After a very long wait, Honkai: Star Rail finally has its third 5-star DoT character in Hysilens. DoT is back.
Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.5 is finally here, and with it comes the game's long-awaited third 5-star damage-over-time (DoT) character: Hysilens. Hysilens wields the Physical element and follows the Path of Nihility, able to inflict all DoT debuffs on enemies and pair very nicely with the game's other DoT characters.
If you were lucky enough to have pulled Hysilens, read on as we break down her abilities plus her best Light Cones, relics, and teammates!
Hysilens build guide in Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.5
Hysilens' kit is built around her Talent, Sirenic Serenade, and ultimate, Maelstrom Rhapsody. Let's take a look at her Talent first. Sirenic Serenade causes ally attacks to have a 100% base chance of inflicting any enemies they hit with any one of the different DoT debuffs: Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and Shock. Priority is given to inflicting a different DoT debuff whenever Sirenic Serenade is triggered.
At max level, enemies inflicted with Wind Shear, Burn, and Shock from Hysilens' Talent take DMG equal to 25% of Hysilens' ATK at the start of their turn for 2 turns. Meanwhile, this ability's Bleed debuff causes the afflicted enemy to take DMG equal to 20% of their Max HP, up to 25% of Hysilens ATK, at the start of their turn for 2 turns.
Now onto Hysilens' ultimate, which deploys a Zone that reduces all enemy targets' ATK by 15% and DEF by 25% at max level while also dealing Physical DMG equal to 200% of her ATK to all enemies. The Zone lasts for 3 of Hysilens' turns and disappears if she gets knocked down.
For every instance of DoT taken by an enemy target, Hysilens additionally deals Physical DoT equal to 80% of her ATK. This damage is triggered at the start of an enemy's turn or after an ally's attack on the afflicted enemy up to 8 times, but cannot be repeatedly triggered by itself.
Hysilens' ultimate is further enhanced by two of her ascension Traces. Her A2 Trace, The Gladius of Conquest, lets her deploy the Zone from her ultimate at the start of every battle. In addition, it also generates one skill point for the party whenever she uses her ultimate. Meanwhile, Hysilens' A4 Trace, The Bubble of Banquets, lets her detonate any DoT debuffs on enemies equal to 150% of their original DMG whenever she uses her ultimate.
Hysilens' skill will be her primary way of generating energy while also further boosting the team's DMG output. It deals 140% of her ATK to all enemies at max level while also increasing the DMG they take by 20% for three turns, with a 100% base chance for the additional DMG debuff to trigger.
Hysilens' Technique, At Ocean's Abode, creates a special dimension that lasts for 20 seconds and automatically moves forward. Enemies within the special dimension enter the ‘Soulstruck’ state, which prevents them from attacking the player and causes them to follow the dimension. Entering battle against enemies in the Soulstruck state also causes all enemies to be inflicted with two random DoT debuffs with a 100% base chance to trigger.
Finally, Hysilens' kit is tied together by her A6 Trace, The Fiddle of Pearls, which increases her DMG by 15% for every 10% of her Effect Hit Rate stat that exceeds 60%. This DMG bonus has caps out at 90% Bonus DMG once Hysilens has 120% Effect Hit Rate, which also essentially guarantees all of her debuffs to be inflicted on enemies.
Thanks to her A2 Trace, Hysilens can start a battle with her ultimate's Zone already active, allowing her to immediately ramp up her DMG output from the get-go. Use her skill whenever you have enough skill points to further boost the party's DMG output, while also recharging her energy to use her ultimate. Have her allies inflict additional DoT debuffs or detonate them if they are able. With a well-built Hysilens alongside other DoT characters, your enemies will drown in a cascade of multi-color DMG numbers before you even know it. DoT is back, baby.
When leveling up Hysilens' abilities, your priority should be her Talent first, followed by her ultimate, then skill–though you want to have them all maxed out eventually. You can also skip leveling up her basic attack if you want to save up on resources.
Hysilens' best Light Cones, relics, and teammates
Light Cones
Hysilens' best Light Cone is, of course, her signature, Why Does the Ocean Sing. It increases her Effect Hit Rate by 40%, making it easier to hit the 120% breakpoint you need for her A6 Trace. It also inflicts the ‘Enthrallment’ debuff on enemies for three turns whenever she inflicts other debuffs on them, with a 80% base chance to hit. When an enemy has the Enthrallment debuff, all DoT received by that enemy is increased by 5%, stacking up to six times, for every one debuff applied by Hysilens on the target. In addition, all allies that attack an enemy with the Enthrallment debuff receive a 10% Speed buff for 3 turns.
Hysilens' signature Light Cone pretty much has everything a DoT damage-dealer needs, but don't feel pressured to get it if you don't have enough Stellar Jade. Hysilens has a few alternative options to choose, both 5-star and 4-star rarities.
Among the limited 5-star Light Cones, your best bet will be Black Swan's signature Reforged Remembrance for its bonus Effect Hit Rate and DoT boosts. For 4-star Light Cones, go for Eyes of the Prey or Before the Tutorial Mission Starts. Both Light Cones give plenty of Effect Hit Rate and other useful bonuses. Eyes of the Prey is your best bet as it boosts its wearer's DoT, though Before the Tutorial Mission Starts is also nice for its bonus energy if you're attacking enemies that had their DEF reduced.
Relics
As a DoT damage-dealer, Hysilens' relic options are very straightforward. Her go-to Cavern of Corrosion relic set will be the 4-piece Prisoner in Deep Confinement set, which increases its wearer's ATK by 12% and lets its wearer's ATK ignore up to 18% of a target enemy's DEF if they have 3 active DoT debuffs on them.
For Planar Ornaments, go for the 2-piece Revelry by the Sea, which increases its wearer's ATK by 12%, and their DoT DMG dealt by 12%/24% if their ATK is equal to or higher than 2400/3600 respectively.
The main stats you should go for in Hysilens' relics include:
- Body: Effect Hit Rate–Needed to reach the 120 Effect Hit Rate breakpoint for her A6 Trace
- Feet: ATK%–ATK% is preferred since Hysilens can reach 134 Speed from her Trace bonuses and a few Speed substats
- Planar Sphere: Physical DMG% Boost
- Link Rope: ATK%
Teammates
As the long-awaited third DoT 5-star, Hysilens' best teammates are obviously other DoT characters. She needs to be played alongside Kafka, no two ways about it. While Hysilens can detonate DoTs with her ultimate, Kafka's detonations are much more frequent through her own ultimate and Talent follow-up attack. With Kafka on your team, you don't need to wait for the enemy's turn to see the cascade of DoT DMG numbers, eliminating the DoT archetype's biggest weakness of backloaded DMG.
Aside from Kafka, you'd also want to add Black Swan as a third DoT character in your Hysilens team. Black Swan deals a ton of DoT DMG that ramps up as you stack more and more DoT debuffs on enemies. Hysilens and Black Swan can create a positive feedback loop of ramping DoT DMG that Kafka can then detonate at will. With those three on your team, all your enemies will perish by a million cuts.
With that said, Black Swan isn't a requirement for a Hysilens team like Kafka is. You can substitute her with any 4-star DoT character like Sampo, Guinaifen, or Luka, depending on your enemy's elemental weakness. Alternatively, the third slot in a Hysilens team can be filled by a Harmony support that can boost Hysilens and Kafka's DMG. Ruan Mei and Robin are your best bets for this.
As for the fourth slot in your Hysilens team, your safest choice would be to fill it with any skill point-positive sustain that can keep the party healthy while leaving enough skill points for your main damage-dealers to use their skills whenever possible. Gallagher is the best option for this.
You can also go with Huohuo, who may not be as skill point-positive, but still fills the role nicely thanks to her ultimate regenerating energy for her teammates while also boosting their ATK. Aventurine is also a good pick for his strong shields, though we recommend giving him the Trend of the Universal Market Light Cone for this team so he can provide an additional DoT debuff. Meanwhile, Hyacine may hamper your skill point economy but makes up for it with her strong healing and notable DMG output.
Alternatively, you can go for a sustainless team with Hysilens, Kafka, a third DoT character like Black Swan, and either Ruan Mei or Robin in the fourth slot. Sometimes, the best defense is a great offense. No enemy can harm you if you've already drowned them in DoTs before they can even get a turn, after all.
