The Dahlia’s role and why E1 vs S1 matters
The Dahlia is a 5-star Fire Nihility character centered on the Super Break playstyle in Honkai: Star Rail 3.8. Her kit raises team-wide Weakness Break Efficiency, converts toughness damage into Super Break DMG even before enemies are fully broken, and applies guaranteed DEF reduction with her Ultimate. In practice she fills a similar role for Super Break teams that Kafka plays for DoT teams: a core enabler that turns several breakers into a cohesive damage engine.
When planning pulls, players often face a familiar choice: invest in a character’s first Eidolon (E1) or in the first superimposition of their signature Light Cone (S1). For The Dahlia, that decision is between a powerful team-wide Super Break upgrade at E1 and the Light Cone “Never Forget Her Flame,” which adds rare Break DMG scaling and Skill Point support. Both are strong; understanding how they work inside her kit makes the trade‑offs much clearer.
Effects of The Dahlia’s signature Light Cone (S1)
“Never Forget Her Flame” is a 5-star Nihility Light Cone tailored to The Dahlia and Super Break teams. At S1 it provides three key effects:
- High Break Effect: Increases the wearer’s Break Effect by 60%.
- Unique Break DMG buff: When entering combat, increases Break DMG dealt by the wearer and one teammate by 32%. If no teammate triggers combat, that second buff instead targets the ally with the highest Break Effect. Effects of the same type do not stack.
- Skill Point refund: Whenever the wearer implants a Weakness on an enemy, they recover 1 Skill Point. This can trigger once, then the count resets when the wearer uses their Ultimate.
The 60% Break Effect is a straightforward damage and control increase for any break-focused Nihility unit. The unusual part is the flat 32% Break DMG multiplier that applies both to The Dahlia and to a chosen ally. Unlike Super Break‑specific modifiers, this bonus strengthens all Break damage those characters deal, regardless of whether it comes from classic weakness breaks or from Super Break conversion.
Very few effects directly boost Break DMG rather than Super Break DMG. Comparable bonuses appear only on a small number of upgrades, such as Fugue’s fourth Eidolon and the battle pass Light Cone “In Pursuit of the Wind.” Because Break damage cannot crit and ignores regular DMG% bonuses, this kind of dedicated multiplier has an outsized impact on overall output.
The Skill Point refund synergizes naturally with The Dahlia’s gameplay loop. She implants Weakness when she uses her Ultimate, which means every Ultimate reliably gives the team one Skill Point back. Combined with her trace that restores a Skill Point after every two follow-up attacks, “Never Forget Her Flame” turns her into a significant SP generator on top of her role as a Super Break enabler. This is especially valuable alongside SP‑hungry carries such as Firefly before her higher Eidolons.
The Light Cone’s buffs are effectively “always on” within a battle: the Break Effect is permanent, the Break DMG buff refreshes at the start of each combat, and the ally buff applies automatically to a second character without extra setup. As long as The Dahlia is in the team and holding this Light Cone, both she and one teammate receive consistent value.
Effects of The Dahlia’s first Eidolon (E1)
The Dahlia’s base kit designates herself and one ally as “dance partners.” By default, only the dance partner enjoys one of her key Super Break multipliers. E1 expands and strengthens this mechanic and adds an extra toughness shred effect:
- Wider Super Break bonus: The Super Break DMG multiplier that previously applied only to the dance partner is shared with all allies. The dance partner also receives an additional 40% Super Break DMG bonus on top of that shared value.
- Additional toughness reduction: After the dance partner uses an attack, the attack applies an extra fixed chunk of toughness reduction equal to 25% of the enemy’s max toughness, up to a cap of 300 points.
These changes turn E1 into a strong ceiling-raising upgrade for established Super Break teams. Giving every ally access to the Super Break bonus means all your breakers—Firefly, Boothill, Rappa, or others—benefit whenever they contribute toughness damage, not just the primary dance partner. The extra 40% for the dance partner keeps the main carry clearly ahead in damage.
The fixed toughness reduction after the dance partner attacks has important practical implications. Against bosses with large toughness bars, that extra chunk helps you reach a full weakness break sooner and maintain a longer broken window. It also improves the pace at which Super Break damage is generated from The Dahlia’s zone and follow-up mechanics, because more toughness damage is being converted into Super Break DMG on each cycle.
However, all of E1’s value is tied directly to the Super Break playstyle and to enemies that can have their toughness reduced repeatedly. When waves refresh or enemies die quickly, the additional team-wide multiplier has less time to matter. E1 also does not improve Skill Point economy, survivability, or consistency for more general Nihility teams.
Comparison of S1 and E1 for The Dahlia
The Light Cone and the first Eidolon push The Dahlia’s strengths in different directions. One focuses on efficient, reliable Break scaling and SP flow, while the other maximizes pure Super Break output once a specialized team is already in place.
| Aspect | S1 “Never Forget Her Flame” | E1 (first Eidolon) |
|---|---|---|
| Main effect | +60% Break Effect and +32% Break DMG to The Dahlia and one ally on entering combat. | Shares a key Super Break DMG bonus with the whole team, with an extra 40% for the dance partner. |
| Scaling type | Direct Break DMG multiplier and higher Break Effect. | Super Break DMG multiplier and additional toughness reduction. |
| Skill Point impact | Refunds 1 Skill Point whenever The Dahlia implants a Weakness (once per Ultimate cycle). | No direct Skill Point gain. |
| Team coverage | Buffs The Dahlia and one ally in every battle. | Buffs all allies in Super Break teams; the dance partner gains the largest share. |
| Reliability across content | Active in any fight, single‑target or multi‑target, regardless of wave structure. | Strongest in long boss fights where enemies stay on the field long enough to benefit from repeated Super Break conversions. |
| Account flexibility | Improves any break‑oriented Nihility user and doubles as a strong stat stick if moved later. | Locked to The Dahlia and only matters when she is on the field. |
For most accounts, the Light Cone provides a larger and more universally applicable spike in power. The rare Break DMG multiplier and Skill Point refund noticeably change how comfortably a Super Break team functions, especially when building around Firefly or other main breakers who lean heavily on skills.
E1, in contrast, is primarily a refinement for players already committed to Super Break who want to squeeze extra performance from Dahlia-centric teams. It raises the ceiling but does not fix common constraints around Skill Points or general Light Cone strength, and it is far less meaningful in teams or modes that are not structured around constant toughness damage.
When to prioritize The Dahlia’s S1
S1 is usually the better first investment once you have obtained The Dahlia herself. Several common setups benefit more from the Light Cone than from E1.
Firefly-centric teams at low or mid Eidolons. Firefly consumes a large number of Skill Points before her higher Eidolons. The combination of The Dahlia’s Light Cone SP refund and her own SP-restoring trace takes significant pressure off the team, allowing supports such as Ruan Mei, Harmony Trailblazer, or Gallagher to use their skills more liberally. At the same time, Firefly and The Dahlia both receive the +32% Break DMG multiplier, giving an immediate and visible DPS boost.
Accounts without strong 5-star Nihility Light Cones. If The Dahlia would otherwise be using 4-star options like Before the Tutorial Mission Begins or Resolution Shines as Pearls of Sweat, “Never Forget Her Flame” represents a larger upgrade than a single Eidolon. It gives her the Break Effect she wants, improves Break DMG for a second character, and helps stabilize Skill Points all at once.
Multi-purpose Break teams. Many Super Break teams flex between Firefly, Boothill, Rappa, Xueyi, or other characters depending on content. The Light Cone’s ally buff lets you redirect part of its value toward whichever carry you place next to The Dahlia each battle, making it a flexible long‑term tool rather than a narrow optimization.
When The Dahlia’s E1 becomes attractive
E1 starts to compete with or overtake S1 in value once several conditions are already met.
Dahlia already owns a top-tier Nihility Light Cone. If she is equipped with a powerful alternative such as Fugue’s signature or a strong Cipher-type Light Cone, her personal stats and Break scaling are already high. In that case, upgrading the character directly through E1 can yield more additional damage than replacing an existing high-end Light Cone with “Never Forget Her Flame.”
Firefly at E2 with strong existing Light Cones. Firefly’s second Eidolon removes Skill Point consumption during her Ultimate state, which greatly eases team SP problems. Combined with high‑refinement options like an S5 Pearls of Sweat or Before the Tutorial Mission Begins, many teams no longer need the extra SP gains from Dahlia’s signature Light Cone and already have sufficient Break stats. For those setups, E1’s team-wide Super Break bonus and extra toughness reduction become more appealing.
Highly optimized Super Break clears. In endgame content where turn counts and damage benchmarks are tight but Skill Point economy is already stable, E1’s team-wide Super Break multiplier and added toughness reduction can provide a measurable improvement. Extending broken windows and ramping Super Break damage faster matters most for this type of play, and E1 directly targets those goals.
In all of these cases, E1 functions as a luxury upgrade for players who have solved their Light Cone and SP needs. It is powerful, but its impact is narrower than the jump from a generic Nihility Light Cone to S1 “Never Forget Her Flame.”
Pull recommendations by player profile
For Trailblazers deciding where limited Stellar Jade or Star Rail Special Passes should go in the first half of version 3.8, the trade‑offs can be summarized simply.
If The Dahlia is your first dedicated Super Break enabler and you plan to run Firefly or other breakers around her, prioritize S1 “Never Forget Her Flame” before considering E1. The combination of Break DMG, Break Effect, and Skill Point generation reshapes how comfortable the team feels to play and scales well even if you stop at E0 on both The Dahlia and your carries.
If your account already has strong Nihility Light Cones and high‑investment breakers—especially Firefly at E2 with powerful gear—E1 becomes a reasonable next target once S1 or an equivalent weapon is secured. In this context, E1 serves as a final layer of optimization for a playstyle you are clearly committed to.
Players who are not interested in Super Break at all can safely skip both Eidolons and the signature Light Cone. The Dahlia is designed around that archetype; her major upgrades chiefly magnify a strategy that revolves around repeated toughness damage and Break-based scaling.
In most situations where only one major upgrade is affordable, the signature Light Cone at S1 provides broader, more reliable value than E1 and is the recommended first pull for The Dahlia.
