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13 Min read Sparkle is a Quantum Harmony released in Honkai: Star Rail during Patch 2.0, with a kit focused on supporting Damage Dealers with high Skill Point consumption. With the release of Patch 4.0, Sparkle receives a Novaflare update which changes a lot of her base kits, but still retains her core identity and becomes a premier Skill Point support for hypercarries.
Sparkle Ultimate, Talent & Skill
Sparkle’s Skill – Dreamdiver did not receive a major change from the Novaflare. It is a 50% Action Advance for 1 ally, and that ally will also get their Crit Damage increased by 24% of Sparkle’s Crit Damage, plus 45%, with the buff now lasting for 2 turns instead of 1 turn like her old version. This increased duration is very nice, solving one of her major problems in that her buff has an awkward window of downtime when supporting any characters that move frequently.
The other signature part of Sparkle was her Talent and Ultimate, both receiving a notable upgrade. Firstly, her Talent – Red Herring still increases the Skill Points limit of the team by 2 while Sparkle is on the field. Whenever an ally consumes 1 Skill Point, Sparkle will gain 1 stack of “Figment”, which increases enemies’ Damage received by 4% per stack, with a cap of 3 stacks and lasts for 2 turns. This can be restacked quite easily via any Skill Point usage.
Her Ultimate – The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This Ultimate will recover 6 Skill Points for the team and grant all allies the “Cipher” effect. Any Skill Points recovered that exceed the Skill Point limit will be recorded into a unique stack that Sparkle can hold, with a maximum of 10 Skill Points.
Whenever an ally character’s turn ends, if the team’s Skill Points count is not at max, she will consume all the recorded stacks and convert them into Skill Points instead. For each ally with Cipher, Sparkle will increase the damage boosting effect of her Talent by 6% per stack, meaning that she will now have a teamwide 30% Vulnerability aura for 3 turns once she uses her Ultimate.
Sparkle Traces & Technique
Sparkle Talent & Traces are just as pivotal to her gameplay. Almanac – her first major trace will regenerate an additional 10 Energy for her when she uses a basic attack. Furthermore, when any ally that receives the Crit Damage boosting effect consumes Skill Points, Sparkle will regenerate 1 Energy, which increases her synergy with units that can use Skill Points numerous times in a single turn, such as Archer or Sparxie, and enables Sparkle 2-turn Ultimate rotations in several teams.
Artificial Flowr – her second major trace lets Sparkle use her next Skill without consuming Skill Points if an ally consumes 3 or more Skill Points in a single action, further improving her SP generation. Last but not least, her third trace – Nocturne is a teamwide attack boost for 45%. When there is an ally with the Crit Damage boosting effect from her Skill on the field, Sparkle will also increase the team’s All-Type RES PEN by 10%.
Sparkle’s Technique is quite strong and should always be used at the start of a major battle. Upon using this Technique, the team will gain a buff called Misdirect which allow the player to not be detected by enemies for 20 seconds on the overworld. If entering battle while having Misdirect, at the start of the battle Sparkle will immediately recover 3 Skill Points for the team and 20 Energy for herself.
Overall Gameplay Evaluation
In terms of how Sparkle functions, the Novaflare upgrade does not change much. Rather, it basically addresses most of her major flaws that was a result of balancing 2 years ago. Sparkle’s damage amplification now is much more consistent and notable, with a few of her damage boosts also get changed to rarer types of offensive buffs which are much more valuable.
The ability to store excess Skill Points generated from her Ultimate, the improved energy regeneration and SP generation also means her previous synergies are much more potent, bringing her to the level of modern support units when paired with her favorite damage dealers, such as Sparxie, Archer or Phainon.
She is also very much not tied to just SP gobbling machines, as any Attack-scaling hypercarries can still utilize her successfully.
Basic Attack – Monodrama: Deals Quantum DMG equal to 100% of Sparkle’s ATK to one designated enemy target.
Skill – Dreamdiver: Increases the CRIT DMG of a designated ally by 24% of Sparkle’s CRIT DMG plus 45%, lasting for 2 turn(s). And at the same time, advances this ally’s action by 50%.
When Sparkle uses this ability on herself, the Action Advance effect will not trigger.
Ultimate – The Hero with a Thousand Faces: Recovers 6 Skill Point(s) for the team. If Skill Points overflow during recovery, overflowing Skill Points are recorded up to 10 point(s). When an ally character’s turn ends, if the team has fewer Skill Points than the maximum, Sparkle consumes the recorded value to recover Skill Points for the team, until the limit is reached. Then, grants all allies “Cipher.” For ally targets with “Cipher,” the DMG Boost effect provided by Sparkle’s Talent increases by an additional 6% per stack, lasting for 3 turn(s).
Talent – Red Herring: While Sparkle is on the field, additionally increases the max number of Skill Points by 2. Whenever an ally target consumes 1 Skill Point, Sparkle gains 1 stack of “Figment,” with each stack increasing all enemies’ DMG received by 4%. This effect lasts for 2 turn(s) and can stack up to 3 time(s).
Technique – Unreliable Narrator: After using Technique, grants all allies Misdirect for 20 seconds. Characters with Misdirect will not be detected by enemies, and entering battle in the Misdirect state recovers 3 Skill Point(s) for the team and regenerates 20 Energy for Sparkle.
Almanac: When using Basic ATK, additionally regenerates 10 Energy. When ally characters, who have the CRIT DMG Boost effect provided by “Dreamdiver,” consume Skill Points, Sparkle additionally regenerates 1 Energy.
Artificial Flower: If an ally consumes 3 or more Skill Points in a single action, Sparkle’s next Skill usage will not consume Skill Points.
Nocturne: Increases ATK for all allies by 45%. When an ally character possesses the CRIT DMG Boost effect provided by the Skill, their All-Type RES PEN increases by 10%.
All of Sparkle’s Eidolons are good and provide notable boost, and in general, they are better investments than her Signature Light Cones. Her E1 further increases the Attack of allies with “Cipher” by 40% and practically increases Sparkle’s Speed by 15%, helping her reach notable Speed threshold like 160, 168 or 200 much easier. Her E2 is a 30% Def Shred, which is very notable, especially when paired with other sources of Def Shred.
Her E4 is possibly her weakest one, further improve her Skill Point generation and the team’s Skill Point limit, which is a bit overkill. Her E6 is a big boost in her damage amplification, further improve the Crit Damage Boost from her Skill by another 30% of her own Crit Damage, and basically makes this effect teamwide rather than just fot the ally targeted by her Skill.
Nonetheless, as an older unit, they are not a great investments compared to modern units, and should only be considered if the players really want to improve Sparkle’s effectiveness in some of her specialized teams.
Light Cones
Main Stats
Relics
Planar Set
Dance! Dance! Dance!: When the wearer uses their Ultimate, all allies’ actions are Advanced Forward by 16% / 18% / 20% / 22% / 24%.
With her improved Energy Regeneration, Sparkle gets even better at abusing Dance Dance Dance to advance her team consistently. Combined with the Eagle Set, this Light Cone can generate a lot of extra turns for both herself and the team.
A Grounded Ascent: After the wearer uses Skill or Ultimate on one ally character, the wearer regenerates 6 / 6.5 / 7 / 7.5 / 8 Energy and the ability’s target receives 1 stack of “Hymn” for 3 turn(s), stacking up to 3 time(s). Each stack of “Hymn” increases its holder’s DMG dealt by 15% / 17.25% / 19.5% / 21.75% / 24%. After every 2 instance(s) of Skill or Ultimate the wearer uses on one ally character, recovers 1 Skill Point.
An absolutely powerhouse of a Light Cone for Single Target buffer like Sparkle. This Light Cone provides a lot of Energy Regeneration, strong Damage boosting effect and Skill Point generation all in one.
Earthly Escapade: Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 32% / 39% / 46% / 53% / 60%. At the start of the battle, the wearer gains Mask, lasting for 3 turn(s). While the wearer has Mask, the wearer’s teammates have their CRIT Rate increased by 10% / 11% / 12% / 13% / 14% and their CRIT DMG increased by 28% / 35% / 42% / 49% / 56%.
For every 1 Skill Point the wearer recovers (including Skill Points that exceed the limit), they gain 1 stack of Radiant Flame. And when the wearer has 4 stacks of Radiant Flame, all the stacks are removed, and they gain Mask, lasting for 4 turn(s).
Her Signature Light Cone is a great statstick that provides a lot of Crit Value for the team, but it does not improve her operation like Dance Dance Dance or A Grounded Ascent.
But the Battle Isn’t Over: Increases the wearer’s Energy Regeneration Rate by 10% / 12% / 14% / 16% / 18% and regenerates 1 Skill Point when the wearer uses their Ultimate on an ally. This effect can be triggered once after every 2 uses of the wearer’s Ultimate. When the wearer uses their Skill, the next ally taking action (except the wearer) deals 30% / 35% / 40% / 45% / 50% more DMG for 1 turn(s).
Sparkle is a pretty effective user of this Light Cone, since 50% Advance is enough to drag a low Speed character to action immediately a lot of the time to utilize the damage boosting effect. This Skill also has Energy Regeneration Rate boost and Skill Point generation, similar to A Grounded Ascent, albeit at a weaker rate.
Meshing Cogs: After the wearer uses attacks or gets hit, additionally regenerates 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 Energy. This effect cannot be repeatedly triggered in a single turn.
A very cheap option to help Sparkle with extra Energy.
Sparkle is quite straightforward to build. Much of the difficulty in raising her is getting high Speed substats on her equipment, but the main stats options themselves are simple. For body, she wants either Crit Damage% to maximize her buff from her Skill, or HP% to improve her bulk. For boot, Speed is non-negotiable to make use of her Action Advance. For Orb, both HP% and Def% are good options to improve her survivability. For Rope, Energy Regeneration% is also non-negotiable, as her Ultimate is very important to her overall gameplay.
Aim for as much Speed as possible. 50% Action Advance allows Sparkle to serve as a Speed boot for her hypercarry and let them go Attack% boot instead, resulting in great damage boosting as a side effect. Crit Damage% and HP% are both great substats to get to raise her damage boosting capacity or tankiness.
Before her Novaflare upgrade, Sparkle was generally built around either the 160 or 168 Speed threshold. 160 Speed gives her an extra turn every 2 normal cycles in Memory of Chaos, while 168 Speed can be as effective as 200 Speed when she gets action advanced by the Eagle set and Dance Dance Dance, which gives her 3 turns in the first cycle in Memory of Chaos. Post upgrade, these threshold still works as good generic breakpoints that players can strive for.
Eagle of Twilight Line
Sparkle wants to move very often, so Eagle is her best practical set, allowing her to cycle through her rotation more often.
Sacerdos’ Relived Ordeal
Since Sparkle’s skill is a targeting ability, she can easily stack Sacerdos’ effect. The Speed boost is also quite valuable to hit certain breakpoints.
Sprightly Vonwacq
Vonwaq is a staple set for support thanks to the extra Energy Regeneration boost, and the action advance effect is especially useful in modes such as Apocalyptic Shadow to save extra Action Value.
Lushaka, the Sunken Seas
On top of 5% extra Energy Regeneration, this set also improves Sparkle’s buffing capacity via granting 12% extra Attack to one designated teammate.
While she favors Damage Dealers with very high SP Consumption to take full advantage of her kits, Sparkle is a competent hypercarry Support. As such, most Attack & Crit-scaling hypercarries can field her without much of an issue.
Sparxie: Sparxie has one of the highest Skill Point consumption in the game, making Sparkle one of her most ideal support units at her release. Sparkle’s buffs, being Vulnerability, Crit Damage, and RES PEN, also benefit Sparxie as Elation Damage scales off these stats.
Archer: Archer is another Crit-scaling Damage Dealer with very high SP Consumption. He can easily spend all the excess Skill Points that Sparkle generates and benefits from all of her damage amplifications and action advance, while also triggering her Energy Regeneration effect at maximum efficiency.
Dan Heng – Imbibitor Lunae: Similar to Archer, DHIL is another Crit-scaling high SP Consumption Damage Dealers that can fully utilize Sparkle’s skillset.
Phainon: Sparkle can act as a Speed boot for Phainon, generating Coreflame by advancing him. Furthermore, since Sparkle’s buffs after Novaflare are aura-type buffs that will be active when Phainon transforms, which massively helps his damage output.
Attack & Crit-Scaling Hypercarries: Most Attack and Crit-based hypercarries can utilize Sparkle, especially ones that prefer to run Attack% boot.
Cerydra: Cerydra is the other Harmony units with a focus on Skills, meaning she is a natural partner for several Damage Dealers that Sparkle would be good with.
Robin: The extra action that Robin grants is very beneficial for Sparkle, who wants to move as often as possible to generate more turns, energy, and Skill Points for the team.
Other Dance Dance Dance Users: Harmony units that can also utilize the Dance Dance Dance Light Cones make a very powerful combination with Sparkle, and can quickly generate extra turns for the team.
Huohuo: The teamwide energy regeneration that Huohuo gives is very helpful for Sparkle, further improve her Ultimate’s frequency.
Post her Novaflare buff, Sparkle is easily the best-in-slot support for some meta characters like Sparxie and Archer, with notable performance for other hypercarry units like Phainon or Anaxa as well. If the players are invested in these Damage Dealers, Sparkle is a worthwhile consideration, especially considering she does not need her Signature Light Cone to function. In the future, as more units with high Skill Point consumption are released, she will also gain value and spotlight.
If the players are not invested in Crit-scaling hypercarries, or Damage Dealers without humongous SP consumption, then Sparkle is a fairly easy skip.
Thanks for reading! For more resources, check out our other Honkai Star Rail Guides.
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