Honkai Star Rail’s character archetypes are varied, with a new one introduced during the game’s 3.0 Amphoreus: The Remembrance. However, when it comes to single-target(ish) damage-dealing, nothing beats The Destruction archetype and its raw power at times.

HSR’s 3.4 update not only added in a pretty long-winded follow-up to the past few good Amphoreus story entries, it also gave us a hero everyone was craving for: the handsome “bishounen” with the big sword and a bigger form waiting to be unleashed. Plus, he has been gaining main character status since the start of the 3.0 update.

Update 3.4 puts Phainon in the spotlight, being the Flame-Chase that’s integral in the game’s universe; he fights Titans and collect their Coreflames in a bid to make the world anew. It also fits into gameplay; when he fills up his Ultimate meter to perform “He Who Bears The World Must Burn”. Using this move, he transforms into his god mode and has his own set of moves.

He will be active for a set amount of turns, with only him being active (the rest of the party is put in the backburner temporarily), but he has a good number of moves. Apart from a multi-hitting basic attack that hits up to three enemies, he also has a stance that strengthens his super move. When in this stance, when enemies attack him, he launches a hard-hitting counterattack. Also, he has a lot of HP and Defense while in this mode.

The catch? He needs to gather “Coreflames” in battle while in his regular mode via using skills or being targeted with buffs and/or debuffs; 12 of them to be specific. As such, you need to build a team that supports him alone so he can use his Ultimate quick to dominate the battlefield.

Speaking of which…

The Best Party & Setup For Phainon

Phainon is very free-to-play friendly, meaning whatever character you gacha who isn’t 5-star throughout your HSR journey and is a support-type character (Harmony, Abundance, Remembrance) will complement Phainon very well.

Phainon F2P Team

Phainon, Trailblazer (Ice), Tingyun, Lynx

Use the three other characters to target Phainon with buffs so that he transforms quicker.

Phainon High-Level Team

Phainon, Sunday, Bronya, Huohuo

Same deal with the F2P one, but with better buffs & heals since Sunday, Bronya, and Huohuo are 5-Star characters.

Best Light Cones

• Thus Burns The Dawn
• On The Fall of an Aeon
• A Trail of Bygone Blood
• Something Irreplaceable
• Under the Blue Sky

These Light Cones buff up his damage. Thus Burns The Dawn is the best one since it ignores Defense and gives a nice Speed boost.

Best Relics

• Wavestrider Captain x4
• Scholar Lost in Erudition x4
• Champion of Streetwise Boxing x4

Best Ornaments

Arcadia of Woven Dreams OR Rutilant Arena OR Space Sealing Station

These Relics & Ornaments buff up his Attack and Ultimate DMG stats; the only stats that matter to Destruction characters.

As such, these party setups are great especially if you’re an F2P player who recently gacha’ed Phainon.