Phainon is one of Honkai Star Rail’s newest five-star characters and stands out for having a very unique playstyle. He’s a powerful DPS who transforms and fights solo, which makes building him and picking the right team crucial. In this guide, we’ll go over how to build Phainon for the best results and which teammates help him shine the most.
How Phainon Works
Phainon is part of the Destruction path and is a true hypercarry. His main gimmick is his Ultimate, where he transforms into his other form, Khaslana. When this happens, all of Phainon’s teammates leave the battlefield, leaving him to fight alone for several turns.
While he’s transformed, Phainon hits extremely hard, deals a ton of Physical damage, and even makes enemies weak to Physical hits. But to get into this form, Phainon has to build up 12 Coreflame points. He gets these points when teammates use skills or buffs on him. Any buffs he has before transforming stick around while he’s fighting solo, so setting him up properly beforehand is key.
Read More: Honkai: Star Rail Tier List, Banners, Best Teams, and More
On top of that, his Khaslana form comes with crowd control immunity, big boosts to his Attack and HP, and a powerful final attack that deals huge damage to all enemies. Phainon’s kit also involves mechanics like “Scourge” and “Soulscorch” stacks, which help boost his damage even further.
Best Relics and Ornaments for Phainon
Phainon’s build is pretty straightforward since he’s all about big damage, but picking the right gear can make a huge difference.
Best Relic Set
Phainon’s best relic set is Wavestrider Captain. It gives him 16% Crit Damage with just two pieces. The full four-piece bonus gives Phainon “Help” stacks whenever his allies target him with their skills. If he has two stacks of Help when he uses his Ultimate, he gets a big 40–48% Attack boost for one turn. This fits perfectly with his playstyle, where he wants to transform and deal massive damage.
If you haven’t farmed Wavestrider Captain yet, you can use Scholar Lost in Erudition as a backup. This set increases Crit Rate by 8% and boosts Skill and Ultimate damage by 20%, plus extra damage on the first Skill used after an Ultimate. It’s not as strong but works until you get better pieces.
Players can also mix in pieces like Musketeer of Wild Wheat or Prisoner in Deep Confinement just to add more raw Attack if needed.
Best Planar Ornament
Phainon’s top choice for Planar Ornaments is Arcadia of Woven Dreams. This set increases his damage when there are more or fewer than four allies on the field. Since Phainon fights alone during his Ultimate, he’s always getting the damage boost, up to 36%.
Read More: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Critical Encounter Quest Guide
If Arcadia is tough to farm, Rutilant Arena is a safe alternative that raises Crit Rate and increases Skill damage, which also suits Phainon’s kit.
Best Stats for Phainon
Here’s how to focus Phainon’s stats:
- Body: Crit Rate until you hit close to 100%.
- Boots: Speed is best so he can act sooner, but Attack% is an option if you’re covered on Speed elsewhere.
- Sphere: Physical Damage boost is ideal.
- Link Rope: Attack % for more damage.
Phainon wants as much Crit Rate and Crit Damage as possible. Aim for 100% Crit Rate and over 180% Crit Damage to really max out his power. Speed isn’t his highest priority since his teammates often help him take more turns, but about 136 Speed is a good target so he’s not too slow.
Also, thanks to Phainon’s Trace Shine with Valor, he starts battles with a big 50% Attack boost and gets the same boost after his Ultimate ends. This means you can prioritize Crit stats a bit more than pure Attack.
Best Light Cones for Phainon
Phainon’s best Light Cone is his signature, Thus Burns the Dawn. It increases his Speed, lets him ignore part of the enemy’s Defense, and gives him a massive damage boost after using his Ultimate. It’s tailor-made for his burst damage style.
If you don’t have his signature Light Cone, these are good alternatives:
- Brighter Than the Sun: Raises Crit Rate and gives an Attack buff after Basic Attacks.
- I Shall Be My Own Sword: High Crit Damage and Attack boost.
- A Thankless Coronation (Saber’s cone): Raises Crit Damage and gives a big Attack boost after using an Ultimate.
- Something Irreplaceable (Clara’s cone): Increases Attack and boosts damage when Phainon gets hit—which is perfect since he’s alone during his Ultimate phase.
Among 4-star options, A Trail of Bygone Blood is great because it boosts Crit Rate and increases Skill and Ultimate damage. On the Fall of an Aeon is also solid, especially for free-to-play players, because it raises Attack with each hit and is easy to get.
See also: Hyacine Best Builds and Teams Guide– Light Cones, Relics, Stats & Team Comp
Even though his signature cone is the best, Phainon’s kit is so strong that he’ll perform well even with other cones.
Phainon’s Skills and Kit
Phainon’s gameplay centers on building Coreflame to trigger his Ultimate. Here’s what his moves do:
- Basic Attack – Stride to Deliverance: Deals Physical damage to one enemy. Nothing fancy but helps build Scourge stacks.
- Enhanced Basic Attack (as Khaslana) – Creation: Bloodthorn Ferry: Deals heavy blast damage to a target and splash damage to nearby enemies, plus gives Scourge stacks.
- Skill – Let There Be Light: Deals big Physical AoE damage and gives Phainon two Coreflame points.
- Skill in Khaslana form – Calamity: Soulscorch Edict: Makes enemies act immediately, reduces damage Phainon takes by 75%, and counters with multiple hits. Each “Soulscorch” stack increases the damage of the counter.
- Ultimate – He Who Bears the World Must Burn: Transforms Phainon into Khaslana, forces teammates off the field, and gives enemies Physical Weakness. During this time, Phainon gets eight extra turns. At the end, he uses Final Hit, dealing huge damage to all enemies.
- Talent – Pyric Corpus: Phainon gains Coreflame whenever an ally targets him. If it’s a teammate using the skill, he also gains Crit Damage for three turns.
- Khaslana’s Talent – Divine Vessel: Phainon becomes immune to crowd control, gains a huge HP and Attack boost, and can revive once if he’s KO’d during his transformation.
- Technique – Beginning of the End: Boosts Phainon’s team’s energy at the start of fights and instantly defeats weak enemies without entering combat.
Another crucial detail is that all buffs Phainon gets before transforming carry over into his solo phase. That’s why buffing him up first is so important.
Best Teams for Phainon
Since Phainon fights alone during his Ultimate, his teammates need to help him get there quickly and boost his damage. The goal is to fill up his Coreflame meter and stack buffs before he transforms.
Top-End Team
One of the best teams for Phainon looks like this:
- Phainon as the main DPS.
- Sunday, who helps him get Coreflame faster and adds damage buffs.
- Bronya, who boosts Crit Damage, advances Phainon’s actions, and increases his Attack.
- Robin or Sparkle, both of whom help speed up turns and keep buffs active.
This setup helps Phainon transform quickly while stacking as many buffs as possible.
However, there’s a catch. Bronya and Phainon both use a lot of Skill Points (SP), which can leave the team short. Sparkle is a great pick because she can restore SP and keep the team running smoothly.
Other Team Options
If you’re missing top-tier buffers, there are plenty of solid alternatives:
- Cipher: Lowers enemy defenses and stores up damage to release later—even while Phainon’s in his solo phase.
- Ruan Mei, Tingyun, and Yukong: All good buffers who can fit into different team styles.
- Tribbie and Jiaoqiu: Useful for extra damage or debuffs.
- Silver Wolf and Pela: Lower enemies’ defenses, which helps Phainon hit even harder.
Don’t forget shielders like March 7th or Aventurine. Even though Phainon fights alone, getting a shield triggers his Trace Bide in Flames, which boosts his damage by up to 45% for four turns. So defensive supports can still play a part in a Phainon team.
Free-to-Play Friendly Teams
Even if you’re a free-to-play player, Phainon can still work well. A good budget team could look like this:
- Remembrance Trailblazer, who provides debuffs and helps build Coreflame.
- Tingyun, a 4-star Harmony unit who can buff Phainon and give him more Coreflame points.
- Lynx, who offers healing, shields, and makes enemies more likely to target Phainon—helping him build Coreflame even faster.
While this team doesn’t hit quite as hard as a full five-star team, it’s strong enough for tough content and shows that Phainon is still beginner-friendly despite his complex mechanics.
Should You Get Phainon’s Eidolons?
Phainon is already extremely strong at Eidolon 0. You don’t need any Eidolons to make him work well. But if you’re considering getting some, here’s what the first few do:
- E1: Gives Phainon extra Crit Damage and helps him act faster during his Ultimate phase.
- E2: Lowers enemy Physical Resistance and can grant him an extra turn after using a big attack.
- E3 and higher just add level increases to skills and talents.
- E6 removes limits on Coreflame overflow and adds a powerful True Damage hit after his biggest attack.
For most players, it’s better to invest in Phainon’s signature Light Cone than to chase higher Eidolons since he’s already so strong out of the box.
Read More: Best Shenhe Build in Genshin Impact
Phainon is one of the coolest and most unique characters Honkai Star Rail has seen so far. His solo fighting style and huge damage potential make him a great choice for anyone who likes hypercarries. While he takes some planning to build and team up properly, the payoff is worth it. Whether you’re putting together a top-tier team or a budget squad, Phainon can carry you through even the hardest fights if you give him the right support.
If you enjoy characters who completely take over the battlefield, Phainon might be the perfect addition to your roster.
