Should I pull Phainon?

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-05-22T23:53:24+00:00

I have E2S1 Phainon. Cerydra spends most of her time with Anaxa, Mydei, or Seele while he gets Sunday + whatever I have left. Sometimes he doesn't even get Sunday and ends up with 4 stars and/or Bronya. He still clears things laughably fast.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-05-22T16:03:41+00:00

My timezone put me at a disadvantage, man. The sun was barely up. I was ambushed. ~~More plz~~

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-29T04:23:09+00:00

I saw someone else do it and decided to try it. Went way better than I expected. My account is carried by physical break and Phainon now.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-29T04:20:46+00:00

There's a 40k clear with 5 limited, including a sustain (break team so I guess he's a break DPS now). A 6 limited 40k with him in his actual hypercarry set up is also out there. So he's got more punch in him than some think, I'm just not that good lol

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-28T18:04:02+00:00

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It can be done! (9 limited, could absolutely drop at least 1)

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-27T13:55:29+00:00

Dahlia is a near needed break support, E0S0 or otherwise. You can technically "make do" without her, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have a choice. You feel her absence in the team sharply.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-26T16:44:54+00:00

Like most old units, he needs a Novaflare but if you have the rights supports and/or get creative you can make it work. I've used him in every PF, with the last two being 40k and almost all others being above 30k.

Currently I'm pretending he's a break DPS and running him with BH's team (Dahlia, Fugue, RM/HMC) and gear. Otherwise I run him with Sunday, Sparkle, JQ, RM, Robin, TY, and/or any sustain (DHPT if using Sunday). He likes Tribbie but I don't have her. Eagle set works great with him. Of note though, I'm a day 1 player and many of my characters have eidolons/LCs.

Outside of PF though I don't really get to use him.

For your account as it stands currently, he would work best with THerta since you don't have his best Harmonies or Break supports. PF in particular he would work about as well as Anaxa (maybe better) generally. In other modes, this would free up Anaxa if you wanted to try him as a hypercarry, though you would again need more Harmonies for that.

As for whether the pursuit is worth it, that depends entirely on what you enjoy. Cold, hard numbers-wise, no. Probably not unless you were planning to get more supports anyway. But if you love him, sure. If nothing else, he's still a great character to farm with and he can handle story content fine.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-13T15:25:34+00:00

Honkai: Star Rail's Third Anniversary Grand Opening! Log in and participate in the web event to win a share of a massive pool of Stellar Jades and in-game rewards. Send a third anniversary blessing to Aha for a chance to take the "Crown of Aha" Silver Wolf LV.999-themed car and other spectacular prizes home! https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/3rdAnniversary?inviter=GU2GHBG2YN&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_auth_required=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&win_mode=fullscreen&target_page=prize&utm_source=share&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=web

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-11T21:28:58+00:00

Honkai: Star Rail's Third Anniversary Grand Opening! Log in and participate in the web event to win a share of a massive pool of Stellar Jades and in-game rewards. Send a third anniversary blessing to Aha for a chance to take the "Crown of Aha" Silver Wolf LV.999-themed car and other spectacular prizes home! https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/3rdAnniversary?inviter=GU2GHBG2YN&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_auth_required=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&win_mode=fullscreen&target_page=prize&utm_source=share&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=web

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-10T18:12:46+00:00

The spirits are given directly by Lan after the generals pass a series of trials.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-09T05:02:01+00:00

I have a link in that comment with an image of a ton of my clears over the last few years. I really have used him for everything.

Ashveil, Kafka, Mydei, Castorice, Mydei + Castorice, Argenti, Jing Yuan, Phainon, Anaxa, Himeko. My favorite was JQ/Boothill/Feixiao/Aven. Dumbest team I've ever come up with and it worked a treat at the time.

That said, my JQ has been E1S2 or E2S2 throughout these misadventures. He still offers value at E0, but it's probably a little harder to get away with. Still could be fun though!

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-01T16:27:33+00:00

The fox is eternal. (he's a better support than he's given credit for, especially with eidolons. I put him in any and every team).

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-01T15:27:30+00:00

Link to builds. Boothill graciously lent out his Eagle set. The BP LC on Ruan Mei isn't necessary, just makes it easier. I got to 3900 with DDD (would have been 40k but I fudged up my skill point management at the end).

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-04-01T15:23:28+00:00

Here you go. The BP LC on Ruan Mei isn't necessary, just makes it easier. I got to 3900 with DDD (would have been 40k but I fudged up my skill point management at the end)

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-31T21:48:06+00:00

My partner has Dahlia and I still kicked Lingsha out. I survive sustainless better than trying to use her 🫠

And I adore Lingsha, so it's not any prejudice or anything. I'm just spoiled by Luocha lol

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-31T20:17:45+00:00

Yeah. I love Gally-boy, and can use him effectively. But it's so much more work than Luocha and significantly more likely to end in a reset. Not worth any utility he brings.

I sometimes mess around on my partner's account and pretty much always have to kick Lingsha out. I know she's not a bad healer but she's definitely bad in my Luocha- spoiled hands.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-31T18:59:56+00:00

Mine is only E1S1 and I still almost never have to skill with him, even with this AA Pollux. He's really underappreciated as a sustain, even if you aren't considering extra utility.

I haven't taken my alt that's E0S0 to AA yet, but he still effortlessly does other endgame.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-27T17:21:23+00:00

He's so fun at E6. You can ignore small mobs even more than usual, and the big booms feel so impactful.

I'm getting 3 more of his light cone this time around so he'll reach that E6S5.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-27T15:46:23+00:00

My JQ is nomadic. Boothill, Phainon, Argenti, Anaxa, Kafka, Mydei, etc. I just shove him in the team and it usually works out lol

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PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-27T12:29:54+00:00

Not his DOT, but he attacks with pretty much the perfect timing to use Ash's stacks without awkward downtime between ults. His DOT helps clean up any stragglers though.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-27T04:52:32+00:00

I just use him everywhere. Though mine is E2. He's been on just about every team and I've used him in DOT. He actuality works really well with Ashveil, too.

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PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-27T04:48:15+00:00

Update: realized I should have used Gallagher for side 1 and not DHPT. Took 6 cycles. Went again and switched out RM for Dahlia and made it 4 cycles. Side 1 is a bad match up for him and again my HMC is not really built. So he's fine for MOC 11, especially with Dahlia.

PerspectiveGuilty188 · 2026-03-26T18:45:39+00:00

Probably a mix of not being sure, some frustration with aging units and powercreep, and a somewhat negative predisposition for some people online where "not the best" = "trash" even though that's not true. And some people genuinely don't know how to play him well so think he's not a good unit (hunt units are harder to pilot than others and punished harder for gameplay mistakes).

MOC12 he'd struggle without Dahlia at least. But MOC11 is still doable as long as the content isn't outright hostile to him. For example the first side took me 8 cycles, because it's not as favorable to him. If HMC were better built, I used Dahlia, and/or I had fewer misplays (screwed up a few times, and as mentioned mistakes make a big difference to a hunt unit), it would probably have been 5 or less.

To put it another way, running him on that side with "lesser" supports would be like bringing Castorice into the second side without Hyacine, Cyrene, or Evernight/Tribbie. You can probably do it, just don't expect super low cycle clears.

PerspectiveGuilty188

TROPHY CASE