Honkai: Star Rail Blade Build Guide | Blade Best Light Cone, Relics and Teams

Blade is the second Stellaron Hunter to become playable in Honkai: Star Rail and he’s a character fans have been thirsting over for a while. Whether it’s his cool but understated design, his crazed personality or the intricacies of his unique playstyle, Blade has been eagerly anticipated following his 1.2 playable debut. As the game’s first Wind Destruction character, Blade’s kit focuses on him consuming his own HP to generate buffs and additional attacks to overwhelm the enemy. He’s a tricky character to play with a lot of risk and reward dynamics, but those who are able to master him will have one of the strongest main damage dealers in the game. 

Here’s how to make the best Blade build in Honkai Star Rail. This includes a deep dive into his kit and how it works, what Blade’s best Traces are, what his best Relics and Light Cones are and what premium or free-to-play teams you should be running him in. If you’re undecided on whether you want to pull Blade or wait for a future character, you can find our article breaking down Blade and his fellow Stellaron Hunter, Kafka, here to see if he’s right for you. 

Want more Honkai: Star Rail content and articles? You can find more here on KeenGamer:

1. Should You Pull for Blade or Kafka in Honkai: Star Rail? 
2. Honkai: Star Rail | Simulated Universe World 4 Guide (Easy F2P Clear)
3. Honkai: Star Rail | Simulated Universe World 6 Guide (Easy F2P Clear)
4. Honkai: Star Rail | The Seven Errors of Cycranes Guide (All Missing Cycrane Locations)
5. Honkai: Star Rail | Luminflux Pyxis Day 3 Puzzle Guide

Blade Materials

To begin, let’s start by discussing what materials you need to gather to fully ascend Blade. To take Blade up to level 80, you will need:

• Immortal Scionette / Immortal Aeroblossom / Immortal Lumintwig (Enemy Drops) 
• Ascendant Debris (Stagnant Shadow Drops)
• 300,000 Credits

Mara-Struck enemies are your primary source of the Immortal series of drops. Version 1.2 added several new Mara-Struck and you’ll find them primarily on the Xianzhou Luofu: if you want a more reliable Immortal farm, you can find more Mara-Struck in Simulated Universe World 5, 6 and 7. Additionally, you can convert low-level Immortal materials into higher ones or exchange other enemy materials using the Omni-Synthesizer. 

The other main thing you need is a new Stagnant Shadow Drop introduced in 1.2: the Ascendant Debris. To unlock this Stagnant Shadow, you’ll need to progress the main Trailblaze Mission until you reach the Alchemy Commission, where you’ll find the Shape of Celestial. Each run of the Stagnant Shadow will cost you 30 Trailblaze Power and you’ll earn more drops if you play on a harder difficulty. As for what you’ll be facing, the main boss is the new Ascended enemy, a Mara-Struck witch who can block off portions of your HP and is weak to Physical, Ice and Lightning DMG. 

As for Blade’s Traces, you’ll need all three rarities of the Path of Destruction material (Shattered Blade, Lifeless Blade and Worldbreaker Blade). You’ll also need to pick up materials from the newest Echo of War, Phantylia the Undying. This Echo will unlock after you progress far enough through the Xianzhou Luofu main storyline. 

Trail of Death

Blade Skill Overview

Basic Attack: Shard Sword

Starting with Blade’s Basic Attack, we have Shard Sword. This attack deals minor Wind DMG to a single enemy. 

While not very impressive on its own, you likely won’t be using Blade’s normal Basic Attack very often. Instead, you’ll be using his Enhanced Basic Attack, Forest of Swords, whenever you can as your most consistent damaging option. We’ll explain how to activate it in a moment but the reason why we’re mentioning it now is that levelling up Blade’s Basic ATK will increase the damage and level of both Shard Sword and Forest of Swords. Because of that, Blade’s Basic is a very important part of his kit and one which synergises very well with both his Talent and Skill. 

Deadly Cuts

Skill: Hellscape

Next up we have Blade’s most important ability, his Skill Hellscape. When the Skill is triggered, it consumes Blade’s HP (30% of his Max HP to be exact) to give Blade a significant damage boost and transform his Basic ATK into the aforementioned Forest of Swords. Interestingly, and very importantly, Blade’s turn does not end when you use Hellscape, allowing you to use the Enhanced Basic Attack right away. 

Speaking of, Forest of Swords lasts for 3 turns and changes Blade’s Basic Attack into a Blast attack, meaning that it hits 3 targets instead of just one. Additionally, it will consume 10% of Blade’s HP per use and deal additional damage based on his HP. Forest of Swords also cannot generate Skill Points, so keep that in mind. This a reminder that levelling up Hellscape will only increase the damage bonus you get from it: if you want to increase the damage of the Enhanced Basic ATK, you will need to invest in the normal Basic Attack, instead. 

As a Skill, Blade’s is extremely potent and the crux of his entire kit. It will be your most consistent way to both deal damage (by triggering the Enhanced Basic ATK state) and gain stacks for your Talent by reducing your HP. You should be using it whenever it becomes available and recasting Hellscape should be the highest priority once it runs its course, if any enemies are still standing, that is. 

Ultimate: Death Sentence

Another superb piece of Blade’s kit is his Ultimate, Death Sentence. Death Sentence sets Blade’s current HP to 50% of his Max HP – this will either reduce his health if he’s above 50%, or it will heal him if he’s below 50% – before unleashing an attack. This deals massive Wind DMG to a single target and then additional Wind DMG to any adjacent targets. Think of it like a single, high-powered attack from Jing Yuan’s Lightning Lord. 

This attack is one that you will constantly be building to as you’re playing Blade. It works as both a source of additional damage and as a pillar of Blade’s self-sustain capabilities, either by reducing his health and giving his stacks for his Talent or by healing him if he’s in a tricky situation. Alongside those more synergistic elements is the raw damage of the move which can be insanely high and hit multiple targets. Blade’s Ultimate does a lot and it may be tricky to keep track of when to use it properly, but master the timing on it and it will serve you far into the future. 

Ultimate, Hellscape

Talent: Shuhu’s Gift

Another vital piece of Blade’s kit is his Talent, Shuhu’s Gift. Whenever Blade’s HP is lowered, whether that’s through being attacked or through his HP-consuming abilities, he will gain 1 stack of Charge. Once you reach 5 stacks of Charge, Blade immediately unleashes a Follow-Up Attack that deals Wind DMG to all enemies on the field. This will also restore some of his HP. 

This will be your way source of self-sustain. Even with a healer on your side, Blade will constantly be draining his own HP and his status as a Destruction character makes him even more likely to be targeted. That’s where Shuhu’s Gift comes in as Blade’s inherent tankiness will let him tough it out until you reach those 5 Charges, upon which point he will unleash hell on the battlefield. The Follow-Up Attack from Shuhu’s can deal almost as much as Blade’s Ultimate and it’s the only move in his kit which hits the entire field, as opposed to just adjacent enemies.

The real magic comes from Shuhu’s Gift’s healing capabilities. Every time it’s used, it will always heal 25% of Blade’s HP, getting him out of any struggle quite nicely. As such, it will be your main sustainable and consistent source of healing: of course, his Ultimate can also heal but it is nowhere near as reliable as his Talent. With tons of sources to gain Charge stacks, Blade’s Talent is a supremely important piece in his playstyle and one you’ll want to pay close attention to. 

Talent, Shuhu’s Gift

Technique: Karma Wind

Last, but not least, is Blade’s Technique, Karma Wind. This is an offensive Technique in which Blade lashes out with his sword at a nearby enemy. Upon entering combat, Blade consumes his own HP and will deal Wind DMG to all enemies on the field.

As with most offensive Techniques, this is great for getting a headstart right off the bat. You’ll be dealing a sizable chunk of damage and potentially Weakness Breaking enemies while instantly giving yourself one stack of Charge. If you have any characters in your team with Enhancing-type Techniques, using them in conjunction with Blade’s is your best bet for bosses and tankier targets.

Gleeful Destruction

Blade Traces

Blade’s Traces mainly focus on increasing his utility and self-sustain, with a few sources of additional damage. Starting with his minor stat boosting Traces, you can pick up the following boosts from Blade’s Trace tree: 

• 28% HP Boost (4 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 8)
• 12% Crit Rate Boost (2.7 + 4 + 5.3)
• 10% Effect RES Boost (4 + 6) 

Immortal Anguish

First up for his Major Traces is Blade’s Ascension 2 Trace, Vita Infinita. When Blade’s current HP is below 50% of his Max HP or lower, Incoming Healing increases by 20%. This factors in Blade’s own healing from his Talent or the healing provided by characters such as Natasha or Luocha. Blade’s entire playstyle is risk and reward but, thankfully, he doesn’t have to stay at low health to be most effective: this Trace makes running Blade with a healer a lot more effective and easier to manage. 

The second of Blade’s Major Traces is Neverending Deaths. If Blade hits a Weakness Broken enemy after using Forest of Swords, he will restore HP equal to 5% of his Max HP plus 100. Considering how much of Blade’s damaging moves hit multiple targets, Weakness Breaking is certainly one of his strengths. In turn, this Trace will add another source of sustainability to his already juiced-up kit, letting you fight longer and harder. 

Finally, there’s Blade’s Ascension 6 Trace, Cyclone of Destruction. This unlocks at Ascension Level 4 and it simply increases damage dealt by his Talent’s Follow-Up Attack by 20%. This Trace is short, simple and oh-so-sweet. As we outlined previously, the follow-up attack from Shuhu’s Gift can deal absurd levels of damage rivalling Blade’s own Ultimate (largely due to it hitting all targets on the field) so adding even more damage is never going to go wrong. 

Stripped of Life

Blade Best Traces and Trace Priority

1. Shard Sword + Forest of Swords (Basic ATK)
2. Shuhu’s Gift (Talent)
3. Death Sentence (Ultimate)
4. Hellscape (Skill)

While Shard Sword won’t see much use, Forest of Swords definitely will: as Blade’s main source of damage and a consistent way of gaining Charges, you want this to be as powerful as possible making it the number 1 priority when it comes to investment. Following that is Shuhu’s Gift, Blade’s Talent, because it, too, will almost always be in effect. Blade will constantly be gaining Charges and you want his follow-up to hit hard and heal a lot whenever it does go off. Blade’s Ultimate comes in last simply due to the prestige of the latter-mentioned abilities.

The reason why Hellscape is the lowest priority isn’t because Blade’s Skill is bad – as we mentioned earlier, it’s the crux of his entire playstyle – but because investing in it won’t do as much as if you focused on your other abilities. The only thing that levelling up Hellscape does is increase the damage bonus provided by the Skill: a great boon, to be sure, but it pales in comparison to what levelling other Traces would provide. As such, don’t neglect Blade’s Skill entirely as it is still super useful and you’ll get a lot of mileage out of it, but keep it in the back of the priority order. 

Stellaron Hunter, Blade

Blade’s Eidolons

Here are all of Blade’s Eidolons in Honkai Star Rail. Eidolons can be acquired by pulling the same multiple times from the Event Warp. To gather Blade’s unique Eidolons, you need to have multiple copies of him from his Character Event Warp, “A Lost Soul.”

1. Blade Cuts the Deepest in Hell: Blade’s Ultimate deals additionally increased DMG to a single enemy target, with the increased amount equal to 150% of the tally of Blade’s HP loss in the current battle. Additionally, the tally of Blade’s HP loss in the current battle is capped at 90% of his Max HP. The tally value will be reset and re-accumulated after his Ultimate has been used.
2. Ten Thousand Sorrows From One Broken Dream: When Blade is in the Hellscape state and Forest of Swords is active, his CRIT Rate increases by 15%.
3. Hardened Blade Bleeds Coldest Shade: Ultimate Lv. +2 and Talent Lv. +2.
4. Rejected by Death, Infected With Life: When Blade’s current HP drops to 50% or lower of his Max HP, increases his Max HP by 20%. Stacks up to 2 times.
5. Death By Ten Lords’ Gaze: Skill Lv. +2 and Basic Attack Lv. +1.
6. Reborn Into an Empty Husk: The maximum number of Charge stacks is reduced to 4. The DMG of the follow-up attack triggered by Blade’s Talent additionally increases by 50% of his Max HP.

Field of Lilies

Blade Best Light Cones in Honkai Star Rail

Best in Slot: The Unreachable Side

Blade’s signature Light Cone, The Unreachable Side (Path of Destruction), is undoubtedly his best in slot Light Cone. You can pull The Unreachable Side from the Light Cone Event Warp “Brilliant Fixation” while Blade’s own Character Event Warp is still ongoing. Seeing as this Light Cone was built from the ground up with Blade in mind, it’s unsurprising that it heavily buffs a large portion of his kit, allowing him to become even more of a powerhouse in the Destruction category.

At level 80, The Unreachable Side will give 1270 HP, 582 ATK and 330 DEF to the holder. The main effect is called Unfulliled Yearning and it has multiple different effects. Firstly, it increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 18% while also increasing their Max HP by 18%. Secondly, when the wearer is attacked or consumes their own HP, their DMG increases by 24%, with this buff being removed after the wearer uses an attack. 

Everything in The Unreachable Side is built to facilitate Blade’s role as a main DPS. By bumping up his CRIT and HP stats, you are guaranteeing that he’ll be dealing tons more damage at a much higher rate (considering that Blade gains a lot of additional damage based on his Max HP). That isn’t even factoring in the second half of the Light Cone, essentially guaranteeing Blade a near-permanent 24% DMG bonus for free. This will come in handy everywhere, of course, but will be most noticeable on his Talent Follow-Up and Enhanced Basic ATK, adding to the destructive power of both abilities. 

If you can spare some Jade and are willing to roll on the Light Cone Banner, you won’t find a better match for Blade than The Unreachable Side. 

The Unreachable Side Light Cone

Replacement Blade Light Cones

What if you’re skint, though? What if you just pulled Blade by the skin of your teeth and you don’t want to risk it all on his Light Cone? Are you doomed and unable to build an overpowered Blade? Obviously not as Blade has several great back-up options at his disposal. 

Before we begin diving in, it should be worth mentioning that most of the recommendations (aside from one special mention) will be 4-Star in rarity. This is because the vast majority of players are far more likely to have a few spare 4-Star Destruction Light Cones knocking around than a 5-Star one. If you’re one of the lucky few with a 5-Star Light Cone such as Something Irreplaceable (which is excellent on Blade) try it out before committing to a lower-tier option. 

The best replacement Light Cones for Blade in Honkai Star Rail are A Secret Vow, Nowhere to Run and On the Fall of an Aeon. 

A Secret Vow

A Secret Vow is a Light Cone players can acquire by pulling on any of the game’s various Warp Banners. This is one of the best Destruction Light Cones, period, making it a great fit for our friend Bladie. At level 80, it will give your characters 1058 HP, 476 ATK and 264 DEF. This is alongside the Spare No Effort skill which increases DMG dealt by the wielder by 20%, with them dealing an additional 20% to any enemy whose current HP is equal to or higher than the wearer’s current HP. Considering that Blade’s whole deal is lowering his own health, this Light Cone essentially allows him to tear through most enemies with ease. 

Next up is Nowhere to Run, a Destruction Light Cone you can pick up from hitting level 30 on the Nameless Honor pass. This Light Cone gives you 952 HP, 592 ATK and 264 DEF along with the main effect Desperate Times. This increases the wearer’s ATK by 24% and will restore HP equal to 12% of their ATK whenever they defeat an enemy. More ATK is always going to be good, even for an HP-stacking character like Blade, and the additional healing provided by this Light Cone synergizes very well with how Blade fights. 

Finally, we have On the Fall of an Aeon. Unlike the other two options, this one is 5-Star in rarity and the only reason it’s here is that it can be earned completely F2P: you can grab a copy from Herta’s Store in the Simulated Universe, and then pick up the materials used to Superimpose from the same place, making for an easy (if grindy) Light Cone. At level 80, it provides 1058 HP, 529 ATK and 396 DEF alongside the effect of Moth to Flames. This increases the wearer’s ATK by 8% whenever they attack, which can stack up to 4 times, and additionally increases their DMG by 12% whenever they inflict Weakness Break. This Light Cone is very strong and a good fit for Blade’s kit, giving him several useful ATK and DMG buffs for very little investment. 

the Fall of an Aeon

Best Relics and Planar Ornaments for Blade

The most customizable part of any Honkai: Star Rail character build is in what Relics you equip each character with. Each different set has a vastly different series of effects that drastically increase a unit’s potential. For Blade, we want a set that increases his damage and HP while still giving him a bit more utility.

As such, the best Relic and Planar Ornament set for Blade is 4 Piece Longeveous Disciple and 2 Piece Fleet of the Ageless. Starting with our main Relic set, Longeveous Disciple increases the wearer’s HP by 12%. It will also increase their CRIT Rate by 8% for 2 turns whenever they get hit or have their HP consumed, with this effect being able to stack twice for a 16% increase. Then we have Fleet of the Ageless, our Planar Ornament set, which increases Max HP by a further 12% and will increase all ally’s ATK by 8% when the wearer reaches 120 SPD or higher. 

Path of the Elixir Seekers

The reasons why this set is so good are pretty clear. Starting with the most obvious, this combination gives Blade a 24% Max HP increase: more HP means more sustain and survivability, of course, but it also increases Blade’s damage output as several of his abilities, including his Enhanced Basic ATK, Ultimate and Talent follow-up, all gain additional damage based on HP. Following that, the 4 Piece Disciple essential gives Blade a permanent 16% CRIT Rate boost, allowing you to focus more on CRIT DMG when Relic hunting. Admittedly, the additional effect from the Ageless set isn’t too useful (and is hard to even trigger unless you have a dedicated SPD piece) but the additional HP is more than worth it.

If you want a more meaningful Planar Ornament set, you could also try the Broken Keel set. This increases Elemental RES by 10%, which is good for any tanky character such as Blade, and will increase all allies’ CRIT DMG by 10% should you reach 30% Elemental RES. Considering that Blade already gets 10% from his Traces, this means you only need to scrounge together another 10% from your substats to achieve this effect. This set is a lot more focused on making Blade a durable front-facing unit, able to take hits well. 

Blade’s Recommended Relics

Most Important Blade Stats

Here are the main stats we’re recommended Trailblazers should hunt for if they want their Blade to be the best he can be:

• Body: CRIT DMG
• Feet: HP% / SPD
• Planar Sphere: Wind DMG Bonus
• Link Rope: HP%

Meanwhile, here’s what you want to be on the lookout for in terms of Blade’s substats:

1. HP%
2. Energy Recharge Rate
3. ATK
4. CRIT DMG

A Weapon Stalks the Halls

Best Teams for Blade in HSR

Blade Premium Team

The best team for Blade is one where he gets to hog the spotlight as the team’s main attacker and tank. Thanks to his playstyle, he can play both of these roles simultaneously and the best allies he can hope for are those that can enhance either his survivability or damage output: think ATK and DMG buffers and reliable healers.

With this in mind, Blade’s best premium team includes Luocha, Tingyun (or Silver Wolf) and Bronya. 

Blade Premium Team

Luocha is honestly the most important character here as the team’s dedicated healer. Not only is he one of the best, if not the best, healers in the entire game, but he pairs exceptionally well with Blade. Luocha’s main benefit over Abundance characters is that his best heals are most automated, either from his Skill triggering whenever an ally falls below 50% or from his Field healing. This is already excellent but when paired with Blade, a character all about consuming his HP, you have a deadly combo. Blade consumes his health, stacking Charges and DMG bonuses along the way, and then Luocha immediately heals it back up, allowing you to continue the cycle. Luocha is the perfect character to pair with Blade and no other healer comes close.

From there, we have our buffers for Blade. Bronya needs very little explanation as to why she’s on this team. Like Luocha, there’s a strong argument to be had that Bronya is the best support buffer in the game with the ability to Advance Forward teammates with her skill and provide them with several different ATK and CRIT buffs. With regards to Blade, Bronya’s Skill will allow him to get off more Forest of Swords per round, creating more Charges and getting him closer to the Shuhu’s Gift follow-up. Aside from that, she’s just a very competent unit and a great Harmony character.

Finally, we have another staple buffer in Tingyun. She serves a similar role as Bronya, using her Skill and Ultimate to either buff Blade’s damage or help him get his Ultimate faster. If you want to run a debuffer, instead, try Silver Wolf in place of Tingyun: she can lower ATK, DEF and SPD and implant Weaknesses for easy Breaks. With Blade and Bronya on the same team, the chance to implant Wind increases dramatically, allowing Blade to more consistently trigger his Ascension 6 Trace. The choice between the two comes down to personal preference as both will serve Blade and the rest of the team well in any battle.   

Blade’s Perfect Partner, Luocha

Blade F2P Team

If your roster is a bit leaner and you’re looking for a dedicated free-to-play team for Blade, have no fear. Honkai: Star Rail has some incredible F2P units that pair exceptionally well with Blade, especially after Version 1.2. As such, the recommended F2P Team for Blade features Asta, Yukong and Natasha. 

Asta and Natasha seem to be staples of any F2P team but that’s just because they’re so effective. Starting with Asta, she is a great buffer and Breaker to have on any team: she’s so effective, in fact, that she even seems to toe the line between being a supportive and sub-DPS. Her biggest boon is her Talent which increases the entire team’s ATK based on how many consecutive hits she has delivered. Her Skill is another huge benefit, being an excellent tool for Breaking Fire weak opponents with ease. Asta’s compatibility with Blade is very strong, giving him some nice free damage while still holding her own in combat. 

Blade F2P Team

After Asta we have Natasha. While she isn’t as good a partner as Luocha, Natasha can still get work done. Between her Ultimate and her Skill, Natasha’s healing is very potent and will surely heal Blade of any wounds he suffers in no time flat. Another big bonus in Nat’s favour is that her Skill strips debuff: if Blade, or another party member, is suffering from Bleed, Wind Shear, DEF Down or some other ailment, she can get rid of it. Just be sure to keep an eye on when you need to use her heals to effectively keep Blade alive. 

Last, but certainly not least, we have the newest member of the F2P squad, Yukong. You can think of her as a mini version of Tingyun, with her buffing capabilities extending to the entire team as opposed to just a single unit. Between Yukong’s Skill and her Ultimate, she is a stat buffing monster capable of raising the entire team’s ATK, CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG by a significant amount. For Blade, so long as your Yukong is faster, this translates to a dramatic increase in damage potential, letting you shred through foes at blistering speeds. Yukong does require a bit more micromanaging than other buffers, so keep that in mind.

Yukong is an Excellent F2P Buffer

That was how you can make the best Blade build in Honkai Star Rail.