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- Phainon is a 5-Star Physical Destruction unit and is one of the Chrysos Heirs!
- Phainon is a selfish DPS who builds up Coreflame stacks and ults to transform into a super strong version of himself1
- Phainon is an ATK scaling unit
The Version 3.4 update of Honkai: Star Rail releases the much-anticipated 5-star character Phainon. He is a Physical character following the Path of Destruction. This Honkai: Star Rail Phainon Build Guide will help you get the most out of his abilities by offering a detailed breakdown of his skills and recommending the best configurations to optimize her performance.
Phainon Gameplay
Phainon is a Physical Destruction DPS unit who builds up something called Coreflame stacks in his Ultimate to make himself stronger. Once you hit 12 stacks, you can use Phainon’s Ultimate to transform into a super-strong version of himself.
You get stacks mainly by using his Skill, being targeted by enemies or allies, and through some team buffs like energy abilities or healing. After transforming, Phainon enters a solo mode where the rest of his team disappears for a bit, and he gets 8 extra turns in a row to go wild.
While transformed, Phainon gets huge buffs like more ATK and HP, and uses a new system called Scourge stacks for upgraded abilities. Phainon can heal a bit, become immune to CC, and hit hard with enhanced skills.
One of the skills makes all enemies take action so that Phainon can counterattack and build damage, and another lets him nuke everything, depending on how many Scourges he uses. When the transformation ends, Phainon’s teammates get a speed boost and keep some Coreflame to help set up the next ult faster.
Materials Needed for Phainon in Honkai: Star Rail
Refer to the detailed farming guide for Phainon as we break down his materials and how to obtain them effectively. To summarize the materials in this Honkai Star: Rail Phainon Build Guide
Character Level-Up Materials
- 65x Invasive Clot
- 15x Ethereal Omen
- 15x Echoing Wail
- 15x Eternal Lament
- 3x Travel Encounters
- 3x Adventure Log
- 289x Traveler’s Guide
- 888,000x Credit
Trace Level-up Materials
- 18x Borisin Teeth
- 69x Lupitoxin Sawteeth
- 139x Moon Rage Fang
- 41x Ethereal Omen
- 56x Echoing Wail
- 58x Eternal Lament
- 12x Daythunder Anamnesis
- 8x Tracks of Destiny
- 3,000,000x Credit
Honkai Star Rail Phainon Best Relics and Planar Ornaments
When building Phainon, there are several strong relic options based on team composition and playstyle. In this section of the Honkai: Star Rail Phainon Build Guide, we will discuss what relics, main stats, and planar ornaments you need to focus on for Phainon.
- Body: Crit Rate/Crit DMG (Preferably Crit Rate)
- Feet: SPD/ATK%
- Planar Spear: DMG%/ATK%
- Link Rope: ATK%
Relic Set
| Wavestrider Captain | So for Phainon, you’ll mainly wanna use the new Wavestrider set. It’s honestly one of the strongest relic sets in the game right now.
The buff might not last super long by itself, but Phainon’s ultimate makes sure the 48% ATK boost sticks around for the whole time he’s transformed. It just works really well with how his kit is designed. |
| Scholar Lost in Erudition | If you don’t have Wavestrider or want a backup option, Scholar Lost in Erudition is still decent. It gives CRIT Rate and some permanent skill damage, which is nice.
Plus, that big final explosion at the end of his transformation actually counts as ultimate damage, so it gets a little extra boost too. |
Planar Ornaments
| Arcadia of Woven Dreams | For planars, always try to go for Arcadia. This set was basically made for him. It boosts his DMG% based on whether he’s alone or has extra allies, and during his second form, he’s always alone, so that’s a free 36% extra damage on everything he does while transformed. It’s just perfect for him. |
| Rutilant Arena | Rutilant Arena is a solid second choice. It doesn’t boost the big explosion hit, but it makes all his other skills stronger.
Plus it helps outside of his transformed state, and those regular skills still hit hard. |
| Firmament Frontline: Glamoth/Bone Collection’s Serene Demesne | If you just want something simple, general sets like these are totally fine too. |
Honkai Star Rail Phainon Best Light Cone
| Thus Burns the Dawn (Phainon 5* Light Cone) | First off, this LC gives high base ATK. It also boosts base Speed, which is perfect for Phainon since his kit relies so much on speed and turn order.
Now, this Light Cone also gives a permanent 18% DEF Ignore. What really makes it special though is this unique buff it gives after he uses his ultimate. Once that ult is used, he gains a buff that boosts his overall DMG by 60%. The buff only disappears at the start of his turn, and because Phainon gets extra turns, he keeps this buff for all of them. This Light Cone isn’t just strong stat-wise, it literally changes how he plays, especially with that base SPD increase. It’s 100% his best-in-slot, no question. But if I’m thinking long-term investment, I’d actually focus more on getting his E1 and E2 rather than trying to max out the Light Cone to S1. His E2 with no Light Cone dupe (E2S0) just feels like a completely different character compared to E1S1. It opens up his kit in a whole new way, especially with how speed works during his transformation. |
| Brighter Than the Sun (5*) | This LC gives high base ATK and boosts ATK% in general. If you have this lying around then definitely use it. |
| On the Fall of an Aeon (5*) | The Light Cone from the Herta store is still totally viable. |
| A Trail of Bygone Blood (4*) | The Battle Pass Light Cone is a good 4-Star option. |
| Under the Blue Sky (4*) | The most F2P option but will lose alot of damage compared to his S1. |
Best Team Comps for Phainon in Honkai Star Rail
Phainon’s best team comps revolve around generating Coreflame stacks quickly and setting up strong buffs before he transforms.
Phainon, Sunday, Bronya, and 4th Support slot
His top core duo is Bronya and Sunday, who both directly target Phainon with skills and ults to speed up his stack generation. Sunday also provides ER that gives an extra Coreflame, making him especially valuable. Together, they allow Phainon to transform early and start dealing heavy damage right away.
For the third slot, Robin is one of his best partners. While she doesn’t give Coreflame herself, her ultimate can fast-forward team rotations and make Phainon’s second transformation much easier to reach. She also benefits from Phainon’s starting energy boost, letting her ult exactly when it’s needed. However, running Robin can make the team struggle with Skill Points, so Sunday’s signature Light Cone is highly recommended.
Other great third-slot options include Cipher, Tribbie, and Ruan Mei. Cipher is especially strong for her front-loaded damage support and SP efficiency, while Tribbie and Ruan Mei bring useful utility and synergy in specific content like Apocalyptic Shadow. Remembrance Trailblazer and Sparkle also work well, especially with Phainon’s low base speed setups. Sparkle allows a unique rotation that lets Phainon alternate turns with supports for smooth transformation timing.
Among 4-star units, Tingyun is a standout thanks to her fast ult generation and energy regeneration, which counts for Coreflame stacks. Yukong also finally finds a good partner in Phainon, since he can retain her powerful CRIT and ATK buffs during his transformation, though she doesn’t help with stack generation.
If sustain is needed, Huohuo, Lynx, or Gallagher can be used, especially Huohuo, since her energy regen can trigger an extra Coreflame stack too. But it is recommended to run Phainon in a sustainless team.
Is Phainon worth pulling in HSR
Phainon is absolutely worth pulling if you enjoy unique, high-damage characters and are willing to learn how to optimize his setup. He’s incredibly strong, with one of the highest raw damage outputs in the game and the ability to clear tough content.
However, his biggest weakness is his clunky setup and the fact that he fights alone during his transformation, which limits team-based optimization and makes him less flexible against certain boss mechanics. His strength heavily depends on good support timing, Coreflame management, and buff rotations.
While he isn’t the most plug-and-play DPS, once you understand how his team works, he can be both fun and extremely powerful. For casual players, he’s still very usable and enjoyable, and for meta-focused players, he has a high, though tricky-to-reach, ceiling that could become even stronger with future support units.
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