Choosing which new unit you want to pull on is one of the most exciting parts of Honkai: Star Rail. Each new personality is so full of character with a distinct kit, playstyle and aesthetic. In HSR Version 1.2, you have the choice between summoning two Stellaron Hunters: either the 5-Star Wind Destruction character Blade or the 5-Star Lightning Nihility character Kafka. Both are highly anticipated and have very unique playstyles, making the decision difficult for many players. Sure, if you managed to score big and get lucky, you could get both, but the reality is that most players will only have a good shot at one of these units. So, whose banner should you pull on in Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.2, Blade or Kafka?
Here’s a deep dive on both Kafka and Blade from Honkai: Star Rail to let you decide whether or not you should summon them. This will include looking at their kits and playstyles, their pros and cons as well as other handy information you may need to inform your Stellar Jade spending.
Want more Honkai: Star Rail content and articles? You can find more here on KeenGamer:
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Should You Pull Blade?
Blade Kit Overview
Blade is a really interesting character in Honkai: Star Rail. If you’re a fan of Genshin Impact, you can think of him as a far more aggressive, tanky version of Hu Tao. With a focus on reducing his own health to build up stacks and buffs, Blade is a very high-risk, high-reward unit, pushing you into a dangerous style of play. If you can successfully tow that line, Blade will become a vicious frontline fighter on almost any team you put him on.
The main thing to know about how Blade plays is that you want to constantly be taking damage or consuming his HP. Using Blade’s Skill will transform his Basic Attack into the Enhanced version known as Forest of Swords for 3 turns, at the cost of 30% of his Max HP: during this time, it will deal additional damage and allow Blade to hit multiple targets. Alongside that, his Ultimate will always set his HP to 50% whenever you use it as well as dealing high arena-wide damage, which be used to heal Blade if you’re below that threshold. Finally, his Talent generates Charges whenever you take damage or consume HP, resulting in a devastating Follow-Up Attack which heals Blade upon reaching 5 stacks.
Just that short paragraph detailing how Blade works will already give you a good idea of his advantages and disadvantages. He’s a very complex character who needs to juggle a lot of different things to be successful: you must be aware of his HP at all times, as well as if you have his Skill active and how many Charges you currently have. This is before even thinking about additional buffs or bonuses from other characters or effects. Master that, though, and Blade is easily in the running for the best DPS in Honkai: Star Rail.
So, here’s why you should, or shouldn’t, pull for Blade in Honkai Star Rail.
Field of Dead Flowers
Pros
Thanks to several factors, Blade is one of the most effective and versatile main attackers in the game. Firstly, he’s a Destruction character, meaning that he can deal and take a good amount of damage without being limited to single-target or multi-target attacks like Hunt or Erudition characters. Secondly, he has an incredible amount of self-sustain, able to provide himself with a unique and meaningful damage buff while also having some self-heal capabilities. Due to this, Blade slots nicely into almost any team and any composition, making him a great investment no matter who else you have on your roster.
Additionally, Blade pairs incredibly well with several of HSR’s best support characters. The recently released Luocha is a fan-favourite and has been lauded as one of, if not the, best healers in the entire game, and you can find our guide on how to best build him here. Fortunately, it almost feels like he was perfectly made for Blade, being able to keep him alive at pivotal moments due to his passive healing without mitigating the effects of Blade’s own buffs. It isn’t just Luocha, either, as Blade pairs exceptionally with everyone from Bailu to Tingyun to Yukong to Bronya and beyond. Blade isn’t just versatile on his own, he’s also a great pairing with almost every other unit in the game, making him a very safe investment for your Jade.
Finally, Blade is our first Wind Destruction character and the second main attacker belonging to Wind. Early in HSR’s lifespan, building up a diverse roster capable of taking on the various elemental roadblocks the game places before you is of the utmost importance. As such, any players looking to pick up a unique character with a very well-defined niche won’t have to look any further than Blade. He plays differently from all other Destruction and Wind characters, while still taking advantage of that Path’s special benefits, allowing him to slot nicely into any piece of content in Honkai Star Rail. Blade is a monster and nobody will lose out by having him on your team or account for the future.
Forest of Swords
Cons
Blade’s biggest problem is just the inherent risk in his playstyle. Any character whose kit revolves around having low HP is inevitably going to get into dangerous territory more often than not: it’s part of the appeal of these characters, they’re high risk and high reward. Blade is no different and if you struggle to keep him alive long enough for his charges to build up, he loses a large amount of value. If you fail to strike an appropriate balance, he’ll end up feeling dull and weak. Obviously, there are ways to mitigate this but it’s something to consider before dropping your Jade. When you use Blade, you must be willing to put yourself in more stressful situations than if you just picked a more safe main DPS.
Meanwhile, the second problem with Blade is how much there is to keep track of. Between needing to keep track of his health (both for survivability and his own unique buffs), his charge stacks, other potential damage buffs from other characters and more, a lot is going on whenever Blade is on screen. In fact, it can be very overwhelming and you find yourself making some ill-informed decisions in combat should you misunderstand or miscalculate. Blade is a hard sell if you’re not a fan of keeping track of many moving parts and prefer simpler, more streamlined kits.
A Worthy Sacrifice
Final Verdict
Blade is a powerhouse that any player will be happy to have on their roster. With a unique playstyle built around reducing his own health to get stronger, Blade is a self-sufficient main attacker who can still synergise very well with almost every other support character. He fills a unique niche and will remain strong no matter where you take him and set you up excellently for future pieces of content.
Problems can arise with Blade if you don’t gel with his play style. If you cannot cope with the inherent risk involved or want to play a more streamlined character, Blade simply isn’t going to perform as well for you. You need to play Blade with the understanding that he’s going to take damage and that you need to be willing to fight down to the wire to truly make him work.
As such, if you’re a fan of interesting main attackers and want to try a new type of playstyle in Honkai: Star Rail, Blade is a must-pull character. This goes double if you have potent supports like Luocha, Bailu, Tingyun or Bronya, who will dramatically increase Blade’s potential and damage output. Honestly, the only real reason to skip Blade is if you don’t like HP reduction characters, are happy with your current line-up of main DPS units or are saving for future 5-Stars.
If you’re looking for a guide on how to best build Blade in Honkai Star Rail, we have you covered with our Blade build guide.
Should You Pull Blade?
Should You Pull Kafka?
Kafka Kit Overview
Next up we have possibly the most highly anticipated character in Honkai: Star Rail, the Stellaron Hunter Kafka. From the moment she appeared, fans the world over have been smitten. It doesn’t hurt that, between being an interesting and compelling character, Kafka also has a unique kit built around utilising damage-over-time (DoT) and the Shock status to the fullest.
Shock is the name of the game when it comes to Kafka. All of her attacks deal high amounts of Lightning damage and many of them have high chances to inflict Shock, a very potent DoT effect which can spread to nearby enemy targets. Next to Serval, Kafka is one of the best applicators of Shock and DoT in the entire game, with her Skill, Ultimate and Talent all effectively guaranteeing Shock whenever they connect. Not only that, Kafka will constantly be attacking and dealing damage thanks to her Talent where she deals a Follow-Up Attack whenever another unit uses a Basic Attack: put her in the right teams and Kafka will never stop attacking, never stop debuffing and never stop killing.
Obviously, it isn’t all sunshine and roses. With such a strict focus on DoT, Kafka sort of feels obligated to belong in certain teams: she can certainly survive and thrive outside of DoT teams, but her potential inside of them can skew your thought process.
Here’s why you consider pulling for Kafka in Honkai: Star Rail, as well as some other reasons why you may want to reconsider.
On the Run
Pros
If you find yourself gravitating towards Nihility characters or those dependent on DoT effects, Kafka should be your number one priority. Almost every part of her kit applies, exploits or enhances damage over time effects. For example, her Skill will not only deal good damage at the base, but it will also immediately activate any DoT effects that the enemy has on them: if you’re running Kafka with other debuffers like Sampo or Luka, you can potentially have her detonating Bleed, Wind Shear and Shock at the same time every Skill activation. In teams set up specifically for DoT, Kafka becomes the best unit in the game bar none. Svarog will be giving you no trouble in the Simulated Universe while Kafka is around, I can assure you.
Kafka doesn’t just work in debuff teams. While a lot of potential comes from her ability to trigger DoT constantly (something we will discuss at length in her disadvantages section) Kafka generates enough Shock to get mileage anywhere. Several of her Traces and abilities prock or trigger off Shock specifically, meaning that Kafka has an element of self-sufficiency: you can bring her into teams not built around DoT and have her succeed. She even has several factors, specifically her Talent, which lets her thrive both on and off debuff teams. So, while it is certainly true that she has a preference, Kafka is plenty strong on her own and you won’t have to pass her up if you dislike DoT teams.
More Than Just a Pretty Face
Cons
The major thing going against Kafka is her element and Path combination. While she is the first to covet the Lightning-Nihility combination, she is the second 5-Star Lightning character on the Character Event Warp (after Jing Yuan) and the second Lightning character built around Shock. Don’t get it twisted, Kafka will be invaluable to anybody who wants to run a debuff-focused team, raising the potential of characters like Luka, Sampo and Serval dramatically. However, it is also true that Honkai: Star Rail wants you to have as many element and Path combinations as possible, especially if you’re going after Hall of Memory or Simulated Universe clears: as such, players wanting to fill out their roster may want to think twice.
Secondly, Kafka can certainly work in non-debuff teams but her utility falls as a result. Her ability to continuously apply Shock all on her own will get her value everywhere, as having a consistent source of DoT will always be a benefit. Without additional DoT sources, though, her Skill, in particular, will dwindle as Kafka excels at being a master of triggering damage over time at lightning-fast speeds. It isn’t a dealbreaker to have no other Nihility or debuff makers on a team, it is just something you need to keep in mind when building compositions for her: because she can be better, you may find yourself pigeonholing her into certain team compositions over and over again.
Spin a Web
Final Verdict
Simply put, Kafka is an incredible unit. She has insane damage potential, near constant uptime on Shock and she synergises well with basically every other Nihilty unit. In the right teams, Kafka is a hybrid monster, doling out massive amounts of damage while supporting and enabling her fellow teammates to do the same. She’s straightforward, simple to understand and powerful to boot: there are very few flaws with Kafka and if you manage to pull her, you’ll be in for a great time.
The biggest battle for Kafka comes from that very same potential for greatness. Because she is so strong and because she works so well with other DoT characters, it can be hard to put her anywhere else. Sure, she can do great things in a team with Jing Yuan or Seele as the main attacker, especially with her Talent and consistent Shock application, but why wouldn’t you use her in a DoT team? That’s even if you have many other DoT characters, with Nihility being one of the rarest Paths in the entire game so far (something which, admittedly, will be less of a problem due to her Event Warp 4-Stars).
If you have other debuffers built or plan on using Kafka in a DoT team, she is easily one of the best units in the game and you try and pick her up. Even if you don’t, Kafka can fit neatly into plenty of other compositions well enough, providing you will good damage and constant Shock. However, that being said, her reliance on other Nihility debuffs does skew her ranking somewhat, making her less of a priority than someone like Blade, who provides a unique playstyle while simultaneously being able to slot into essentially any composition. As such, pulling on Kafka is highly recommended, with a few caveats.
Should You Pull Kafka?
Kafka or Blade?
To close, let’s discuss who you should prioritise out of Kafka and Blade. As we said in the opener, lucky players (or those with a rather lucrative credit card) are going to be able to nab both units: most players aren’t going to be that fortunate, though, and will have to choose one or the other.
If you can only choose one to pull on, I would recommend focusing on Blade over Kafka. In terms of versatility, Blade simply outperforms Kafka in too many scenarios: he’s a self-sufficient mainline DPS who works in any team, whereas Kafka gravitates heavily towards DoT teams. While she can work in non-DoT compositions her value will decrease significantly, whereas Blade can thrive anywhere, even when there isn’t a healer on the team.
The main downside to Blade is how polarising his playstyle can be. You cannot control when you get hit in Honkai: Star Rail unlike Genshin Impact: as such, the role of an HP-consuming character becomes all the more risky and many players won’t be able to vibe with how Blade plays, no matter how good he is. Kafka, on the other hand, is very straightforward – attack, cause DoT, attack again, do even more DoT – making her more of an option for players who want to kick back and reap the benefits from preparation.
Kafka or Blade?
That’s the main difference between these two characters: active play versus preparation. If you prefer jumping straight into the action and like dealing with complex mechanics with a high skill ceiling, Blade is your dream character. If, on the other hand, you prefer setting up scenarios in advance, stacking debuffers and effects which can result in massive amounts of devastation, Kafka and her DoT enhancing kit are the way to go.
As always with gacha games, though, pull for your favourites. If you love Kafka and want her on your team more than anything, don’t mind what I or anyone else has to say on the matter. Building up your favourite units will almost always be more satisfying than pulling on someone you don’t like because they’re strong.
That was our breakdown on whether or not you should pull for Blade or Kafka in Honkai: Star Rail. Check back once Version 1.2 has launched to find build guides for both Kafka and Blade here on KeenGamer.
