Serval is one of the most underrated units in Honkai Star Rail. However, she is a resource-heavy character, and to utilize her strength, you need to spend some time building her optimally.
Serval is a Lightning Erudition character, which means she can deal AoE damage to enemies. Her ability to break shields is unmatched and has helped her maintain a respectable position in various tier lists for Honkai Star Rail.
There have been a few opinions that Jing Yuan or Kafka would make Serval an obsolete unit. However, it is important to remember that Jing Yuan and Kafka are 5-star units and are extremely difficult to come by. In such cases, Serval is invaluable against every enemy with a Lightning shield in the game.
Our detailed guide for Serval in Honkai Star Rail covers her abilities, best Light Cones, Relic sets, and team compositions.
Best Serval build Honkai Star Rail
The following table contains our recommended build for Serval in Honkai Star Rail. For more details, the sections below feature specific information about our choices:
| Light Cone | Relics | Ornament | Stats | Team Comp |
| An Instant Before a Gaze | Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters | Firmament Frontline Glamoth | Body: CRIT Rate or CRIT DMGFeet: ATK% or SPDSphere: Lightning DMGRope: ATK%Substats: CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG | Serval, Kafka, Ruan Mei, Huohuo |
Serval Abilities in Honkai Star Rail
Basic Attack: Roaring Thunderclap
Serval will deal Lightning Damage equal to 50%-110% of her ATK stats to a single enemy.
Skill Attack: Lightning Flash
Serval will deal Lightning DMG equal to 70%-140% of her ATK stats to a single enemy and 30%-66% of her ATK stats to adjacent enemies. The enemies have an 80% base chance of receiving the Shock status effect for 2 turns. Every enemy affected by Shock will receive Lightning DoT damage equal to 40%-114% of Serval’s ATK stats.
Ultimate: Here Comes the Mechanical Fever
Serval will deal Lightning DMG equal to 108%-194% of her ATK stats and extend the duration of the Shock status effect on enemies for 2 turns.
Technique: Good Night, Belebog
Serval will immediately attack an enemy upon entering the battle and will deal Lightning DMG equivalent to 50% of her ATK stats to a random enemy. This attack has a 100% base chance to inflict Shock on all enemy for 3 turns. Shocked enemies will receive Lightning DoT damage equivalent to 50% of Serval’s ATK stats.
Serval Eidolons in Honkai Star Rail
Level 1-Echo Chamber: Serval’s Basic ATK will deal Lightning DMG equivalent to 60% of its DMG stats to any random enemy that is adjacent to the one struck by Basic ATK.
Level 2-Encore: Serval regenerates 4 Energy every time her talent deals Additional DMG to an enemy.
Level 3- Listen, The Heartbeat of the Gears: Skill is increased by +2 up to a maximum of level 15 and Basic ATK is increased by +1 up to a maximum of level 10.
Level 4- Make Some Noise: Serval’s Ultimate will have a 100% base chance to inflict Shock on any enemy that has not been affected by the same yet. The effect of this Shock will be the same one as applied by Serval’s skill.
Level 5- Belebog’s Loudest Roar: Ultimate and Talent increased by +2 up to a maximum of level 15.
Level 6- This Song Rocks to Heaven: Serval’s abilities will deal 30% more DMG to every enemy inflicted by Shock.
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Best Light Cones for Serval in Honkai Star Rail
The best Light Cone for Serval in Honkai Star Rail is called An Instant Before A Gaze. This 5-star Light Cone increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 36% and their Ultimate DMG based on their Max Energy. Each point of Energy increases the Ultimate DMG by 0.36%, up to 180 points of Energy.
This weapon can only be obtained from the Light Cone Event warp using Star Rail Special Passes. Therefore, you’ll have to wait until Argenti returns.
The second best Light Cone for Serval is another 5-star option called Before Dawn. This Light Cone increases both the wearer’s CRIT DMG and Ultimate DMG. After Serval uses their Skill or Ultimate, they gain Somnus Corpus. Upon triggering a follow-up attack, Somnus Corpus will be consumed, and the follow-up attack DMG will increase by 48%.
Lastly, the best 4-star budget option for Serval in the Light Cone slot is Geniuses’ Repose. This increases Serval’s ATK by 16%. After defeating an enemy, her CRIT DMG increases by 24% for three turns.
Best Serval Relics
The best Relic set for Serval in Honkai Star Rail is called Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters. This set focuses on dealing more damage through her DoTs.
- 2-piece bonus: Increases DMG dealt to enemies with debuff by 12%.
- 4-piece bonus: 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).
Lastly, her best Ornament set is going to be Firmament Frontline Glamoth. This set 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.
Best Team Comp for Serval in Honkai Star Rail
Serval is an extremely versatile unit that can run with almost anyone and everyone. However, the optimal partners for Serval in Honkai Star Rail will be Fire Trailblazer, Tingyun, and Seele. This is because Fire Trailblazer will act as the tank to protect the entire team.
Tingyun can buff Serval and also provide the latter with energy. Lastly, Seele will be the single target DPS in the team who can burst down enemies quickly. Serval is an AoE unit, which means her damage against bosses will be sub-par.
Hence, Seele can help with that once Serval removes the shields from the boss or any enemy. However, this team is not final, as you can replace Seele with Yanqing and Tingyun with Bronya. If you have survivability issues, then Tingyun can make way for Natasha for the heals.
For a DoT team, you can pair Serval up with Sampo, Asta, and a healer or shield unit like Gepard or Natasha. Sampo can buff the damage of DoTs while also applying Wind Shear to enemies. Asta can buff allies’ SPD to quicken DoT stacking.
You could also run Serval on another DoT team alongside Kafka, Huohuo, and Ruan Mei. The combination of Serval and Kafka will ensure enemies will be afflicted with Shock. Additionally, Ruan Mei can increase Serval’s Break Efficiency and delay an enemy’s recovery after Break.
Serval Trailer in Honkai Star Rail
On May 27, 2022, HoYoverse released the official trailer for Serval on their YouTube channel. This trailer came out very early since Serval has been part of all the Closed Beta Tests for the game. If you have not watched it yet, then you can check the trailer from the following link:
That concludes our guide for Serval in Honkai Star Rail. If you found it informative, then please check out our guides on banners, codes, and the version 2.4 update.