Honkai: Star Rail’s playable Chrysos Heirs are nearly complete, with Phainon being one of the final pieces. The official channels haven’t revealed much about his kit, other than the fact that he follows the path of Destruction and uses Physical as his element. However, leaks from reliable sources like HomDGCat recently revealed his loaded kit and animations. Phainon is one of three new damage units coming to Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.4. He also comes hot off the heels of one of the most powerful and popular damage dealers in the game, Castorice. Therefore, there’s some buzz among fans as to how he’ll fit into the game’s meta.
Phainon was announced as a playable character in HSR Version 3.2, and is set to be one of the main banners in 3.4. However, recent leaks from pre-release content have reached the public, showing what the character is capable of ahead of launch. If this information is true, then Phainon’s kit could be centered around stacking charges for his ultimate, which transforms him and gives him new abilities, including a powerful counterattack.
Honkai: Star Rail Leaks Paint a Bleak Picture For a Recurring Issue
Recent Honkai: Star Rail leaks show more upcoming 5-star characters, continuing a recurring issue that many players have pointed out.
Phainon Could Bring Back Destruction Dominance in Honkai: Star Rail’s Remembrance Meta
The information about Phainon’s abilities in Honkai: Star Rail at the time of writing is based on leaked pre-release content. Players should brace for significant changes when the character is officially released.
Phainon’s Leaked Kit Explained
Phainon’s Talent, “Pyric Corpus,” gains a charge every time he gets targeted by an ally's or enemy's ability. This increases his CRIT DMG and contributes to his ultimate charge, which has a limit of 12. When Phainon activates his ultimate, he transforms and deploys a Territory. During his ult, his teammates depart the battlefield, he gains crowd control immunity, and all opponents gain weakness to the Physical element.
This transformed version will not have regular turns. Instead, he will have extra turns, which are prioritized first in the action order and do not let status effects tick down. Such a mechanic is especially useful for retaining his pre-ultimate form buffs, like Sunday's "The Beatified," long after his teammates depart the battlefield. His enhanced abilities (at Trace Level 10) include:
- Enhanced Basic ATK - Creation: Bloodthorn Ferry: Phainon deals 250% of his ATK to one enemy, and blasts 75% of his ATK to adjacent opponents. He also gains two stacks of “Scourge,” which he will use in favor of skill points. Phainon can hold up to six of these marks.
- Enhanced Skill - Calamity: Soulscorch Edict: Phainon gains Scourge stacks equal to the number of enemies present, and causes them to immediately act. He gains a stack of “Soulrending Blaze” after every attack, which improves his counterattack damage. After all opponents have taken their action, Phainon retaliates by dealing 40% of his ATK to all of them, and deals four instances of DMG equal to 30% of his ATK.
- Enhanced Skill - Foundation: Stardeath Verdict: Phainon lets meteors rain from the sky, causing damage based on his consumed Scourge stacks, which deal four instances of 45% of his ATK each. If there are four Scourge stacks used, he deals an additional 450% ATK hit to all opponents.
Phainon’s “Scourge” charge may also be known as “Bruise” or “Ruin,” as there are different versions of his leaked kit, which were translated and interpreted by various sources. The official term has not been officially revealed just yet.
Phainon is Shaping Up to be Another Overpowered Destruction Unit
Phainon follows the tradition of newer Destruction units like Mydei and Firefly, with their enhanced states. However, Phainon kicks it up a notch by laying down his territory and gaining a plethora of self-buffs and highly damaging extra abilities. Stardeath Verdict can deal upwards of a million damage, and his extra turns ensure that he is consistently prioritized in the action order. Soulscorch Edict AoE counterattack in his ult state, which makes Yunli and Clara’s counters look pale in comparison, as it deals more damage and guarantees that he’ll get hit by enemy attacks. Phainon is shaping up to take Castorice’s crown as the best damage dealer come the HSR 3.4 update, unless Saber or Archer have something to say about it.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- April 26, 2023
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Simulated Gambling, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unity
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Turn-Based RPG
