I still remember the adrenaline surge when Titan Nikador first loomed over my team in Amphoreus—that massive energy sword gleaming with menace. Fighting gods feels like a rite of passage in Honkai: Star Rail, but nothing prepared me for the escalating brutality of Nikador's three incarnations. That initial skirmish? Just a warm-up. By the third battle, my screen trembled as the newly christened Giver, Master of Legions, Lance of Fury unleashed divine wrath that pushed my builds to their absolute limits. Each defeat taught me something new—about armor-shattering tactics, soul-binding mechanics, and why Lightning DPS units became my lifeline.

That first encounter felt almost... manageable. Nikador—then called Savage God, Mad King, Incarnation of Strife—only had one phase. But appearances deceived. Those War Armor stacks? Brutal. Seven hits to shatter them, delaying Nikador’s turn while chipping imaginary damage into his health bar. Then came Calamity Eternal—a room-wide blast that draped him in Titanic Corpus. Twelve stacks this time. I panicked until Glory stacks lit up my team. Skills and Ults became my currency; each one chipped away at Titanic Corpus. Breaking them all? Euphoric. That sweet crunch of shattered divinity, energy surging through my party—it felt like cheating. Nikador’s moves were straightforward but punishing:

Attack	Effect
Lightning Spear of the Firmament	Minor Imaginary damage to one character
Hewing of the River of Souls	Heavy Imaginary damage to one target
Sky-Piercing Lance	Multi-hit Imaginary AoE
Calamity Eternal	AoE damage + Titanic Corpus + Glory

Midway through Amphoreus, Nikador returned—and oh, how he’d evolved. Two phases now, with All Realms Leveled, All Legions to Dust lurking like a guillotine. One misstep, one under-leveled sustain unit, and poof—team wipe. I learned to heal obsessively, memorizing his new patterns:

• Pyre of High Graves: Party-wide chip damage

• Ruination of Night and Light: Relentless multi-hit barrage

• Worldsplitting Spine: Deceptively painful single-target stab

Then came the true nightmare—the third fight. Nikador shed his old title like dead skin, becoming The Giver, Master of Legions, Lance of Fury. And he brought a friend: a golden sigil hovering in the turn order, his restored divinity. When it struck with The Vanquished Behold Woe, my characters’ souls tore from their bodies, speared into the ground. Conquer or Be Conquered—a state that slashed healing efficiency. Panic set in. Those soul spears pulsed with weakness: Lightning, Quantum, Imaginary. Breaking them felt surgical. Ignore them? Fury Falls, and Bows to Strife would obliterate my squad, ignoring defense and imprisoning conquered allies. I scrambled, targeting spears frantically.

Team-building became an art form. Nikador’s weaknesses—Ice, Lightning, Quantum—dictated everything. My free-to-play days? Gone. I chased meta:

• 🌀 Acheron Hypercarry: Her Ultimate demolished soul spears like paper, each shard exploding into boss HP damage. With Sunday buffing and Aventurine shielding, it trivialized phase three.

• ⚡ Jing Yuan + Serval: Lightning Lords stacked AoE carnage, vaporizing spears while Robin’s harmonies kept the rhythm.

• ❄️ The Herta Freeze Army: Her 3.0 rework made her queen of AoE Ice bursts, paired beautifully with Remembrance Trailblazer’s crowd control.

But what if you lack premium units? I tried a budget squad—Serval main DPS, Pela debuffing, Lynx healing—and barely scraped through. Nikador’s damage output demands near-perfect rotations.

Reflecting on these clashes, I’m struck by how Honkai: Star Rail turns boss fights into tactical symphonies. That moment when Glory stacks align, spears shatter, and Nikador staggers—pure dopamine. Yet I wonder: as new Titankin emerge in 2025, will these strategies hold? What secrets have you uncovered when facing gods?