While there are heaps of awesome characters in Honkai Star Rail, Blade truly stands out, both visually and on the battle field. This five-star wind character treads the path of the Destruction, and is capable of sacrificing his health to dish out devestating damage. So let's take a look at his best build, including light cones, relics, and more.
If you're hoping to find out more about the friendly (and not-so-friendly) faces you can meet on your adventure aboard the Astral Express, check out our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail banner guides, then snap up some freebies with our Honkai Star Rail codes.
Here's everything in our best Honkai Star Rail Blade build:
What's the best Honkai Star Rail Blade build?
Blade is a five-star wind character who treads the path of the Destruction. He scales off HP, and sacrifices his own health to dish out outstanding amounts of damage to both his main target and adjacent foes.
Here's a brief overview of our best HSR Blade build:
| Best light cone | The Unreachable Side |
| Light cone substitutes |
|
| Best relic set | Longevous Disciple |
| Best planar ornament set | Bone Collection's Serene Demesne |
| Main stats |
|
| Sub-stats |
|
Blade is a five-star wind DPS who treads the path of the Destruction. His best light cone is his signature five-star, The Unreachable Side, and his best relic set is Longevous Disciple. Blade's best planar ornament set is Bone Collection's Serene Demise.
When picking relics for Blade, you should aim to get his speed to around 121-136 first (if you're pairing him up with Bronya, you need to get his speed to at least two points higher than hers), then focus on crit rate and damage, followed by HP%.
In terms of skill priorities, you should level up his basic attack first. Then you should level his talent and skill equally, followed by his ultimate. As for traces, his A6 (Cyclone of Destruction) is your main priority, followed by his A4 (Neverending Deaths), and his A2 (Vita Infinita).
How to use Blade
Blade is a high-impact wind damage dealer who who deals damage based on his max HP and how much damage he takes. He also sacrifices portions of his HP in order to dish out even more damage. As such, we recommend focusing on increasing his max HP, attack, and wind damage.
Blade's core gameplay revolves heavily around his talent, which sees him gain stacks whenever he takes damage or consumes his own HP. At five stacks, he consumes all stacks to launch a follow-up attack on all enemies, while also healing a chunk of his own HP.
As such, he's relatively self-sufficient, and actually appreciates being hit – though, thanks to the HP drain of his skill and ultimate, he doesn't need to receive enemy damage in order to gain stacks.
Speaking of which, Blade's skill is another key component in his damage. It enhances his normal attack, turning it into a blast AoE that can deal up to 40% of his attack plus 100% of his max HP against his primary target, as well as 16% of his attack plus 40% of his max HP to adjacent enemies. Note that his enhanced basic attacks don't generate skill points, but they also don't consume any additional skill points, making him pretty cost-efficient.
Finally, there's Blade's ultimate, Death Sentence, which sees him set his current HP to 50% and dish out a blast AoE against the target and two adjacent foes. The damage it deals scales off his attack, max HP, and the total HP he's lost in the current battle.
This is a pretty unique skill. Setting his HP to 50% means that if you're below 50% he heals up, but if he's above 50% he consumes HP. This means that you can use Blade's ultimate as a substantial self-heal if he's low on health, or you can use it when he has higher HP to add an extra stack to his talent.
Death Sentence has an energy cost of 130, but with the improved energy generation offered by Blade's enhanced basic attacks and follow-up attacks, he can use it often. Note that, while his ultimate can dish out quite a bit of damage, Blade isn't reliant on it at all, as he deals most of his damage through his talent and enhanced basic attacks.
Therefore it's up to you and your team comp to decide how best to use it. If you have a healer like Luocha on your team, you can use it whenever you like to snag another stack for Blade's talent. If you don't have Luocha or another reliable healer on your team, you can use Blade's ultimate for self-sustain whenever he drops to low health.
What are the best light cones for Blade light?
Blade's five-star signature light cone, The Unreachable Side, is his best-in-slot, giving him a hefty boost to his crit rate and max HP, and boosting his damage whenever his HP drops. This is super easy to trigger considering Blade's kit revolves around him sacrificing HP, so he can consistently reap the benefits of that additional damage boost.
Blade's second-best light cone is Dance at Sunset. It greatly increases the odds that he'll attack, and increases his crit damage and follow-up attack damage in turn, which complements his kit perfectly.
Blade's best four-star light cone is Ninja Record: Sound Hunt at S5, though A Secret Vow at S5 is also a solid choice.
| Light cone | Effect | How to obtain |
| The Unreachable Side | Increases Blade's crit rate and max HP. When an enemy attacks Blade or her consumes his own HP, his damage increases further. This effect expires after Blade unleashes an attack | Limited banner or in the exchange store |
| Dance at Sunset | Greatly increases the odds that enemies will attack blade, and increases his crit damage. After Blade uses his ultimate, he receives one stack of Firedance, lasting for two turns (up to two stacks). Each stack of Firedance increases the damage of Blade's follow-up attack | Limited banner |
| Ninja Record: Sound Hunt | Increases Blade's max HP. When Blade loses or restores HP, his crit damage increases for two turns. This can only trigger once per turn | Limited banner |
| A Secret Vow | Increases Blade's damage. Blade also deals an extra 20% of his damage to enemies with a higher HP percentage than him | Limited or standard banner |
What are the best relics for Blade?
Longevous Disciple is the relic set for Blade. The two-piece bonus is handy as Blade scales off max HP, and the four-piece bonus compliments the HP sacrifice mechanic baked into his kit, making it easy for him to obtain that stackable crit bonus.
Alternatively, you can go for a full set of Scholar Lost in Erudition, or two pieces of Scholar Lost in Erudition with two pieces of Eagle of Twilight Line.
Blade's best planar ornament set is Bone Collection's Serene Demesne. Alternatively, Rutilant Arena or Inert Salsotto are also solid options.
| Relic | Effect |
| Longevous Disciple | Two equipped: increases max HP Four equipped: when an enemy hits Blade, or an ally (including Blade) consumes his HP, his crit rate increases for a certain number of turns. This effect can stack |
| Scholar Lost in Erudition | Two equipped: increases crit rate by 8% Four equipped: increases Blade's ultimate and skill damage by 20%. After using his ultimate, his next skill deals an additional 25% damage |
| Eagle of Twilight Line | Two equipped: increases wind damage by 10% |
Planar Ornaments
| Relic | Effect |
| Bone Collection's Serene Demesne | Two equipped: increases Blade's max HP by 12%. When his max HP is 5k or higher, increases Blade's crit damage by 28% |
| Rutilent Arena | Two equipped: increases Blade's crit rate by 8%. When his crit rate reaches 50% or higher, Blade's basic attack and skill damage increases by 15% |
| Inert Salsotto | Two equipped: increases Blade's crit rate by 8%. When his current crit rate reaches 50% or higher, Blade's ultimate and follow-up attack damage increases by 15% |
Relic stat recommendations
When choosing relics for Blade, we recommend focusing on the following stats.
Main stats:
- Body – crit rate/damage
- Feet: speed or HP%
- Planar sphere: wind damage bonus or HP%
- Link rope: HP%
Sub-stats:
- Crit rate/damage
- Speed
- HP%
Remember, if you're using Inert Salsotto or Rutilent Arena, you should aim to get his crit rate to at least 50%.
What are the best Blade team comps?
Blade benefits from acting as the main DPS on a team, alongside supports that can boost his damage-dealing capabilities or increase his speed.
Here are some examples of the best Blade team comps:
 Blade |
 Sunday |
 Tribbie |
 Huohuo |
Blade |
 Jade |
 Bronya |
 Luocha |
Blade |
Bronya |
 Ruan Mei |
Luocha |
Blade |
 Jingliu |
Ruan Mei |
 Fu Xuan |
What are Blade's attacks?
Here are all of Blade's attacks, passives, and major traces.
Active:
| Skill | Effect |
| Basic attack: Shard Sword | Deal 60% of Blade's attack as wind damage to a target enemy |
| Enhanced basic attack: Forest of Swords | Consume 10% of Blade's max HP and deal wind damage to a single enemy equal to the sum of 20% of his attack and 50% of his max HP. In addition, deals wind damage equal to the sum of 8% of Blade's attack and 20% of his max HP to adjacent targets. Using Forest of Swords when Blade's HP is insufficient reduces his HP to one. This attack cannot regenerate skill points |
| Skill: Hellscape | Consumes HP equal to 30% of Blade's max HP to enter the Hellscape state. When Hellscape is active, his cannot use his skill, his damage dealt increases by 12%, and his basic attack Shard Sword is enhanced to Forest of Swords for three turns. If Blade's current HP is insufficient, his HP is reduced to one when he uses his skill. This skill does not regenerate energy. Using this skill does not end the current turn |
| Ultimate: Death Sentence | Sets Blade's current HP to 50% of his max HP and deals wind damage equal to the sum of 24% of his attack, 60% of his max HP, and 60% of the total HP he has lost in the current battle to a single enemy. At the same time, deals wind damage to adjacent targets equal to the sum of 9.6% of his attack, 24% of his max HP, and 24% of the total HP he has lost in the current battle. The total HP Blade has lost in the current battle is capped at 90% of his max HP. This value resets and re-accumulates after he uses his ultimate |
Passive:
| Skill | Effect |
| Talent: Shuhu's Gift | When Blade sustains damage or consumes his HP, he gains one stack of Charge, stacking up to five times. He can gain a max of one Charge stack every time an enemy attacks him. When Charge stack reaches the maximum, immediately launches a follow-up attack on all enemies, dealing wind damage equal to 22% of Blade's attack plus 55% of his max HP. At the same time, restores Blade's HP by 25% of his max HP. After the follow-up attack, Blade consumes all Charges |
Technique:
| Skill | Effect |
| Karma Wind | Immediately attacks the enemy. After entering combat, consumes 20% of Blade's max HP while dealing wind damage equal to 40% of his max HP to all enemies. If Blade's current HP is insufficient, using his Technique reduces his HP to one |
Traces:
| Trace | Effect |
| Vita Infinita | When Blade's current HP is at 50% of max HP or lower, incoming healing increases by 20% |
| Neverending Deaths | If Blade hits a weakness-broken enemy after using Forest of Swords, he will restore HP equal to 5% of his max HP plus 100 |
| Cyclone of Destruction | Blade's talent follow-up damage increases by 20% |
What are Honkai Star Rail Blade's eidolons?
Like Genshin Impact's constellations, Honkai Star Rail eidolons are special bonuses you get by pulling more than one copy of a character. Here are all of Blade's eidolons.
| Eidolon | Effect |
| E1: Blade Cuts the Deepest in Hell | Blade's ultimate deals additionally increased damage to a single enemy target, with the increased amount equal to 150% of Blade's total HP loss in the current battle. The total HP Blade has lost in the current battle is capped at 90% of his max HP. This value resets and reaccumulates after he uses his ultimate |
| E2: Ten Thousand Sorrows From One Broken Dream | When Blade is in the Hellscape state, his crit rate increases by 15% |
| E3: Hardened Blade Bleeds Coldest Shade | Increases Blade's ultimate level by thwo, to a maximum of 15. Also increases the level of his talent by two, up to a maximum of level 15 |
| E4: Rejected by Death, Infected With Life | When Blade's current HP drops to 50% or lower of his max HP, increases his max HP by 20%. Stacks up to two times |
| E5: Death By Ten Lords' Gaze | Increases Blade's skill level by two, up to a maximum of 15. Also increases the level of his basic attack by one, to a maximum of ten |
| E6: Reborn Into an Empty Husk | The maximum number of Charge stacks is reduced to four. The damage of the follow-up attack triggered by Blade's talent additionally increases by 50% of his max HP |
What are Honkai Star Rail Blade's ascension materials?
You can get Honkai Star Rail's Blade all the way up to level 80, but you need to use a set of specific materials at set intervals to ascend him and raise his level cap.
| Required level | Credits | Ascension materials |
| 20 | 4k | Five immortal scionette |
| 30 | 8k | Ten immortal scionette |
| 40 | 16k | Six immortal aeroblossom and three ascendant debris |
| 50 | 40k | Nine immortal aeroblossom and seven ascendant debris |
| 60 | 80k | Six immortal lumintwig and 20 ascendant debris |
| 70 | 160k | Nine immortal lumintwig and 35 ascendant debris |
Here's where to get each of Blade's ascension materials:
- Immortal scionette, areoblossom, and lumintwig – obtain from mara-struck enemies, abominations of abundance, the Embers Exchange store, assignment rewards, golden calyxes, synthesis, or the Xianzhou Luofu world shop
- Ascendant debris – obtain from The Ascended boss via the stagnant shadow in the Xianzhou Luofu's Alchemy Commission
What are Blade's trace materials?
In addition to ascending Blade, you can also upgrade his traces, which offer extra buffs and passives to enhance his kit. Here are all of Blade's trace materials:
- 41 immortal scionette, 56 immortal aeroblossom, and 58 immortal lumintwig
- Obtain from mara-struck enemies, abominations of abundance, the Embers Exchange store, assignment rewards, golden calyxes, synthesis, or the Xianzhou Luofu world shop
- 15 shattered blade, 72 lifeless blade, and 139 worldbreaker blade
- Obtain from the crimson calyx in Herta Space Station's Storage Zone, the Jarilo-VI and Herta Space Station world shops, and the embers exchange store
- 12 regret of infinite ochema
- Obtain from the Phantylia the Undying boss, located in the Scalegorge Waterscape echo of war on the Xianzhou Luofu
- 11 tracks of destiny
- Three million credits
Who is Honkai Star Rail's Yingxing?
During the main story quest in the 1.2 Honkai Star Rail update, we discover that Yinxing is actually Blade's real name. This information crops up towards the end of the 1.2 Trailblaze mission, when you walk towards the great dragon. Interact with the ethereal characters to uncover memories, including one where you can hear Blade's voice talking to a High Elder who calls him Yingxing.
That's everything we know about Honkai Star Rail's Blade at the moment. While we wait for version 1.2 to drop, check out our Genshin Impact content like our Genshin Impact codes guide and Genshin Impact tier list. We also have build guides for characters like Genshin Impact's Xingqiu, Genshin Impact's Chongyun, and Genshin Impact's Keqing.