While Black Myth: Wukong may not be a traditional Souls-like, it shares enough challenging elements—such as its demanding difficulty level—that choosing your early stats and talents wisely is crucial for a smoother experience.

If you need a little guidance on which stats to take starting out, here's everything you need to know about early game stats and talents in Black Myth Wukong.

Best Early Game Talents in Black Myth: Wukong

There are many interesting abilities and talents you can invest in early in Black Myth: Wukong, and you might be interested in doing so because of that. However, Black Myth: Wukong is a fairly difficult game and it really doesn't pull its punches the further you progress. To that end, the most important stats you should take are the ones that boost your survivability and ability to evade enemy attacks. Health, stamina, and evasion are what your early points should be focused upon, not damage.

With your first six points, I highly recommend investing in the Robust Constitution talent under the Foundation-Survivial tree. That talent boosts your health by a decent margin and will allow you more room for error. More room for error means more options to adapt.

After that, I recommend going for Deft Evasion in the Foundation-Stamina tree. This talent considerably improves your ability to avoid enemy attacks, allowing you to cancel your early Light attack combo into a seamless dodge. This is important because, later on, you won't be able to just sit there and Light attack enemies to death.

Under the same tree, you should invest at least one point into Simian Agility, Endurance, and Everlasting Vigor. These talents enhance your mobility, but the primary reason to invest in them is that they are prerequisites for unlocking Composure. This talent allows you to continue your Light attack combo string even if you dodge during it. You can be far more aggressive when attacking because you no longer need to be concerned about breaking your attack chain.

The last early-game Talent you should consider taking is Exhilaration, under the Staff Stances tree. This talent improves your Health recovery when consuming a Focus Point, which makes it a great way to heal without using a charge of your Gourd. This doubles as a benefit, as taking at least three points in this tree earns you a second Focus Point.

While many of these Talents are not the most interesting and are largely passive, it's important to get the survivability concerns out of the way so that you can actively take the more 'fun' Talents and stats without concern of dying all the time. Hopefully, this helps your adventure in Black Myth: Wukong.

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With the release of Honkai: Star Rail version 2.4, March 7th's transition into her new path gives players a brand new Hunt character to mess around with. It's an extraordinarily unique kit for the path, and perhaps worth checking out even if she's not your usual cup of tea.

If you're eager to build March 7th in Honkai's 2.4 update, here's everything you need to know to put together the best build for March 7th's Hunt path.

Strongest March 7th Hunt Build in Honkai: Star Rail

March 7th's Hunt path has many typical characteristics of your typical Hunt character, but, thanks to her kit, she can also play similarly to a Harmony character, though admittedly not quite as strong. The strange mesh lands her squarely in the Main DPS Support role, thanks to how her Basic Attack, Skill, Talent, and Ultimate function. Compared to five-star limited characters, March 7th is a little complex, so I need to talk more about her kit in detail for clarity.

The core of March 7th's Hunt gameplay revolves around using her skill, Master, It's Tea Time! This turns one of the members of her team into her 'Shifu' and rewards them with a decent speed buff. More importantly, depending on the typing of the character March makes her Shifu, she gains one of two potential extra effects:

• If Shifu is Erudition, Destruction, or The Hunt - March deals additional damage that matches the character's element.
• If Shifu is Harmony, Nihility, Preservation, or Abundance - March deals 100% more Toughness Reduction.

On top of these effects, when March 7th makes a target her Shifu, she gains their Element on top of her own, making March 7th a universal unit. If the Shifu is Topaz, March 7th becomes Imaginary and Fire simultaneously.

When her Shifu launches an attack, March gains one charge out of seven. At seven charges (her Talent), she immediately takes action regardless of turn order and can launch an Enhanced Basic Attack. March 7th damage budget is entirely in this Enhanced Basic Attack, and it also rewards her Shifu with 60% CRIT DMG, after it is activated.

March 7th Hunt gains all of her Eidolons for free just by playing her event. Her second Eidolon has a considerable effect on her gameplay, allowing her to launch a Follow-up attack after her Shifu launches an attack. This Follow-up does not deal much damage, but it does provide her with an additional charge for her talent. This is extremely important to be aware of when talking about team composition with March 7th. More on that later.

Finally, March 7th's Ultimate deals moderate damage to one target, but greatly improves the effectiveness of her next Enhanced Basic Attack. Generally, you want to ensure she uses her Ultimate before every Enhanced Basic Attack.

Best Relics for March 7th Hunt

March 7th focuses on Basic Attacks for damage, so she only has a few select options in terms of Relics. Her best-in-slot (BiS) is an old favorite, the Musketeer of Wild Wheat set. This set provides additional ATK%, SPD, and, most importantly, Basic ATK damage — the best stats for March 7th in all situations.

If you don't have that set ready to go, March 7th cares a lot about ATK% in general due to the nature of her kit, so any two sets that provide ATK% for their two-piece bonus are worth considering. You can also use two-piece Wasterlander of Banditry Desert for the additional Imaginary damage bonus.

For her Sphere and Rope set, I highly recommend you run with Rutilant Arena, as it provides March with additional CRIT RATE and a large 20% damage boost to her Basic Attacks as long as she is above 70% CRIT RATE. If you can't get a 70% CRIT RATE, then the universal Inert Salsotto set is always a competitive choice.

Best Team Comp March 7th Hunt

March 7th's Hunt kit is extremely versatile, and it allows her to be run with practically any team comp and be somewhat successful. However, thanks to her second Eidolon, March 7th gets a considerable amount of leverage out of supporting a DPS that can attack very often. With that in mind, the best targets for her Shifu are Topaz, Clara, Yunli, Robin, and Aventurine, all thanks to the frequency of their attacks. Any combination of these characters will make up the Follow-up team comp, her best team.

Topaz is likely March 7th's best teammate because of how her Follow-up attack interacts with Numby. Every time Topaz OR Numby attacks, March 7th gains a Talent charge. March also gains a charge every time she launches a Follow-up attack following Topaz's attack. All of this results in many Enhanced Basic Attacks for March, and a massive 60% CRIT DMG buff for Topaz and Numby.

Clara is also an extremely potent teammate for March thanks to the infinite number of attacks Clara can make, limited only by the number of attacks the enemy can land on her. Every single time Clara uses her Follow-up, March gains a charge.

Yunli is in the same boat as Clara for March, providing the same rewards and limitations on attacks.

Robin is a universal support, but buffs Follow-up attack comps more than others thanks to their attack frequencies. With Robin's Ultimate active, all of March 7th's attacks become threatening to the enemy, allowing her (and everyone else on her team) to dish out considerably more damage than normal. Also, 100% Advance Forward is a godsent for March.

Aventurine is highly versatile and can be included in any team composition, thanks to his powerful shielding, which significantly benefits March 7th. In teams that don't focus on Follow-up attacks, Aventurine becomes the optimal target for March's Shifu. Since Aventurine frequently uses Basic and Follow-up attacks, March continues to benefit from her Talent's Follow-up effect, while Aventurine gains a charge from her Follow-up attack. This synergy pairs March and Aventurine in virtually any team without sacrificing their effectiveness

Best Lightcone for March 7th Hunt in Honkai: Star Rail

March 7th has a few strong options in terms of Lightcone choice. Her best Lightcone is In the Night, which is Seele's signature. It provides her with a massive boost to CRIT Rate, and further provides DMG scaling for her Basic Attacks via SPD (Speed).

Another solid option for March 7th is Worrisome, Blissful, which is Topaz's signature cone. It provides March with an equally large boost to CRIT Rate, while also considerably boosting the DMG of her Follow-up attack. Most importantly, when March uses her Follow-up with this Lightcone equip, she will apply the Tame debuff on targets hit, allowing her allies to deal more CRIT DMG to targets afflicted.

The post Best March 7th Hunt build in Honkai: Star Rail appeared first on Destructoid.

While levels and gear were the most important aspects of power progression in base Elden Ring, Shadow Realm Blessings take center stage in its exclaimed expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. While this may be hard to believe, there are numerous reasons why you should be aware of this mechanic.

Should you use the Shadow Realm Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree?

Shadow Realm Blessings provide your character with a significant amount of power and defense to help you kill your foes and survive them efficiently. Without using them, you'll find yourself struggling massively against the denizens of the Shadow Realm. Even basic footsoldiers will prove to be incredible challenges for you. So yes, you should be making full use of the Shadow Realm Blessings. If you do not use these blessings and build them up, you're in for a hard time and a world of frustration. For your reference, there are two types of blessings you should know about.

• Scadutree Blessing - Provides your character directly with free offensive and defense stats. This blessing stacks in power and must be upgraded using Scadutree Fragments found throughout the Shadow Realm.
• Revered Spirit Ash Blessing - Boosts the offensive and defensive stats of your Spirit Ash summons, allowing them to remain relevant in the Shadow Realm. Like the Scadutree Blessing, you need a special resource called Revered Spirit Ashes to upgrade it, allowing it to stack in power.

When you find the necessary resources to upgrade a Shadow Realm Blessing, the process can be done by sitting at any Grace and selecting the Shadow Realm Blessing option.

Doing so will allow you to choose which of the two blessings you wish to upgrade. As you level both blessings up, eventually, the cost for each will increase. Note that the upgrade materials for both Blessings are scarcely found, and you'll need to search the Shadow Realm high and low to locate them. This is a process you'll be constantly doing throughout your playthrough of Shadow of the Erdtree.

As for where to find more, Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes are found throughout the Realm of Shadows. Some are hidden away in catacombs or waiting after a tough boss room, while others are just tucked away in the open world. If you ever see a ghostly shade holding a pot, make sure to take them out and loot the body, as some appear to be held by those enemies.

One last thing you should know about these Blessings is that they only take effect while you're within the Shadow Realm. The benefits they reward you with is staggeringly high, so if you could use them elsewhere, you would effectively be trivializing base Elden Ring, in its entirety.

The post Why you should not ignore the new Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree appeared first on Destructoid.

If you've played through all of the initial storyline for Wuthering Waves, then you've met Camellya and she probably left some kind of impression on you with her actions in the story. With said impression in mind, you're also probably wondering if she'll end up being a playable character, so I've got some insight about that will probably make you happy.

Will Camellya be playable in Wuthering Waves?

I've played several Gacha games over the years, and one thing that has always been a commonality is the determination of which characters show up as playable. That commonality is that important characters that interact with the PC (Player Character) tend to become playable. As I said, this is common in most gacha games, and I believe that Camellya's unique situation with the PC in Wuthering Waves qualifies for this metric. While this may seem like speculation, there's more evidence that Camellya will be playable in Wuthering Waves.

The single largest piece of evidence that Camellya will be a playable character is that her kit has been leaked, and not just recently, but as far back as CBT 1. While it's extremely likely that it will be different once she officially releases, the fact that she even had a viewable kit as far back CBT 1 means that Kuro Games has long since planned for her arrival. Since she hasn't been officially announced, there's always a chance that she may never see the light of day, but I think that's highly unlikely. Why?

Camellya is extremely popular in the Wuthering Waves community. If you've played through the story, you probably have a good idea why that is. Attractive female characters often perform exceptionally well in the Gacha market, and Camellya is no exception. Her captivating allure, combined with her bold and unforgettable actions in the storyline made her a standout favorite among players. The fact that she is so popular means she will very likely be playable, and sooner than you might think.

When will Camellya become playable in Wuthering Waves?

While we don't have any official dates or any open marketing about Camellya's banner, there is a high chance we can see Camellya become playable as early as version 1.2. Why? There is a common gacha trope of important characters becoming playable when the main story is focused upon them.

Jiyan, Wuthering Wave's first limited five-star character, is one of the most important characters in the later half of the 1.0 storyline, which is why he was released first. This supports the assumption that character story relevance plays a role in predicting which characters become playable, and when. Considering Camellya's interactions with the PC during the Black Shores mini-arc, this acts as further evidence of Camellya's upcoming arrival being sooner than you think. The fact that Camellya is the only leaked character with a leaked kit attached means that Kuro Games is probably cooking her up to be released very soon.

The post Is Camellya a playable character in Wuthering Waves? appeared first on Destructoid.

Echoes make up the lifeblood of a character's build in Wuthering Waves. They are the roots of a well-built character thanks to the inherent stats they come with, but the best Echos all have abilities that set them apart from their peers.

Strongest Echoes in Wuthering Waves

Every Echo in Wuthering Waves comes with its own unique ability that is meant to be weaved into combat seamlessly, as they effectively become an extra skill for you to press while fighting. The best ones provide some level of utility, a moment of safety, or considerable damage, making them the ideal ones to hunt for. The following view on the best Echos comes from my extensive experience playing the last Closed Beta event for Wuthering Waves. The power of these Echos is, therefore, subject to change once the game has been fully released. You have been warned.

Impermanence Heron

The Impermanence Heron was widely considered to be the best Echo in the Wuthering Waves CBT 3 event, and for good reason. Its Echo ability allows you to transform into the Heron and slam the ground for absolutely massive Havoc Damage. During this transformation, you are considered Airborne, meaning you can completely avoid grounded attacks while attacking with this Echo.

Most importantly, though, is its ability to grant your next character a strong 12% DMG (Damage) buff just by using an Outro Skill within 15 seconds of this ability. As a '4-cost' Echo, it additionally comes with the largest possible stat weight in Wuthering Waves. Getting a CRIT-related stat, as a main stat, on this Echo guarantees you're getting the highest value range for it.

Autopuppet Scout

Compared to the Impermance Heron, the ability of the Autopuppet Scout is considerably more basic but just as potent. Using this Echo's ability causes you to spawn an Autopuppet that immediately body slams the ground for a meaty Glacio DMG AoE effect. This spawns ice walls around the impact area, which you can use to stave off attacks by simply hiding behind them.

The biggest use for this Echo was its third, unlisted ability to freeze enemies for a few seconds after use. In the last beta, this was incredibly useful for buying time or creating bigger windows for DPS opportunities against harder enemies. Autopuppet Scout is a '3-cost' Echo, meaning its stat weights are a class down when compared to the Impermance Heron, but valuable nonetheless.

Crownless

For any characters of the Havoc element, Crownless is one of, if not the best, Echos you can use for its ability. Activating Crownless causes you to transform into the boss and unleash a flurry of Havoc-infused attacks that deal considerable damage. However, the reason you use Crownless is for the massive buffs it grants to Havoc characters.

When Crownless is activated, it grants your active character 12% increased Havoc DMG and 12% increased Resonance Skill DMG for 15 seconds. Naturally, you'll want to make sure you use a Havoc character with this Crownless due to these powerful buffs. Danjin, in particular, gains full benefit from the buffs and flows well into Crownless combos due to her own ability to unleash constant flurries of attacks. As a '4-cost' Echo, it provides the largest stat weight in Wuthering Waves.

Inferno Rider

Where's Crownless is one of the best Echos to use for Havoc-element characters, Inferno Rider is one of the best for Fusion-elemental characters. When used, Inferno Rider provides numerous benefits. The first one to consider is its three-slash combo, all dealing significant Fusion DMG when hitting an enemy. The last hit, in particular, deals the most damage and activates two debuffs for the currently deployed character: 12% increased Fusion DMG, and 12% increased Basic Attack DMG. These buffs both last for 15 seconds, and are why you'd use Inferno Rider with a Fusion character like Encore.

Inferno Rider's third and most impactful ability provides a big boost to exploration. When holding its Skill, you transform into Inferno Rider and can use its flaming motorcycle to transverse the landscape, Ghost Rider style. Once you find it, Inferno Rider is an easily farmable boss in Wuthering Waves, making farming this '4-cost' Echo a breeze.

Thundering Memphis

Thundering Memphis functions very similarly to Crownless and Inferno Rider in terms of its ability but for Electro characters instead. Using its ability begins a six-hit combo which you can interrupt at any given moment. Each hit deals solid Electro DMG, with the final hit dealing the most. As with Inferno Rider, this final hit triggers two different buffs, one that buffs up Electro DMG by 12%, and another that boosts Resonance Liberation DMG by 12%, both for 15 seconds.

For characters like Calcharo, Thundering Memphis is a natural fit due to these buffs, but also because Calcharo's attacks flow well into Thundering Memphis' combos. You might be starting to see a pattern now. Thundering Memphis is a '4-cost' Echo, and can be easily farmed once you find the boss in the overworld.

Tempest Memphis

As the name of this Echo suggests, Tempest Memphis is very similar to Thunder Memphis with two main changes in their functionality. First, the combo it uses is faster and different from Thundering Memphis but still has the same end result: it activates two buffs after its final hit. Second, while one of its buffs is the same (Electro DMG bonus), Tempest Memphis provides a 12% boost to Heavy Attack DMG instead of Resonance Liberation. Like its above cousin, Tempest Memphis is a '4-cost' Echo and can be farmed once found in the overworld.

Feilian Beringal

Feilian Berginal is similar to the last few Echos on this list, but one place where it really differs is how it delivers its attack combo. When using Feilian Beringal, you transform into a giant ape and deliver a two-hit kick-combo that deals massive AERO damage with little delay. On top of this burst damage, if you swap to a different character after activating this Echo's ability, you're left in mid-air. This allows you to perform a plunging attack without jumping yourself, and I found great value in this burst setup when facing Wuthering Wave's Hologram bosses.

When the second hit lands on a target, it provides a 12% increase to Aero DMG and a 12% increase to Heavy Attack DMG, perfect for characters like Jianxin, who actively uses both during combat. Feilian Beringal is a '4-cost' Echo, and like the others mentioned above, can be farmed easily when found in the overworld.

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After much anticipation and excitement, the beloved superstar Robin has finally debuted in Honkai: Star Rail. Crafting the optimal build for her is a straightforward task, thanks to her unique kit.

Strongest Robin Build in Honkai: Star Rail

Robin is a Physical Harmony character whose main role on any given team is to buff the DMG% of her allies through her Skill. Uniquely to Robin, and her primary counterpart Ruan Mei, she can buff her whole team instead of just one ally, which is uncommon for Harmony Supports.

What sets Robin apart from the rest of the Harmony roster is her Ultimate, which provides a staggeringly powerful team-wide Advance Forward when activated. This allows teams with Robin on them to perform some truly creative strategy not available anywhere else in the game.

Robin's Ultimate has a second significant mechanic attached to it after activation. While her Ultimate is active, when any teammates launch an attack, Robin provides a secondary instance of Physical Damage to one of the struck targets. This mechanic has no attack limit meaning Robin plays best with characters that can attack very often.

Best Relics for Robin

Despite being a Harmony character, an archetype notorious for needing various groups of stats to perform well, Robin really only needs ATK% and nothing else. You read that correctly. Robin doesn't need, HP%, DEF, or any other stat other than ATK%, as everything she does scales off it.

While Robin doesn't need Speed, due to her SPD stat being fixed during her Ultimate, getting her to 120 SPD is ideal as it allows her to use sets that require that amount. As you can see, though, Robin is straightforward to build. With this in mind, the best Relics for Robin will be any combination that provides ATK%.

You can use a 2-piece Prisoner in Deep Confinement and 2-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat as both Relic set bonuses provide unconditional ATK%. Additionally, if you'd prefer your Robin to be more supportive of your team, you can run a 4-piece Messenger Traversing Hackspace for the teamwide speed boost, though you will be losing out on damage for both your team and Robin.

For Robin's Sphere and Rope set, use the Space Sealing Station set with an Energy Regeneration rope. You want to make sure your rope has Energy Regeneration as its core stat because her Ultimate is one of the most expensive Ultimate costs in the game. Also, make sure your Robin has 120 SPD so she gets the additional ATK% buff that comes from the secondary portion of the set bonus.

Best Team Comp Robin

Like Ruan Mei, Robin can fit on any team comp in need of Harmony Support due to the potent buff she provides with her Skill. However, Robin's best Team Comp is a Follow-up one for a few reasons.

Thanks to her Talent, Impromptu Flourish, Robin provides an additional 25% CRIT DMG (Critical Damage) to Follow-up attacks. Pretty straightforward. The other reason is due to her steep Ultimate energy cost. Thanks to her other important Talent, Tonal Resonance, Robin gets a small amount of Energy back every time an ally launches an attack, making frequent attackers more useful to Robin. With that said, Topaz and Numby, Dr. Ratio, and Aventurine are Robin's best teammates.

Topaz and Numby attacks more often than any other character in Honkai: Star Rail, making her the ideal teammate for Robin. Robin buffs up Follow-up attacks, making them completely compatible with each other.

Dr. Ratio often attacks in conjunction with Topaz and Numby, making him a frequent attacker as well. Every attack he launches restores Energy to Robin, allowing her to maintain her Ultimate longer. Finally, Robin's specific buffs toward Follow-up attacks make him an ideal teammate for her.

Aventurine's Follow-up mechanic is tied to the number of Follow-up attacks his teammates launch, as well as, how often they are hit while his shield is active. Aventurine attacks almost as often as Topaz and Numby thanks to this, so, naturally, Robin gains all the same benefits from him as well.

Should you get Robin's Lightcone in Honkai: Star Rail?

Without a doubt, Robin's Lightcone, Flowing Nightglow is the ideal Lightcone for her playstyle. Not only does it greatly boost her own damage, but also provides additional buffs to the rest of her teammates. However, what's really important about this Lightcone is the Energy Regeneration it provides Robin. The point of using Robin is to make sure her Ultimate is up and active as much as possible. Without the extra generation of this Lightcone, Robin will struggle to maintain uptime on teams that do not have Follow-up attacks on them.

That said, Robin does have a strong alternative Lightcone. But the Battle Isn't Over is Robin's second-best Lightcone because it also has Energy Regeneration on it. At Superimposition 2, it is nearly equal to Robin's signature Lightcone in terms of Energy Regen. If you don't have But the Battle Isn't Over, I recommend you pull Flowing Nightglow to make full use of your Robin.

Best Eidolons for Robin in Honkai: Star Rail

At E0, Robin is a powerhouse of a character, and her Eidolons do not greatly impact the functionality of her character. As with all characters though, her Eidolons do make her stronger. If you're interested in grabbing her Eidolons, the best stopping point would be E1. For your reference, here are her six Eidolons.

• Land of Smiles (E1) - While her Ultimate is active, all her allies get All-Type RES PEN increased by 24%. This is strong for all teams, but stronger for teams fighting off-element enemies. Strong Eidolon.
• Afternoon Tea for Two (E2) - While her Ultimate is active, all allies gain 16% SPD, and Robin regenerates an extra point of Energy per attack, equally three Energy total. Decent, but hardly required
• Inverted Tuning (E3) - Skill and Ultimate Level increases by two. Stronger buffs, more damage. Not required.
• Raindrop Key (E4) - When her Ultimate is activated, she dispels all debuffs from your team and provides a 50% Effect Resistance buff. Extremely lackluster Eidolon as dispels should be covered by your sustainer anyway.
• Lonestar's Lamet (E5) - Basic ATK and Talent Level increase by two. Basic ATK is useless on Robin and the Talent buff is nice, but not noticeable enough to matter.
• Moonless Midnight (E6) - Her first eight additional attacks during each use her Ultimate, get 450% CRIT DMG. This Eidolon is stupidly strong and is worth it if you can get it. Robin will easily out-damage all of your DPS with this Eidolon.

The post Honkai: Star Rail Best Robin Build appeared first on Destructoid.

When it comes to keeping your Honkai: Star Rail team alive, Aventurine is one of, if not the, best limited five-star support characters in the game. If you're considering rolling for him, or you're just looking for a little insight, here's everything you need to know about Mr. Aventurine.

Strongest Aventurine Build in Honaki: Star Rail

Aventurine is a Preservation Imaginary character that acts as a damage repellant to any team he is on via his constant application of meaty shields. While protection through shielding is his primary role, uniquely, Aventurine's kit also allows him to be a very solid sub-DPS (via his follow-up attack and Ultimate) without sacrificing support effectiveness. Despite a big chunk of his shielding being reliant on his follow-up attack, he can fit into any team composition much like Fu Xuan can, due to his largely self-reliant kit.

Aventurine applies an application of his shield to your entire team every time he uses Skill or his follow-up attack. His Technique also applies a large shield to your whole team at the start of a fight. Regardless of the application method, his shields last several turns, meaning he is a skill-point-positive character (he doesn't need to use a skill point every turn).

Best Relics for Aventurine

Aventurine is a Preservation unit that scales solely off of Defense (DEF) and is a shielder, meaning his best Relic set is without a doubt Knight of Purity Palace. You can farm this relic set from Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Holy Hymn.

The two-piece provides a very hefty 15% increase in DEF while the four-piece makes his shields 20% stronger than normal. Thanks to the Aventurine-unique Talent Trace, Leverage, Aventurine converts a significant portion of his DEF stat into CRIT RATE (Critical Strike Rate), up to a maximum of 48%. This is very strong, as it almost entirely allows you to ignore CRIT RATE on gear drops for him. This also greatly benefits his sub-DPS role, again, without affecting his supporting power. To reach the 48% ceiling for Leverage, you need roughly 4000 DEF on Aventurine.

For Aventurine's Sphere and Robe set, Inert Salsotto is likely is best option, as he nearly gains the entire benefit of this set for free thanks to Leverage. Inert Salsotto provides a solid 1% DMG (Damage) boost to follow-up and Ultimate attacks if the wearer has at least 50% CRIT RATE. Leverage gives Aventurine 48%, so you just need to get 2% from a subset on any of your relics. You can farm Insert Salsotto from Simulated Universe: World 6.

Best Team Comp for Aventurine

Due to Aventurine's kit, he is able to fit into any team comp that needs a sustain support. However, his absolute best-performing team comp is actually a follow-up comp due to the functionality of another one of his Talent Traces, Bingo!

For Aventurine to launch a follow-up attack, he relies on a stack mechanic called Blind Bet. Blind Bet stacks up to seven times, and in order for him to gain stacks, allies under the effect of his shield must suffer attacks. He gains one stack of Blind Bet every time this happens and gains an additional stack when he is attacked directly. When Blind Bet reaches seven stacks, Aventurine will launch his follow-attack, dealing AOE (Area of Effect) damage while shielding your entire team.

This is how Blind Bet functions normally, but with follow-up attackers, Aventurine gets one stack every time a teammate under the effect of his shield launches a follow-up attack. As such, Topaz and Numby, Dr. Ratio, and Ruan Mei are Aventurine's best teammates.

Topaz and Numby provide a significant damage boost to any follow-up attack that hits their debuff target. Naturally, this affects Aventurine as well. Additionally, Topaz herself only has follow-up attacks, meaning she will provide him with a Blind Bet stack every turn. Numby separate attacks will also give a stack of Blind Bet.

Dr. Ratio launches follow-up attacks at a constant rate, which provides Aventurine with Blind Bet stacks.

Ruan Mei provides a massive team-wide damage boost, something other Harmony characters cannot consistently do. Aventurine benefits from this via his Ultimate and follow-up attack.

Should you get Aventurine's Lightcone in Honkai: Star Rail?

Aventurine is not a character that requires his Lightcone: Inherently Unjust Destiny, to function at his core. While it is his best option, there are plenty of strong alternatives that will allow him to perform his role (sustaining via shielding) to perfection. I highly recommend you use Trend of the Universal Market instead of his Lightcone so you can save your Stellar Jades for something more impactful.

That said, the one nuanced case where you should pull for his Lightcone is if you want him to deal significant damage. Without it, his damage is fairly mediocre, but remember that the job of a sustain is not to deal damage anyway. Trust me, it's not worth it.

Best Eidolons for Aventurine in Honkai: Star Rail

Aventurine does not need any of his Eidolons to perform his job of sustaining your team at any level of content. That isn't to say he doesn't get better with Eidolons, but know that he is a complete character the moment you obtain him. Even so, if you're gung-ho about getting Eidolons for Aventurine, then I recommend grabbing up his E2. For your reference, here are all of his Eidolons.

• Prisoner's Dilemma (E1) - Allies shielded by Aventurine get an additional 20% CRIT DMG (Critical Damage). Additionally, his Ultimate now also provides an application of his shield to your team.
• Bounded Rationality (E2) - When Aventurine uses his Basic ATK (Basic Attack) on an enemy, all of their resistances are reduced by 12% for three turns. This is a larger damage boost than it sounds.
• Droprate Maxing (E3) - Provides a damage buff to Aventurines Ultimate and Basic ATK.
• Unexpected Hanging Paradox (E4) - Aventurine's follow-up attack gives him a 40% DEF buff. Additionally, his follow-up attack will hit 10 times instead of seven.
• Ambiguity Aversion (E5) - Boosts the potency of Aventurine's shields.
• Stag Hunt Game (E6) - Every ally that is shielded by Aventurine gives him a 50% damage boost, up to a maximum of 150%. Yes, this is as insane as it sounds.

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