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The story ofHonkai: Star Railtakes a turn in the update 3.1 story with the introduction of its main antagonist. At first known only by three question marks, this figure earns the name Flame Reaver over the course of the narrative. Youtechnicallyfight the entity three times but only have a chance at beating it in two of these encounters.
The boss’s full name is Flame Reaver of the Deepest Dark, and it’s one of the toughest, most technical fights in Star Rail. Overcoming it requires a solidly built team, and even with the right strategies, survival isn’t guaranteed. We’ll go over everything you need to know in this guide.
All Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark Attacks
TheFlame Reaver, first known only as “???,“doesn’t have the longest attack list —that’s true even in itstwo-phase encounterat the end of the 3.1 story, “Lion Slips the Gate, Shadow Greets the Throne.”
However,it doesn’tneeda long attack list if its abilities are complex. That’s doubly true because the Reaver’sdamageoutputrivals Nikador’s. The bossalsosummons up to four minions, increasing the potential for a team wipe.
In the very first encounterwith the Reaver, or ???,you can’t beat it. Theinitial fightisscriptedfor you tolose.FollowingthecutscenewhereAnaxa awakens, you candeplete the Reaver’s HP to 1 percentbefore the fight concludes.
Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark Passive Abilities
The Flame Reaver’s passive abilities help define how it the fight flows, and you should keep their capabilities in the back of your mind as you fight.
Description
Damage Reduction
Unremovable. TheReaver starts the battlewitheight stacks of damage reduction, eachreducing the damageit takes by5%. Itloses one stackafter youdefeat one of its summons, aLong-Shattered Vessel.
Entangled by Agony
Unremovable.After absorbingone of itsLong-Shattered Vesselsummons, theReaver restores the HP it consumedto create the Vessel. If theVessel is defeated before it can be absorbed, the Reavercannot regain the HP spentto create it.
Calamity Power
Unremovable. Using theCry Not For The Discarded attack consumes all Calamity Powerstacks to increase the attack’s Hits Per Action.
Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark Phase One Attacks
Thefirsttime youfight theReaverfollowing the scripted loss, the encounter only hasone phase. Thesecond,climactic encounter hastwo.
Thefirst and second phasesof the fight againstthe Flame ReaverOf The Deepest Darkare similarin structure, and theboss sharesmost ofits move listbetween them.
The main difference is that in the first phase, the Reaver needs to take additional actions to call in its summons. The second phase almost always has them present, forcing you to clear them quicker to keep the boss from healing and increasing its damage.
TheReavercan alsoapplytheCorrosiondebuff, whichreducesa character’smaximum health,recoverableonly bydealing damageto the enemy that applied the effect.
But Suffering Is Essential
AoE Attack
TheReaver consumes all available Calamity Powerand deals several instances ofminor Physical damage to all allies. ThemoreCalamity Powerconsumed, thehighereach instance ofdamage. It then dealsminor Physical damageto all allies.
Dealsmoderate Physical damageto one target and those adjacent to it.
Fading Fate
Dealsmoderate Physical damage to all alliesandconvertsa portion of the targets' reducedHPintoCorrosion.
Roads Mingled
Enhance
The Reaver’sLong-Shattered Vessel summonsenter the Mutual Sacrificestate,preppingthe Reaver to useUnderworld’s Griefafter a set number of turns.
Underworld’s Grief
AoE Attak
TheReaverand itsLong-Shattered Vesselsuse eitherDemise’s Storm or Fading Fatetogether. TheReaverthenabsorbsall activeLong-Shattered Vessels,healingandgaining Calamity Powerbased on the number of Vessels absorbed.
Pain of Parting
Talent
DuringtheDemise’s StormorFading Fateattacks, theReavercan consume HP tosummon Long-Shattered Vessels,convertingthespent HPintoEntangled by Agony(see above).
AfterLong-Shattered Vesselsaredefeated, the Reavertakes additional Physical damage.
Long-Shattered Vessels attack alongside theReaver when it attackswith Demise’s Storm or Fading Fate.
The Reaver will thenabsorb the Vessels summoned by Demise’s Storm or Fading Fateand any that attacked as part of the Path of Parting,restoring HP convertedby Entangled by Agony and granting the Reaver astack of Calamity Power.
Resolute Farewell
TheReaverbegins the battle withseveral stacks of Damage Reduction.One stack is lost witheverydefeatedLong-ShatteredVessel.
Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark Second Phase Attacks
Thesecond phaseof the fight against theReaver of the Deepest Darkfollows a similarcadence to the first, with some notable differences.
We’velisted all the new attacksbelow, keeping in mind that theReavercanstill useall ofits phase one attacks.
Cry Not for the Discarded
DealsPhysical Damage to all targetsandconsumes all Calamity Powerto deal additional instances of Physical damage. Themore Calamity Powerconsumed, thehigher the damagethose additional instances deal.
Silent Sorrow
Charging State
Obtains Calamity Powerand enters theSilent Sorrow state, usingCry Not for the Discardedon itsnext action.
Lost Sacrifice
WithinSilent Sorrow, the Reaverconsumes HPto summon aLong-Shattered Vesseland converts the HP into Entangled by Agony.
IfCalamity Power stacksareabove zeroand a Long-ShatteredVessel is destroyed, theReaverwillspend a Calamity Pointto summon anew one, consuming HP as normal.
When theReaverusesCry Not for the Departed, itabsorbsanyactive Vesselsandrestores HPconverted to Entangled By Agony
Passive
TheVessel resists Crowd Controldebuffs.
When theReaverusesDemise’s StormorFading Fate, if thatinstanceof theattack summonedtheVesseland the Vessel isin the Mutual Sacrificestate, it willattack togetherwith the Reaver.
Mutual Sacrifice: Fading Fate
Dealsmoderate Physical damage to all alliesandconvertsa portion of the targets' reduced HP intoCorrosion.
Prayers For Me
TheVessel resists Crowd Control debuffs. When theReaveruses eitherDemise’s StormorFading Fate, andif the Vessel was summonedby that particular attack, itattacks alongside the Reaver.
It’s thenabsorbed by the Reaver,restoring HPconverted by Entangled by Agony andgranting the Reaver Calamity Power.
Libations For Me
Upon beingdefeated, if theReaver has a non-zeroamount ofCalmity Powerstacks and isin the Silent Sorrowstate, theVessel is immediatelyresummoned.
TheReaver will lose a stack of Calamity Powerand a percentage of its HP.
When the Reaver usesCry Not for the Discarded,Vesselsareabsorbed,and allHPconverted toEntanged by Agony will be restored.
Tips For Beating The Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark
Thebest strategyagainst theReaveris similar to the one employed against thesecond and third phasesof the fight against theStrife Titan Nikador.
Explanation
Focuson defeatingthe Vessel summonsover damaging the Reaver itself.
Thisreducesthe amount ofdamagetheboss puts out. Defeatingthem also doessupplemental damageto the Reaver,addingfarmore damagethan your party could deal on your own. It’s especially helpful inphase twobymakingtheCry Not for the Discardedattacksurvivable.
Alwayskeep a Skill Pointto get yoursustain’s abilitiesonline.
TheReaver’s damageoutput is such that it cantake out even the best-equipped teamsin two rounds of attacks.
Bring teamsthatspecialize inAoE damage.
Single-targetspecialists will have a rougher go in this fight because of theneed to controlthe ever-growing oppositionon the Reaver’s side.
Use yourdamage Ultimatesliberally in both phases.
UseMydei’s character abilityjustbeforethe Reaver uses theCry Not for the Departedattack to heavily reduce its damage.
Best Teams To Beat The Flame Reaver Of The Deepest Dark
TheFlame Reaverof the Deepest Dark isweak to Ice, Lightning, and Quantumdamage. That means the best teams to use against itare comprised of limited five-star characters. There are a few free-to-play-friendly options as well.
