Serval
★★★★

Serval Build

Serval is a 4★ Lightning character on the Path of Erudition in Honkai: Star Rail. Below are the character's stats, skills and Eidolons — plus a pity calculator if you plan to pull.

Released: 26/04/2023 · v1.0· Updated: 03/07/2026
Updated for version 4.3 · 02/07/2026
Calculate pity to pull this character →
Community usage · phase 4.3.2
Pure Fiction0.1%
Apocalyptic Shadow0.1%
Stats from 16,423 real player profiles (Memory of Chaos) · community data by LvlUrArti
Building Serval — just follow the numbers
30-second summary

Serval is a FREE Lightning Erudition DPS (handed out via an early event), a fantastic pickup for new players lacking AoE. If you already own Herta, Himeko, or Rappa, you can comfortably skip her.

1
30-second build
In a hurry? This box is all you need — details below
BodyCRIT Rate / CRIT DMG FeetSPD (or ATK%) SphereLightning DMG RopeATK% (or Energy Regeneration Rate)

Sub-stat priority: CRIT Rate/DMG > ATK% > SPD

2
Verdict & playstyle
How strong, worth pulling, how to play
Memory of Chaos 2.5/5
Pure Fiction 1/5
Apocalyptic Shadow 2/5
Should you pull Serval?

Serval is a FREE Lightning Erudition DPS (handed out via an early event), a fantastic pickup for new players lacking AoE. If you already own Herta, Himeko, or Rappa, you can comfortably skip her.

Pros
  • Free, everyone owns her
  • Strong AoE, shines in Pure Fiction
  • Easy to build, not gear-picky
  • Applies Shock for DoT synergy
Cons
  • Weak single-target, struggles in Memory of Chaos
  • No real Break, poor in Apocalyptic Shadow
  • Power-crept by newer DPS over time
  • Relies on enemy count to perform
How to play

Every turn, fire her Skill to hit the whole pack, stack damage and apply Shock; once energy is up, unleash her Ultimate to sweep the field. Stack Speed to squeeze in more turns.

3
Full build
Light cones, relics, stat targets — with reasons
Best Relics
BodyCRIT Rate / CRIT DMG
FeetSPD (or ATK%)
SphereLightning DMG
RopeATK% (or Energy Regeneration Rate)

Sub-stat priority: CRIT Rate/DMG > ATK% > SPD

Stat targets

Targets: SPD 134+ (or 160 for the Glamoth breakpoint), ATK 2200-2600, ~70% CRIT Rate, 130-150% CRIT DMG. If building the Shock/DoT flavor, aim for 67% Effect Hit Rate to guarantee Shock.

4
Teams
Best teammates to pair with
Best teams for Serval

Hypercarry: Sparkle/Tingyun buffs + Huohuo for energy. DoT: pair Kafka + Black Swan so her Shock detonates hard.

F2P: Tingyun + Asta + Natasha.

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 (E6 dễ đạt vì là nhân vật tiêu chuẩn/miễn phí, rất đáng) — E0 already performs. Since she's a standard/free unit, E6 is easy to farm through Starlight and the Herta shop, and it meaningfully boosts her Pure Fiction output.

E1
Echo Chamber★★★☆☆
Basic ATK deals Lightning DMG equal to 60% of Basic ATK DMG to a random target adjacent to the target enemy.
Basic ATK now splashes extra Lightning DMG to a random adjacent target, giving modest AoE damage from a single-target skill.
E2
Encore!★★☆☆☆
Every time Serval's Talent is triggered to deal Additional DMG, she regenerates 4 Energy.
Grants extra Energy whenever her Talent deals Additional DMG, speeding up Ultimate uptime without boosting damage directly.
E3
Listen, the Heartbeat of the Gears★★☆☆☆
Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv. 10.
Purely raises Skill and Basic ATK levels, a small passive numeric boost with no gameplay change.
E4
Make Some Noise!★★★★☆
Ultimate has a 100% base chance to apply Shock to any enemies not currently Shocked. This Shock has the same effects as the one applied by Skill.
Ultimate now guarantees Shock on all not-yet-Shocked enemies, greatly expanding her AoE DoT and Talent trigger uptime across the whole field.
E5
Belobog's Loudest Roar!★★☆☆☆
Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.
Purely raises Ultimate and Talent levels, a minor numeric boost without new effects.
E6
This Song Rocks to Heaven!★★★★★
Serval deals 30% more DMG to Shocked enemies.
Deals 30% more DMG to Shocked enemies, a massive damage multiplier since most targets are kept Shocked, making this a huge power spike.
6
Skills & Traces
What to level first — tap each skill for details
Skill Leveling Priority
Skill ★★★★★ Skill is the main damage source, dealing direct DMG and applying Shock which triggers the DoT and Talent effects.
Talent ★★★★★ Talent deals extra DMG to all Shocked enemies after every attack, contributing large and consistent damage.
Ultimate ★★★☆☆ Ultimate deals AoE DMG and extends Shock duration, useful support but not the primary damage source like Skill and Talent.
Basic ATK ★★☆☆☆ Basic ATK only deals basic single-target damage, remaining the lowest priority as with most DPS characters.
Trace priority: A2 > A4 > A6 Eidolon priority: E6 > E4 > E1 = E2 > E3 = E5
Skills
Roaring Thunderclap
Roaring Thunderclap
Basic ATK Single Target Lv.10

Deals Lightning DMG equal to 140% of Serval's ATK to one designated enemy.

Lightning Flash
Lightning Flash
Skill Blast Lv.15

Deals Lightning DMG equal to 175% of Serval's ATK to one designated enemy and Lightning DMG equal to 75% of Serval's ATK to enemies adjacent to it, with a 80% base chance for enemies hit to become Shocked for 2 turn(s). While Shocked, enemies take Lightning DoT equal to 130% of Serval's ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Here Comes the Mechanical Fever
Here Comes the Mechanical Fever
Ultimate AoE Lv.15

Deals Lightning DMG equal to 216% of Serval's ATK to all enemies. Enemies already Shocked will extend the duration of their Shock state by 2 turn(s).

Galvanic Chords
Galvanic Chords
Talent Enhance Lv.15

After Serval attacks, deals Lightning Additional DMG equal to 90% of Serval's ATK to all Shocked enemies.

Attack
Attack

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

Good Night, Belobog
Good Night, Belobog
Technique

Immediately attacks the enemy. After entering battle, deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Serval's ATK to a random enemy, with a 100% base chance for all enemies to become Shocked for 3 turn(s). While Shocked, enemies will take Lightning DoT equal to 50% of Serval's ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Major Traces
3 powerful passives (A2/A4/A6) — unlocked via Ascension
A2
Rock 'n' Roll

When using skill, increases the base chance for the attacked enemy target to become Shocked by 20%.

A4
String Vibration

At the start of the battle, immediately regenerates 15 Energy.

A6
Mania

Upon defeating an enemy, ATK is increased by 20% for 2 turn(s).

Trace Bonuses
Total stats gained from unlocking the full trace tree
+18.7%CRIT Rate
+18%Effect Hit Rate
+10%Effect RES
7
Stats & Materials
Base stats at Lv.80 and what to farm
Level 80 stats
HP
917
ATK
653
DEF
375
SPD
104
CRIT Rate
5%
CRIT DMG
50%
8
Serval FAQ
What is the best Light Cone for Serval?

The best Light Cone for Serval is Before Dawn (top pick). See F2P options in the Light Cones section above.

Is Serval worth pulling?

Serval is a FREE Lightning Erudition DPS (handed out via an early event), a fantastic pickup for new players lacking AoE. If you already own Herta, Himeko, or Rappa, you can comfortably skip her.

What is the best team for Serval?

Hypercarry: Sparkle/Tingyun buffs + Huohuo for energy. DoT: pair Kafka + Black Swan so her Shock detonates hard. F2P: Tingyun + Asta + Natasha.

Matching Light Cones
Path of Erudition — 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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