Neverness to Everness · A-Rank · Psyche · Solid
Haniel Guide
A 4★ Psyche buffer who deploys Hootie for an always-on team ATK boost, then opens Paranormal Ace for a CRIT-DMG burst window — an element-agnostic support that amplifies any carry from the back row.
Overview
Quick Stats
| Rarity | A-Rank (4★) |
| Element | Psyche |
| Arc Type | Solid |
| Role | Team ATK buffer / burst window |
| Playstyle | Throw Hootie → feed off-field → open Ace |
| Rec. Arc | Blow up the Crowd (game-recommended) |
| Rec. Set | Devil's Blood: Curse 4-piece |
Ratings
Contextual: elite team buffing and burst-window value, mid-high on F2P (her best arc needs a pull) — never a survivability pick.
Community read — ZeroLuck tier-vote, Patch 1.0 (live, n=26 votes across roles): DPS A 2.91/5 (11) · Hybrid A 3.0/5 (3) · Support SS 4.75/5 (12). She is overwhelmingly a top-tier support — the DPS / hybrid scores are not where she belongs. Build her as a buffer for the active carry.
Trend: no recent tier shift, her SS-support placement is stable in the current patch. See the live tier list for the current standing.
Strengths
- Element-agnostic team ATK buff that works behind any carry
- Hootie buffs from the back row — deploy and leave
- Paranormal Ace adds a second buff + team CRIT DMG (A8)
- Strong 4★ — full value at A0 with no dupes
- Game-recommended arc + clear stat path straight from the data
Weaknesses
- No healing or shielding — pure offense support
- Paranormal Ace must be timed to a carry's burst to peak
- Best arc (Blow up the Crowd) has no farmable 5★ substitute
- Low solo value — needs a carry to amplify
Gameplay — Hootie & Paranormal Ace
Haniel runs a two-layer buff. Hootie is the always-on baseline — a deployed speaker granting team ATK off her Base ATK — and Paranormal Ace is the burst layer that stacks on top, so the loop is always deploy Hootie → feed Harmony → open Ace on the burst.
Why she fits any team
- Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian — Hootie's ATK buff is element-agnostic and persists through swaps
- A Melody Named Haniel — adds a second Base-ATK buff and (A8) team CRIT DMG during the window
- It's Friendship! — Nova reactions drain enemy ATK into the whole team
The decision with Haniel is timing, not the build: her baseline Hootie buff is free value behind anyone, but her ceiling comes from landing Paranormal Ace on a burst carry like Chiz — align that window and a 4★ buffs like a 5★; mistime it and you waste her best button.
Skills
Upgrade priority
- Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian
- A Melody Named Haniel
- Genesse Technique
- Easter Egg Time
Skill
Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian
Throws Hootie, a speaker that stays on field and grants the whole team an ATK bonus scaled off Haniel's Base ATK. Every attack from the active character feeds Hootie a Four-Part Harmony stack; 4 stacks triggers Ensemble (AoE Psyche DMG). Hootie persists through swaps and re-casting just refreshes it. This is her entire job: a deployable team-ATK buff that also chips damage.
Ultimate
A Melody Named Haniel
Enters Paranormal Ace: a field that adds a second, stronger Ensemble - Symphony around the active character and another Base-ATK team buff on top of Hootie's. While Ace is active Hootie's duration is paused, and each Ensemble grants the active character bonus damage on its next attack. This is the burst-buff window — line it up with your carry's damage.
Normal Attack
Genesse Technique
Up to a 5-hit Psyche combo with a chargeable Paranormal Cannon, an airborne plunge, and a Critical Riposte after a Critical Dodge. As a buffer her own attacks mostly matter for feeding Hootie's Harmony stacks — keep it a low priority unless you field her actively.
Chain Skill
Easter Egg Time
A swap-in projectile for one instance of Psyche DMG. Cheap filler and a clean way to land Haniel to throw Hootie — lowest upgrade priority.
Passive
It's Friendship!
Nova Enhancement: when Nova ends, all allies drain ATK from the target (target loses 4% of Haniel's Base ATK; each ally gains 8%, capped at 16%). Nova is one of NTE's shared Esper Cycle reactions — multiple characters interact with it — so this is a team-wide ATK swing, layered on top of Hootie's buff in a Nova team.
Passive
It's Bond!
Each Ensemble trigger grants Haniel a Plot Armor stack (2 in Paranormal Ace), up to 4, widening Paranormal Cannon's ricochet. It is a self-scaling line for an active Haniel — relevant only if you play her on field rather than purely as a back-row buffer.
Skill scaling — Lv 1 → Lv 11
Real ratios (% of ATK) from the in-game codex. Her per-level payoff sits on Ultimate (A Melody Named Haniel) — it more than doubles between Lv 1 and Lv 11, and it is also her Paranormal Ace window. Skill is her second priority because the Hootie payload also scales with it.
| Source | Lv 1 | Lv 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Attack — Genesse Technique | 41.9% | 90.5% |
| Skill — Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian | 100% ×2 | 215.9% ×2 |
| Ultimate — A Melody Named Haniel | 300% | 647.7% |
| Chain Skill — Easter Egg Time | 200% | 431.8% |
Both passives — It's Friendship! and It's Bond! — are Nova-reaction and team-utility effects with no per-level damage row, so they are not surfaced here.
Awakenings
Priority: A5 → A8 → A2 → A6 → A3 → A4, then A1 / A7. She is fully functional at A0 — awakenings raise her ceiling, they do not gate her job. A5 and A8 are the two biggest jumps; A2 / A6 turn her baseline Hootie buff into a near-permanent uptime.
A5
Crisis! Shattering trust!
+30% Haniel Psyche DMG while in Paranormal Ace. The biggest single power jump for the burst-buff window — directly multiplies her Ensemble / Symphony output.
A8
Sequel
+12% team CRIT DMG while in Paranormal Ace. A flat team-wide damage multiplier during her ultimate window — pure carry support, exactly what a buffer wants.
A2
Legendary! The g'old back row window seat!
+4s Hootie duration. Longer Hootie = more team-ATK uptime and more Ensemble triggers between casts — raises her baseline buff value, not just her ceiling.
A6
Finale! For the coming dawn!
−4s Hootie CD. Pairs with A2 for near-permanent Hootie uptime — together they make her team buff effectively always-on.
A3
Assemble! The hero team is formed!
+20% Haniel CRIT Chance in Paranormal Ace. Only matters if you build her own Ensemble damage — useful, but secondary to her team-buff role.
A4
Seaside! Beach episode!
+100% to her next-attack bonus DMG after triggering Ensemble in Paranormal Ace. A personal-damage spike — strong on an active Haniel, low value on a pure buffer.
A1
New here! Genius transfer student reporting in!
Plot Armor max 6 and Paranormal Cannon ricochet limit 6. Niche self-scaling — only relevant to an on-field Cannon build.
A7
Prequel
+1 skill level to Genesse Technique, Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian and A Melody Named Haniel. A flat stat-stick — unlock last.
Best Arc
These picks are grounded in her in-game cultivation data and arc-type compatibility (Haniel equips Solid arcs) — not invented tier claims.
Cassette Set & Stats
- 2-piece: Psyche DMG +10%
- 4-piece: +18% DMG, raised to +36% against units affected by Nova or Stain
Tailor-made for her: the 2-piece amplifies her element, and the 4-piece's Nova condition is met by her own It's Friendship! passive — strongest when she actively triggers Ensemble.
- 2-piece: ATK +10%
- 4-piece: +25% ATK for 20s after casting a Skill
Excellent fit for a pure buffer — her team buff scales off her own ATK, so the ATK 2-piece and post-Skill +25% directly raise every ally's bonus. The safest non-conditional choice.
Stat Priority
Best Team
Psyche · Solid. Deploys Hootie for an always-on team ATK buff, then opens Paranormal Ace for a second buff layer plus team CRIT DMG (A8). A back-row support that boosts any carry regardless of element.
Cosmos Main DPS. His A6 Thirty-Three Days adds +15% Bonus Cosmos DMG of Grain — Haniel's element-agnostic Hootie buff plus the A8 +12% team Crit DMG inside Paranormal Ace multiply that entire Cosmos damage cycle, so Chiz's payoff per Grain spent scales harder under her window than under any other buffer.
Lakshana sub-DPS. Her A6 Daily Life Walkthrough adds +30% Crit DMG while in Emergency Delivery — stacks additively with Haniel's A8 Sequel (+12% team Crit DMG in Paranormal Ace), so the burst Cyclone Strike under both windows hits with the highest aggregated Crit DMG of any sub-DPS line. See the Chiz Team guide for the full rotation.
Anima burst flex. Her A4 Strike to Kill adds +50% DMG Ratio and AoE to actively-triggered Pact Settlement — i.e. the Final Reckoning detonation. Haniel's Paranormal Ace window lines up exactly with that single biggest burst, so Jiuyuan cashes in her Pacts at peak team ATK + Crit DMG instead of off-buff.
Want the full buff-core rotation with Chiz as the carry? See the Chiz Team Guide → Or build and share your own: Team Builder →
Optimal Rotation
Throw Hootie
Open with Silent Moonlit Forest Guardian. Hootie stays on field and immediately grants the whole team an ATK bonus scaled off Haniel's Base ATK. It survives swaps — so cast it, then leave.
Feed Harmony off-field
Swap to your carry. Their attacks feed Hootie Four-Part Harmony stacks (1 per 0.5s); every 4 stacks triggers an Ensemble for extra Psyche AoE. The buff works entirely from the back row.
Open Paranormal Ace on the burst
Time A Melody Named Haniel with your carry's damage window. It pauses Hootie's timer, adds a second Base-ATK buff, and (A8) grants the team +12% CRIT DMG. This is the peak — do not waste it off-cooldown.
Symphony alignment
Inside Ace, every Ensemble also triggers Ensemble - Symphony around the active character and buffs their next attack. Keep the carry attacking so Symphony and the next-hit bonus land on real damage.
Refresh and repeat
When Ace ends Hootie resumes; re-cast it before it expires (A2 / A6 make this near-seamless). Trigger Nova windows (It's Friendship!) for the extra team-ATK drain. Repeat per carry cycle.
Golden rule: never open Paranormal Ace off-cooldown — save it for the carry's burst.
Pre-Farm Materials
Stockpile these before pulling so she is combat-ready on day one. Plan your ascension →
| Material | Source |
|---|---|
| Blurred Numeral | Common enemy · Ascension early |
| Nest Guard Fragment | World Boss · Ascension phase 2 |
| Unsolved Numeral | Common enemy · Ascension mid |
| Distorted Numeral | Common enemy · Ascension late |
Highest priority: Numeral ascension line · skill books · then arc / cassette farming
Should You Pull?
Pull if…
- You want an element-agnostic team ATK buffer that works behind any carry
- You like deploy-and-leave support — Hootie buffs from the back row
- You run a burst carry whose damage window can line up with Paranormal Ace
- You want a strong 4★ support that needs no dupes to do its job
- You build around Nova reactions — It's Friendship! adds a team-ATK drain
Skip if…
- You want a healer or shielder — Haniel adds offense, not survivability
- You already run a stronger 5★ buffer and have no buff slot to spare
- You play only sustained-DPS teams with no burst window for Ace to align with
- You are strictly F2P on arcs — her best arc needs a pull, only a 4★ is farmable
New / casual players: a deploy-and-forget team ATK buff makes any carry stronger with zero micro. As a 4★ Haniel is easy to obtain and needs no investment to do that job — a safe pick that speeds up story and mid difficulty.
F2P / low-spend: she is one of the strongest free supports because her value does not gate behind dupes. A0 on a 4★ Solid arc keeps the full Hootie buff and Paranormal Ace window — only her ideal arc is the paywall.
Invested / endgame: her ceiling is timing-based. A5 and A8 turn Paranormal Ace into a +30% personal / +12% team CRIT DMG spike, and A2 / A6 make Hootie effectively permanent; with Blow up the Crowd she buffs like a 5★. The condition is aligning Ace with a burst carry like Chiz — meet it and she punches well above her rarity, mistime it and you waste her best button.
Bottom line: a top-tier SS support — one of the best budget buffers in the roster and an element-agnostic fit for almost any carry. Her weakness is that she adds no personal damage and no survivability — pick her to amplify a carry, not to deal damage or stay alive.
FAQ
Is Haniel a DPS or a support?
A support buffer first. Hootie grants the whole team an ATK bonus scaled off her Base ATK, and Paranormal Ace stacks a second buff plus (with A8) +12% team CRIT DMG. She deals Psyche damage through Ensemble, but you build her to amplify a carry, not to be one — her own damage is incidental unless you actively field her.
Is Haniel good for a 4★?
Yes — she is one of the more impactful free / 4★ supports because her value does not gate behind dupes. A deploy-and-leave team ATK buff plus a CRIT DMG burst window is exactly what budget accounts lack, and she provides it element-agnostically behind any carry.
What is the best Arc for Haniel?
Blow up the Crowd — and that is the game's own recommendation in her cultivation data, a 5★ Solid arc with an ATK% sub-stat. Her team buff scales off her own ATK, so ATK% directly raises everyone's bonus. Hethereau's Keeper (5★ Solid, ATK%) is the alternative; Time Bandit (4★ Solid) is the farmable budget pick.
What is the best Cassette Set?
Devil's Blood: Curse 4-piece. The 2-piece is Psyche DMG +10% (her element); the 4-piece is +18% DMG, raised to +36% against units affected by Nova or Stain — and her own It's Friendship! passive is a Nova interaction, so the condition is met in a Nova team. Shadow Creed (ATK +10% / +25% ATK after Skill) is the generic alternative and pairs well with her Base-ATK scaling.
What stats should I prioritise?
Straight from her in-game recommended attributes: Psyche DMG > ATK% > ATK > Universal DMG Bonus. Because her team buff scales off her Base ATK, ATK is never wasted on her even though she is a support — stack ATK% and Psyche DMG.
Which Awakening matters most?
A5 (+30% Psyche DMG in Ace) and A8 (+12% team CRIT DMG in Ace) are the two biggest jumps — one for her own Ensemble, one purely for the team. A2 / A6 then make Hootie effectively permanent. Priority: A5 → A8 → A2 → A6 → A3 → A4, then A1 / A7. She is fully functional at A0.
What is Nova Enhancement on It's Friendship!?
Nova is one of NTE's shared Esper Cycle reactions — not a Haniel-specific mechanic. Multiple characters interact with it. It's Friendship! hooks Haniel into that shared system: when a Nova reaction ends, the whole team drains ATK from the target. It is a team-wide ATK swing, which is why she gains extra value specifically in a Nova-capable team.
Is she worth it for casual / story play?
Yes. A deploy-and-forget team ATK buff makes any carry clear story and mid difficulty faster with zero micro, and she asks for no investment to do it. The Paranormal Ace timing and Nova synergy only start to matter when you optimise the hardest endgame burst windows.