Black Swan
★★★★★

Black Swan Build

Black Swan is a 5★ Wind character on the Path of Nihility in Honkai: Star Rail. Below are the character's stats, skills and Eidolons — plus a pity calculator if you plan to pull.

Released: 06/02/2024 · v1.6· Updated: 03/07/2026
Updated for version 4.3 · 02/07/2026
Calculate pity to pull this character →
Community usage · phase 4.3.2
Memory of Chaos18.7%
Pure Fiction23.9%
Apocalyptic Shadow21.4%
Stats from 16,423 real player profiles (Memory of Chaos) · community data by LvlUrArti
Building Black Swan — just follow the numbers
30-second summary

If you love the DoT 'plant the poison and watch enemies melt' playstyle, Black Swan is the #1 piece — especially if you already own Kafka.

1
30-second build
In a hurry? This box is all you need — details below
BodyATK% (or EHR% if below 120% EHR) FeetSPD SphereWind DMG RopeATK%

Sub-stat priority: Effect Hit Rate (until ~120%) > ATK% > SPD

2
Verdict & playstyle
How strong, worth pulling, how to play
Memory of Chaos 4.5/5
Pure Fiction 5/5
Apocalyptic Shadow 4.5/5
Should you pull Black Swan?

If you love the DoT 'plant the poison and watch enemies melt' playstyle, Black Swan is the #1 piece — especially if you already own Kafka.

Skip her if you're not building any DoT team. (Correction: she is Wind element, Nihility path — HSR has no 'Warlock' path).

Pros
  • Explosive DoT damage that scales with more enemies
  • Massive team-wide DEF shred and RES shred
  • Post-4.0 rework plays smoothly with no slow ramp
  • Perfect synergy with Kafka and Hysilens
Cons
  • Weaker against single bosses than direct DPS
  • Relies on a detonator teammate for peak output
  • Grinding enough Effect Hit Rate is tedious
  • Underwhelming in Apocalyptic Shadow (favors break/burst)
How to play

Open with Skill on the primary target to spread Arcana and apply DEF shred, then fire Ultimate as soon as you have energy to enter Epiphany (which now applies 25% DoT vulnerability permanently after 4.0).

On later turns keep skilling to spread Arcana wide and let Kafka detonate all DoTs.

3
Full build
Light cones, relics, stat targets — with reasons
Best Relics
BodyATK% (or EHR% if below 120% EHR)
FeetSPD
SphereWind DMG
RopeATK%

Sub-stat priority: Effect Hit Rate (until ~120%) > ATK% > SPD

Stat targets

Reach 120% Effect Hit Rate (the breakpoint for her trace buff), SPD ~134-135 for two turns per cycle, and ATK ~3200-4000. DoT cannot crit, so ignore CRIT entirely.

4
Teams
Best teammates to pair with
Best teams for Black Swan

Kafka + Black Swan is the core: stack DoTs, then detonate on repeat; Ruan Mei or Hysilens amplifies, Huohuo/Aventurine keeps everyone alive. The F2P SampoAstaNatasha line still clears standard content.

Meta suggestions synthesized from global community consensus (Meta 2026-07). Figures come from game data — updated each patch.

5
Eidolons
How far to invest, which milestones matter

E0 (E1 is one of the best Eidolons in the game; E2 strong but expensive) — E0 already delivers ~85-90% of her power, so play her freely. E1 is one of the highest-value Eidolons in the game: a team-wide 25% Elemental RES shred on DoT-afflicted enemies. E2 is strong but a luxury.

E1
Seven Pillars of Wisdom★★★★★
While Black Swan is active in combat, enemies afflicted with Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, or Shock will have their corresponding Wind, Physical, Fire, or Lightning RES respectively reduced by 25%.
Reduces enemies' corresponding elemental RES by 25% based on their DoT debuffs, a massive team-wide damage amplifier.
E2
Weep Not For Me, My Lamb★★★☆☆
When an enemy target afflicted with "Arcana" is defeated, there is a 100% base chance of inflicting 6 stack(s) of "Arcana" on adjacent targets.
On kill of an Arcana target, spreads 6 Arcana stacks to adjacent enemies, useful for maintaining DoT but conditional on securing kills.
E3
As Above, So Below★★☆☆☆
Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.
Only raises Skill and Talent levels, providing minor numerical gains.
E4
In Tears We Gift★★★☆☆
While in the Epiphany state, enemy targets have their Effect RES reduced by 10% and Black Swan regenerates 8 Energy at the start of these targets' turns or when they are defeated. This Energy Regeneration effect can only trigger up to 1 time while Epiphany lasts. The trigger count is reset when Epiphany is applied again.
During Epiphany, reduces enemy Effect RES by 10% and regenerates energy for Black Swan, a moderate boost to ultimate uptime and debuff success.
E5
Linnutee Flyway★★☆☆☆
Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv. 10.
Only raises Ultimate and Basic ATK levels, providing minor numerical gains.
E6
Pantheon Merciful, Masses Pitiful★★★★★
When an enemy target is attacked by Black Swan's teammates, Black Swan has a 65% base chance of inflicting 1 stack of "Arcana" on the target. Every time Black Swan inflicts "Arcana" on an enemy target, there is a 50% fixed chance to additionally increase the number of "Arcana" stacked this time by 1.
Lets teammates' attacks also apply Arcana stacks with an additional guaranteed effect each time, transforming the playstyle and greatly boosting overall damage output.
6
Skills & Traces
What to level first — tap each skill for details
Skill Leveling Priority
Talent ★★★★★ Talent deals the core Wind DoT at 300% ATK scaling with Arcana stacks, making it Black Swan's main damage source.
Skill ★★★★★ Skill hits an AoE, applies Arcana at 100% base chance and shreds DEF, directly amplifying the Talent's DoT so it should be leveled early.
Ultimate ★★★★☆ Ultimate inflicts Epiphany, boosting DMG taken by 30% and converting Arcana into multiple simultaneous DoTs, an important buff but limited to 2 turns.
Basic ATK ★★☆☆☆ Basic ATK deals low damage and has a lower chance to apply Arcana, so it remains the lowest leveling priority as usual.
Trace priority: A4 > A2 > A6 Eidolon priority: E1 > E4 > E2 > E6 > E3 = E5
Skills
Percipience, Silent Dawn
Percipience, Silent Dawn
Basic ATK Single Target Lv.10

Deals Wind DMG equal to 84% of Black Swan's ATK to one designated enemy target, with a 77% base chance of inflicting 1 stack of "Arcana" on the target. Additionally, when attacking a target that suffers Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, or Shock, there is respectively a 77% base chance of inflicting 1 extra stack of "Arcana" on the target.

Decadence, False Twilight
Decadence, False Twilight
Skill Blast Lv.15

Deals Wind DMG equal to 113% of Black Swan's ATK to one designated enemy target and any adjacent targets. At the same time, there is a 100% base chance of inflicting 1 stack of "Arcana" on the target enemy and the adjacent targets. Additionally, there is a 100% base chance of reducing the DEF of the target enemy and the adjacent targets by 23.8%, lasting for 3 turn(s).

Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace
Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace
Ultimate AoE Lv.15

Inflicts Epiphany on all enemies for 2 turn(s). While afflicted with Epiphany, enemies take 30% increased DMG in their turn. Additionally, if enemies are also inflicted with Arcana, they are also considered to be simultaneously afflicted with Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and Shock. After Arcana causes DMG at the start of each turn, its stacks are not reset. This non-reset effect of Arcana stacks can be triggered up to 1 time(s) for the duration of Epiphany. And the trigger count resets when Epiphany is applied again. Deals Wind DMG equal to 144% of Black Swan's ATK to all enemies.

Loom of Fate's Caprice
Loom of Fate's Caprice
Talent Impair Lv.15

Every time an enemy target receives DoT at the start of each turn, there is a 73% base chance for it to be inflicted with 1 stack of Arcana. While afflicted with Arcana, enemy targets receive Wind DoT equal to 300% of Black Swan's ATK at the start of each turn. Each stack of Arcana increases this DMG multiplier by 15%. Then Arcana resets to 1 stack. Arcana can stack up to 50 times. Only when Arcana causes DMG at the start of an enemy target's turn, Black Swan triggers additional effects based on the number of Arcana stacks inflicted on the target: When there are 3 or more Arcana stacks, deals Wind DoT equal to 225% of Black Swan's ATK to adjacent targets, with a 73% base chance of inflicting 1 stack of Arcana on adjacent targets. When there are 7 or more Arcana stacks, enables the current DoT dealt this time to ignore 20% of the target's and adjacent targets' DEF.

Attack
Attack

Attacks an enemy, and after entering combat, reduces their Toughness of the corresponding Type.

From Façade to Vérité
From Façade to Vérité
Technique Enhance

After this Technique is used, there is a 150% base chance for each enemy to be inflicted with 1 stack of Arcana at the start of the next battle. For each successful application of Arcana on a target, inflicts another stack of Arcana on the same target. This process repeats until Arcana fails to be inflicted on this target. For each successive application of Arcana on a target, its base chance of success is equal to 50% of the base chance of the previous successful infliction of Arcana on that target.

Major Traces
3 powerful passives (A2/A4/A6) — unlocked via Ascension
A2
Viscera's Disquiet

After using Skill to attack one designated enemy that has Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, or Shock, each of these debuffs respectively has a 65% base chance of inflicting 1 extra stack of Arcana.

A4
Goblet's Dredges

When an enemy target enters combat, there is a 65% base chance for it to be inflicted with 1 stack of Arcana. Every time an enemy target receives 1 instance of DoT during a single attack by an ally, there is a 65% base chance for the target to be inflicted with 1 stack of Arcana. The maximum number of stacks that can be inflicted during 1 single attack is 3.

A6
Candleflame's Portent

Increases this unit's DMG by an amount equal to 60% of Effect Hit Rate, up to a maximum DMG increase of 72%.

Trace Bonuses
Total stats gained from unlocking the full trace tree
+56%ATK
+28.8%Wind DMG Boost
+20%Effect Hit Rate
7
Stats & Materials
Base stats at Lv.80 and what to farm
Level 80 stats
HP
1,087
ATK
660
DEF
485
SPD
102
CRIT Rate
5%
CRIT DMG
50%
Ascension Materials
Total materials to max ascension — tap to see how to farm.
Material Planner →
8
Black Swan FAQ
What is the best Light Cone for Black Swan?

The best Light Cone for Black Swan is Reforged Remembrance (top pick). See F2P options in the Light Cones section above.

Is Black Swan worth pulling?

If you love the DoT 'plant the poison and watch enemies melt' playstyle, Black Swan is the #1 piece — especially if you already own Kafka. Skip her if you're not building any DoT team. (Correction: she is Wind element, Nihility path — HSR has no 'Warlock' path).

What is the best team for Black Swan?

Kafka + Black Swan is the core: stack DoTs, then detonate on repeat; Ruan Mei or Hysilens amplifies, Huohuo/Aventurine keeps everyone alive. The F2P Sampo–Asta–Natasha line still clears standard content.

Matching Light Cones
Path of Nihility — a Light Cone only gives its bonus to matching-Path characters.
Light Cones →
How to read this build page

Every character build page has these parts: recommended Light Cone/Relic sets and stat table, a Trace/skill leveling order, Eidolon milestones worth considering, and a reference SPD threshold. Read them in that order — gear tells you "what to use", Traces tell you "what to level first", Eidolon tells you "is it worth pulling dupes", SPD tells you "how fast you need to be to keep the rotation on time". The section below explains how to read each part and applies the same way to every character on the site — check the exact numbers in the table above this section, since community sources sometimes differ by a few points.

Why the Light Cone and Relic picks make sense

Most characters have a "signature" Light Cone built for their exact role, plus a few cheaper substitutes from the standard banner or easy-to-get 3-4★ cones. Missing the signature isn't a dead end — most characters keep most of their power with a well-matched substitute, typically losing somewhere between a few percent and roughly a fifth of total damage depending on the setup, per most public comparisons.

  • Relic sets (2pc+2pc or 4pc) are picked for the set effect that fits that character's role (single-target DPS, AoE, shield/healing support, Break damage, and so on).
  • Main stats per slot (Body/Feet/Sphere/Rope) and substats follow a priority that changes by role: DPS roles usually chase CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG before ATK%; Break-focused roles prioritize Break Effect; support/healing roles often value Effect Hit/RES or Outgoing Healing over pure CRIT.

These weights differ per character and can shift slightly between ranking sources — follow the exact priority table above rather than applying one formula to every role.

Trace/skill leveling order by role (a general guideline, not a fixed rule)

There's no single order that's correct for every character, and community sources sometimes disagree depending on the team the character is used in — but the general pattern by role is:

  • DPS: level whichever skill (Skill or Ultimate) carries most of the damage for that character first, with Basic ATK usually last if it isn't the main damage source.
  • Support/Buffer: prioritize Traces that boost buff strength or the skill that applies the effect over Basic ATK, since this role's value comes from lifting the team rather than personal damage.
  • Healer/Shielder: prioritize the main healing or shield skill first, since that is the reason the team runs this character.
  • Break/CC: prioritize whichever skill contributes the most Toughness Damage, since the Break/Weakness Break window is where the team dumps damage.

Major Traces unlock at fixed ascension levels in-game, not by choice — but which one to level first (when resources are limited) should follow the role priority above. Since the exact order can differ between ranking sources, check the specific recommendation in the table above for this character.

Eidolons: how far E0 gets you, and which milestone is worth considering

General rule: most characters at E0 (no duplicates) already handle most content, even 5-star characters. Eidolons are a duplicate-fueled upgrade system — higher levels cost more resources for a smaller power gain, and the actual gain varies a lot per character (some barely change role at E0, others shift how they're played at a specific level). The milestones most often cited by the community tend to sit at E1, E2, or E6 depending on the character — but none of these are required to clear the game's content. Check the Eidolon section in the table above for this character's specific milestone and gain; if sources disagree on how to rate a milestone, trust the in-game effect description over a pre-set percentage number.

How to think about SPD breakpoints

SPD (Speed) controls how often a character acts in the turn order — higher SPD means denser actions, and for some roles (especially support/healing that need to buff or heal before the team gets hit) hitting the right SPD "breakpoint" matters more than the raw SPD number. Values like 101 or 134 SPD are often cited as community-common breakpoints (letting a character act again before or after a specific point in certain team setups) — this is crowd-verified action-gauge math, not an official fixed number the game states for every situation. The right breakpoint also depends on the team and allies' SPD, so treat the SPD suggestion in the table above as a starting point to adjust from, not a mandatory target.

Where to dig deeper

This section only teaches you how to read the page — for deeper comparisons, use the dedicated tools:

  • Tier list to see where this character stands against the full roster.
  • Teams for full in-game comps with rotation order.
  • Relic score to check how your current gear scores against the benchmark.
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