Blackbird is the headline S-Rank arriving with Neverness to Everness Version 1.4, “For Whom the Verses Mourn.” She is a Psyche-attribute unit built around a single big idea: stack a resource called Malice, then dump it inside a timed transformation for a heavy burst window while lifting the whole team’s damage. Her kit blends on-field carry, off-field coordinated attacks, and party buffs, so she reads as a hybrid DPS rather than a pure damage dealer.
Quick answer: Build Malice (cap 60) with basic and redirect attacks, cast the Ultimate to enter the 16-second Witch of Salvation state, then spend Malice on transformed skills for amplified Psyche damage while the team gains 20% ATK.
Blackbird release date and banner schedule
Blackbird went live first on the Chinese test server, where Version 1.4 rolled out on September 24. The Global release is set for September 30, 2026, when her Phase 1 banner runs alongside a Lacrimosa rerun. A second phase featuring the new unit Akane Rin is expected later in the version, with community testing pointing to an October 21 window. Because pity is shared across the version’s banners, players planning to pull are generally advised to wait out the early buffer before committing currency.
Malice and the Witch of Salvation transformation
Everything in Blackbird’s rotation funnels into one resource. Malice is an energy meter that fills through her normal attacks, hold (branch) attacks, and redirect skills, and it caps at 60. On its own Malice does nothing. It only pays off inside the Witch of Salvation form, where spending it sharply raises the damage percentage of her transformed skills.
Witch of Salvation is the transformed state itself. While active, it enhances Blackbird’s skills, grants interruption and stagger immunity, and increases her movement speed. The state runs on a fixed timer, and crucially that timer pauses whenever she is swapped off the field. That freeze is what lets you rotate to teammates mid-burst and return without wasting the window.
Rest in Peace: the Ultimate that opens her burst
Rest in Peace (localized as Requies Animarum) is the pivot of the whole kit. Casting it deals a large Psyche AoE hit and drops Blackbird into the Witch of Salvation state for up to 16 seconds. It also buffs the entire party’s ATK. When the transformation ends, whether the timer expires or you leave the state, she unleashes an automatic aftermath burst.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Cooldown | 20s |
| Energy cost | 100 |
| Transformation duration | 16s |
| Team ATK increase | 20% |
| ATK buff duration | 15s |
The base 15-second team ATK buff is shorter than the 20-second cooldown, so uptime has a gap by default. One of her Awakenings closes that gap, which is why it is treated as a priority pick.
Basic attacks and Chained Cage
In her normal form, Blackbird performs a five-hit Psyche string that steadily fills Malice. During the first, second, or third hit, holding attack triggers Chained Cage, which imprisons the target, deals damage, slows its movement speed, and adds more Malice. It is both a control tool and a resource generator.
Inside the Witch of Salvation form, the basic string changes entirely. Damage multipliers rise, and holding attack while airborne produces a wide aerial Psyche AoE. This transformed sequence, sometimes called Pyreflame, is where the bulk of her concentrated damage happens.
Redirect skills: Nether Feather Burial and Reincarnation Flames
Blackbird has two redirect skills that swap depending on her state. In normal form, Nether Feather Burial deals Psyche damage, grants Malice, and stamps enemies with the Lost Paradise Feather mark. While that mark is live, whenever another on-field character damages a marked target, it summons the Lost Paradise Bird for an AoE Psyche coordinated strike. That trigger fires once every 2 seconds and up to 5 times, which is the backbone of her off-field damage.
Reincarnation Flames is the transformed alternative. It stays inactive by default and unlocks only in the Witch of Salvation state, after the 5th normal-attack hit or a counter. Blackbird then charges at high speed through the target for Psyche damage, consuming Malice on the way. Together, the marked coordinated attacks and the transformed charge give her a reason to swap out and swap back rather than standing in one loop.
Support skills: Stain, Nova, and Malice generation
Her support toolkit ties into elemental reactions and keeps the resource meter topped up. Aerial Hymn improves two reaction states: the Stain enhancement pushes Hex damage up to 30% and stretches its duration to 20 seconds, while the Nova enhancement makes Blackbird deal bonus Psyche damage equal to 20% of the total damage a target actually absorbed during the Nova window. That cumulative figure excludes the support skill that started the state and the Nova burst itself.
Long Road rounds out the set by handing her 20 Malice each time she uses her first support skill, giving the rotation a clean jump-start.
Blackbird’s Awakenings (A1 to A6)
Awakenings can be freely selected and swapped in game. Each tier reshapes a different part of the rotation, from aftermath damage to team-wide resistance shred.
| Awakening | Effect |
|---|---|
| A1 | When Ultimate ends, spends all Malice to increase subsequent damage by 150% |
| A2 | Support skills deal 100% more damage; Witch state provides 20% DEF, and using a support skill restores HP equal to 400% of ATK |
| A3 | +50% to the damage increase gained from consuming Malice |
| A4 | Ultimate ATK buff extended to 25s and +12% whole-team damage |
| A5 | Each hit lowers resistance to Psyche, Lakshana, and Chaos by 8% for 25s |
| A6 | +25% self Psyche DMG for 25s post-Ultimate; feather attacks grant 4 Malice in Witch state |
A4 is the standout for buff uptime, since a 25-second ATK window comfortably covers the 20-second cooldown for full coverage. Her Awakening passives push team support further, adding a 30% team Crit DMG aura and increasing pre-transformation Ultimate damage, while the Console layer grants +8% Crit Rate per Type III Module.
Sins and Punishment signature Arc
Blackbird’s signature Arc, Sins and Punishment (also seen as Crime and Punishment), is built directly for her. It carries ATK and Crit Rate as main stats, reaching 570 ATK and 24.00% Crit Rate at level 80, and it raises Cycle Intensity by 72 to 144 depending on tier.
Its passive stacks three buffs. The wearer gains 20% to 40% Psyche DMG, the whole team gains 16% to 32% Crit DMG after the Ultimate is cast, and the equipped unit receives an extra 32% to 64% Crit DMG for 15 seconds. Recasting the Ultimate refreshes that duration, so the Arc leans hard into her burst cadence.
Wing Patrol flight and lifestyle skills
Outside combat, Wing Patrol turns Blackbird into a bird for high-speed traversal. On the ground you hold the joystick and dodge; mid-air you press the aim key while descending. She can pull Oracle Stones toward her within range as she flies, and the flight drains stamina continuously.
Her two lifestyle skills are city utilities rather than combat tools. Prayer Hymn increases Blessings, Rumors, and Search Attempts in Divination, while Hide and Seek Expert raises the energy consumption of Hide and Seek.
The in-game skill menus lay out these descriptions plainly, so it is easy to check exact wording and multipliers before you build her.
Team building around Blackbird
Because Blackbird is a Psyche unit, her partners are chosen to feed Esper Cycle reactions. Psyche pairs with Lakshana to trigger Stain and with Chaos to trigger Nova, and a three-element combination of Psyche, Chaos, and Incantation sets off Discord. In early testing she frequently runs with an Akane Rin as a Lakshana enabler for a Stain-focused core, or with a Zankou to lean into Discord reactions.
Sample lineups in circulation build a Stain team of Blackbird, Acarine, Haniel, and Faelia, or a support-heavy variant swapping in Aurelia. The common thread is keeping her reaction cycle stable so she can mark enemies, trigger Lost Paradise Bird coordinated hits, and cash out during the Witch of Salvation burst.
Whether she settles in as a full hypercarry or an enabling sub-DPS is still being argued in the community, and her exact standing will firm up as more testing lands. What is already clear is the shape of her play: bank Malice, press the Ultimate, transform, and spend that meter inside a tight window while the team rides her ATK buff.
