Firefly in Honkai Star Rail: guide to the best builds

In Honkai: Star Rail, Firefly (Sam) is a 5-star character who has a Fire-type combat and belongs to the Destruction path. In a squad, she can serve as the main damage dealer, quickly penetrating vulnerabilities and inflicting enormous damage. In this guide we will tell you about her best builds, light cones and relics. You will also learn about recommended commands with her.

Don't miss the best Black Friday deals!

Note: Stellaron Hunter has not yet been officially released, so the data presented here is based on information received as part of beta testing. If necessary, we will update the guide when the heroine appears in the game.

Main features of Firefly

How to get Firefly

This heroine can only be obtained during the event Jump. In the near future, the corresponding banner will be launched as part of the first phase of patch 2.3. If you want to be among the first to know about her next rerun, we advise you to bookmark this article.

Let's add that HoYoverse has only given away a 5-star character once for winning the “Best Mobile Game of the Year” nomination, and never for completing various events, so it's highly likely that you'll only be able to unlock this Stellaron hunter by using Jumps.

Firefly's Stat Progression

The table below shows how the heroine's basic stats change as she levels up.

Note that her critical damage, critical hit chance and taunt are 50%, 5% and 125 units respectively at any level, and her energy reserve is 240 units.

Advantages and disadvantages of Firefly< /h3>

Thanks to her unique abilities, Firefly can quickly take out both strong single opponents and groups of enemies, breaking through their resistance with lightning speed. Her advantages also include:

• She has the highest Defense stat among Destruction characters, allowing her to withstand powerful enemy attacks even with low health, which increases her survivability.
• She needs crits to a lesser extent than other damage dealers, since increasing them will not lead to a significant increase in the heroine's overall damage.
• Considering the above information, it is relatively simple to assemble, since it only needs to increase three parameters: penetration effect, speed and attack power (to a lesser extent). At the same time, the first two characteristics are also increased by Traces.
• Increasing the attack power also leads to an increase in the penetration effect, which further simplifies the construction of the build.
• She is able to independently apply a fiery vulnerability to a selected target with a skill, and thanks to one of the Traces, the resistance of neighboring enemies will also decrease. Thus, Firefly can be used against any enemies, regardless of their set of weaknesses.
• The heroine extremely quickly breaks through the resistance of enemies after using her ult, thereby delaying their actions and preventing them from attacking your team.

< li>Despite the very high cost of the superpower (240 units), it can fill the energy scale in just 2 uses of the skill.

• Capable of healing herself with regular attacks and a skill after activating her ult, which somewhat reduces the need for a healer in the squad.
• Can be significantly enhanced by a free support – Pathfinder (imaginary), which increases the penetration effect and super penetration damage.
• Does not need Eidolons, legendary supports and paid weapons to effectively perform her main function, so F2P players will like her.

However, there are some downsides, some of which follow directly from its advantages:

• It has low base attack power and health in comparison with other legendary characters of Destruction, which makes it a little more difficult to bring ATK to optimal values ​​and somewhat reduces the heroine’s survivability.
• She is extremely dependent on the presence of supports that increase the damage of super penetration (at the moment this is the imaginary Pathfinder), since her own buff to this damage is low (unlike Boothill).
• She requires a large number of skill points, so how ideally she should only use the skill to activate her ultimate faster and then deal maximum damage to enemies. So you will have to wisely distribute your skill points or be sure to take Ruan Mei with a signature.
• Many supports that increase crits or overall damage will be useless for her, which significantly narrows the list of heroes for forming powerful teams with Firefly.
• She can deal the most damage when the enemy has a vulnerability broken, but there are quite a few in the game bosses whose durability cannot be broken at certain stages. At such moments, the hunter's damage will begin to drop significantly.
• Significantly reduces her health when using a skill, which makes her vulnerable to enemy attacks. It is advisable to provide the heroine with a shield in time so that she has time to restore her HP with subsequent attacks.

Firefly Abilities

When using the basic attack “Order: Flame Charge”, she inflicts fire damage on the enemy in the amount of 50~130% of your attack power. At the same time, it restores 20 units of energy and penetrates 30 units of durability.

Explanation: Regular, unremarkable attacks that you will use very rarely, mainly performing their enhanced version, discussed below.

Using the enhanced basic attack “Firefly Type-IV: Pyrogenic Execution”, Firefly will restore 20 % of maximum health and inflicts fire damage equal to 100-260% of its attack power to the selected enemy. This strike penetrates 45 points of durability.

Explanation: These attacks are available after activating the ultimate. They are twice as strong as standard attacks, however, we still do not recommend you use them, since they are noticeably inferior (exactly 2 times) to the enhanced skill in terms of super penetration damage.

After using the “Order: Aerial Bombardment” skill, the huntress spends 40% of her maximum health and restores 50-65% of her maximum energy, and also deals fire damage to the selected target in the amount of 100-250% of her attack power. If there is a lack of HP, the heroine’s life scale is reduced to 1 unit. After activating the skill, Firefly's next action moves forward by 25%. This attack penetrates 60 durability.

< p class="p1">Explanation: Again, the normal version of Firefly’s skill looks extremely faded, since it does little damage and also eats up health, but before switching to enhanced mode, you will use it constantly, since it is the main source of energy for the heroine. Even at the 1st level of the skill, you can completely fill the ult scale in just 2 uses.

By using the enhanced skill “Firefly Type-IV: Death Star Overload”, Firefly will restore 25% of its maximum health, and also impose a fire vulnerability on the selected target for 2 turns and deal fire damage to it in the amount of (0.2 * penetration effect + 100-250%) of its attack power. Adjacent enemies will receive fire damage in the amount of (10% * penetration effect + 50-125%) of the heroine's attack power. In the specified formulas, the penetration effect cannot be higher than 360%. This explosive attack penetrates 90 units of durability for the main target and 45 units for adjacent ones.

Explanation: In the enhanced state, the damage of the skill receives a double multiplier: it is calculated from the attack power and the penetration effect. Although the final figures may seem quite impressive: it deals 272% damage from the attack power of the selected target and 136% to nearby enemies (at level 10 of the ability and with a 360% penetration effect), but in reality the damage will be small due to the lack of crits and relatively low ATK.

The enhanced skill will become the main source of damage after breaking through the enemy’s resistance (this will be much easier to do, since the skill imposes a fiery vulnerability on the enemy), because after that he will be able to inflict super penetration damage, which will be calculated from 90 damage dealt to durability. It is for this reason that it is much preferable to use than an enhanced basic attack.

By activating her Firefly Type-IV: Full Combustion superpower, she enters Full Combustion mode, which advances her action forward by 100% and increases her speed by 30-75 units, as well as granting her an enhanced base attack and skill. The use of enhanced strike options increases the effectiveness of breaking through the heroine's vulnerability by 50% and increases the penetration damage received by enemies by 10-25%.

The Complete Combustion countdown appears in the action sequence panel. As soon as his turn begins, the heroine exits the enhanced mode. In this case, the countdown speed is 70 units.

Explanation: The entire Firefly gameplay is built around the ultimate. The number of moves she can make while Full Burn is in effect directly depends on the heroine’s speed and the supports present in the squad. Even without any extraneous buffs, she will have time to go at least twice at the 10th level of her superpower (all thanks to a 60 increase in speed and 100% forward movement).

If you use artifacts to increase Firefly’s speed to 150 units or higher and provide her with supports that promote the action of her allies (Robin, Sparkle or Armor), then you will be able to make up to 5 moves in one Complete Burn, which will significantly increase the heroine’s damage in the rotation. But you will need a huge amount of skill points.

As for the hero’s passive talent – ​​“Fire Core of the Cocoon”, it reduces the damage received when the heroine’s health decreases. The maximum reduction is 50% – these values ​​are reached when the character's HP drops to 20% or below. While Full Burn is active, damage taken is always reduced by 50% and resistance to effects is increased by 40%. If at the beginning of the battle the energy scale is below 50%, it is automatically restored to 50%. When energy is restored to 100%, all weakening is removed from Firefly.

Explanation: Having used the skill 2 times, the heroine will lose 80% of her health, and the increased basic defense and this talent help her live long enough, to have time to activate the ult and heal yourself. So we highly advise you to upgrade your talent. In addition, he will be able to protect Firefly from negative effects, including Control.

It is also impossible not to mention the “Order Δ: Meteor Incineration” technique, the use of which allows the hunter to soar into the air and fly freely for 5 seconds, after which she performs a falling strike, immediately attacking all nearby enemies. Then at the start of each wave, she adds Fire Vulnerability to all enemies for 2 turns and deals Fire Damage equal to 200% of her Attack Power.

Traces of the Firefly

In addition to the above abilities, the heroine's upgrade tree also includes other enhancements that provide passive bonuses or permanent increases to characteristics. Basically, we are talking about increasing the effect of penetration, speed and resistance to effects. You can see them all in the picture below.

Next, we will briefly consider special traces with their own mechanics:

• Module α: Immediate Explosion – Full Burn attacks against enemies that do not have a fire vulnerability will reduce their durability in the amount of 55% of the initial durability damage of the applied ability. For example, if you hit an enemy with an enhanced skill, then thanks to this trace, you will also remove 49.5 durability from neighboring enemies, even if they do not have a weakness to fire.
• Module β: Instant Armor – if in the Full Burn mode the heroine’s penetration effect is equal to or exceeds 200%/360%, then when attacking an enemy with a pierced vulnerability, the durability damage of this blow is converted into super-breakout damage in the amount of 35%/50% of the penetration damage, respectively. A good buff that allows you to deal considerable damage to stunned enemies. It can be increased to 150% if you add a Pathfinder (imaginary) to the team.
• Module γ: Core Overload – for every 10 units of the heroine’s attack power that exceeds 1800 units, her penetration effect increases by 0.8 %. It is thanks to this Trace that you can get 360% EP relatively without problems, because even the easily achievable 2600 units of attack power will already give you 64% EP.

Firefly Eidolons

To unlock them, you need materials of the same name, issued when duplicates of the hero appear, which, of course, is random. And considering the rarity of 5-star character drops, be prepared to spend a lot of money and time on this. Fortunately, even without eidolons, Firefly can easily serve as the team's main damage dealer. Below is a list of them:

1. I rested in a red cocoon – using an enhanced skill ignores 15% of the enemy's defense and does not spend skill points.
2. I fell from the broken sky – when breaking through a vulnerability or killing an enemy with an enhanced blow or skill in the Full Burn mode, the heroine immediately receives 1 additional turn. The effect is triggered again only after 1 turn.
3. I sleep among the silent stars – the level of the skill increases by two, and the level of the basic attack – by one.  The maximum level for the first increases to 15, and for the second – to 10.
4. I saw the firefly's fire – increases the resistance to the heroine's effects by 50% in Full Burn mode.
5. I shine in a sleepless night – the level of ult and talent increases by two. The maximum level for both increases to 15. Increases overall damage well.
6. I Bloom in Tomorrow – increases penetration of fire resistance by 20% in Full Burn mode. Using an enhanced strike or skill increases the effectiveness of breaking through a vulnerability by 50%.

If you plan to knock out eidolons and have a limited budget, then you can easily go for E2, which will allow Firefly to make even more moves in enhanced mode, and, therefore, deal much more damage. The first eidolon is less useful, but if you have a choice between it and the signature, then we recommend taking the first option, since there is an excellent free cone for the heroine.

How to play as Firefly

Firefly's entire gameplay revolves around her ultimate, which allows you to use enhanced attacks and skills, so you need to activate it as soon as possible. Fortunately, this only requires using the skill 2 times (or 1 time if the battle has just begun). However, after the first use of the skill, the heroine’s health is significantly reduced, so you should definitely put a shield on her or heal her so that she does not accidentally die from a powerful blow from the enemy.

After activating your superpower, aim your attacks at the most powerful enemy to quickly break through their resistance and take them out of the battle. This will be quite easy to do, because the enhanced skill will remove 135 units of shield, and under the influence of Ruan Mei’s buff, even 180. At the same time, mobs adjacent to the boss will also have their durability reduced.

Note: If you have E2 open, you can first hit an ordinary mob to break through its vulnerability and get an extra turn. You can repeat this trick after 1 turn to get another additional action.

After breaking through the vulnerability of a strong enemy, do not switch to other opponents (the exception is described above), but continue to hit him with the skill to deal huge super penetration damage. It is highly desirable at this moment to strengthen the heroine with an imaginary Pioneer. In this case, the Firefly will itself restore previously spent health.

In general, the optimal rotation for the Firefly will look like this:

1. If you have a fake Pathfinder and/or Ruan Mei, try to use their techniques before the fight. Then attack with Sam, using his technique.
2. The heroine’s talent will provide her with half the energy scale at the beginning of the battle, so she will only need to perform the skill once to fully recharge her ult. In other cases, it will have to be applied twice.
3. Activate all buffs from supports, and then use the heroine’s superpower to switch to enhanced mode. Thanks to the progress of the action, Firefly will be the next one to walk at 100%. Use her skill on the strongest enemy to inflict a fiery vulnerability on him and destroy a considerable part of his durability (if E2 is open, then first break through the vulnerability of some ordinary mob to get an extra turn).
4. Next you should have time to make from 2 to 5 moves until complete combustion is completed. If you don't have problems with skill points, you can use the skill every time. Otherwise, you will have to alternate the skill with a regular attack.
5. When Full Burn ends, use the skill twice again to activate the ultimate as soon as possible.

Best Firefly Builds

Best Light Cones

< p>When choosing a weapon, you should pay attention to those options that increase the penetration effect, attack power and speed. The table below presents the most interesting options.

< th scope="col">Ability

< td class="left">

HP: 1058

ATK: 529

DEF: 396

The best relics

As for the choice of ordinary relics mined in corrosion caves, the table below shows the most optimal options.

Now we move on to planar jewelry, which is mined in the Virtual Universe. The list below shows the recommended options (the numbers indicate the priority of choice):

As for the characteristics of the relics, you must choose as follows:

• Body: attack power%
• Legs: Speed
• Planar Sphere: Attack Power%
• Connecting Rope: Breakthrough Effect
• Additional Stats: Speed ​​> penetration effect > attack%

Ideally, your penetration effect should be 360% so that you can get the maximum bonus from the Beta Module: Instant Armor trail. Your speed should be 145-150 units, and your attack power and health should be from 2500 units and above.

Best commands for Firefly

Firefly may well play the role of the only damage dealer in the squad, reinforced by two supports. In this case, the ideal support characters for her would be: Ruan Mei and Pathfinder (imaginary), since they are both capable of increasing the penetration effect of allies. If you choose between them, then the Pathfinder wins, as it provides a significant buff to super penetration damage.

If you don't have Ruan Mei, it doesn't matter, as you can use the 4-star Pelu, which reduces the enemies' defense, which is extremely useful for penetration damage. You can also take Asta, which increases attack power and speed (Firefly will be able to perform 4 moves in one Complete Burn).

A good budget support is Chania, which also increases attack speed and power, and also allows you to save skill points. Instead of Pela, you can take Guinaifen, which imposes a debuff that increases the damage of penetration and super penetration.

As for the healer, we recommend taking Gallagher, whose abilities are also scaled by the penetration effect. In its absence, we recommend using some kind of shield warrior, who should help Firefly survive until she uses her ult. After this, she will be able to restore her health on her own. The table below shows the most optimal units with it.

Pumping up Firefly

How to increase abilities (what to upgrade first)

The pictures below demonstrate the materials and their quantity required for maximum leveling of the basic attack, skill, superpower and talent.

• Borisinsky teeth, Lupotoxic Fangs and Lunar Beast Fangs are obtained from the Crimson Sepal located in the Scaled Gorge, or using Synthesis.
• Pieces of thoughts, fragments of impressions and fragments of desires are obtained from memes of the memory zone in Penaconia, assignments and enemies in the Virtual Universe, or using Synthesis. They can also be purchased for unquenchable ashes in the Pom-Pom store.
• Lost Echo of the Unity of Desires – obtained from the boss battle Chorus of Balance: Great Septimius in the Echoes of War “Tribute to the Courtesy of Mortal Tears”, located on Penaconia.< /li>
• Imprints of Fate – obtained in the Virtual Universe, issued with a battle pass and purchased for unquenchable ashes in the Pom-Pom store. Sometimes they are rewards in temporary events.

As for the priority of leveling up abilities, we recommend increasing your superpower first. Then upgrade your talent. Increase skill and basic attacks last, so this will still not affect the damage of penetration and super penetration.

How to elevate a character

At certain levels you will need to elevate the hero, spending a large amount resources and credits:

• Exaltation (level 30): credits x4000 and thought pieces x5
• Exaltation (level 40): credits x8000 and thought pieces x10

< li>Exaltation (level 50): credits x16000, fragments of impressions and a flaming heart x3

• Exaltation (level 60): credits x40000, fragments of impressions x9 and a flaming heart x7
• Exaltation (70 level): credits x80000, shards of wishes x6 and flaming heart x20
• Exaltation (level 80): credits x160000, shards of wishes x9 and flaming heart x35

Burning heart can be obtained from the stagnant shadow located in the Morning Dew Residence on Penaconia.