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.
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.
Sub-stat priority: CRIT Rate/DMG > ATK% > SPD
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Deals Lightning DMG equal to 140% of Serval's ATK to one designated enemy.
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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.
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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).
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After Serval attacks, deals Lightning Additional DMG equal to 90% of Serval's ATK to all Shocked enemies.
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Attacks an enemy, and after entering combat, reduces their Toughness of the corresponding Type.
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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.
When using skill, increases the base chance for the attacked enemy target to become Shocked by 20%.
At the start of the battle, immediately regenerates 15 Energy.
Upon defeating an enemy, ATK is increased by 20% for 2 turn(s).
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.
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3★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.






















