When comparing the strengths of Phainon’s team and Castorice’s, the highlights weight on two different approaches to dealing DMG and maintaining flow in combat. Which team will dominate your battlefield—Phainon’s team or Castorice’s? Today, LDShop is diving deep into the strengthens and weaknesses of both builds, comparing their performance in E0S1 and E2S1 setups to see which proves more effective.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

Phainon Team

Strength

  • Burst DMG is more effective when facing a smaller number of enemies. 
  • Can be strong in quick-cycle encounters but requires significant investment. 
  • Cerydra in Version 3.5 brings major improvement, considerably enabling Phainon to unleash two more Meteor Strikes. That is like a 50% DMG upgrade.
  • Cerydra is best used with a DPS that mainly uses Skill DMG and scale with ATK. Phainon is the best DPS to paired up with Cerydra since a lot of his DMG during his Enhanced State is Skill DMG.
  • Sunday allow Phainon to stack Coreflame faster. His effectively Ultimate buffs Phainon’s CRIT DMG.
  • Dan Heng-Permansor Terrae can increase Phainon’s ATK and Permansor Terrae’s Summon can deal additional DMG during Phainon’s transformation. This both evens the field between Phainon and Sunday, but also improves the sustainability of Phainon's team.

Weakness

  • Requires high Eidolon level and strong gear to reach his full potential. 
  • This team has a higher demand for Sunday’s emergence to make up for the team’s shortcomings.
  • Less efficient in terms of cost and requires more effort to optimize for most players. 
  • Dan Heng ∙ Permansor Terrae’s DMG buff isn’t strong enough for Phainon.

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Castorice Team

Strength

  • Highly effective in the situation that no matter how many enemies there are due to high AoE burst DMG.
  • Performs well even at E0, requiring fewer resources and flexible support options. 
  • Offers a very engaging and enjoyable gameplay experience with satisfying damage and team actions. 
  • Hyacine excels at boosting allies' max HP and delivering frequent healing, which directly enhances Castorice’s damage output (since she scales off HP). Her support also accelerates “Newbud” generation for Netherwing—critical for Castorice’s nukes.
  • Evernight is an upcoming 5-star character and will release on September 24. Evernight was shown to be walking with the Trailblazer and the other Chrysos Heirs.
  • As a Sub-DPS in Castorice’s team, Evernight provides more frequent damage output.

Weakness

  • Castorice is the sole true carry in this team, if an enemy resists Quantum or has high Quantum RES, team’s DPS drops significantly.
  • Hyacine’s healing skills, used often but mostly periodic, can lead to SP depletion during intense fights.
  • Castroice and Hyacine both need signature weapon and high investment to function optimally.

E0S1 Comparison

Phainon

E0S1

Cerydra

E0S0

Sunday

E0S0

Dan Heng PT

E0S0

Castorice

E0S1

Hyacine

E0S0

Evernight

E0S0

RMC

E6S0

  • In a E0S1 setup, Castorice's team is generally stronger, but if Phainon was not equipped with Sustain role but has three supports instead, Phainon’s team takes the lead.
  • However, Phainon’s team is more dependent on SPD and player’s skill than Castorice, so even with three supports, many players may struggle to outperform Castorice.
  • Due to the newly released Anomaly Arbitration, Phainon also must carry the Sustain role, making the two teams roughly comparable overall.
  • Phainon excels against single targets but struggles against multiple enemies.
  • Castorice performs adequately against both types of enemies but doesn’t particularly excel in either.

E2S1 Comparison

Phainon

E2S1

Cerydra

E0S0

Sunday

E0S0

Dan Heng PT

E0S0

Castorice

E2S1

Hyacine

E0S0

Evernight

E0S0

RMC

E6S0

  • Phainon’s E2S1 offers a higher level but effectiveness still depends on speed and player’s skill. Otherwise, Phainon’s E2S1 may underperform compared to Castorice’s E2S1.
  • Also, Phainon’s team is basically fixed, while the Castorice team’s Sub-DPS is very likely to be replaced by a higher-level character.
  • Overall, both teams are fairly similar at E2S1 or below.

Conclusion

Overall, Phainon deals significantly higher DMG but functions as a hypercarry DPS, relying mainly on buffs from allies. In contrast, Castorice has one more sub-DPS contributing to overall team DMG. For beginner players, Castorice is generally more comfortable to use, whereas Phainon ideally runs without sustain and acts as a DPS check—requiring enough DMG to defeat enemies before his Ultimate ends. At E0S1, Castorice’s premium team outperforms Phainon’s, but by E2S1, Phainon deals more DMG.

Castorice’s team is generally more appealing to most players due to its easier accessibility and solid meta strength. Phainon can be powerful, but creating a top-tier Phainon team demands much greater investment. To fully unlock Castorice and Phainon’s potential and enhance your overall team power, consider topping up Honkai: Star Rail through LDShop.

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Savannah Reed Experienced Game Editor

Savannah Reed is a senior game editor at LDShop.gg, specializing in in-depth coverage of RPG and strategy games. With a strong focus on titles like Wuthering Waves, Honkai: Star Rail and Whiteout Survival, she combines industry insight with firsthand player experience to deliver clear, informative, and actionable content. Her work is dedicated to helping gamers make smarter decisions—whether it’s understanding new updates or optimizing their in-game strategy.