A new set of leaks about Blade’s buffs in buffs to old characters in Honkai: Star Rail will take place in Version 3.4. The first characters to receive these buffs, as confirmed by HoYoverse, are Blade, Silver Wolf, Kafka, and Jingliu.

HoYoverse hasn’t officially detailed what will be changed in each of these characters’ kits yet. However, as Version 3.4 approaches, several leaks about its contents are starting to get leaked. Some of the leaks are highlighting the new playable additions, like Phainon or the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works collaboration characters, Archer and Saber. On the other hand, some of the leaks have been putting the spotlight on these character buffs. Kafka’s leaked buffs in Honkai: Star Rail, for example, indicate that she will enhance her DoT (damage-over-time) capabilities, while Silver Wolf may get better at applying Weaknesses on enemies.

Blade's Buffs In Honkai: Star Rail 3.4 Have Leaked

Players May Expect Several Changes To The Character’s Kit

Now, new details about the updates to Blade’s kit have emerged. According to information provided by the leaker known as Shiroha, who has a solid reputation and has leaked Mydei’s kit, for example, all of the buffs applied to Blade's kit have been leaked. The leak was shared in a post tagged as “Reliable” on Blade’s build in Honkai: Star Rail sees these abilities scale off a portion of his ATK and his Max HP score.

The leak states that after players unlock Blade’s E1 (Eidolon level 1), the accumulated HP loss will no longer be cleared after his Ultimate is used. With his E1, currently, Blade’s Ultimate deals extra DMG based on a tally of his HP loss, but that tally is reset after his Ultimate is used. The leak also says that Blade’s third ive Trace will help him restore Energy. Lastly, when he uses his Skill, his Taunt Value is increased by 100%, meaning he should gain increased enmity when he enters the Hellscape state, provoking attacks from enemies in Honkai: Star Rail.

Blade's Leaked Buffs In Honkai: Star Rail 3.4 May Significantly Boost His Power

Becoming An HP-Scaler May Enhance His Damage Output

I see the reported changes to Blade’s kit as extremely positive. The first leaked buff, which changes the multiplier of his Basic Attack, Follow-up Attack, and Ultimate, is excellent. Currently, Blade’s dual-scaling may be one of his largest problems, as players have to find a nice balance between an ATK and a Max HP build for Blade, while also increasing his CRIT DMG and CRIT Rate stats. Currently, characters who scale on two different stats tend to have issues reaching high damage scores, and that will also seemingly be addressed in the leaked Jingliu buffs in Honkai: Star Rail 3.4.

As a rumored single stat scaler, Blade’s best build could be easier to achieve, and having him draw power from a single stat could also make it so that players increase that stat as much as they can. HP scalers are being used quite frequently, as has been seen with the recent releases of Mydei, Tribbie, and Castorice, for example, and Blade’s reported focus on Max HP, especially when considering his innate HP loss mechanics in Honkai: Star Rail, could make him much more effective in battle. Personally, that is the most exciting aspect of Blade’s leaked buffs.

For a long time, Blade was my main DPS, but he was soon powercrept by several releases and, despite the introduction of new Relics and Ornaments that refreshed his usefulness, he never really matched the potential of new characters – and a lot of that is due to how troublesome his stat-scaling is.

The ability to regenerate Energy is also quite useful, as it could help him have his Ultimate ready more promptly without having to rely so heavily on s that work as batteries to fuel him. Instead, he could possibly start regenerating extra Energy with his Follow-up Attacks, as those are the highlight of his third ive Trace. Another exciting aspect about the leaked buffs is the augmented Taunt Value that he may gain with the update. Blade already has a higher Taunt Value than most characters in Honkai: Star Rail, which often draws enemies’ attention toward him.

However, this Taunt does not always work. It’s quite common to run Blade in a team, and despite his efforts to Taunt opponents, see them attacking other allies, like the units. With this leaked boost to his Taunt Value, Blade could be the target of enemies’ attacks more frequently. This simultaneously does two things. The first is to inadvertently protect his teammates from the brunt of single-target damage. With a higher Max HP score thanks to his new multipliers, Blade should become even tankier, allowing him to withstand the extra heat from enemies in Honkai: Star Rail.

The second great aspect of the rumored increase to his Taunt Value is that being attacked allows him to get Charge stacks. If Blade is being attacked more frequently because of his increased Taunt, he is also accumulating Charge at an enhanced rate, thus improving how often he uses his Follow-up Attacks on enemies for massive damage – which, again, will start scaling off of his Max HP, exclusively, if the leaks are proven to be accurate.

Blade's Leaked Buffs In Honkai: Star Rail Could Put Him On The Same Level As Mydei (But There's An Issue)

Saber’s Release Could Immediately Shadowcreep Blade’s Buffs

Overall, if Blade’s leaked buffs truly transform him into a Max HP scaler, he may reach the same level of DPS as Mydei, for example, a recent Destruction character who also scales off of Max HP and is an absolute powerhouse. While players lose control of his abilities for a while, Mydei’s best build in Honkai: Star Rail can see him melt through enemy waves quite easily, and the rumored buffs have the potential to do exactly that with Blade. My only true concern about Blade’s buffs is that they may be powercrept upon release.

As a 5-star Wind Destruction character, Blade’s main competition is against other DPS characters, especially if they share the same element and Path. Aside from the Remembrance, all of the other playable Paths fit into archetypes, so Destruction characters tend to be DPS units. As has been confirmed, Fate’s Saber will be a 5-star Wind Destruction character, too, and she will be released in Version 3.4. I’m worried Saber will powercreep Blade in Honkai: Star Rail as soon as she is released because her role should be exactly the same as his.

For now, however, these leaks, rumors, and speculation should be considered with caution. Leaked information may be incorrect or subject to change, and HoYoverse has yet to make more announcements about how Saber’s gameplay kit will work so that we can evaluate if she will compete with Blade and potentially powercreep him or if they can both coexist under Honkai: Star Rail’s meta without much of an issue.

Source: Reddit