Hotori is the S-Rank Cosmos Solid character from the Eibon Antique Shop faction in Neverness to Everness, built around a Non-Closed Timepiece resource and a time-stop Ultimate that replays allies' recorded skills. Her rate-up window runs from May 13 to June 3, 2026 (server time). The build below treats her as a burst sub-DPS whose damage is concentrated almost entirely inside her Ultimate phase.
Quick answer: Equip the Marching Beyond Time Arc and a 4-piece Lost Radiance Console, prioritize ATK% / Cosmos DMG / CRIT DMG on Cartridges, and play her in a Blossom team where she records three ally Support or Redirect skills before pressing her Ultimate.
Hotori role and core resource
Hotori is a burst sub-DPS who also provides a team-wide 10% ATK Resonance buff while she is on the team and alive. Her on-field resource is the Non-Closed Timepiece, which caps at 120 energy. The pointer rotates clockwise to accumulate energy passively while she is deployed, and rewinds whenever she spends energy.
Spending 60 energy casts Present Replay, which deals seven instances of Cosmos damage and records up to three ally Support or Redirect skills over the next five seconds (one record per character). A full 120-energy bar unlocks her Ultimate, World's Tide, which deals ten instances of Cosmos damage, draws her katana, slows time to near standstill, and replays every recorded skill once. Hitting ten combo stacks with her katana attacks during Time Stop triggers a Finisher hit that ends the window.
Records clear when she enters or leaves battle, so the rotation must always end with Present Replay → ally skills → Ultimate inside the same fight.
Best Arc (weapon) for Hotori
Hotori's damage scales almost entirely with her Ultimate, so her Arc choice should reinforce that single window rather than rotation uptime.
| Arc | Rarity | Stats (M1) | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marching Beyond Time | S-Rank (signature) | ATK 570, CRIT Rate 24% | +16% ATK base. Casting a Redirect Skill enters Wastelab; allies stack Wastetime via Redirect/Support skills (max 3). Consuming them with Ultimate adds +24% Ultimate CRIT DMG plus +8% per stack, and three stacks grants +12% DEF Ignore for 3s. |
| Fluff of Fearlessness | S-Rank | ATK 512, CRIT Rate 22% | +25% ATK for 10s after using Ultimate. A clean, condition-free buff that covers the post-Ult katana phase. |
| The Forgotten | A-Rank | ATK 475, HP 25% | +20% ATK while HP is above 50%. The only A-rank Arc worth slotting on her, and surprisingly close in raw ATK output. |
Marching Beyond Time is the clear best-in-slot because every line on the Arc loads directly onto Hotori's Ultimate window. If you are skipping her signature, Fluff of Fearlessness is the strongest free alternative for the post-Ultimate katana phase.
Best Console set
Hotori's Console bonus already adds 10% Cosmos DMG per Type III Module, so the goal is to stack additional Cosmos damage and DEF ignore on top of that baseline.
| Set | Bonus | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lost Radiance (2pc) | Cosmos DMG +10% | Pure multiplier on her entire kit. |
| Lost Radiance (4pc) | Ignores 25% DEF for 20s after casting Ultimate (no stacking) | Activates exactly when her Time Stop window begins, stacking multiplicatively with Marching Beyond Time and the A6 Awakening. |
Run the full 4-piece Lost Radiance. Mixed sets lose the DEF ignore, which is the single largest non-stat contribution to her Ultimate damage.
Stat priority
Hotori is an ATK-scaling Cosmos DPS whose effective DEF reduction is already covered by her Arc, set, and A6 Awakening. That frees the Cartridge slots to push pure damage stats.
| Slot | Priority |
|---|---|
| Cartridge mainstats | ATK% > Cosmos DMG > CRIT DMG > HP% |
| Substats | ATK% > Universal DMG > CRIT DMG > ATK flat > HP flat |
| Skill level | Ultimate = Support Skill > Basic Attack > Skill |
Note: Level her Support Skill alongside her Ultimate. A large share of her on-field damage actually comes from her Support Skill triggers in other characters' rotations, not just her own Time Stop phase.
Awakening priority
Hotori's A6 is the standout node and breaks from the usual "save A6 for last" pattern. If you pull duplicates, unlock awakenings in this order.
| Order | Awakening | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A6 Time Takes Away | Ignores 30% of target DEF during Time Stop. The single biggest damage jump in her kit. |
| 2 | A2 Distant Memories | +20% damage during Time Stop. Pairs directly with A6. |
| 3 | A1 Flourish | +12% damage per recorded Support or Redirect skill during Time Stop. Likely a separate multiplier bucket from A2. |
| 4 | A5 All-Seeing | +15% team damage against a lone target while Hotori is deployed. Boss-fight uplift. |
| 5 | A3 Momentary Gaze | Refunds Present Replay energy once every 60s. Lower priority due to the long cooldown. |
| 6 | A4 Scattered Relics | +10 Timepiece energy per kill (up to 3). Strong in waves, weak against single bosses. |
Best teams
Hotori's Cosmos element lets her trigger Blossom, Remora, or Charge reactions, but her record-and-replay design pushes her hardest in Blossom comps with multiple Support/Redirect-skill enablers. The point of the team is to give her three high-value skills to record before her Ultimate.
| Team archetype | Sample lineup | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Blossom (main DPS) | Hotori, Jiuyuan, Esper Zero | Two Blossom triggers feed her recordings while she stays on field for the Ultimate finisher. |
| Blossom (sub-DPS) | Nanally, Hotori, Esper Zero (or Sakiri) | Nanally functions as the main carry; Hotori records three different ally skills and unloads inside Time Stop. |
| Charge variant | Hotori plus Cosmos/Charge enabler and flex support | Flexible budget option if you do not own Blossom characters, but lower ceiling. |
Standard rotation
The goal of every rotation is the same: enter Wastelab, stack three Wastetime via different allies' Redirect or Support skills, then cast World's Tide so the Ultimate consumes all three stacks.
Step 1: Open on Hotori. Use her Skill (Present Replay) once you have at least 60 Timepiece energy. This deals damage and opens the 5-second recording window.
Step 2: Swap to your first Blossom partner (for example Jiuyuan) and cast their Skill plus Ultimate. The cast is recorded and the Blossom reaction triggers.
Step 3: Swap to the third member (for example Esper Zero) and cast their Skill plus Ultimate. This adds the second recorded skill.
Step 4: Cycle back to Hotori once the Timepiece reaches 120. Cast World's Tide to enter Time Stop, then spam Basic Attacks to build the combo to 10 stacks and trigger the Finisher.
Step 5: After Time Stop ends, swap to the secondary DPS (Nanally or another carry) and play out the rest of the burst window while Hotori's Lost Radiance 4-piece DEF ignore is still active for 20 seconds.
Tip: Always make sure the three recorded skills come from three different allies. Each character can only be recorded once per Present Replay.
How to verify the build is working
Three checks confirm the setup is paying off. First, when you cast World's Tide you should see all recorded skill icons consumed from the bar above Hotori's HP. Second, your Ultimate hits should show clearly higher numbers than her Basic Attack chain, which is the intended profile. Third, the Lost Radiance 4-piece DEF ignore icon should appear on the buff bar for 20 seconds starting at Ultimate cast; if it does not, the set count is wrong.
If her Ultimate feels underwhelming, the most common cause is missing Wastetime stacks. That happens when you used multiple skills from the same ally instead of three different allies, or you cast Hotori's Ultimate before Wastelab was active. Re-check that Hotori's Skill is the first action in the rotation, not the last.