Laevatain's the kind of pull that makes you want to sprint straight into the next stage, and if you're also juggling progress or farming, Arknights endfield boosting can be a handy way to keep momentum while you learn her rhythm. Because yeah, she hits like a truck, but only if you play her game. Her damage isn't "press skill, win." It's stacks. You're watching Melting Flame, baiting Heat Infliction, and deciding when to cash out. The first few runs, you'll probably pop skills too early and wonder why she feels mid.
Once you get it, you'll notice Laevatain is less about a perfect rotation and more about timing windows. You want Heat coming in, you want to sit on it, and you want to spend it when the pack is clumped or a boss is locked in an animation. Most people mess up the same way: they burn Melting Flame the second it appears. Don't. Build to four when you can, then fire the empowered Battle Skill to convert those stacks into a burst that kicks off Combustion. If you line that up right, her Ultimate meter jumps way faster than you'd expect, and the whole kit suddenly "clicks."
Forgeborn Scathe is still the cleanest fit. The raw stats are nice, but the real value is how it supports her Heat damage and how her Basics feel right after she Ultimates. It keeps her pressure up during that powered state instead of letting the tempo die. If you don't have it, Umbral Torch or White Night Nova will do the job, just with less snap and fewer moments where everything chains perfectly. Early on, any Intellect-leaning setup like Mordvolt Insulation is fine so she doesn't fall behind on scaling, but later you'll want Hot Work pieces for Heat DMG. People try Ultimate Gain Efficiency to smooth cooldowns, but the bigger numbers usually matter more than shaving a few seconds.
Laevatain is needy, no way around it. She wants steady Heat application and enough SP to avoid those awkward dead moments. The common "easy mode" core is Wulfgard, Akekuri, and Ardelia: Wulfgard keeps Heat rolling, Akekuri keeps skills online, and Ardelia covers healing while adding Corrosion to help trigger Combo Skills and keep the flow consistent. If you're missing Ardelia, Antal's a real option when you're confident on survival and want more damage amplification. The big rule stays the same either way: don't press the big button just because it's lit up; press it when you've banked stacks and the enemy group can't dodge the payoff.
What makes Laevatain fun is that she rewards attention, but she doesn't demand spreadsheets. Watch for incoming Heat, top off stacks, then spend them when it matters—packs, stagger windows, or when your supports have set the table. If you're trying to speed up builds or grab missing pieces without living in the grind, sites like U4GM are often used by players who want a quicker route to currency or items while they focus on learning characters and clearing harder content.