Himeko • Nova introduces a brand-new playstyle centered around her unique Assist Skill mechanic, making her one of the most distinctive Erudition characters in Honkai: Star Rail. This guide explains her officially revealed abilities from the Version 4.4 Special Program and Keeping Up With Star Rail, breaking down how each part of her kit works in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
Keep in mind that any values or mechanics may be adjusted before or after her official release.
Skill – Upraise the Vanward Cresset
When using her Skill, Himeko • Nova gains “Navigator’s Semaphore” for a set number of turns
and immediately recovers all Assist Skill uses. While “Navigator’s Semaphore” is active, all allies deal increased DMG. This Skill makes her work together with another DPS or Sub-DPS, as it will increase the whole team’s damage.
Note that you should only refresh Himeko • Nova‘s Skill when the duration is over — otherwise in other turns, simply use her Basic ATK.
Talent – Of Fire and Far Faring
As long as Himeko • Nova is on the field, she can deploy the Territory “Starblazer Visioscape,” allowing the “Starblazer” mech to join the fight, granting allies an Assist Skill. This Assist Skill is Himeko • Nova‘s bread and butter, and will explained further below.
Assist Skill – Trailblaze, By Your Side
When an ally uses any Assist Skill (by tapping the Assist Skill button), “Starblazer” mech immediately launches an attack, dealing multiple instances of Fire DMG to all enemies. “Starblazer” then deals additional Fire DMG multiple times to one random enemy.
At the same time, Himeko • Nova gains increased All-Type RES PEN and CRIT DMG, and her attacks can ignore Weakness Types to reduce Toughness. It’s worth noting that using Himeko • Nova‘s Assist Skill does not consume any Assist Skill uses and deals increased DMG.
While “Navigator’s Semaphore” is active (her Skill), at the start of each of her turns, Himeko • Nova gains 1 Assist Skill use.
Companion Protocol – Verdict and Decimation
This is where Himeko • Nova branches off into two different playstyles. When the Trailblazer, Sunday, or Dan Heng uses an Assist Skill, Himeko • Nova gains “Companion Protocol: Verdict.”
Meanwhile, when March 7th or Welt uses an Assist Skill, she gains “Companion Protocol: Decimation” instead.
Companion Protocol: Verdict
In the “Companion Protocol: Verdict” mode, DMG dealt by Himeko • Nova increases, and her Ultimate DMG gets an extra boost. Whenever allies use their Ultimates, Himeko • Nova will also immediately launch an Assist Skill without consuming any uses.
In this mode, allies using their Ultimates will increase how often Himeko • Nova uses her Assist Skill, making her the Main DPS of the team. As such, Companion Protocol: Verdict suits Himeko with a team full of supports that can trigger Ultimates frequently, while also increasing her damage.
Companion Protocol: Decimation
In “Companion Protocol: Decimation” mode, all allies gain increased CRIT DMG, and Skill CRIT DMG is further increased! Whenever allies hit a certain number of enemies, Himeko • Nova immediately fires an Assist Skill, which does not consume any Assist Skill uses for this instance.
In this mode, all allies’ Skill DMG increases, and hitting more enemies can effectively increase the frequency of Assist Skill uses. As such, Companion Protocol: Decimation suits Himeko • Nova with another Main DPS or Sub-DPS (especially one who frequently attacks) as the whole team gains a damage boost.
Ultimate – We, Too, Stride the Stars
Using her Ultimate, Himeko • Nova immediately takes control of “Starblazer”, allowing her to launch either “Hyperluminal Particle Beam” or “Orbital Annihilation Pulse.”
When using “Hyperluminal Particle Beam,” she deals Fire DMG to all enemies and is granted 1 Source Energy point. The number of times “Hyperluminal Particle Beam” can be used during a single Ultimate is limited.
By consuming at most 3 Source Energies, she can unleash “Orbital Annihilation Pulse,” dealing Fire DMG to all enemies.
The best way to use Himeko • Nova’s Ultimate is:
- Hyperluminal Particle Beam
- Hyperluminal Particle Beam
- Hyperluminal Particle Beam
- Orbital Annihilation Pulse
Then repeat until Himeko • Nova launches the Final Hit.
Himeko • Nova Showcase
We had the opportunity to try out Himeko • Nova in the Creator Experience Server, and this is how she goes with her best Decimation team, featuring Mortenax Blade, Welt, and Huohuo.
What do you think of Himeko’s new gameplay, Trailblazers? Are you saving enough Stellar Jades to bring her home? Check out Icy Veins for the latest Honkai: Star Rail updates.
