Cipher – Guide, Skills, Builds, Teams & More

Cipher: Guide, Skills, Builds, Teams & More

Cipher is the second Quantum Nihility in Honkai Star Rail, following Silver Wolf. Similar to her predecessor, Cipher is a blend of an amplifier and a sub-DPS, with a unique niche in recording and then redistributing the recorded damage to other enemies. While Cipher may not be the far and away best-in-slot for a lot of teams as of the time of her release, she does provide generic boosts that many Damage Dealers to take advantage of, and the ability to “cheese” many fights thanks to her mechanics.

Cipher Release Date

Cipher’s banner will be in the second half of Version 3.3, releasing on June 11th, 2025, and will run until July 2nd, 2025.

Cipher Kit Overview (Trace Level 10)

Talents

Cipher’s talent inflicts a state called “Patron” immediately upon entering battle the the target with the highest max HP, which is a Boss or an Elite primary of the time. Whenever the enemy with the “Patron” state is attacked, Cipher will record 12% of the damage dealt toward it (excluding True Damage and overflow damage), which can later be utilized by her Ultimate. Cipher can reassign this “Patron” state to another target by using her Skill or Ultimate on that target, and this state can only be on one enemy at a time.

Furthermore, whenever this enemy is attacked by an ally, Cipher will immediately launch a follow-up attack on it. This effect has a 1-time limit per Cipher turn and will be reset at the start of her next turn.

Ultimate

Cipher’s Ultimate is the other primary component of her uniqueness, alongside her talent. When used, Cipher will deal Quantum damage to a designated target. Then she will deal 25% of the recorded value from her talent to that target as True Damage, followed by another Quantum Damage instance equal to 40% of her Attack, and finally a Blast attack that consume the remaining 75% of her recorded damage value as True Damage to the designated target and its adjacent allies. The final hit is equally distributed across its target, so in the 1 and 2 targets scenario, the enemies will take 75% / 37.5 % of the recorded damage value, respectively, ensuring that no damage is wasted.

Both Cipher’s Ultimate and Skill complement and synergize well with his Talent. His Ultimate is an AoE attack that inflicts a unique status called “Sublimation” to all enemies, which lasts until their next action. Enemies with Sublimation are considered to have all 7 Elemental Weaknesses, and if they do not have Crowd Control Resistance, they will not be able to take action. The damage of this Ultimate is not potent, but it is quite impactful. Inflicting all 7 Elemental Weaknesses allows Cipher and his teammates to break any enemies regardless of their original Weaknesses, and the crowd control effect is great at keeping the team healthy throughout the battle. This Ultimate also lets Cipher trigger his Talent before he can stack 5 Weaknesses with his Skill.

Since the recorded damage value has no upper limit, Cipher can hold her Ultimates for as long as she can for a big nuke at the right moment. This is particularly effective against multiple-phase bosses, allowing the team to quickly soften them upon reaching the second phase for a more efficient clear. Furthermore, this ability allows Cipher to help her team’s primary damage dealer change their damage distribution to match the enemy’s composition. A good example would be making someone like Feixiao a lot more effective in dealing with 2 or 3 enemies at the same time, despite being a Single-Target Damage Dealer.

Skill

Cipher’s Skill is a Blast-type attack that also increases a Weaken debuff to all of the targets, making them deal 10% less damage for 2 turns. Additionally, Cipher will increase her Attack by 30% for 2 turns upon using this skill. As stated before, her Skill is also the main way for Cipher to change the target of her “Patron” debuff.

Major Traces

Cipher’s first major Trace is a major stats boost upon reaching the 140/170 Speed threshold. She essentially gains 25/50% Crit Rate and also improves her damage recorded value by 50%/100%, so it is always highly recommended for her to build Speed until she reaches at least 170 Speed.

Her second Trace let Cipher record 8% of any non-True Damage that her allies deal to enemies that are not inflicted with the “Patron” status, which increase her synergy with AoE Damage Dealer like The Herta or Castorice, and can help improve their naturally weaker Single-Target damage output by unleashing the recorded damage onto a single target once all the smaller mobs have been cleaned up.

Cipher’s last major Trace increases the Crit Damage of her Talent’s follow-up attack, and, more importantly, inflicts a Vulnerability debuff to all enemies on the field and makes them take 40% more damage. This trace improves the damage output of her team noticeably.

Technique

Her technique is in a similar mould to Yukong and Feixiao. It increases her overworld’s movement by a significant amount, allowing her to sneak past enemies without raising their aggro with a small chance to “steal” consumables from them when passing by. If entering battle while in this state, Cipher will deal Quantum damage to all enemies, with the recorded damage Cipher obtains from this instance increased by 200%.

Overall

Cipher has a quite generic kit with an interesting twist. Her biggest selling point is her ability to essentially record and later unleash this recorded damage most favorably based off of enemies composition. A Single-Target attacker can essentially function as a Blast-type attacker when Cipher is on the team, and vice versa, Blast-type or AoE-type attackers can convert some of their AoE damage prowess into single-target damage output.

However, Cipher also has some neat components in her kits that make her a versatile character. She has naturally high speed with a built-in follow-up attack in her talent that can inflict a debuff, making her a natural teammate for units like Feixiao, Dr. Ratio, or Acheron. Furthermore, Cipher has a teamwide Vulnerability field that further improves the team’s damage output, while also being a very respectable damage dealer, allowing her to contribute to any team she is put into.

On the other hand, Cipher does not excel in any particular niche. While her unique gimmick can help many Damage Dealers become more adaptable to the enemies’ composition, this is far from something they need to perform. Modern characters also tend to have more rigid cookie-cutter teams that feed into each other’s playstyle, with some having tailor-made teammates, in which case, a versatile generalist like Cipher will struggle in finding a place where she belongs due to team space issues.

Cipher Core Skills

Basic Attack – Oops, a Missed Catch: Deals Quantum DMG equal to 100% of Cipher’s ATK to one designated enemy.

Skill – Hey, Jackpot for the Taking: There is a 120% base chance to weaken one designated enemy and adjacent targets, decreasing their DMG dealt by 10% and increasing Cipher’s ATK by 30%, lasting for 2 turn(s). At the same time, deals Quantum DMG equal to 200% of Cipher’s ATK to one designated enemy, and Quantum DMG equal to 100% of Cipher’s ATK to its adjacent targets.

For each enemy target available to be attacked on the battlefield when the Skill is used, increases the Damage dealt by this Skill’s usage by 20%.

Ultimate – Yours Truly, Kitty Phantom Thief!: Deals Quantum DMG equal to 120% of Cipher’s ATK to one designated enemy. Then, deals True DMG equal to 25% of the currently recorded Talent value to one designated enemy, Quantum DMG equal to 40% of Cipher’s ATK to one designated enemy and its adjacent targets, and True DMG equal to 75% of the current Talent’s recorded value. This True DMG is distributed to all Skill targets.

Talent – The Hospitable Dolosian: When there are no enemy targets in “Patron” state on the battlefield, Cipher immediately causes one enemy target with the highest Max HP on the battlefield to become the “Patron.” When using Skill and Ultimate, the primary target becomes the “Patron.” The “Patron” state only takes effect on the latest target.

After the “Patron” is attacked by other ally targets, Cipher immediately launches a Follow-up ATK against the “Patron,” dealing Quantum DMG equal to 150% of Cipher’s ATK. This effect can be triggered up to 1 time(s) each turn, and it resets at the start of Cipher’s turn.

Cipher will record 12% of the non-True DMG ally targets dealt to “Patron,” but the Overflow DMG will not be recorded. The recorded value is cleared after using Ultimate.

Technique – Puss in Boots: Obtains “Zagreus’s Blessing” for 15 second(s). During this time, Cipher will be undetectable by enemies and her movement speed increases by 50%. When approaching an enemy in the overworld/Simulated Universe/Divergent Universe, there is a chance of immediately obtaining a random Consumable. You can obtain Consumables up to 50 time(s) in each Earth day.

When entering battle with “Zagreus’s Blessing” active, deals Quantum DMG equal to 100% of Cipher’s ATK to all enemies. Increases the recorded DMG Cipher obtained from this instance of DMG by 200%.

Cipher Traces

Empyrean Strides: When Cipher’s SPD is greater or equal to 140/170, increases CRIT Rate by 25%/50%, and recorded value by 50%/100%.

300 Rogues: Cipher will record 8% of the non-True DMG ally targets dealt to the enemy targets aside from the “Patron.” Overflow DMG is not recorded.

Sleight of Sky: Increases the CRIT DMG dealt by the Talent’s Follow-up ATK by 100%. When Cipher is on the battlefield, DMG received by all enemy targets increases by 40%.

Cipher Eidolons

• Read the Room, Seek the Glee: Cipher’s recorded DMG is 150% of the original recorded DMG value. When using a Follow-up ATK caused by her Talent, increases Cipher’s ATK by 80% for 2 turn(s).
• In the Fray, Nab On a Spree: When Cipher hits an enemy target, there is a 120% base chance of causing them to receive 30% more DMG, lasting 2 turn(s).
• From Thin Air, Hard to Foresee: Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv. 10.
• The Jig Is Up, Quick to Flee: After “Patron” is attacked by an ally target, Cipher deals Quantum Additional DMG equal to 50% of Cipher’s ATK to it.
• Safe in Numbers, Light as a Bee: Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.
• The Thief’s Game, Unsung and Free: Increases DMG dealt by Follow-up ATKs caused by Cipher’s Talent by 350%. Records an additional 16% of non-Overflow DMG dealt by this ATK. After resetting the record upon using her Ultimate, returns 20% of the reset record.

Eidolon Priority

Cipher has a monstrous Eidolon 1. This Eidolon essentially increases her recorded damage value by 50% and also grants her an 80% Attack boost which is highly valuable due to her having to build Speed boot over Attack. For any cat enthusiast, E1S1 Cipher is the optimal point of investment, albeit quite expensive for a marginal upgrade over existing options.

Her E2 and E4 are good, but not as spectacular. E2 inflicts another 30% Vulnerability debuff when she attacks, while E4 increases her damage against enemies with the “Patron” state.

Her E6, similar to most recent units, is powerful. It vastly increases her Follow-up attack damage and increases the recorded damage value caused by this attack. It will also allow Cipher to retain 20% of her damage recorded value after every Ultimate, essentially increasing her overall recorded damage value by 20%.

• Eidolon 1: Very High
• Eidolon 2: Medium
• Eidolon 4: Medium
• Eidolon 6: Very High

Cipher Build Guide Overview

Light Cones

• Lies Dance on the Breeze
• Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat

Main Stats

• Body: Crit Damage / Crit Rate
• Feet: Speed
• Orb: Attack% / Quantum Damage%
• Rope: Attack%

Relics

• Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters
• Eagle of Twilight Line
• Genius of Brilliant Stars

Planar Set

• Firmament Frontline: Glamoth
• Inert Salsotto
• Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm

Cipher Light Cones

Cipher is quite unlucky in that she has very few acceptable options for F2P Light Cones, as she does not need Effect Hit Rate nor an increase in DoT damage, which many F2P Nihility Light Cones come with. For this reason, we will only recommend her Premium options, as any F2P Nihility Light Cones will be basically a stat stick for her.

Premium Options

Lies Dance on the Breeze: Increases the wearer’s 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 the “Bamboozle” state, the enemy target’s DEF decreases by 16% / 18% / 20% / 22% / 24% for 2 turn(s). 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 the “Theft” state, the enemy target’s DEF decreases by 8% / 9% / 10% / 11% / 12% for 2 turn(s). When “Bamboozle” or “Theft” is inflicted repeatedly, only the latest effect inflicted can be active.

Cipher’s Signature Light Cone is one of the most generic Light Cones in the game, turning any Nihility support unit into a beast. It gives her Speed and a stacking Def Shred on attack, which caps at 24%-36 %, further enhancing both her and the team’s damage output. This Light Cone is essentially a more overpowered version of Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat, and is highly recommended to be pulled for Cipher’s owner, as units like Silver Wolf or Pela can also utilize this Cone very well.

Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat: When the wearer hits an enemy and if the hit enemy is not already “Ensnared,” then there is a 60% / 70% / 80% / 90% / 100% base chance to “Ensnare” the hit enemy. “Ensnared” enemies’ DEF decreases by 12% / 13% / 14% / 15% / 16% for 1 turn(s).

This Light Cone is the classic support Light Cone that many Nihility units crutch on due to how potent Def Shredding is when stacked. It is a much weaker version of Cipher’s personal Light Cone, but still a good option if the budget is tight.

Cipher Main Stats

• Body: Crit Damage / Crit Rate
• Feet: Speed
• Orb: Attack% / Quantum Damage%
• Rope: Attack%

Cipher Sub Stats

• Crit Damage / Crit Rate
• Speed
• Attack

Cipher is incentivized to build Speed as she gets a lot of free stats from her traces upon reaching 170+ Speed. This means Speed boot is a must on her. On the other pieces, the primary stats will be Crit Rate, Crit Damage, and Attack to improve her damage output. For orbs, both Quantum Damage% and Attack% are fine options.

Main Stats Goal & Speedtuning:

• Goal: 170+ Speed

The minimum speed Cipher should get is 170 to cap out her trace. Higher Speed is also acceptable, albeit the next best threshold is a bit high at 200 Speed (can be achieved by teammates increasing the team’s Speed or via Action Advance like the Eagle of Twilight set / Dance Dance Dance Light Cone). Cipher essentially gets 50% Crit Rate for free, so with a Crit Rate chest, Inert Salsotto set, and the Diver set, she effectively has 100% Crit Rate, allowing her to go straight to more Crit Damage. Alternatively, players can go Crit Damage chest on her if they can get enough Crit Rate from her substats.

Cipher Relics

Option A

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(s).

The best generic set for Cipher as she can provide all 3 debuffs on her own to get the full benefits from this set.

Option B

Eagle of Twilight Line

• 2-Pc: Increases Wind Damage by 10%.
• 4-Pc: After the wearer uses their Ultimate, their action is Advanced Forward by 25%.

Strong options for more supportive Cipher in team that want her to move more frequently (such as Acheron and Feixiao team), especially when doing low cycles clear.

Option C

Genius of Brilliant Stars

• 2-Pc: Increases Quantum Damage by 10%.
• 4-Pc: When the wearer deals Damage to the target enemy, ignores 10% DEF. If the target enemy has Quantum Weakness, the wearer additionally ignores 10% DEF.

With her own Signature Light Cone, Cipher would be ignoring 44% of the enemy’s Defense, which is a notable damage increase. It is only worth using this set against Quantum-weak enemies.

Cipher Planar Sets

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.

Since Cipher will most likely build 170 Speed, she will fully benefit from all the damage boost from this Planar.

Inert Salsotto

• 2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 8%. When the wearer’s current CRIT Rate reaches 50% or higher, the DMG dealt by the wearer’s Ultimate and Follow-up ATK increases by 15%.

This set boosts Cipher’s main damaging tools, which are her follow-up attacks and Ultimates, while also providing Crit Rate, which helps her reach 100% Crit Rate more easily.

Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm

• 2-Pc: Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When entering battle, if at least one teammate follows the same Path as the wearer, then the wearer’s CRIT Rate increases by 12%.

This set should only be used when Cipher is paired with another Nihility unit, such as in the Acheron team.

Cipher Teammates

Cipher is splashable into many teams as her form of damage boosting is quite universal. However, there are only a few teams where Cipher is considered best-in-slot. As such, we will mostly explore these teams to give a better perception of what

Main DPS

Feixiao: Cipher can be considered a best-in-slot partner for Feixiao, replacing the spot of Topaz / March 7th (Hunt) / Moze in her optimal team. She has a high action economy, an innate follow-up attack from her talent, a strong damage boosting mechanism, and improves Feixiao’s effectiveness in encounters where there are multiple enemies.

It is worth noting that for E2 Feixiao, the other units will be better since she benefits more from teammates with more frequent follow-up attacks for more stacks.

Acheron: At E0, Cipher will be one of Acheron’s best teammates alongside Jiaoqiu. While Jiaoqiu is most effective against multiple enemies that move frequently (such as Hoolay or True Sting), Cipher is highly effective against enemies that do not move often (like Nikador), covering different situations for Acheron. With E2 Acheron, Cipher will replace Jiaoqiu in most scenarios, except Pure Fiction, where Jiaoqiu’s stack generations will surpass hers.

Dr. Ratio: On her own, Cipher can fulfill the debuffs requirement for Dr. Ratio, while also attacking frequently to trigger his follow-up attack, letting Dr. Ratio run Harmony units and other sustain characters that do not provide debuffs on his 3rd and 4th teammate slots.

Harmony/Nihility

Cipher generally pairs well with amplifiers that improve the whole team’s damage, rather than focusing on a single unit, as her personal damage is quite respectable and benefits well from external buffs.

Robin: Robin is the best partner for any unit with a high action economy and scales off attack, which Cipher is. She provides a monstrous amount of Attack and Damage boost and on-hit damage, both of which are highly appreciated by Cipher. On the other side, Cipher can quickly charge Robin’s Ultimate thanks to her frequent attacks.

Tribbie: Tribbie is a generic teamwide buffer and strong AoE damage on her own, which Cipher can fully take advantage of with her recording damage mechanics. It is worth noting that Tribbie does like teammates who spam their Ultimate a lot, while Cipher might want to hold off on her Ultimate until the optimal burst moment, which can create a conundrum in some runs.

Ruan Mei: Ruan Mei is the team-wide buffer with the weakest synergy with Cipher, but her buffs are still highly useful and synergistic with her, namely, teamwide Damage Buff, Res Pen & Speed.

Silver Wolf/Jiaoqiu/Pela: Cipher works well with fellow Nihility amplifiers as they essentially are teamwide amplifiers against specific targets.

Sustain

Hyacine: Hyacine has fantastic personal damage for a sustain and provide a lot of recorded damage for Cipher to make use of in multi-targets scenarios. With her personal Light Cone, Hyacine also boost the team damage output and has decent synergy with both Acheron and Feixiao, two of Cipher’s best teammates.

Aventurine: Aventurine is one of the best sustain for Feixiao, Dr. Ratio and Acheron thanks to his frequent attack and debuff, which also create a natural synergy with Cipher.

Cipher Teams

Feixiao Team:

Dr. Ratio Team:

Acheron Team:

Cipher Pull Value and Conclusion

Cipher can be considered a luxury unit. While her mechanics provide a lot of leeway for players to take advantage of when fighting various enemy compositions, the truth of the matter is that she is not by far a standout teammate for any modern team archetype, where every team member must be the absolute best-in-slot. This is less of a Cipher’s problem, but a Honkai Star Rail problem where units are getting even more specific and pigeon-holed than before.

Even for the teams where she is definitely the best, she is not the most efficient vertical investment options over the Eidolon of Harmony units or the primary Damage Dealers. As such, Cipher is a safe skip for most players, as it is unlikely they would need her to clear any specific contents. For any players that do like what she brings the table, they will not be disappointed in her capacity.

Thanks for Reading! For more resources, check out our other Honkai Star Rail Guides.