Hathor is a permanent S-rank Lakshana character in Neverness to Everness, built around stacking Express Delivery Power and spending it during her Emergency Delivery state. She works as a burst DPS that needs moderate field time, but pays off with three rapid Cyclone Strike casts per Ultimate window when set up correctly.
Quick answer: Reach 6 stacks of Express Delivery Power by holding Aerial Command (and getting hit during the charge), cast Rider Express to enter Emergency Delivery, then fire Cyclone Strike three times before the state ends. Do not swap characters during Emergency Delivery, or the state cancels and unspent stacks are wasted.
Hathor at a level: Role, element, and role in teams
Hathor is a Lakshana character whose entire kit deals Lakshana damage. Her gameplay revolves around two phases. First, she builds Express Delivery Power stacks through her Skill, Critical Ripostes, and her passive triggers. Second, her Ultimate converts those stacks into a short, hard-hitting Emergency Delivery window where her empowered Skill (Cyclone Strike) replaces the normal one.
Beyond raw damage, her Delay Warning passive makes her a strong fit in Remora-based teams, because Lakshana paired with Cosmos triggers Remora through Esper Cycles. Pair her with a Cosmos teammate, and she gains reliable crit pressure on top of her burst.
Hathor skills and upgrade priority
| Skill | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Attack | Rapid Delivery | Up to 5 consecutive martial-arts strikes dealing Lakshana DMG. Hold to launch enemies airborne, then plunge for area damage (up to 200% based on fall height). |
| Skill | Aerial Command | Tap for 2 stacks of Express Delivery Power. Hold up to 5s to charge, applying Five-Star Tracking; if tracked enemies attack Hathor, she gains 3 more stacks. |
| Skill (empowered) | Cyclone Strike | Replaces Aerial Command during Emergency Delivery. Consumes 1, then 2, then 3 stacks across three rapid casts. |
| Ultimate | Rider Express | Thorn motorcycle dive that deals AoE Lakshana DMG and triggers Emergency Delivery. Grants ATK and Movement Speed scaling with stacks built. Switching out ends the state. |
| Support Skill | Impact Point Designation | Off-field aerial kick that deals 2 instances of Lakshana AoE damage. |
| Critical Riposte | Zero-Error Operation | Counter after a Critical Dodge. Reduces Break and grants 1 stack of Express Delivery Power (max once per 5s). |
Level Skill first. It is the button you press most often, builds stacks before the burst, and becomes Cyclone Strike during the burst itself. Ultimate is next because it opens the Emergency Delivery window and grants a stack-scaled ATK bonus. Basic Attack is mostly filler for charging Cycle Energy, and Support Skill is low priority.
Recommended order: Skill > Ultimate > Basic Attack > Support Skill.
Best Arc (weapon) for Hathor: Raging Flames
Raging Flames is Hathor's signature S-rank Arc and her clear best-in-slot. It is also obtainable for free through the Headless Rider launch event, which makes it accessible without pulling on her Arc banner.
| Arc | Stats | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Raging Flames (S) | ATK 666, CRIT DMG 24% | +15% Lakshana DMG always on. After casting Ultimate, +10% Redirect Skill and Ultimate DMG for 10s, plus +5% Redirect Skill DMG per cast (up to 2 stacks). Maps directly onto her Cyclone Strike chain. |
| Song of the Whale (S) | ATK-focused | +12% ATK and +12% damage to Broken enemies, with self-healing on Broken kills. Solid alternative if you have other Lakshana DPS sharing Raging Flames. |
| Fluff of Fortitude (A) | ATK 512, ATK 27.5% | +22% damage, increased to +28% against enemies below 50% HP. Best free A-rank fallback for execute phases. |
Best Cartridge / Module set: Street Boxer
Street Boxer is the strongest module set for Hathor as long as the team can keep Remora or Stain active. The 2-piece adds raw Lakshana DMG and the 4-piece converts team reactions into a large crit chance buff that lines up with her burst.
| Set | 2-piece | 4-piece |
|---|---|---|
| Street Boxer | Lakshana DMG +10% | Crit Chance +14%, increased to +28% for 20s when the team triggers Remora or Stain. |
| Shadow Creed | ATK +10% | +25% ATK for 20s after casting a Skill. Backup if Street Boxer pieces are not yet farmed. |
Aim for CRIT DMG as the Cartridge main stat. Hathor already gains Crit Chance from her passive (against Remora targets) and from Engine Resonance, so Crit DMG scales the resulting hits the hardest. Lakshana DMG Bonus is a viable alternative if Crit Rate is already comfortably above 60–70%.
Awakening priority
The first two awakenings are by far the most impactful. Elite Courier removes most of the setup pain at the start of a fight, and Engine Resonance turns Cyclone Strike into a near-guaranteed crit chain.
| Order | Awakening | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1 Elite Courier | The first held Aerial Command in a fight grants 6 stacks of Express Delivery Power instantly. |
| 2 | A4 Engine Resonance | Each successful Cyclone Strike during Emergency Delivery adds +25% Crit Chance to the next cast. |
| 3 | A6 Daily Life Walkthrough | +30% Crit DMG while in Emergency Delivery state. |
| 4 | A5 Regular Sandwich | +1% damage per stack gained, up to +15%. |
| 5 | A2 Thorn Dominion | Adds an Express Delivery Power stack when Excellent Rating Lock or Five-Star Tracking expires naturally. |
| 6 | A3 Lost Wings | +15% damage to non-Boss targets. |
Best team compositions
Hathor wants two things from her teammates: a Cosmos unit to enable Remora (or a Psyche unit to enable Stain), and a buffer that does not need long field time. The teams below cover meta, Charge-focused, and free-to-play options.
| Team | Members | Idea |
|---|---|---|
| Premier meta | Hathor, Zero, Sakiri, Fadia | Zero applies Remora through Cosmos. Fadia tanks hits during Aerial Command's hold to feed Five-Star Tracking stacks. Sakiri stabilizes the rotation. |
| Charge reaction | Hathor, Zero, Nanally, Fadia | Hathor (Lakshana) + Zero (Cosmos) creates Remora; Nanally (Anima) + Zero creates Blossom; Blossom into a Remora-marked target triggers Charge, feeding Ultimate Energy back. |
| Stain burst | Hathor, Jiuyuan, Esper Zero, Haniel | Haniel applies Stain (boosts incoming Psyche and Lakshana DMG). Esper Zero refreshes Remora. Jiuyuan adds Lethal Rose Pact DOT damage. |
| F2P friendly | Hathor, Zero, Chiz, Haniel | All four are free or easy to obtain at launch. Same Remora + Stain coverage with weaker buffs but no premium pulls required. |
How to play Hathor: Rotation
Step 1: Open the fight with a Psyche or Cosmos teammate so you can swap in and trigger Stain or Remora through an Esper Cycle. This activates Street Boxer's 4-piece bonus and primes Hathor's Delay Warning crit buff.
Step 2: Hold Aerial Command on Hathor. Tapping it gives 2 stacks; holding pulses AoE Lakshana damage and applies Five-Star Tracking. Each enemy attack on Hathor while charging grants 3 stacks. With A1 Elite Courier, the first held cast in the fight instantly grants 6 stacks.
Step 3: Fill any gap with Basic Attack combos to top up Ultimate Energy. The held Basic Attack ender launches enemies airborne and chains into the plunge for extra Lakshana damage.
Step 4: Cast Rider Express. ATK and Movement Speed scale with the stacks built before activation, and Hathor enters Emergency Delivery state.
Step 5: Fire Cyclone Strike three times in quick succession. The casts consume 1, 2, then 3 stacks. Pausing too long between casts breaks the chain and only repeats the first weaker cast.
Step 6: Once Emergency Delivery ends naturally, swap to your supports to refresh Remora/Stain and recharge Ultimate Energy. Each stack consumed during Emergency Delivery returns 5 Ultimate Energy, so the next loop comes back faster than her base cooldown suggests.
How to know it worked
Three visual cues confirm a clean rotation. Aerial Command's hold animation should show an expanding red AoE before release. After Rider Express, Hathor's portrait shows the Emergency Delivery icon, and her Skill button changes to Cyclone Strike. Each Cyclone Strike then deducts a visible chunk from the Express Delivery Power gauge until the state expires.
If Cyclone Strike repeats the same weaker animation three times instead of escalating, the chain timing was too slow. If the empowered Skill button never appeared, you most likely swapped out before the Ultimate animation finished, or the Ultimate hit no targets.
Common reasons the burst underperforms
- Switching off Hathor during Emergency Delivery, which cancels the state and any remaining stacks.
- Entering Rider Express with fewer than 6 stacks; her ATK bonus and the number of available Cyclone Strikes both scale with stacks built beforehand.
- Casting Cyclone Strike too slowly, breaking the 1/2/3-stack escalation chain.
- No Cosmos or Psyche partner on the team, so Street Boxer's 4-piece never reaches its Remora/Stain bonus, and Delay Warning's Crit Rate buff stays inactive.
- Forgetting to hold Aerial Command and tank a hit during the charge, which is the fastest non-A1 way to reach 6 stacks.
Hathor rewards practice more than pulls. Once Raging Flames, Street Boxer, and at least Awakening A1 are in place, her Emergency Delivery window becomes a reliable burst tool that fits every Lakshana team in the launch roster, from the premium Zero/Sakiri/Fadia core to a fully free-to-play Zero/Chiz/Haniel shell.