Version 3 of Honkai: Star Rail is kicking into high gear with its character releases, with the latest batch of announcements featuring the upcoming Quantum-Nihility unit Cipher. The official channels have only released basic lore about this character, who seems to be a rogue and Chrysos Heir, whose divine authority is Zagreus. Hardcore Trailblazers have likely known about this unit for months already due to data mines and leaks. Reliable source Seele Leaks recently revealed data about Cipher's complete abilities, Eidolons, and Traces. This information is subject to change, but it offers a baseline understanding of why players shouldn't sleep on this unit.
Some players may be excited about Cipher because they belong to the Nihility path, which is one of the more interesting classes in the game. According to Honkai: Star Rail’s official description, the characters in this path apply debuffs to opponents to make them weaker in combat. It consists of damage-over-time specialists like Kafka, supports like Jiaoqiu, and ultimate-focused damage dealers like Acheron. The leaks indicate that Cipher could fit the support and ult-focused damage dealer categories.
Honkai: Star Rail Leak Teases Hyacine and Cipher Gameplay
New leaks from Honkai: Star Rail are hinting at the gameplay for rumored characters Hyacine and Cipher, speculated to launch during Version 3.3.
Cipher Could be One of the More Versatile Nihility Units in Honkai: Star Rail
The information about Cipher’s abilities is based on leaked pre-release content at the time of writing. Therefore, players should brace for significant changes once the character officially debuts in Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.3.
Cipher’s power lies in the connection between her Talent and Ultimate, which works as follows:
- Talent: At the start of a teammate’s action, Cipher inflicts her status effect “Foretold” on an opponent with the highest HP if no enemies are marked with it yet. This effect can only be active on the latest target, which could mean that only one enemy can be inflicted with it at a time. When an ally attacks an enemy with this Foretold, Cipher goes into her “Wealth Bond” state, which lets her record a percentage of the total damage (excluding True DMG) taken by that enemy. She also does a follow-up attack after the teammate’s attack. It is unclear whether the follow-up will count in Wealth Bond’s total damage record.
- Ultimate: Cipher deals Quantum damage equal to a percentage of her ATK to one enemy, with additional True DMG equal to Wealth Bond’s recorded value to the target and adjacent units. Using the ult also resets Wealth Bond’s value and the amount of follow-up attacks that Cipher can trigger using Foretold.
Cipher works similarly to her fellow Nihility unit, Kafka. They rely on banking a certain value (DOT effects for Kafka and Wealth Bond for Cipher) and unleashing it in one highly damaging instance. If players want to make the most out of Cipher’s ultimate, they need to stack up as much Wealth Bond value as possible. The leaks do not state whether this mechanic has a limit. If it does, then one should ideally trigger the ult when Wealth Bond has max stacks. If it doesn’t, then players could have the opportunity to keep stacking it to their heart’s content and deal a ton of damage to finish a fight.
Cipher’s Skill and Traces Ensure Consistent Status Effect Uptime and Faster Wealth Bond Stacking
This unit’s skill inflicts Foretold on a target and deals a percentage of her ATK to them and nearby enemies. Meanwhile, her traces let her hit harder.
- Trace One: Cipher reduces all enemies’ DEF by a certain percentage when she’s in combat.
- Trace Two: Wealth Bond records a percentage of total DMG taken by enemies adjacent to the target afflicted by Foretold.
- Trace Three: Increases Cipher’s follow-up attack damage and her CRIT Rate also improves the rate at which she stacks Wealth Bond.
Foretold and Cipher’s Trace #1’s DEF reduction make her an excellent choice as a sub-DPS in follow-up comps with Dr. Ratio or Feixiao. She could fit Acheron's team with her possible Eidolon 1, as it increases the damage taken by a target enemy when Cipher attacks them. Cipher's leaked signature Light Cone may also provide significant DEF shred from her skill. Whether she can stand as the main carry will depend on her multipliers, which will come in future updates.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- April 26, 2023
- ESRB
- Teen / Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Simulated Gambling, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Turn-Based RPG
