How to build Blade in Honkai Star Rail: Light Cones, Relics, team composition

Honkai: Star Rail version 1.2 is here, and with it a new 5-star character enters the battlefield: the fearsome Stellaron Hunter Blade!

Blade is the third member of the Stellaron Hunters the Trailblazer encounters in their adventure after Kafka and Silver Wolf.

His real name is unknown, only that he has abandoned his body to become a blade, and his past is deeply intertwined with that of the Xianzhou Luofu and the Astral Express Crew’s Dan Heng.

Blade wields the Wind element and follows the Path of Destruction, consuming his own life force to greatly enhance his battle prowess. While his playstyle is very high-risk, high-reward, he also has the ability to heal himself, letting him outlast any opponent unfortunate enough to face him.

Blade is a one-man army, thanks to his ability to strengthen his own attacks by consuming his own health while also staying alive by his own power. If you are in need of some serious firepower, then this fierce Stellaron Hunter will give you that and then some, whether he’s your sole damage-dealer or as a secondary DPS character.

Read on to find out Blade’s best build, gear, and teammates!

Blade’s kit and how you can best utilise him

The Nameless Swordsman

As a Destruction character, Blade thrives in the thick of the fighting, absorbing enemy attacks for his teammates while dishing out huge damage of his own.

Blade’s bread-and-butter is his skill, Hellscape, which consumes 30% of his Max HP when used while increasing his DMG and enhancing his basic attack to deal additional Wind DMG to the initial target and any adjacent enemies.

Hellscape lasts for 3 turns and does not end Blade’s turn when used, letting him immediately go on the offensive. In addition, if his current HP does not meet the 30% threshold, then his HP will be reduced to 1.

Blade further manipulates his HP to deal stronger attacks with his ultimate, Death Sentence. When used, Blade’s current HP is immediately set to 50% of his Max HP. He then deals Wind DMG equal to the sum of portions of his ATK, Max HP, and the total amount of HP he lost in the current battle to a single target and any adjacent enemies.

Using Blade’s ultimate will set his current HP to 50% of his Max HP even if his current HP is lower than 50% of his maximum upon use, making it a pseudo-heal that can turn the tide of battle. After using his ultimate once, the amount of HP he lost being tracked for its damage will be reset and re-accumulated for the next use.

Blade’s Talent, Shuhu’s Gift, lets him sustain his own HP throughout a battle. Whenever his HP is lowered, be it through enemy attacks or using his abilities, Blade gains 1 stack of Charge for 3 turns.

Charge stacks up to 5 times, and when that maximum amount is reached, Blade consumes all stacks and unleashes a follow-up attack on all enemies. That attack deals Wind DMG equal to portions of his ATK and Max HP and will also heal Blade by an amount equivalent to 25% of his Max HP.

Blade’s major Traces gives him additional forms of survivability and enhances the follow-up attack from his talent.

Blade’s A2 Trace, Vita Infinita, increases all incoming healing by 20% when his current HP is equal to or lower than 50% of his Max HP.

His A4 Trace, Neverending Deaths, lets him heal by an amount equal to 5% of his Max HP plus 100 whenever he attacks a Weakness Broken enemy after using his enhanced normal attack.

Meanwhile, Blade’s A6 Trace, Cyclone of Destruction, increases the DMG of the follow-up attack from his Talent by 20%.

Finally, using Blade’s Technique, Karma Wind, to start a battle lets him deal Wind DMG equal to 40% of his Max HP to all enemies at the cost of 20% of his Max HP. If Blade’s current HP is insufficient to meet that 20% Max HP requirement, his HP will be reduced to 1.

In battle, let Blade fearlessly lead the party’s offensive by using his skill to enhance his basic attack. When you’re in a pinch or need more damage to finish off an enemy, use Blade’s ultimate to deal a decisive blow.

While his Talent is often enough to sustain him through combat, don’t be afraid to heal Blade if his health is dangerously low.

Blade’s massive damage output and self-sustain is enough to make him one of the strongest DPS characters in the game right now. With that said, him only needing to use his skill once to dish out damage also makes him valuable in teams where the other party members need a lot of skill points to do their thing.

When levelling up Blade’s abilities, prioritise his skill and normal attack first before his ultimate and Talent. However, they all need to be fully levelled up for him to reach his full potential.

Blade’s best equipment

Light Cones

Blade’s best Light Cone is hands-down his signature, The Unreachable Side. Not only does it increase his Max HP and Crit Rate by 18%, it also increases his DMG by 24% whenever he is attacked or consumes his own HP. Take note that the bonus DMG will be removed after he attacks.

With huge bonuses across the board, it’s no wonder why Blade’s signature Light Cone is his best-in-slot. But even if you don’t have it, don’t fret, as the two other 5-star Destruction Light Cones in the game are also very good alternatives.

Clara’s signature Light Cone, Something Irreplaceable, is a very competitive option for Blade when compared to his signature.

This Light Cone increases its wielder’s ATK by 24% while also restoring their HP by an amount equal to 8% of their ATK whenever they defeat an enemy or get hit by an enemy attack. At the same time, it also increases the wielder’s DMG by 24% until the end of their next turn.

On the Fall of an Aeon, which can be acquired from Herta’s Store, is also a worthy alternative. It increases its wielder’s ATK by 8% for the entirety of the battle, stacking up to 4 times, whenever they attack. In addition, it increases its wielder’s DMG by 12% for 2 turns whenever they inflict Weakness Break on enemies.

If you don’t have The Unreachable Side, then Something Irreplaceable will be your next best bet. If you don’t have both, then go for On the Fall of an Aeon, which can be Superimposed to S5 for free and be a very competitive option.

As for Blade’s 4-star Light Cone options, pretty much all of them can work. With that said, your best bets will either be A Secret Vow or Nowhere to Run.

With that said, grinding through the Simulated Universe for long enough will let you get On the Fall of an Aeon and Superimpose it to S5 for free, so we recommend going for that instead of settling for 4-stars.

Relics

Blade’s go-to option for his Cavern of Corrosion relics is the new 4-piece Longevous Disciple set.

This set’s 2-piece effect increases its wielder’s Max HP by 12% while its 4-piece effect increases their Crit Rate by 8%, stacking up to 2 times, for 2 turns after they get hit or have their HP consumed by themselves or an ally.

With Blade’s DMG scaling off his Max HP, there’s little reason to go for any other set. The 16% Crit Rate bonus is just icing on the cake.

But if you need something to use while you farm for the 4-piece Longevous Disciple set, then you can temporarily go with the 4-piece Eagle of Twilight Line or 4-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat sets.

As for Blade’s Planar Ornament relics, you can go for the new 2-piece Rutilant Arena set or the 2-piece Inert Salsotto set.

The new Rutilant Arena set increases its wielder’s Crit Rate by 8%. Additionally, if their Crit Rate reaches 70% or higher, their Basic ATK and Skill DMG will be increased by 20%.

On the other hand, the Inert Salsotto set also increases its wielder’s Crit Rate by 8% while increasing their ultimate and follow-up attack DMG by 15% if their Crit Rate reaches 50% or higher.

Since the Crit Rate requirement for the Inert Salsotto’s bonus is easier to reach, it’s what we recommend the most. However, if your Crit Rate is high enough, then the Rutilant Arena set can be better since most of Blade’s DMG will be coming from his enhanced basic attacks.

The main stats you should look for in Blade’s artifacts are Crit Rate/DMG for the Body, HP% or Speed for the Feet, Wind DMG Boost or HP% for the Planar Sphere, and HP% for the Link Rope.

Best teammates

As a Destruction character, Blade is more versatile compared to Hunt or Erudition characters and can be easily slotted into almost any team that needs a DPS.

Since Blade only needs to use one skill point every 3 turns to deal damage, he can even be used as a secondary DPS character alongside another skill point-hungry DPS.

With that said, Blade shines the brightest in a Hypercarry team with supports that can buff his DMG, shred enemy DEF, and provide him with healing.

Blade’s two best supports are Bronya and Silver Wolf. Bronya provides hefty DMG buffs while Silver Wolf can shred enemy DEF and inflict Wind Weakness on enemies that don’t have it.

If you don’t have those 5-star supports, then your 4-star options include Tingyun, Yukong, and Asta for buffers and Pela for DEF shred.

As for healers, your best bet is the 5-star Luocha, who can automatically heal allies with low HP while also providing sustained healing through his talent. Bailu is another 5-star healer who can also revive downed allies.

Of course, the ever-reliable 4-star healer Natasha can do the job and is free for all players.

We don’t recommend running shielders as the defensive support in Blade’s teams, as his kit is also reliant on him being the one absorbing enemy attacks.

Blade is the featured 5-star of the first half of Honkai: Star Rail version 1.2. The second half will see Kafka take the spotlight as the featured 5-star alongside the debut of new 4-star character Luka.

After Honkai: Star Rail version 1.2 comes version 1.3, which features new 5-star characters Imbibitor Lunae and Fu Xuan as well as a new 4-star in Lynx Landau. Version 1.3 is expected to come out in mid-August.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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