The big 2.0 update in Honkai Star Rail will be live in just a few days from now on and next to many exciting events, a new 5-Star Nihility unit will enter the stage as a playable character. Of course, we're talking about Black Swan and if you plan on pulling for our favorite Memokeeper, then the following guide could be right up your alley!
The Honkai Star Rail Version 2.0 is already waiting around the corner, and a lot of new Penacony characters are basically waiting for us to spend all our hard-earned Stellar Jade on them. The first of many units to come is the Memokeeper Black Swan.
Black Swan's banner will be live during the first phase of version 2.0, starting on February 6, 2024. In order to be prepared, you should take a look at the following guide!
Honkai Star Rail Black Swan Build: Best Light Cones & Team Comp
In order to understand, who Black Swan is and which role she plays regarding the Star Rail universe, you have to know that she is a Memokeeper! Enigmatic Memokeepers live in the Garden of Recollection, which is a very special realm in the world of Honkai Star Rail and no normal, mortal being can enter this place. This is also why the appearance of Black Swan, as we can see her right now, is not her true nor only form.
| 📌 Black Swan Overview | |
| Banner Start: | February 6, 2023 |
| Element & Path: | Wind / The Nihility |
| Rarity: | 5-Star |
| Pre Release Ranking: | S+ Tier |
| Difficulty: | Mid |
And speaking of which, it is equally important to know what the job of a Memokeeper is. Memokeepers from the Garden of Recollection are dedicated to preserving and sharing memories. They do so, with the help of Memory Bubbles and Light Cones! — Yep, your Light Cones are basically only memory storage!
Black Swan's Build
To make your Black Swan as strong as somehow possible, you should aim to give her a full 4-piece set in combination with a 2-piece set. However, if there is no other way, and you can’t farm up a whole set, you can also choose to give her three 2-piece sets instead! Let's take a closer look at your options!
Before you decided with which set you want to go with, you should be familiar with Black Swan's kit first. The most essential part to note, is that she is mainly a debuffer and DoT unit, and as we all know, DoTs can’t crit! Keep that in mind for the Sub Stats part!
Set Combination #1
This one is by far her best set, and you should definitely aim to have one ready for her:
- 4-piece: Prisoner in Deep Confinement
- 2-piece: Firmament Frontline: Glamoth / Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise
Set Combination #2
This option is a little less powerful and should only be used if you can’t get a good 4-piece set:
- 2-piece: Prisoner in Deep Confinement
- 2-piece: Musketeer of Wild Wheat
- 2-piece: Firmament Frontline: Glamoth / Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise
Black Swan's Best Stats
The fitting (sub)stats are just as important as picking the right set! You should aim for the following stats for your Black Swan:
- Body: Effect Hit Rate (If you managed to get 120 EHR without Body, go ATK% here.)
- Boots: SPD / ATK%
- Planar Sphere: Wind DMG Boost / ATK%
- Link Rope: ATK% / Energy Regeneration
- Overall Prio: Effect Hit Rate (until 120) → SPD → ATK%
As I already mentioned earlier: DoTs can’t crit which is why you really want to avoid any crit stats, even if it feels a little weird! The most critical thing however is Effect Hit Rate in order to make sure, that your DoTs are actually hitting!
Onto the Light Cones, shall we?
Black Swan's Light Cones
Just as every other 5-Star, Black Swan will get her very own signature Light Cone. This is by far her best in slot weapon, and you should count yourself lucky if you managed to get at least one copy!
1. Reforged Remembrance
If you have saved up some extra Jades, I would definitely recommend on pulling for this Light Cone! It gives you a ton of Effect Hit Rate, which is by far the most valuable stat for Black Swan!
Reforged Remembrance has the following effect:
- Increases wearer's Effect Hit Rate by 40%. When the wearer deals DMG to an enemy inflicted with Wind Shear, Burn, Shock, or Bleed, they will individually gain 1 stack of Prophet. This effect can stack up to 4 times. In a single battle, each type of DoT can only generate 1 stack of Prophet. Every stack of Prophet increases wearer's ATK by 5% and the DoT dealt will ignore 7.2% of the target's DEF. (S1)
Next to being a huge buff for Black Swan herself, this Light Cone get even better the more DoT units, for example Kafka or Guinaifen, you have in your team since all of them profit off of the DEF shred!
2. Eyes of the Prey
Eyes of the Prey is basically a less strong version of Black Swan's signature Light Cone. It also gives her a ton of Effect Hit Rate and also a hug damage boost for her your DoT. The only thing that is missing, is the DEF shred. However, this is by far her best 4-star weapon, and you should always choose this if you happen to have it in your inventory!
Eyes of the Prey has the following effect:
- Increases the wearer’s Effect Hit Rate by 20% and increases DoT by 24% (S1)
3. Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat
This option is a much more supportive approach but still very strong! If offers some crowd control and even the DEF shred, which we were missing with Eyes of Prey!
Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat has the following effect:
- When the wearer hits an enemy and if the hit enemy is not already Ensnared, then there is a 60% base chance to Ensnare the hit enemy. Ensnared enemies' DEF decreases by 12% for 1 turn(s). (S1)
Last but not least, let's take a look at some of her best Team Comps!
Black Swan Team Comps
Since Black Swan is a DoT focused character, she has somewhat limited team building options, and she works best with other damage over time units.
DoT Queens
The first one that came to my mind was obviously Kafka! So let’s try to build an amazing team with these two ladies!
If you somehow managed to get all these units, then congratulations, you just won Honkai Star Rail! This team will be incredibly fun to play and is, on top of that, one of the strongest ones in the entire game as of right now!
F2P Friendly DoT Team
Since the first team is far from free to play friendly, we should also take a look at a much more affordable approach, however, that doesn’t mean it’s less fun!
The next girly squad is also pretty DoT heavy, however instead of Kafka, Guinaifen joined the team! She can apply super reliable Burn DMG and in combination with Asta, Fire shields will be gone in no time!
And that wraps up everything you need to know in order to build yourself a super strong Black Swan! To everyone who is pulling for her: We all wish you the best of luck!