Updated Character Guide - Herrscher of Finality
Everything (and more) you need to know about the latest battlesuit of the most iconic character in the game.
Introduction
[Herrscher of Finality] (HoFi) Kiana Kaslana is an S-Rank IMG Type Fire DPS who uses the Pistols, and debuted in Version 6.4. In Version 7.8, she will receive a much needed upgrade in the form of a Divine Key and a new stigmata set. In this updated guide, I will be providing a refresher on her existing combat mechanics, as well as going through her new kit, suitable team compositions, rotations, equipment, and more.
Character Mechanics
Herrscher Form
HoFi is constantly in Herrscher Form. This allows her to activate stigmata that lock buffs behind it as a requirement constantly, such as her signature and Himeko TMB.
Descent and Weapon Stance
HoFi can have up to 8 Descent stacks in battle. She can restore Descent by carrying out Basic ATKs, or using the Weapon Skill of the following weapons:
Key of Anonymity
Domain of Genesis
Waxing Moon
Waxing Moon: Incipience
Descent is cleared when HoFi exits the field. When she has 8 Descent stacks, she can cast a different Combo ATK depending on the stance she is currently in:
Time Flint Stance
In Time Flint Stance, she deals 110% x 4 + 400% + 190% x 4 ATK of Fire DMG.
Moon Blade Stance
In Moon Blade stance, she deals 600% + 1000% ATK of Fire DMG.
Absolute Time Fracture
On hitting a Combo ATK, HoFi gains 1 stack of Time Wave. When she has 2 stacks, holding [EVA] causes her to enter Absolute Time Fracture for 30 seconds, where all timers are paused, she gains 5 Descent stacks, and she becomes invincible. Time Wave is reset when HoFi exits the field.
During Absolute Time Fracture, her attacks cost Descent Stacks. Once they have been depleted or 30 seconds have passed, she performs a Combo ATK and exits Absolute Time Fracture.
Once Absolute Time Fracture ends, it enters a cooldown of 25s. During this time, Time Wave stacks cannot be acquired.
Herrscher Trio Synergy
HoFi was made to be run with Herrscher of Origin (HoO) and Herrscher of Truth (HoTr). When in a team with both of them, her ULT will be replaced by a Joint Ultimate with a different animation.
Moreover, HoO and HoTr’s ULTs will have different SP costs and CDs.
HoO Joint Bursting
In the Trio team, HoO’s ULT is replaced by Joint Bursting, which costs 50 SP, and has a CD of 15 seconds. When cast, HoFi’s switch CD is reset, and her special QTE is activated.
HoTr Joint Bursting
In the Trio team, HoTr’s ULT is replaced by Joint Bursting, which costs 75 SP, and has a CD of 15 seconds. When cast, HoFi’s switch CD is reset, and her special QTE is activated.
Astral Ring: Rite of Oblivion
HoFi is now protected by Astral Ring Specialization: Rite of Oblivion. When activating Astral Ring Specialization: Rite of Oblivion, entering Stellar Outburst provides her with a variety of buffs, and grants Time-Frozen Domain when casting Combo ATKs.
Astral Ring: World Star
HoFi has the Domain Resonance tag, and is able to support Valkyries protected by Astral Ring Specialization: World Star. During Stellar Outburst, her Descent stacks are replaced with 6 Quantum Mech Energy. Tapping [ATK] or her Weapon Skill will consume 1 stack to perform a Basic ATK and trigger Resonance. When she has 2 Quantum Mech Energy left, she performs a Combo ATK, consuming the last 2 stacks and triggering Resonance.
Equipment
Weapon
This is HoFi’s new Divine Key, and the entire reason this updated guide was made. It changes HoFi’s playstyle, incorporating Astral Ring mechanics into her rotations and granting her and the team strong buffs. Since this is the only Pistol weapon that can be used with Astral Ring mechanics, HoFi quite literally has no other alternatives. Even her old signature, Domain of Genesis, does nothing to change her kit. In summary, this weapon provides the following:
Personal Buffs:
Activation of Astral Ring: Rite of Oblivion
Different Weapon Actives depending on stance, with increased multipliers when in Stellar Outburst
Activation of Joint ATKs from HoO and HoTr
Additional Descent regeneration on the first Combo ATK in Stellar Outburst
Empowered ULT [Go, Kiana!] replacing the default ULT in Stellar Outburst
Weapon Active CD reset on switching stances
50% Weapon Active CD reduction on entering Finale stance
120% more DMG dealt by Basic ATKs in Absolute Time Fracture in the form of HP Loss
160% additional ATK multiplier for Combo ATK
30% Fire DMG Bonus
20% Fire DMG Bonus for ULT
Team Buffs:
10% Total DMG Bonus
25% Elemental DMG Bonus
20% Physical DMG Bonus
12% Total DMG Taken by enemies
12% Elemental DMG Taken by enemies
Weapon Synergy Level Comparison
Shown above are results derived from a single rotation with the loadout shown in the graphic. While Waxing Moon: Incipience’s synergy skill may look lackluster since it lacks independent buffs, it has a secondary effect - each upgrade to its synergy level provides every Valkyrie you own in the game with an additional 5 ATK, due to it being a Divine Key.
This makes its synergy levels more valuable than that of other weapons, since it benefits all of your Valkyries instead of just one. Whether or not to pull for synergy level 3 will depend on whether you can afford it comfortably and whether or not you plan to compete for Myriad.
Stigmata
New Set - King of Conquerors
This is HoFi’s new stigmata set. It enables her to act as a support with its several teamwide buffs. Moreover, the 3 piece effect, which frankly is much longer than it should be, buffs Herrscher of Origin (HoO) significantly, granting huge DMG bonuses and multipliers to her attacks. It also beats out her old signature stigmata set, so it’s recommended to use this on her.
Required Materials for Crafting
These are the materials needed to craft the full King of Conquerors stigmata set. Note that there is an extremely low chance you will ever need to craft all 3 stigs, since pulling for the weapon will likely get you one or more.
Signature Set - In the Name of Finality
This is HoFi’s signature set. Along with HoFi’s new gear, it got a new effect on its 3pc set bonus, shown in the graphic above.
Stigmata Comparison
As shown in the graphic above, Iskandar TMB beats out Finality TMB by a small margin. This unfortunately means that Finality TMB is now pretty much obsolete, and unless your affixes are significantly better than the ones on your Iskandar set, you won’t be using it much. Keep in mind this is just for HoFi DPS - with Finality TMB’s lack of teamwide buffs, the gap between it and Iskandar TMB widens even more.
Recommended Teams
HoFi’s best team still pairs her with HoO and HoTr, both designed to work extremely well with her. There’s not really much to say here, since HoFi remains as restrictive as she was on release in terms of team compositions.
HoFi can also act as a support for both Rite of Oblivion and World Star teams, due to her Omniscient Star and Domain Resonance tags.
Rotations
HoFi DPS Rotation
Astral Ring Rotation
This rotation is incredibly similar to the Herrscher Trio’s original rotation, with the only difference being the activation of Stellar Outburst after the second Joint Bursting. Depending on whether you’re in need of SP, you can connect HoTr’s Weapon Skill into her Basic ATK Seq 4 to unlock a second weapon.
Below is a video example of the rotation.
Non-Astral Ring Rotation
HoFi’s rotation while waiting for Stellar Outburst to recharge is just her old rotation. Nothing much to say here, it’s very straightforward. You may notice that her Astral Ring Intensity will not have returned to 150 after the rotation ends - this is normal. More Astral Ring Intensity will be regained once you switch back to the Stellar Outburst rotation shown above, and you will be able to cast Stellar Outburst once you finish the second Joint Bursting.
Below is a video example of the rotation.
Rite of Oblivion DPS (HoFi Support) Rotation
HoFi usually just uses her Weapon Skill to trigger her buffs, and doesn’t take much field time. Farming Descent stacks with her outside of the Herrscher Trio team is rather slow, so it isn’t done often, though it can be used during transition phases to get her Combo ATK and trigger Stellar Drain.
Below is a video example of the rotation.
For more information on Vita, check out my full guide here:
World Star DPS (HoFi Support) Rotation
Similar to the previous rotation, HoFi generally uses only her Weapon Skill. During Stellar Outburst, she also uses Basic ATKs to trigger Resonance.
Below is a video example of the rotation.
Should I pull?
As an older Valkyrie receiving new gear, the question is split into two parts. First - is it worth pulling for Herrscher of Finality? Simply put, the answer would be no. She’s almost 2 years old at this point, and her banner is barely run at this point anyway. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get her via other means. For example, she’s available in the v7.8 spending event. Once you have her in your roster, the question then becomes: do I pull the Divine Key?
Whether to pull the Divine Key depends on a variety of factors, the most important being how established your account is. For someone who already owns HoO and HoTr, they would be able to make good use of the Divine Key’s effects and use HoFi in battle as a DPS. However, for those who do not, her value decreases due to her being restricted to performing as a World Star support.
There’s also the fact that the Divine Key provides a global ATK increase to all Valkyries in your roster. This makes it somewhat futureproof, but 10-20 ATK in the long run won’t impact you very much, especially if you already have a sizeable number of other Divine Keys collected.
Conclusion
In conclusion, HoFi has gotten quite a nice upgrade in the form of new gear, but is still as restrictive in team compositions as she was on release. However, those who can make good use of her will no doubt benefit greatly.
Thank you for reading my guide! I hope it helped you learn more about HoFi. If I made any mistakes, please let me know by messaging @cayjunn on Discord and I will rectify them as soon as possible. I will also try my best to answer any questions you may have!
Cayjunn is a Honkai Impact 3rd guide maker and a member of the Hyperion Team. He can be found on Discord as @cayjunn, or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cayjunn1.