- Harbinger of Death Swarm Nightmare is a new boss added in the Honkai Star Rail 3.8 update.
- This boss has a ton of damage reduction and summons swarm enemies.
- Defeating all the summoned Swarm enemies makes the boss vulnerable to increased damage.
Honkai Star Rail 3.8 mission brings one of the most interesting bosses in Honkai Star Rail, named Harbinger of Death: Swarm Nightmare. This boss is incredibly tanky and can easily defeat the strongest of teams if his mechanics are not correctly understood. So, here is a guide on how to defeat Harbinger of Death in Honkai Star Rail. This guide features a detailed explanation of the boss’s move sets, the best characters against him, and how you can counter his abilities.
HSR Harbinger of Death Swarm Nightmare Boss Fight Mechanics Explained
Harbinger of Death: Swarm Nightmare is an Iron Cavalry who has been corrupted by the swarm. The boss appeared in Penacony, planned by Gropher Wood to reawaken the Swarm to strengthen Order and revive Ena.
It is a complicated boss in Honkai Star Rail with a lot of damage reduction and summon spam attacks. Here is a quick explanation of all Harbinger of Death’s moves in Honkai Star Rail:
Move Name Explanation Rend, Putrefy, Engorge Enters Gene Duplication state, increasing his Speed and summons Juvenile Stings, applying the Rapid state on it. Now, players can select one character from their team to enter the Nemesis state, which would allow them and their summons to take immediate action while also having increased Break Effect. Every other ally in the team won’t be able to deal 4Crit effects. Primordial Tide, Swarm of Death Deals a massive AoE attack, dealing Fire DMG. Primal Hunger Further increases the Speed of the summoned Juvenile Stings Whirling Carapace When the boss is attacked, a portion of its reduced HP is converted into “Corrosion.” When it uses “Primordial Tide, Swarm of Death,” it will recover HP equal to the corrosion amount. Universal Blight, Howl of the Life Eater While in Gene Duplication state, the boss deals increased damage based on the number of Juvenile Stings alive on the field. The Juvenile Stings prioritize attacking the character with the Nemesis state, and their attacks give the boss a stack. Once the stack reaches a certain number, the boss performs Primordial Tide, Swarm of Death.
How to Defeat Harbinger of Death Boss in Honkai Star Rail
Now that you know about Harbinger of Death’s movesets, you should have a clear idea of what to expect in the fight. But defeating the boss is still far away, as you need to form the best teams that are most effective against it. The following sections will guide you on which characters to pick and how to counter his abilities.
Best Characters for Harbinger of Death Boss Fight in Honkai Star Rail
Harbinger of Death Swarm Nightmare is a boss that largely depends on damage reduction and prolonged fights. The boss is at its strongest when all its Juvenile Sting are on the field. So, it is clear that the character you will need is the one who can quickly defeat all the Juvenile Stings to put the boss in a weakened state.
Furthermore, as the enemy buffs your DPS with Break Effect, characters that deal break damage would be a much better option in this fight. Other than that, this boss is weak to Physical, Fire, and Wind elements. Here are the best characters for the Harbinger of Death boss fight:
The best teams for taking down Harbinger of Death Swarm Nightmare in Honkai Star Rail are:
- Firefly Break: Firefly, The Dahlia, Fugue/Harmony Trailblazer, Lingsha
- Phainon Hypercarry: Phainon, Sunday, Cerydra, Dan Heng Permansor Terrae
- Anaxa Hypercarry: Anaxa, Cerydra, Cyrene, Dan Heng Permansor Terrae
- Saber Hypercarry: Saber, Sunday, Tingyun, Huohuo
- Feixiao Follow-up ATK: Feixiao, Tribbie, Robin, Dan Heng Permansor Terrae
Picking any of these teams should let you easily defeat Harbinger of Death in Honkai Star Rail, as long as you make sure to counter its abilities as mentioned below.
Counter Harbinger of Death’s Boss Mechanics in HSR
- First, your primary job should be to defeat the summoned Juvenile Stings. Unless you can defeat them all, you won’t be dealing any damage to the main boss.
- Use characters that deal a ton of AoE damage and can clear out the summoned units quickly.
- Make sure to save your reactive heals for its big AoE attack, or always apply shields on your allies.
- Make the main DPS of your team the Nemesis.
That’s all you need to do to defeat Harbinger of Death in Honkai Star Rail. Have any questions related to this boss guide? Ask us in the comment section below.
