Is Black Swan Good in Honkai: Star Rail?

Now that the Black Swan banner is live in Honkai: Star Rail, you may be wondering if she’s good enough to consider spending some of that HSR bonus currency and tickets to get her. Well, she’s definitely one of the best DoT characters in the game, so here’s what you need to know.

So is Black Swan a good character to get in Honkai: Star Rail?

Honestly, right now Black Swan and Kafka are the two best DoT-based characters in HSR, so they’re good picks to invest in if you like that type of team or there’s a gap in your character coverage. Kafka’s rerun banner just ended in the second half of the 1.6 update, so if you missed her, you should 100% get Black Swan. 

Especially since she’s also easy to build. While she works well with Kafka, you don’t have to have one to run the other. Her best teams can even include only four-stars. Some partners who work well for her that we get for free include Asta and Serval. 

Also, given her nature, she works well without spending a lot on Light Cones or Relics too. While her and Kafka’s five-star Light Cones are best, she’ll do tons of damage with other ones too. 

Also, she’s a Wind character, which isn’t a terribly crowded category. We’ve got a lot of five-stars from that element, though! Blade, Bronya, and Huohuo are around. Dan Heng and Sampo are the two four-stars in that element group. It isn’t one of the most crowded categories, like Physical, so at least there’s that. 

Should I try and get more than one Black Swan for extra Eidolons?

We are going to be seeing a lot of new characters coming up in Honkai: Star Rail 2.0, so while Black Swan is good, you may want to save for other HSR newcomers. Like we know Sam is on the way eventually, and both Acheron and Adventurine will debut as five-stars in 2.1. So I would advise against going all-in on Black Swan for her debut and first banner. Maybe wait for a rerun before really investing.

However, if you do want to go for a little extra investment, an E1 Black Swan might be a good idea. It helps not only her, but her DoT-inflicting allies deal more damage. That’s because, as the description notes, “While Black Swan is active in battle, enemies afflicted with Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, or Shock will have their corresponding Wind, Physical, Fire, or Lightning RES respectively reduced by 25%.

Honkai: Star Rail is available for the PS5, PC, and mobile devices. The Black Swan banner is good to go in HSR until February 29, 2024.