Black Swan is a 5-star Wind Nihility character that players first encountered during the first Myriad Celestia trailer. A Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection, this soothsayer has been on everyone's mind ever since her first tease. Now, with the launch of Version 2.0, she has become available. Should you get her, or plan on getting her, then here's our Honkai Star Rail guide on the best build for Black Swan, from her Light Cones to her Relics and more.
Honkai Star Rail Guide – Black Swan Light Cones and Relics Build
Do note that this guide is for the currently available Light Cones and Relics. Should new sets of Light Cones and Relics appear in Honkai Star Rail that are better for Black Swan, we will be sure to update this guide.
Jump To: Abilities | Trace Priority | Light Cones | Relics | Teams
We already talked about Black Swan's abilities in a separate article. However, for the purposes of this guide let's go through them quickly.
Black Swan is a 5-Star Wind Nihility character. The Path Of Nihility focuses on applying debuffs on the enemy, and Black Swan does this using her Sacrament mechanic, which we will explain in a bit. Her Basic Attack, Percipience, Silent Dawn, inflicts Wind DMG to an enemy target, while also having a chance of influcting Arcana on the enemy. For every DoT that the target has, there is a chance of inflicting another stack of Arcana. Her Skill, Decadence, False Twilight, deals Wind DMG to one target, as well as any adjacent target. This also has a chance of applying Arcana, while also possibly applying DEF down.
Her Ultimate, Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace, deals Wind DMG to all enemies and applies Epiphany. This increases the DMG they take during their turn, while having the Arcana effect be regarded as Wind Shear, Bleed, burn, and Shock. Arcana stacks are also not reset while under this effect for one time. Her Talent, Loom of Fate's Caprice, has a chance to apply Arcana to a target whenever they receive DoT. Arcana causes Wind DOT on the target, with each stack increasing the DoT DMG multiplier.
Her Talent has additional effects based on how many Arcana stacks the opponent has. With 3 or more stacks, the wind DoT also affects adjacent targets, with a chance of applying Arcana stacks on them as well. With 7 or more stacks, the DoT will start ignoring the target's DEF. Her Technique, From Façade to Vérité, has a base chance of applying Arcana on each enemy at battle start. Every successful application of Arcana applies yet another stack of Arcana. This continues until it fails, with each consecutive application lowering the application chance.
When leveling her Traces, focus on her Ultimate, which increases the additional DMG enemies take, as well as the DMG her Ultimate deals. Follow it up with her Talent, which increases the base chance of inflicting Arcana, as well as the DMG it deals. Next, level her Skill, which increases the DMG it deals, as well as the DEF reduction. Finally, level his Basic Attack, which you will still use a lot.
As for the Major Traces, try to get Viscera's Disquiet first, then Goblet's Dredges, and finally Candleflame's Portent.
All values given here are at maximum Superimposed.
Reforged Remembrance: Increases the wearer's Effect Hit Rate by 60%. When the wearer deals DMG to an enemy inflicted with Wind Shear, Burn, Shock, or Bleed, each respectively grants 1 stack of Prophet, stacking up to 4 time(s). In a single battle, only 1 stack of Prophet can be granted for each type of DoT. Every stack of Prophet increases wearer's ATK by 9% and enables the DoT dealt to ignore 10% of the target's DEF.
This is Black Swan's signature Light Cone, and one that fits really well into her kit. For starters, the Effect Hit Rate helps increase the chances of applying Arcana on enemies, while also increasing her DMG thanks to Candleflame's Portent. Not only that, but it's very easy to stack the Prophet Stacks as long as the player has a DoT Nihility team. This will then give her a sizeable amount of ATK, as well as DEF pierce.
Solitary Healing: Increases the wearer's Break Effect by 40%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, increases DoT dealt by the wearer by 48%, lasting for 2 turn(s). When a target enemy suffering from DoT imposed by the wearer is defeated, regenerates 6 Energy for the wearer.
This is perhaps the best F2P Light Cone for Black Swan, thanks to the fact that it's a farmable 5-star Light Cone. The increased Break Effect is great for the same reasons explained above, while the increased DoT is also a nice touch. The Energy recharge from the Light Cone allows her to use her Ultimate multuple times, which helps increase the uptime of the DoT Damage increase.
It's Showtime: When the wearer inflicts a debuff on an enemy, gains a stack of Trick. Every stack of Trick increases the wearer's DMG dealt by 10%, stacking up to 3 time(s). This effect lasts for 1 turn(s). When the wearer's Effect Hit Rate is 80% or higher, increases ATK by 36%.
This is a decent Light Cone for Black Swan, thanks to the increased DMG dealt, as well as the bonus ATK once Black Swan reaches a high enough Effect Hit Rate. The only downside is that it is a shop Light Cone, so players will have to get the needed currency to buy it. Thankfully, it should be easy to get them as long as the player does their weeklies, as well as the Memory of Chaos.
Before the Tutorial Mission Starts: Increases the wearer's Effect Hit Rate by 40%. When the wearer attacks DEF-reduced enemies, regenerates 8 Energy.
This was an event Light Cone and is good for Black Swan if you have it. Since she can reduce her enemy's DEF whenever she uses her Skill, she can easily get the Energy Recharge. Additonally, the Effect Hit Rate, much like the previous ones, will help increase her DMG.
Eyes of the Prey: Increases the wearer's Effect Hit Rate by 40% and increases DoT by 48%.
This Light Cone is a more straightforward way of increasing Black Swan's DMG thanks to the increased Effect Hit Rate, as well as the increased DoT. It will suffer a bit in terms of the stats it gives, but it's still a good Light Cone.
- ATK increases by 12%.
- For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of its DEF when dealing DMG to it. This effect is valid for a max of 3 DoTs.
This is a good Relics set for Black Swan thanks to two things. The first is the ATK increase, which increases the DoT that she deals with her Arcana stacks. The second reason is the up to 18% DEF ignore she can get when the enemy ahs three DoTs. This is fairly easy to do if the player runs three DoT Nihility characters.
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- Increases the wearer's Effect Hit Rate by 10%. Meanwhile, the wearer's ATK increases by an amount that is equal to 25% of the current Effect Hit Rate, up to a maximum of 25%.
This is a decent Relics set for Black Swan, as this Planar Ornament increases her Effect Hit Rate, which you want to do anyway. Not only that, but it can increase Black Swan's ATK by up to 25%, which should be easy to do if you have at least 100% EHR.
- Increases the wearer's ATK by 12%. When the wearer's SPD reaches 120 or higher, the wearer's ATK increases by an extra 12%.
This Relics set is another decent Planar Ornament for Black Swan as it gives her up to 24% ATK. You can build SPD on Black Swan, and enjoy the effects of the 24% ATK, which allows you to build EHR on the chest piece instead of ATK%.
- Increases the wearer's ATK by 12%. When the wearer's SPD is equal to or higher than 135/160, the wearer deals 12%/18% more DMG.
This is similar to the Space Sealing Station, in that it's a Relics set that can increase Black Swan's ATK%, as well as their DMG theoretically. The only downside is that you do need to get lucky with your SPD Substats, as you need at least 135 SPD. Th remaining 25 SPD you need can come from supports like Asta.
For Relic Main stats, focus on ATK% or EHR for the Body, SPD or ATK% for the Feet, Wind DMG % for the SPhere, and ER% for the Rope. For Sub Stats, try to get SPD, then ATK%, then EHR, and finally HP%.
Black Swan must be placed in a DoT team, as her abilities encourage DoT Stacking. As such, here are some possible teams for Black Swan:
Premium Team
- Black Swan
- Kafka
- Guinaifen
- Fu Xuan
- This team composition focuses on stacking DoTs on the enemy, which helps empower Black Swan's Damage. Not only that, but Kafka will also help burst the DoTs that have been applied, so the damage comes from both Black Swan's Arcana Stacks, as well as Kafka's Burst.
F2P Team
- Black Swan
- Serval
- Guinaifen
- Natasha
- This is a more F2P friendly team, allowing the player to still stack the required DoTs for Black Swan's Arcana stacks. Natasha is a good healer for this one as if the enemy is week to Physical, she can apply Bleed from the Weakness Break, which will further add to DoT stacks.
These are just suggestions. It is up to the player how they want to use Black Swan.
That's all for our guide on Black Swan's best Light Cones and Relics build in Honkai Star Rail. Black Swan will be available for drawing once Phase 1 of Version 1.6 goes live. Players interested in getting her must make sure to roll during said banner. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.
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