Cerydra HSR: Character Overview and Kit 2026

Cerydra in HSR is a 5-star Wind character on the Harmony Path, and her full-supportive kit is dedicated to making one chosen damage dealer far more dangerous.

This guide covers Cerydra’s kit, lore, Traces, Eidolons, and what her banner and top-up situation looks like right now. By the end you should know if she fits the roster you already have, or if your Stellar Jades belong somewhere else entirely.

Cerydra at a Glance: Character Profile

Rarity	5★
Element	Wind
Path	Harmony
Role	Support
Released	Version 3.5 (The Iron Tamer of Tides banner)
Reruns	Version 4.0 (Indelible Coterie (Phase 2) banner) Version 4.4 (Indelible Coterie banner)
Voice actors	Rhiannon Moushall (EN) Takao Kanon (JP) Shi Xinlei (CH) Kim Yun-chae (KR)
Overall Rating	S
Endgame Ratings	Memory of Chaos: EX Pure Fiction: S Apocalyptic Shadow: EX

Story and Background: Who is Cerydra in Honkai Star Rail?

Cerydra is the Emperor of Okhema, the tenth Chrysos Heir, and a demigod of Law in Amphoreus. She took that throne by force, putting down Okhema’s insurgents and ending the Chrysos War, and she has been ruling from it ever since with her loyal knight Hysilens at her side.

Amphoreus knows her by one word: Imperator. She earned it wearing the crown of flame and commanding legions across the Oleinus Highlands, the plains of Styxia, and the mountains of Epos, and the campaigns behind that title are recorded as legend rather than history.

What makes Cerydra unusual among Honkai Star Rail support characters is how openly self-interested she is. Her ambition runs toward freeing humanity from the Titans’ control, and when the Trailblazer’s party crosses her path in Amphoreus’ past she helps them exactly as far as that plan requires, and not one step further.

Cerydra’s Kit Explained

Cerydra’s kit revolves around one buff, Military Merit, and one resource, Charge. Her Skill, Pawn’s Promotion, hands Military Merit to a chosen ally and gives her 1 point of Charge, capped at 8 points. Her Talent, Ave Imperator, is what makes that buff matter: the ally holding Military Merit gains ATK scaled off Cerydra’s own ATK, and each time they use a Basic ATK or Skill, she picks up another point of Charge.

At 6 points of Charge, Military Merit upgrades to Peerage. That dispels the ally’s Crowd Control debuffs and adds CRIT DMG to the Skill DMG they deal, plus All-Type RES PEN (Resistance Penetration). Peerage also arms Coup de Main, the effect that lets the buffed ally use their Skill an additional time when they use it on enemy targets.

Her Ultimate, Scholar’s Mate, gives her 2 Charge and deals Wind DMG to all enemies, and it grants Military Merit to the first character on the team if nobody is holding it. Her Technique, First-Move Advantage, front-loads the whole sequence: she carries Military Merit into the fight and automatically uses her Skill once at the start of battle without consuming a Skill Point (SP).

That is the loop. Give Military Merit to the ally who deals the most damage with their Skill, keep Charge climbing, and the payoff is a free extra Skill from your primary damage dealer.

Cerydra’s Traces and Eidolons Overview

Here’s what each of Cerydra’s Traces actually do, followed by her Eidolons.

Cerydra’s Traces

Her Basic ATK, King’s Castling, deals Wind DMG equal to up to 100% of Cerydra’s ATK to one designated enemy. It is the least interesting button she has, and you will rarely press it on purpose once her Charge economy is running.

Her Skill, Pawn’s Promotion, grants Military Merit to one designated ally character and gives Cerydra 1 point of Charge, capped at 8. Once Charge reaches 6, it upgrades that ally to Peerage, dispels their Crowd Control debuffs, raises the CRIT DMG of their Skill DMG, adds All-Type RES PEN, and triggers Coup de Main when they use their Skill on enemy targets.

Her Ultimate, Scholar’s Mate, gains 2 Charge and deals Wind DMG equal to up to 144% of Cerydra’s ATK to all enemies. If no character on the field has Military Merit, it prioritises granting the buff to the first character in the current team, so the buff can never be stranded.

Her Talent, Ave Imperator, gives the Military Merit holder bonus ATK equal to a share of Cerydra’s own ATK, feeds her 1 Charge whenever that ally uses a Basic ATK or Skill, and adds an instance of Wind Additional DMG from Cerydra after that ally attacks.

Cerydra’s Technique
First-Move Advantage	After using her Technique, Cerydra gains Military Merit. Switching the active character transfers the mark to whoever is now on the field, and at the start of the next battle she automatically uses her Skill once on that character without consuming any Skill Points.

Cerydra’s Bonus Abilities
Veni	For every 100 of Cerydra’s ATK above 2,000, increases her CRIT DMG by 18%, up to a maximum increase of 360%.
Vidi	Increases her CRIT Rate by 100%. When the Military Merit holder uses their Ultimate while Cerydra’s Charge is below maximum, refunds 1 Charge (triggers once per battle).
Vici	When Cerydra uses her Skill, increases her and the Military Merit teammate’s SPD by 20 for 3 turns. Additionally regenerates 5 Energy for Cerydra each time that ally uses a Basic ATK or Skill.

Cerydra’s Total Stat Bonuses
+18.0% ATK	+22.4% Wind DMG	+10.0% Max HP

Cerydra’s Eidolons

E1, Seize the Crowns of All, makes the Military Merit holder ignore 16% of the target’s DEF, with a further 20% ignored on their Skill DMG once upgraded to Peerage, and it regenerates 2 Energy for the designated ally each time Cerydra uses her Skill. This is the practical stopping point for most players and Phainon owners.

E2, Forge the Dreams of Many, raises the Military Merit holder’s DMG dealt by 40%, and increases Cerydra’s own DMG dealt by 160% while a teammate on the field carries the buff. It is a clean, unconditional step up, though the cost jump from E1 is where most rosters stop.

E3 through E5 mostly add ability levels rather than new mechanics: Torch the Laws of Old (E3) adds levels to her Skill and Basic ATK, Remake the Realms of Men (E4) raises her Ultimate’s DMG multiplier by 240%, and Help and Hurt Repaid in Full (E5) adds levels to her Ultimate and Talent. None of the three changes how she plays.

E6, A Journey Set Starward, delivers a massive teamwide boost. It gives the Military Merit holder another 20% All-Type RES PEN, raises the multiplier for the Additional DMG triggered through Military Merit by 300%, and grants Cerydra 20% All-Type RES PEN of her own while a teammate holds the buff.

Cerydra Honkai Star Rail Meta Evaluation: Is Cerydra Good?

Cerydra is a strong pick specifically for teams built around one Skill-heavy damage dealer, like Phainon, Anaxa, or Feixiao.

Cerydra’s Tier Ratings
Overall Rating	S
Endgame Ratings	Memory of Chaos: EX Pure Fiction: S Apocalyptic Shadow: EX

Her true supportive ceiling is tied directly to how frequently the buffed ally uses their Basic ATK or Skill to fuel her Charge economy. On the right team she is one of the strongest supports you can hand a Skill-based hypercarry in Honkai Star Rail, whereas on a follow-up attack or damage-over-time roster she compares less favorably to generalist or archetype-specific buffers.

In Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow, Cerydra excels by enabling high single-target burst windows that break boss phases rapidly. In Pure Fiction, her value holds steady provided she is paired with a Skill-clearing attacker who can wipe full waves back-to-back.

How to Get Cerydra in Honkai Star Rail: Banner, Warp Cost and Top-Up

Cerydra is a limited 5-star, so she can be pulled only from her own Character Event Warp, never from the permanent Standard Warp. Her debut banner, The Iron Tamer of Tides, arrived in Version 3.5, and she returned for reruns in Version 4.0 and Version 4.4‘s Indelible Coterie banner.

Each Warp costs one Star Rail Special Pass, or 160 Stellar Jades if you are converting Jades into passes. Stellar Jades can be farmed in-game, but if you need extra pulling power, topping up gets you Oneiric Shards that convert into Stellar Jades at 1:1.

Just remember, if you’re planning on topping-up to get Cerydra, her Eidolons, or her signature Light Cone, it’s always worth checking the store’s Oneiric top-up bonuses, time-limited bundles, Nameless Honor Battle Pass, and Express Supply Pass before you buy anything. These will significantly increase the value of your top-ups and give you more pulls-per-spend.

Verdict: Should You Pull For Cerydra in 2026?

Pull for Cerydra if you own a damage dealer whose Skill is the centre of their kit, and Phainon is the clearest case of that in HSR. On that kind of team she is a real upgrade over a generic ATK or CRIT support, because the extra Skill activation is damage no other Harmony unit hands out.

She’s a less attractive pull if your best units dish out most of their damage through Basic ATKs, follow-up attacks, or damage over time, since there are better limited Supports for those specific character archetypes.

Pros

Cons

✅ Grants a free additional Skill cast to the designated ally through Coup de Main ✅ Scaled ATK buff, CRIT DMG increase, and All-Type RES PEN heavily amplify single-target burst ✅ Front-loads setup via Technique, granting Military Merit and triggering a free Skill at combat start ✅ Dispel effect on Peerage removes Crowd Control debuffs from your primary damage dealer ✅ Outstanding synergy with Skill-centric damage dealers like Phainon and Feixiao ✅ Has plenty of accessible Light Cone alternatives

❌ Buffs funnel into a single teammate, offering minimal value to dual-DPS or AoE-heavy setups ❌ Provides little benefit to follow-up attack, damage-over-time, or Basic ATK-focused teams ❌ Charge economy requires active Skill and Basic ATK usage from the buffed ally to reach Peerage

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