Honkai Star Rail 3.4 will feature the long-awaited Fate collab, where Saber and Archer will become playable in the game. However, alongside them, one of the most anticipated characters from Amphoreus will also make an appearance, Phainon.
While Archer will be given away for free to all players, Saber and Phainon won’t be, which leads to the question of whom to pick. This is because both will be extremely strong, but it will be a difficult choice for those who are free-to-play and don’t have enough saved.
Should you pull for Phainon in Honkai Star Rail 3.4?
Phainon is a Physical Destruction DPS unit who can deal cataclysmic damage to enemies with his powerful abilities. The Destruction class is quite possibly the strongest in the game when it comes to damage output, and Phainon simply uplifts it by a significant amount.
Phainon is all about using his skill ability and receiving Coreflame stacks. These stacks are gathered either when he is using his skill or when some unit in the team targets Phainon and buffs him. Once has enough Coreflame stacks, Phainon activates his ultimate.
Upon doing this, he transforms and reveals his empowered form. In this state, Phainon’s teammates retreat from the field, and he’s the only one standing. However, he also gains the power of three Titans, namely Creation, Calamity, and Foundation.
Each of these has its own benefit, and it’s in this state that he can wipe out all the enemies on the battlefield within seconds. The only issue here is that he purposefully makes enemies attack him, which is a playstyle not many players will be accustomed to.
In short, Phainon’s damage potential is definitely unmatched and brings a new playstyle to the game where allies will retreat and only one character will stay on the field. However, when fighting enemies in Memory of Chaos Floor 12, his survivability might become an issue, though it’s tough to say in the current instance.
Should You Pull for Saber in version 3.4?
Saber is a Wind Destruction character who will be part of the Fate collab in version 3.4. She is also a very strong character, and being part of the collab, her banner will last beyond 3.4, all the way until the end of version 3.6.
When it comes to Saber, her playstyle is a lot more traditional. Saber is all about collecting Core Resonance, where she can gain them by using her own skill, or when the enemy uses their ultimate. This is extremely important, as the more Core Resonance she gains, the stronger she becomes.
When Saber uses her ultimate Excalibur, she releases a massive burst of energy that deals wind damage to all enemies. Upon doing that, her Basic Attack is enhanced, which also ends up granting her a lot of Core Resonance.
Overall, she has a very simple game plan, with high damage, so if you don’t want the complications that Phainon brings, you can simply go with Saber for an easy time in the game.
Pull for whoever you like
Finally, it’s important to mention that if you don’t prefer meta, then it’s fine to go for whoever you like. This is because both Phainon and Saber will fill their own niches and have different playstyles. As such, it should be up to the player.
However, you must remember that once Saber’s banner is gone in version 3.6, she will never get a rerun agai,n as is with collab characters. However, Phainon will receive multiple reruns, even though his banner will last only 21 days.
Meanwhile, check our other guides on the game, like the one here on the best team compositions for Cipher, or the one here on the best Cipher build in HSR.
