Latest update of Honkai Star Rail indeed seems to be a day where characters with DoT (damage over time) mechanisms shine, thanks to the presence of Kafka.
After Kafka release, one of the older characters who has finally received a solid team is Sampo.
Certainly, when compared to other Wind element DPS characters like Blade and Dan Heng, Sampo might still fall behind. However, one aspect that these other characters lack is the high Wind Shear debuff and damage that Sampo brings to the table.
Best Light Cones
Sampo’s role in battle is to deal damage, and one of the ways is through generating damage over time with Wind Shear. However, the appropriate Light Cone choice depends on its role within the team.
- Good Night and Sleep Well: For every debuff the target enemy has, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by 12/15/18/21/24%, stacking up to 3 time(s). This effect also applies to DoT.
- In the Name of the World: Increases the wearer’s DMG to debuffed enemies by 24/28/32/36/40%. When the wearer uses their Skill, the Effect Hit Rate for this attack increases by 18/21/24/27/30%, and ATK increases by 24/28/32/36/40%.
- 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).
- Eyes of the Prey: Increases Effect Hit Rate of its wearer by 20/25/30/35/40% and increases DoT by 24/30/36/42/48%.
- Fermata: Increases the Break Effect dealt by the wearer by 16/20/24/28/32%, and increases their DMG to enemies afflicted with Shock or Wind Shear by 16/20/24/28/32%. This also applies to DoT.
Relic and Planar Ornaments
Since Sampo’s role involves generating wind-based damage over time, the stats you’ll want to look for in its Relic are Attack, Wind Damage, and possibly Speed. Secondary stats like Effect Hit Rate and Energy Regen Rate are also beneficial for Sampo to have.
First best relic for Sampo is newly released Prisoner of Deep Confinement which specifically designed for DoT damage dealer like Sampo and his peers.
| 4 Prisoner of Deep Confinement | (2) Increases ATK by 12%. (4) For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of target’s DEF when dealing DMG to them. This effect is valid for a max of 3 DoTs. |
For relics part, you would want to use combination of 2 Eagle of Twilight Line from Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Gelid Wind in Herta Space Station Storage Zone and 2 Musketeer of Wild Wheat.
| 2 Eagle of Twilight Line + 2 Musketeer of Wild Wheat | (2) Increases Wind DMG by 10%. (2) ATK increases by 12%. |
For planar ornament, you can either go for Pan Galactic Commercial Enterprise from Herta Simulated Universe World 5 for it’s effect hit rate effect:
| Pan-Galactic Commercial Enterprise | (2) Increases the wearer’s Effect Hit Rate by 10%. Meanwhile, the wearer’s ATK increases by an amount that is equal to 25% of the current Effect Hit Rate, up to a maximum of 25%. |
Or Space Sealing Station from Herta Simulated Universe World 3 for it’s ATK increase:
| Space Sealing Station | (2) Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When the wearer’s SPD reaches 120 or higher, the wearer’s ATK increases by an extra 12%. |
With following stats:
| Body | Feet | Planar Sphere | Link Rope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effect Hit Rate/ATK% | Speed/ATK% | Wind DMG | ATK%/Energy Regen Rate |
and Substats:
| Substats |
|---|
| Effect Hit Rate > ATK% = Speed |
Team for Sampo?
Sampo is actually quite effective when played alongside other damage over time characters like Serval. However, the damage it generates will be significantly higher when paired with Kafka, who has high Speed.
This is because Kafka’s Skill can trigger the Wind Shear effect on enemies.
As for support, you have many options. If you need coverage, bring Silver Wolf. If you need Speed, bring Asta. For a healer, you can use anyone you prefer.
How to use Sampo?
When played alongside Kafka, Sampo’s main task is to provide the Wind Shear debuff as strongly as possible to all enemies. You can achieve this by using both Skill and Ultimate.
How often you use the Skill depends on the number of enemies you’re facing. If it’s just one enemy, you might only need to use the Skill once every two or three turns. If there are three or more enemies, you might need to use the Skill every turn unless you have an available Ultimate to use.
