marcille’s attack. If there are no enemies nearby, she heals allies instead. It’s a solid choice for mixed-role usage.
• Summon Familiar: This creates a small companion that powers up her basic attacks, adding slow effects. You can activate it again to enhance the familiar, boosting her range and adding a stun to each hit. It’s ideal for crowd control and works great when paired with stalling tactics.
• Explosion Magic: Her big nuke. This is a high-mana skill that, after chanting, causes a massive AoE explosion with a stun effect. If she continues chanting and spends more mana, it turns into a multi-hit attack that clears out groups of enemies in seconds. Perfect for high-pressure stages.

Marcille’s gameplay loop revolves around managing her uptime. You’ll often want to deploy her during key wave moments, fire off a skill or two, and then retreat her to build mana again. It’s a cycle that rewards good timing and planning, especially if you’re using other SP-focused supports or delay tactics.

Building and Synergy

Marcille shines brightest once she reaches Elite 2. That second talent not only gives her more starting mana but also adds incredible team-wide buffs if you’re running a crossover-themed squad. In terms of skill priority, Summon Familiar is often the most flexible and effective in a wide range of stages, but Explosion Magic is a great choice when you need massive burst.

Recommended Development Path:

• Promotion Priority: Elite 2 for mana scaling and support synergy
• Skill Upgrade Focus: Summon Familiar for utility; Explosion Magic for burst
• Best Potentials: ATK increase and redeployment time reduction

For synergy, Marcille works especially well with operators who can help her stay safe during chants or boost her SP indirectly. She pairs nicely with Laios and other Laios’s Party units to get that extra team buff, but also fits well into caster-focused comps where you need both damage and control.

Laios and Marcille bring a fresh flavor to Arknights, offering gameplay that’s both rewarding and just a little bit quirky. Laios gives you a guard who rewards precision and tactical placement, while Marcille challenges you to manage her presence and mana for explosive payoffs. Together, they form a flexible core that can adapt to both single-target and AoE challenges.

If you’re looking to explore new team builds, especially ones centered around the Laios’s Party tag, both of these units offer strong synergy potential. And of course, if you want the smoothest gameplay experience, especially during intense missions, make sure to play Arknights on PC with BlueStacks. You’ll get better controls, larger visuals, and zero interruptions—just what you need to make every move count.