Get ready, Trailblazers! Cipher, the highly anticipated 5-star Quantum and Nihility character, is making her debut in Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.3. She’s designed to bring powerful follow-up attack synergy and robust debuffing capabilities, especially for teams centered around units like Acheron. To help you maximize Cipher’s potential and enhance your in-game experience, we’ve put together a comprehensive build guide.

Please note: All information in this guide is based on early leaks and is subject to change upon official release. Use this as a preliminary guide to prepare for her arrival!

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Cipher Overview

Cipher is a five-star Quantum character following the Path of Nihility. She excels as a dual-function support, capable of both amplifying team damage and contributing significant secondary DPS. Her unique skills allow her to weaken enemy resistance, transfer negative effects, and unleash delayed burst damage through her “Finale” skill via recorded damage.

Key Features:

• Damage Amplifier: Cipher’s Vulnerability and Recorded DMG mechanics act as direct amplifiers to your team’s overall damage output. Damage dealt by allies (including Cipher herself) is recorded and can be unleashed as True DMG, shared among three targets via her Ultimate. This provides a unique, delayed burst of damage, though overflow damage is not recorded.
• Defense Penetration: Her abilities are designed to weaken enemy defenses, allowing your allies to bypass a portion of enemy resistance and deal substantially higher damage.
• High Action Count: Due to her kit’s emphasis on Speed, Cipher is naturally built to have a high SPD stat. This means she’ll act more frequently in combat compared to many other supports, contributing to consistent debuff application and damage.

Cipher Basic Introduction:

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Cipher Trace Priority

Prioritizing Cipher’s Traces correctly is crucial for optimizing her performance. Focus on her Major Traces first, followed by ability upgrades:

Combat Traces:

• Skill: This will be your most frequently used ability. Prioritize upgrading her Skill as early as possible to maximize her damage contribution and debuff application.
• Ultimate: Cipher’s Ultimate, combined with its True DMG multiplier, has the potential for massive damage. Given this high-damage capability, it’s a top priority for leveling up to unlock its full potential quickly.
• Talent: Cipher’s naturally high SPD stat makes her Talent exceptionally valuable. After upgrading her Skill and Ultimate, focus on her Talent to optimize the off-turn damage she can deal through her Follow-up Attacks, capitalizing on her speed for extra damage opportunities.
• Basic ATK: This should be used as a last resort. You’ll primarily want to use her Skill, so don’t prioritize her Basic Attack upgrade unless all other valuable abilities are already maxed.

Trace Priority: Skill = Ultimate > Talent > Basic ATK

Bonus Abilities (Major Traces):

• Empyrean Strides: When Cipher’s SPD is 140/170 or higher, her CRIT Rate increases by 25%/50%, significantly reducing her personal CRIT Rate building needs. Additionally, the damage recorded by her ability is increased by 50%/100%.
• 300 Rogues: Cipher will additionally record 8% of non-True DMG dealt by her allies (including herself) on targets that do not have the “Patron” effect. This is particularly effective with teams that deal a lot of AoE damage.
• Sleight of Sky: Increases her personal CRIT DMG by 100% while also inflicting the Vulnerability debuff for team-wide damage amplification.

Trace Priority: Empyrean Strides = 300 Rogues > Sleight of Sky

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Cipher Light Cones

Selecting the right Light Cone is paramount to maximizing Cipher’s effectiveness.

The Best Choice

• Lies Dance on the Breeze (5-star)
  • Effect: Increases the wearer’s Max SPD by 18% / 21% / 24% / 27% / 30%. After the wearer uses an attack, there is a 120% base chance to inflict the “Bamboozle” state on every enemy target. While under “Bamboozle,” enemy target’s DEF decreases by 16% / 18% / 20% / 22% / 24% for 2 turns. If the wearer’s SPD is higher than or equal to 170, there is a 120% base chance to inflict the “Theft” state on every enemy target. While under “Theft,” enemy target’s DEF decreases by 8% / 9% / 10% / 11% / 12% for 2 turns. When “Bamboozle” or “Theft” is inflicted repeatedly, only the latest effect inflicted can be active.
  • Analysis: This Light Cone offers a dual-phase solution for Cipher’s stat optimization. It provides flat SPD boosts to help her reach critical SPD benchmarks (like 170), significantly lowering relic farming pressure. Beyond that, it enables progressive DEF shred: the base effect applies 12% DEF shred, and at 170+ SPD, this escalates to 24% per stack (max 3 stacks), potentially enabling 72% total DEF reduction – a powerful multiplicative damage amplifier.

Alternatives

• Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat (4-star)
  • Effect: When the wearer hits an enemy target, if the target is not already Ensnared, there is a 60% base chance to inflict the Ensnared status. Enemies afflicted with Breached status have their DEF reduced by 12% for 1 turn.
• Good Night and Sleep Well (4-star)
  • Effect: At Superimposition 5, it provides 24% increased damage per enemy debuff, stacking up to 72% total damage increase.

These 4-star Light Cones are excellent alternatives for Cipher, providing valuable debuffing and damage amplification for your team.

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Recommended Pull Configurations

Cipher can be a valuable addition to your roster if you’re lacking a strong Nihility support, need multiple debuff counters, or want to explore high damage numbers with her Record Value mechanism.

Based on resource allocation, here are some recommended Eidolon/Light Cone combinations:

• E0S0 (No Eidolons with a 4-star Light Cone): A fully viable build. “Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat” provides a sufficient 16% defense reduction, making her effective even without her signature.
• E0S1: This configuration with her signature Light Cone provides a strong universal support option.
• E1S1: A well-rounded universal sub-DPS option for those with a sufficient budget. This Eidolon significantly strengthens her core mechanism by boosting recorded damage, effectively raising the team’s damage ceiling and also enhancing damage from self-sustained attacks.
• E2S1: An option to further improve her values and debuffing capabilities with a higher budget. This Eidolon enhances her vulnerability-damage value.
• E6S1 / E6S5: Preferred for true enthusiasts looking to make Cipher a primary DPS, with a substantial budget.

Signature Light Cone Analysis: Her signature Light Cone provides 24% AoE DEF reduction and an 18% SPD boost. While powerful, other 5-star Nihility Light Cones like [In the Name of the World] can serve as viable substitutes if you have them.

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Cipher Relics, Ornaments & Stats

Building Cipher involves balancing her personal damage, debuffing consistency, and speed.

Relic Sets

• Best Choice:
  • Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters
    • 2-Pc: Increases DMG dealt to enemies with debuffs by 12%.
    • 4-Pc: Increases CRIT Rate by 4%. The wearer deals 8%/12% increased CRIT DMG to enemies with at least 2/3 debuffs. After the wearer inflicts a debuff on enemy targets, the aforementioned effects increase by 100%, lasting for 1 turn.
  • Analysis: This set is top-tier whether you aim for a Sub-DPS or a fast debuffer. It significantly boosts her personal Crit stats and damage when enemies are debuffed. At E0 with a 4-star Light Cone, you might need extra debuff support to keep the 4-Pc effect active, but E0S1 with her signature makes it almost permanently active.
• Alternatives:
  • Messenger Traversing Hackerspace (2-Pc): Increases SPD by 6%.
  • Sacerdos’ Relived Ordeal (2-Pc): Increases SPD by 6%.
  • Warrior Goddess of Sun and Thunder (2-Pc): Increases SPD by 6%.
• Analysis: Combining 2-Pc Messenger Traversing Hackerspace with 2-Pc Sacerdos’ Relived Ordeal or Warrior Goddess can help hit the 170+ SPD threshold or even 200+ for extreme speed builds, though this sacrifices some of Cipher’s personal damage. For a pure debuffer role, Eagle of Twilight Line is also a strong contender.

Ornaments

• Best for ATK Multiplier Teams (e.g., Acheron/Feixiao):
  • Firmament Frontline: Glamoth
    • 2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When the wearer’s SPD is equal to or higher than 135/160, the wearer deals 12%/18% more DMG.
  • Analysis: This set provides both ATK and a significant DMG bonus based on SPD, perfectly fitting Cipher’s kit.
  • Duran, Dynasty of Running Wolves
    • 2-Pc: When an ally uses a Follow-up ATK, the wearer gains 1 stack of Merit, stacking up to 5 times. Each stack increases the DMG dealt by the wearer’s Follow-up ATKs by 5%. At 5 stacks, additionally increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 25%.
  • Analysis: Excellent for follow-up attack heavy teams.
• Best for Quantum Teams:
  • Lushaka, the Sunken Seas
    • 2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s Energy Regeneration Rate by 5%. If the wearer is not the first character in the team lineup, then increase the ATK of the first character in the team lineup by 12%.
  • Penacony, Land of the Dreams
    • 2-Pc: Increases wearer’s Energy Regeneration Rate by 5%. Increases DMG for all other allies with the same DMG Type as the wearer by 10%.
  • Analysis: Prioritize these based on whether your team needs Energy Regeneration or a direct damage boost for Quantum allies.

Main / Sub Stats

• Body: CRIT DMG
• Feet: SPD
• Planar Sphere: Quantum DMG Boost
• Link Rope: ATK%
• Sub Stats Priority: SPD > CRIT% + CRIT DMG > ATK% > EHR (Effect Hit Rate)

Recommended Stat Values

Speed is paramount for Cipher!

• SPD: 200+ (Aim for 170 as a bare minimum, but 200+ is ideal for full buffing potential in combat).
• Crit Rate: 40-50% (Her Major Traces will help reduce this requirement).
• Crit DMG: 150-200%
• EHR: 38% (Enough to reliably land her debuffs).

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Cipher Teams

Cipher offers unique synergies with various team compositions, though her impact can scale with investment, particularly her signature Light Cone.

1. Acheron Team

• Role: Strong debuff enabler for building Acheron’s Nihil stacks.
• Synergy: Cipher’s frequent debuffs make her a natural fit. However, to truly replace a dedicated debuffer like Pela or compete with Jiaoqiu, her signature Light Cone might be necessary for consistent debuff uptime.
• Example Team:
  • Main DPS: Acheron
  • Sub DPS: Cipher
  • Support: Pela / Silver Wolf / Jiaoqiu (choose two debuffers)
  • Sustain: Gallagher

2. Feixiao Team

• Role: Excellent synergy with multi-hit and follow-up attack mechanics.
• Synergy: Cipher’s multi-hit attacks and follow-ups perfectly keep the combo chain going for Feixiao. She also stacks DEF Shred alongside Feixiao, providing even more room for your main DPS to punch through enemy defenses.
• Example Team:
  • Main DPS: Feixiao
  • Sub DPS: Cipher
  • Support: Bronya / Robin
  • Sustain: Aventurine

General Team Note: While Cipher can slot into other teams with characters like Argenti or Kafka, she might not be as impactful as specialized units like Sparkle or Robin in those specific compositions without high investment. She’s flexible and stylish, but her full potential is heavily reliant on investment.

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Conclusion

Cipher is shaping up to be a fascinating addition to Honkai: Star Rail’s roster. This fast, precise, Quantum Nihility character thrives on weakening enemies and punishing them for every debuff she lands. If you’re considering pulling for her, aiming for E0S1 with the Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters relic set and Firmament Frontline: Glamoth ornaments seems like a strong generalist build. Just remember, while she brings significant debuffing and sub-DPS, don’t expect her to carry fights alone. She’s a powerful enabler designed to elevate your team’s overall damage output!