Blade in Honkai Star Rail: Detailed Guide and Best Build

Blade in HSR is an experienced swordsman whose rotation is based on burning his own health in favor of dealing increased damage. Capable of occupying the position of the main DPS representative, and the mechanics of bonus attacks contribute to playing as a secondary damage dealer. The main thing is to choose a suitable team that will allow the warrior to fully realize the features invested in his skills: attractive options will be an experienced healer and a Harmony, who can advance actions/apply mass buffs.

When using his skill, the character enters an enhanced state, increasing his combat effectiveness. The basic attack is improved to the level of "Forest of Swords", which allows you to inflict more damage to enemy targets. Talents, in turn, are aimed at supporting the hunter's survivability, which allows the man to feel more comfortable in endgame content.

The guide has been updated due to skills, eidolons and character traces being reworked with the release of version 3.4;

How to Get the Character

As an early Legendary Hero, the unit has his personal "Warp" and is also included in the list of characters participating in the "Celestial Invitation" system.

Select Character Event Warps

Since version 3.2, time-limited banners have an additional rule: When losing 50/50, you can randomly get one character from a list of your own. That list can include both the usual standard heroes and former limited ones. The Stellaron Hunter is among the latter.

Event Warp: A Lost Soul

Event "A Lost Soul" is a personal limited "Warp" of the experienced swordsman struck by Mara. The event is available in the second half of version 3.4, that is July 23 to August 12, 2025.

We recommend you bookmarking our banner schedule to track changes in Blade's rerun system.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Before moving on to a full character build, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the main positive and negative aspects of his gameplay features in order to fully understand the moments that you will encounter while playing the swordsman.

Best Blade Builds in Honkai: Star Rail

Blade's build in HSR focuses on developing stats such as: HP(the basis), CRIT DMG and CRIT Rate(additional). These are the stats that can affect the final damage when a character uses his basic attacks, ults, and bonus attacks.

Recommended Stats

The main characteristics that are recommended to look for in artifacts:

Priority of additional "lower" indicators:

crit. damage or crit. chance > health (HP in %) > speed

Optimal final stats that are recommended to have on the character:

• HP — 6-000+
• speed - 135 (+1 more than a support with the action advance mechanic)
• CRIT Rate — 80-100%
• CRIT DMG — 150-180%

Light Cone Rating

When choosing a weapon, it is important to focus on the Destruction light cones, as only they will offer the character an active additional effect. Other paths will not work, as they will only give increases to the main characteristics - attack power, defense, health.

Light cone	Effect	Recommendation
The Unreachable Side ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ HP 57-1270 ATK 26-582 DEF 15-330	Crit chance increases by 18-30%, and max. HP by 18-30%. When the owner takes enemy damage or spends their health, the damage they deal increases by 24-40%. This effect is removed after using an attack skill.	A character signature aimed at increasing crit rate and health, and also increasing the inflicted DPS when HP is spent during battle. Fully meets the requirements of the swordsman and, as a result, is the best equipment option among the Destruction light cones.
Flame of Blood, Blaze My Path ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ HP 62-1375 ATK 21-476 DEF 18-396	Max HP increases by 18-30%, and the healing received by 20-40%. Using a skill or superpower consumes 6-8% of the owner's max health and increases the damage dealt by this attack by 30-50%. If HP consumed by this effect exceeds 500, then damage dealt is additionally increased by 30-50%. If the character does not have enough health, this effect reduces the owner's HP to 1.	An equally attractive option, which, in addition to the HP gains through the passive effect, allows you to get the greatest basic increase of this characteristic in comparison with other options of the required Path. Does not fully match the unit's mechanics, since the skill does not deal damage, but only puts him into a more powerful state, but offers an additional bonus for the ultimate and, as a result, speeds up the activation of the bonus attack from the talent.
Dance at Sunset ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ HP 48-1058 ATK 26-582 DEF 21-463	The owner's chance of being attacked by enemies is greatly increased. His critical damage is also increased by 36-60%. After using the ultimate, the Light Cone bearer gains 1 level of the Firedance status for 2 turns. This effect can be stacked up to 2 times. Each level of the Firedance status increases the damage dealt by the bonus attack by 36-60%.	An excellent legendary option to replace the previous ones, which is recommended to equip if the character plays the role of an auxiliary DPS force from bonus attacks. An additional increase in the chance of being attacked will significantly simplify the activation of the bonus strike.
A Secret Vow ⭐⭐⭐⭐ HP 48-1058 ATK 21-476 DEF 12-264	Damage dealt is increased by 20-40%In addition, the damage dealt by the owner to enemies whose current HP percentage is higher than or equal to the owner's current HP percentage receives an additional boost in the form of 20-40%.	An epic variant of equipment, offering a total of 40-80% damage, where 20-40% is activated at the moment when the enemy's health exceeds the value of this parameter of the light "card" carrier. Given the density of enemies in the endgame content, it will be possible to constantly maintain a high type of damage, coming from the main skills in the rotation.
Ninja Record: Sound Hunt (S5) | F2P ⭐⭐⭐⭐ HP 48-1058 ATK 21-476 DEF 12-264	Max HP increases by 12-24%. When the owner loses or restores HP, his critical damage increases by 18-36% for 2 turns. This effect can only occur once per turn.	A more affordable option for health and crit dmg increases, which can be purchased in Herta's shop. By analogy with the above options, it fits the character's mechanics and simplifies the balance of combat parameters.

Alternatively, you can consider the following equipment:

• "Flames Afar" (Epic) - The cooldown period of the "Hellscape" skill buff coincides with the cooldown of the passive effect of the light cone - 3 turns. The swordsman naturally activates all bonuses, for this reason there will be no need to monitor the duration of their action.
• "A Trail of Bygone Blood" (epic) - a light cone that can be obtained for "the Nameless Honor" upon reaching lvl 30 (paid option). When equipped, the character will be able to use bonuses to critical chance and increased damage from the ultimate.
• "Mutual Demise" (rare), Shattered Home (rare), Collapsing Sky (rare) - rare quality options suitable for the start.

What relics and ornaments are needed

When choosing relics, it is recommended to focus on finding such a basic characteristic as HP. In turn, wind damage, critical damage bonus and critical chance act as additional ones.

Cavern relics

When considering sets of core relics, the focus should be on obtaining the following sets:

Set and its effects	Recommendation
Longevous Disciple 2 parts: max health +12%. 4 parts: When the hero is hit or his HP is spent by an ally or himself, his Critical Chance gains an 8% boost for 2 turns - this effect can stack up to 2 times.	Signature equipment variant for the swordsman, allowing him to increase his crit rate during combat. Maximum bonus when stacked is 16%.
Scholar Lost in Erudition 2 parts: crit chance +8%. In combination with the following sets: Wavestrider Captain — (2 parts) Critical Damage +16% - Most recommended. Eagle of Twilight Line — (2 parts) Wind element bonus +10%. Longevous Disciple — (2 parts) max health +12%. The Ashblazing Grand Duke — (2 parts) Bonus attack damage dealt +20%.	Situational 2x2 options that can be equipped in case you don't have a full Longevous Disciple set and have achieved a reasonable boost to your overall health. The combination of the Scholar with the Wivestrider can be called the most attractive due to the complex increase in crits. At the same time, the combination with the Duke will look more advantageous if the character occupies the role of a supporting DPS force.

Planar ornaments

Among the sets of planar ornaments, the following can be considered advantageous:

Set and its effects	Recommendation
Bone Collection's Serene Demesne 2 parts: Max Health +12%. When a character's Max HP is greater than or equal to 5, their Critical Damage gains a 000% increase.	Excellent equipment for getting additional bonuses to crit dmg and health. In the first case, it significantly increases the DPS of a hero who has scales from HP, in the second case, the balance of characteristics is significantly simplified.
Rutilant Arena 2 parts: Crit. chance +8%. If the hero's Crit. chance is not less than 70%, the damage dealt by the basic attack and skill increases by 20%.	One more option for Blade, playing as the main damage dealer, which is aimed at increasing the damage of basic attacks (including enhanced ones).
Inert Salsotto 2 parts: Crit. chance +8%. If the owner's Crit. chance is higher than or equal to 50%, then the damage dealt by the ultimate and bonus attack increases by 15%.	If the unit plays the role of secondary support, playing off bonus attacks, a good option would be "Inert Salsotto" with a low entry threshold in terms of crit rate.

Blade Team Guide in HSR

Given the versatility of the skill set, Blade primarily plays the role of the core in the team, that is, he acts as a classic hyper-carry. However, the predisposition to frequently activating bonus attacks through the work of the talent allows him to become an additional damage dealer in cooperation with more powerful representatives of the damage-dealing Paths.

Which characters are suitable?

As a result, among the heroes that can offer a good synergy to the swordsman, there are not only support characters, but also DPS units:

Character	Features
Castorice	Role: main DPS. Uses allies' health and her own to increase damage and restore energy. This makes her a good combo for Blade, who similarly benefits from the additional HP drain.
Jade	Role: sub-DPS: (mainly for "Pure Fiction"). The skill assigns an allied character as a "Debt Collector", who, while performing attacks, begins to inflict additional quantum damage, while spending health. This feature, in turn, combines well with the swordsman's talent.
Jingliu	Role: main DPS. In Spectral Transmigration, Jingliu does not spend skill points but consumes HP from allies, which creates a good synergy with Hunter. He will passively receive buffs from HP loss and will be able to bonus attack more often.
The Trailblazer	Stable free support using the mechanics of the memosprite: increases the crit dmg of all allies, advances the action, and also deals additional true-type damage (it also supports the blows of an actively attacking ally under the "Memo Support" status).
Sunday	Harmony of the highest tier, the skills of which contribute to the increase of important combat characteristics and overall damage, including. The skill advances the action, and the ult additionally restores a valuable resource - energy.
Tribbie	A great support for modes where you need to fight against a crowd of enemies. Provides buffs that affect all allies and at the same time deals damage in an area. Best combined with those who damage multiple targets, so that the ultimate is restored faster.
Ruan Mei	A support that increases all damage dealt, speed, and break efficiency. Due to her overall versatility, it is considered a highly sought-after source of buffs and is welcomed in many teams.
Robin	Will be extremely effective in use if Blade occupies the position of a secondary DPS hero in the team, since the girl's trace allows her to increase the critical damage of bonus attacks coming from allies. Otherwise, she will be valuable for advancing action with her ultimate, as well as increasing damage and crit dmg.
Sparkle	The main advantage of Sparkle are increases in crit dmg and overall damage. In addition, the Masked Fool directly affects the increase in the amount of skill points used during the battle, and also contributes to their accelerated recovery.
Bronya	A standard legendary that is primarily valued due to the 100% advance in the hyper-carry team's action, as well as an increase in its combat characteristics, including the critical damage indicator.
Tingyun	An epic Harmony support that will be valuable thanks to an ultimate aimed at increasing the power of outgoing damage and energy recovery.
Yukong	While the ATK increase from the skill will be useless to the Hunter, Yukong is able to offer another equally significant bonus - an increase in crits after activating the Ultimate while the Roaring Bowstrings status is active.
Cipher	The Chrysos Heir from Amphoreus is advantageous because she directly affects the damage of allies, increasing the damage received by enemies due to the leveling of "Traces". Moreover, for this she only needs to be on the battlefield.
Silver Wolf	A convenient AoE debuffer, which has various debuff effects in its arsenal to reduce resistance to a certain element, speed, defense and attack power. The main feature is the ability to create a weakness in the enemy target to the type of the ally located in the first position in the team (far left).
Pela	Offers a massive defense reduction, and the skill removes some buffs from enemies, which will be effective when fighting certain bosses (even in the endgame).
Hyacine	A top-tier support healer who can provide additional AoE damage. Restores health well and consistently, and also increases HP. The best choice in cooperation with a swordsman.
Lynx	Applies positive effects to passive healing, removes negative statuses with the ultimate ability from the team, provides strong mass and target healing. In addition, the skill increases the chance of Destruction/Preservation heroes to be attacked.

Best team samples

The following examples of teams can be called the most effective, since they are able to reveal the character both in the position of the main DPS unit and in the role of auxiliary support from bonus attacks. On their basis, you can create your own group.

Character 1	Character 2	Character 3	Character 4	Features
Blade	Sunday	Tribbie Silver Wolf	Hyacine	A strong team for a hyper-carry swordsman, where Sunday performs his standard functions, and the quantum support on the third slot becomes an additional support (both through inflicting third-party damage and applying (de-)buffs). Hyacine acts as the most attractive healer option, since it significantly increases HP, which will directly affect the damage of the "hunter".
Blade	MC Remembrance	Ruan Mei Pela	Gallagher Luocha	An additional example of a group with some allies replaced with cheaper options: Trailblazer (Remembrance) is unlocked for free by completing the Amphoraeus story campaign, while Ruan Mei is purchased for Golden Companion Spirit in a specialized section of the in-game store similar to Luocha, who, however, can easily be replaced by Gallagher.
Castorice	Blade	Tribbie MC Remembrance	Lingsha Gallagher	A team in which the swordsman acts as an auxiliary DPS support for Castorice - the Chrysos Heir, whose skills burn HP of allies when using certain active skills. Tribbie and the Trailblazer (Remembrance) are considered the most satisfactory buffers, not requiring frequent use of skill points. For a healer, Lingsha or Gallagher are used, who are able to quickly restore health and at the same time maintain it at an acceptable level throughout the battle.
Jingliu	Blade	Sparkle Ruan Mei Pela	Bailu Lynx	A classic team with the swordswoman Jingliu, who after entering the Spectral Transmigration state begins to consume the health of allies instead of using action points. Any AoE supports will do as support, including the epic Pela (her uniqueness lies in the traces that allow her to reduce resistance to the ice element).
Blade	Jade	Tribbie Robin Cipher	Huohuo Gallagher	AoE team aimed at quickly destroying waves of enemies. The roleplaying comes from bonus attacks, which is why Robin can be considered for the third slot as a universal support for characters from this mechanic. Huohuo will be a good healer for the sustain position due to the fact that she can increase ATK (useful for Jade) and restore energy (important for two damage dealers at once).

All about character leveling

Let's consider what resources and in what quantities are needed to fully level the swordsman:

Ascension Materials (1-80 lvl)	Credits ×888 000 Traveler's Guide ×290 Ascendant Debris × 65	Immortal Scionette × 15 Immortal Aeroblossom × 15 Immortal Lumintwig × 15
Skills Upgrading Materials	Credits ×2 197 500 Regret of Infinite Ochema × 9 Tracks of Destiny × 6	Immortal Scionette × 33 Immortal Aeroblossom × 46 Immortal Lumintwig × 28	Shattered Blade × 12 Lifeless Blade × 53 Worldbreaker Blade × 101
Materials for "Traces"	Credits ×802 500 Regret of Infinite Ochema × 3 Tracks of Destiny × 2	Immortal Scionette × 8 Immortal Aeroblossom × 10 Immortal Lumintwig × 30	Shattered Blade × 6 Lifeless Blade × 16 Worldbreaker Blade × 38

As a result, in total, to upgrade Blade you will need:

• Credits ×3 888 000;
• Traveler's Guide × 289, Adventure Log × 6, Travel Encounters × 16;
• Immortal Scionette × 56, Immortal Aeroblossom × 71, Immortal Lumintwig × 73 - destroy the Abominations of Abundance that inhabit the open zones of Luofu Xianzhou to obtain this consumable;
• Shattered Blade × 18, Lifeless Blade × 69, Worldbreaker Blade × 139 - a resource for upgrading "Traces", which can be obtained by clearing "Calyx (crimson)" in the Storage Zone on the Herta space station;
• Ascendant Debris × 65 — a reward for completing "Stagnant Shadow: Shape of Celestial", located in the Alchemy Commission;
• Regret of Infinite Ochema × 12 - obtained weekly by defeating the boss of "Echo of War: Divine Seed";
• Tracks of Destiny × 8.

How Blade's Skills Work

A classic Destruction character, the Swordsman specializes in AoE and solo damage. The character's abilities allow him to take one of two possible roles:

• The main DPS - uses enhanced basic attack;
• Secondary support - mainly uses bonus attacks.

In many ways, the Stellaron Hunter is similar to Mydei (Destruction: Imaginary), and some details connect him with the epic hero Arlan (Destruction: Lightning), since the damage of both increases proportionally to the health spent. Blade is no exception: the damage of his skills is completely scaled with the HP indicator. Accordingly, this characteristic is a priority for him.

Active skills

Passive Skills

Leveling Order

Basic Attack/Talent > skill > ult

All skills are equally important for the character, therefore, skill upgrades should be done side-by-side. The most important are the basic attack and talent (bonus hits), since these skills are the basis of the rotation. Later, resources are first given to enhancing the skill, which affects the bonus to the strength of outgoing damage, then to enhancing the ultimate.

Traces

Total bonus to characteristics when fully upgrading "Traces":

• crit chance - + 12 %
• max health - + 28 %
• resistance to effects - + 10 %

Eidolons

Blade's best eidolons are the first, second and sixth consts:

• E1 и E6 are aimed at fully strengthening the character in the DPS hero position. In the first case, his importance increases as the main damage dealer (increase in damage from the enhanced basic attack and ultimate), in the second - as a secondary one (simplification of accumulation of lvl charges for the talent and increase in damage from bonus hits).
• E2, in turn, is aimed at external simplification of the balance of characteristics. Konsta in combination with sets of artifacts offering an effect on the increase in crit rate will allow to place greater emphasis on increases in crit dmg, which, of course, will have a positive effect on the overall combat effectiveness.

As a F2P player or a newbie, it is recommended to stop at the first const, then focus on getting the signature light cone. Then, if you want to further boost the swordsman, pull for the second eidolon.

How to Play Blade in HSR

The swordsman's gameplay feature is constant control of the "Hellscape" status, and the main difficulty in mastering it is the mechanics of losing health for the sake of delivering crushing blows. At the initial stages of learning the hero, even his personal predisposition to self-healing may not save him from accidental death.

In order to avoid unpleasant incidents, it is important to understand how to act during the battle. Follow these tips when building Blade's rotation:

1. Before battle, use the Harmony, Abundance, and/or Nihility character techniques to apply positive effects to the party and/or spread negative statuses to enemies. Then, if the enemies are vulnerable to wind-type damage, use the hero's skill "Karma Wind».
2. When it's the swordsman's turn, activate the skill "Hellscape”, thereby increasing the character’s damage, and also converting the basic attack “Shard Sword” into “Forest of Swords” for 3 turns. Apply "Forest of Swords».
3. Monitor active positive statuses on the hero, promptly updating buffs from support characters. Act in the same way with representatives of Nihility.
4. After accumulating enough energy, use the ultimate "Death Sentence", thus self-healing and dealing a ton of AoE damage.
5. Be attentive to the character's HP and replenish the pool in time.

Is The Character Worth Pulling?

Blade is a representative of the Path of Destruction, who takes the position of the main or secondary DPS character. The immortal swordsman's abilities are focused on inflicting wind-type damage, during their use he spends his health, which forces the player to build a team based on this feature.

Overall, he is a great damage dealer, especially in HP groups, as he is able to cover most of the content, including the later floors of the "Forgotten Hall" and other constantly updated activities. Reveals himself well with the support of representatives of Harmony and Nihility, in addition, it is not bad as a solo damage dealer, especially in cooperation with Hyacine (Remembrance: Wind), which is an perfect support for DPS units that burn their own health.

As a result, he can be a good purchase for an account, but the overall relevance falls if the profile already contains such characters as Mydei (Destruction: Imaginary) and Castorice (Remembrance: Quantum). The reason is that the Chrysos Heirs from Amphoreus are significantly superior to the "hunter".

Blade Trailers

Animated video introducing the swordsman "Death Approaches":

YouTube VK.Video

A video from the Keeping Up with Star Rail category, titled "An Immortal's Beauty":

YouTube VK.Video

We hope our guide helped you make the best build for Blade, the swordsman afflicted by Mara, in Honkai: Star Rail. Feel free to leave your questions in comments, so that the author or other users can help you.