The ridiculously named March 7th has been the poster child for Honkai: Star Rail since the free-to-play game launched, and now there’s a new version of her that plays as a DPS. The recent 2.4 update has provided her with a new Path to switch to, just like the main character, The Trailblazer. What’s great here is that she’s an Imaginary Hunt character with some surprising flexibility. Even better news: you don’t need to pull for her in a banner—she’s completely free!
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March 7th—named for the day she woke up on with no memory—boasts a new skill that’s the most crucial component of her play style: it marks a selected ally as her Shifu. Every attack from the Shifu, including follow-ups and counters, will provide March 7th with one point of charge. Reaching a minimum of seven points gives her an immediate action with an enhanced basic attack. Further, the ally’s path will determine whether March 7th’s Basic ATK deals additional DMG or an increased Toughness Reduction. I’ll be going over how to unlock this multi-talented warrior and how to craft the best builds.
How to unlock March 7th (The Hunt)
Acquiring this character can be a little confusing due to the limited-time event centered around her. I do want to stress that you can only unlock the character by working your way through the story and reaching the Trailblaze Continuance mission “March to Mastery: A Star Is Born.”
Although the Saga of Primaveral Blade event during version 2.4 does center around March 7th’s training, and it is possible for those who aren’t as far along in the story to play it early, this will not unlock her. The event only entails a fun minigame with the character and some great limited-time awards. Every player, early access or not, should go through the event anyway though just to unlock free Eidolons for her.
Best March 7th (The Hunt) team composition
The biggest advantage that March 7th (The Hunt) has is her adaptability. I’d argue she might just be the most versatile character we can earn for free in Honkai: Star Rail. While you do want to pair her with at least one character who can constantly throw out attacks, the primary roles should revolve around Break DMG or Crit Rate DMG.
If you want to focus on Break Effects and Break DMG, you should make use of Trailblazer (Imaginary) and/or Ruan Mei. Both are wonderful supports to provide all the necessary Break-related buffs. The former will be the most accessible, since they’re unlocked for free.
Building March 7th’s charge is a key responsibility for her Shifu, which is why characters with counter-attacks mesh well. Yunli and Clara can both perform wonderfully in this role. Although the former can dish out counters more consistently, the latter can aggro enemies into attacking her.
Most Healer or Sustain characters will do fine, but Lynx and Gallagher are the best options. Lynx works especially well with either Yunli or Clara since they can both activate the second part of her skill that will aggro enemies to them. Gallagher on the other hand can dish out strong damage and the Besotted state he inflicts on enemies will result in more Break DMG.
Best March 7th (The Hunt) Light Cones
As a 4-star character that isn’t even a part of a banner, March 7th (The Hunt) doesn’t have any associated Light Cones to act as a perfect match. Thankfully, there are plenty of great Light Cones to give her.
In The Night and Baptism Of Pure Thought are the top two five-star choices if you’re concerned about CRIT DMG. The former is potentially the better option since it can buff Basic ATK DMG too. A more accessible free-to-play option is Cruising In The Stellar Sea, which can be purchased from Herta’s Store.
Any of the above Light Cones should work fine with any build for March 7th (The Hunt), but the best to improve Break DMG would be the five-star Sailing Towards A Second Life. Even at the base Superimposition level, it will increase Break Effect by an outstanding 60 percent among a host of other buffs. If you missed out on pulling that, River Flows in Spring is a great alternative that can be purchased in the Forgotten Hall’s Light Cone Store. The buffs it provides will stay in play as long as the wearer doesn’t take any damage.
Which Traces to prioritize
Along with the base flexibility of March 7th (The Hunt), the character’s potential opens up even more with the right traces. Here are the ones to focus on first, no matter what kind of build you’re going for:
- Filigree – This is a must-have when it comes to traces and bonus abilities. Filigree allows March 7th to reduce the toughness of enemies with the same Weakness Type as her selected Shifu. Additionally, managing to cause a Weakness Break will trigger it as an Imaginary one
- My Sword Zaps Demons – With her skill being purely for support, you’ll be using the Basic Attack the most in battle. It’s important to upgrade this as much as possible
- Tide Tamer – This bonus ability is activated after using an Enhanced Basic Attack. The selected Shifu will have 60 percent increased CRIT DMG and a 36 percent increase to their Break Effect.
Best March 7th (The Hunt) Relic Sets
While March 7th has ideal Light Cones to be paired, there are some options that can work no matter what kind of build you’re using. The specific effects of Relic sets are much more suited to particular character builds though. Below are the best Relic and Ornament Sets to use if you want a Break DPS build. Those who have Firefly will likely recognize these options.
- Iron Cavalry Against The Scourge is arguably the best choice. The Break Effect increase is solid, while the potential to partially ignore enemy DEF can make a huge difference if the Break Effect value is high enough
- Your next best option is to go with Thief Of Shooting Meteor. A maximum Break Effect increase of 32 percent can be a huge help with an Imaginary character like March 7th (The Hunt)
- The Planar Ornament set matching well with the above is Talia: Kingdom Of Banditry. Its base 16 percent Break Effect increase is the same as Iron Cavalry’s, while the additional 20 percent will be very noticeable if her SPD stat reaches 145.
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A DPS or CRIT DPS build is best outfitted with something different. The below sets will provide fantastic DMG and CRIT-related buffs.
- Musketeer Of Wild Wheat can be found everywhere in Honkai: Star Rail, and it’s thankfully the best relic set for this purpose. The four-piece effect is especially helpful due to how often you’ll be using her Basic Attack
- Wastelander Of Banditry Desert is a great alternative relic set. The CRIT Rate and Crit DMG buffs are situational, although the Filigree trace can increase the likelihood of them occurring
- Rutilant Arena is the best Planar Ornament set to pair with either of the above. It increases CRIT Rate by 8 percent and can then increase Basic ATK damage by 20 percent if the CRIT Rate is raised enough.
March 7th (The Hunt) might just be one of the most busted characters you can unlock for free. I was a fan of her original Preservation version, but I’ve been having a lot more fun with this new path. The flexibility of this character is sure to be a strong addition to any Honkai: Star Rail players’ teams.
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