Black Swan vs Sampo
Black Swan vs Sampo — two Nihility characters competing for the same roster slot.
TL;DR — Quick Pick
Pick Black Swan if…
- You need a Wind Nihility unit and Black Swan's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer DoT DPS gameplay over Sampo's DoT DPS identity.
- Yes for DoT—Black Swan is the Arcana carry/support hybrid.
Pick Sampo if…
- You need a Wind Nihility unit and Sampo's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer DoT DPS gameplay over Black Swan's DoT DPS identity.
- Situational—Sampo is a Wind Shear DoT piece.
Black Swan and Sampo are both Nihility investments that answer different account needs. Black Swan (Wind, DoT DPS) shines when Yes for DoT—Black Swan is the Arcana carry/support hybrid.. Sampo (Wind, DoT DPS) is the better commit when Situational—Sampo is a Wind Shear DoT piece.. Compare signature builds, team requirements, and your existing supports before pulling either.
At a Glance
Strengths & Weaknesses
Black Swan
- Ultimate “Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace” hits the full field and forces DoT application/detonation in one cast—Pure Fiction waves melt once the status is seeded.
- “Decadence, False Twilight” Blast-hits the main target plus adjacent enemies, so adjacent elites still take meaningful chip without waiting for Ultimate.
- Talent “Loom of Fate's Caprice” Blast-hits the main target plus adjacent enemies—miss the stack conditions and the burst window feels empty.
- Several Black Swan effects roll “base chance”—without enough Effect Hit Rate, Exposed/Shock/DEF shred simply misses on tanky bosses and the rotation feels empty.
- E0 without “Reforged Remembrance” is still clearable, but the gap versus a signature copy is larger than a single eidolon for most Nihility carries—plan the cone before deep eidolon hunting.
- DoT damage needs other appliers or long-lived statuses on the field—Black Swan alone cannot keep every wave fully stacked without a second DoT partner.
Sampo
- Ultimate “Surprise Present” hits the full field and forces DoT application/detonation in one cast—Pure Fiction waves melt once the status is seeded.
- Skill “Ricochet Love” dumps a large single-target multiplier into one elite—that is how Sampo applies pressure between Ultimates.
- Talent “Windtorn Dagger” rolls a base-chance debuff that wants Effect Hit Rate—miss the stack conditions and the burst window feels empty.
- Several Sampo effects roll “base chance”—without enough Effect Hit Rate, Exposed/Shock/DEF shred simply misses on tanky bosses and the rotation feels empty.
- DoT damage needs other appliers or long-lived statuses on the field—Sampo alone cannot keep every wave fully stacked without a second DoT partner.
- As a 4★ Nihility unit, Sampo is easy to gear for early/mid game but usually loses the niche race to a modern limited option once that banner is built.
Shared Team Members
With Black Swan
Kafka seeds or detonates DoTs — without a second DoT piece the detonation loop stalls.
With Sampo
Kafka seeds or detonates DoTs — without a second DoT piece the detonation loop stalls.
With Black Swan
Huohuo covers healing (and often Energy / cleanse) so the carry can stay on-curve.
With Sampo
Huohuo covers healing (and often Energy / cleanse) so the carry can stay on-curve.
With Black Swan
Tingyun is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Sampo
Tingyun is the Advance / DMG amp — time their Skill/Ult for the carry’s damage window.
With Black Swan
Pela seeds or detonates DoTs — without a second DoT piece the detonation loop stalls.
With Sampo
Pela seeds or detonates DoTs — without a second DoT piece the detonation loop stalls.
Best Builds (Signature)
Light Cone
Reforged Remembrance
Relics
Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters (4pc) + Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise (2pc)
Body
Effect Hit Rate
Feet
SPD
Sphere
Wind DMG%
Rope
ATK%
Substats
EHR (to threshold) > SPD > ATK% / CRIT
Light Cone
Incessant Rain
Relics
Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters (4pc) + Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise (2pc)
Body
Effect Hit Rate
Feet
SPD
Sphere
Wind DMG%
Rope
ATK%
Substats
EHR (to threshold) > SPD > ATK% / CRIT
Who Should You Pull?
- You need a Wind Nihility unit and Black Swan's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer DoT DPS gameplay over Sampo's DoT DPS identity.
- Yes for DoT—Black Swan is the Arcana carry/support hybrid.
- Ultimate “Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace” hits every enemy on the field in one cast.
- Black Swan is a stronger general pull priority for your roster.
- You need a Wind Nihility unit and Sampo's kit matches your account gap.
- You prefer DoT DPS gameplay over Black Swan's DoT DPS identity.
- Situational—Sampo is a Wind Shear DoT piece.
- Ultimate “Surprise Present” hits every enemy on the field in one cast.
- Ultimate “Surprise Present” hits the full field and forces DoT application/detonation in one cast—Pure Fiction waves melt once the status is seeded.