Stonesplit - Strength is the martial path that pairs the Snowparting Blade with the Phalanxbane Blade, and every recent tier list we follow puts it in its top tier for at least one mode. This page shows what current builds have in common and where the sources disagree. We have not tested these setups in the game ourselves: the builds come from two players' in-game screens, Game8's build page and the official patch notes, each named with its date.
Last checked: October 7, 2026. Versions 2.1 and 2.2 made no balance changes to this path, so the most recent official changes are still the Version 2.0 ones from July 23, 2026.
At a glance
| What the sources show | |
|---|---|
| Weapons | Snowparting Blade and Phalanxbane Blade |
| Two ways to play | Around the Phalanxbane Blade's charged attacks, or around the Snowparting Blade's combos and counters |
| Inner Ways in all three builds | Frost-Clad Night and Throat-Piercing Art |
| Rate targets | Precision Rate about 100% and Critical Rate 75% to 80% (hkurosagi, Game8) |
| Tier lists | S in PvE (NPC Waifu for the Phalanxbane style, Game8); top tier in PvP (OnKamii, Game8) |
Two ways to play Strength
Players name the two styles after the blades: the Mo Blade style is built around the Phalanxbane Blade, and the Heng Blade style around the Snowparting Blade. The game's own text fits this. The in-game description of Frost-Clad Night pairs the Snowparting Blade with a Heng Blade dual-weapon skill, and the May 27, 2026 patch notes give the Snowparting Blade's EX technique a Heng Blade Anxi Soldier and the Phalanxbane Blade's a Mo Blade one.
- Phalanxbane focus (Mo Blade style). Game8 has recommended this setup for PvE since its Version 2.0 update: the Snowparting Blade applies its debuffs and builds Inner Passion, then you switch to the Phalanxbane Blade for repeated Burning Heart attacks. NPC Waifu calls it the current mainstream style, easy to learn and top damage in any boss fight.
- Snowparting focus (Heng Blade style). A faster rotation built on combos and counters such as Snowbreak Spring. NPC Waifu rates it lower for PvE damage but calls it more flexible and the better choice for PvP, where the Mo Blade style's slow charge is hard to land. Game8 keeps it as an alternative for players who prefer a quicker, counter-based rotation.
Of the two players whose screens we checked, g drag runs both blades with Phalanxbane charged-skill bonuses on his armor (his video is titled "HengMo"), and hkurosagi's September setup is a "Pure Hengblade" build.
Where Strength ranks in Version 2.2
| Tier list | Published | What it rates | Stonesplit - Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPC Waifu | September 19, 2026 | Damage in real boss fights | S for the Phalanxbane focus, A for the Snowparting focus |
| Game8 | September 3, 2026 (Version 2.1) | PvE | S |
| Game8 | September 3, 2026 (Version 2.1) | PvP | S |
| OnKamii | September 19, 2026 (Version 2.2, global server) | High-rank 1v1 Arena | T0, one of his top three pairs (said in the video; the top row of his board is cropped) |
For PvP, OnKamii also rates the Snowparting Blade with other partners: with the Thundercry Blade in T0.5, which he suggests if you want an easy pair that wins a lot, and with the Stormbreaker Spear, Heavenwill Gauntlets or Nameless Spear in T1. Every path side by side: Build Tier List and PvP Tier List.
Inner Ways
You equip four Inner Ways. This is what each source uses:
| Inner Way | g drag (in game, October 6) | hkurosagi (planning sheet, September 8) | Game8 (September 3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-Clad Night | Equipped, Tier 6 | Listed | Main pick |
| Throat-Piercing Art | Equipped, Tier 6 | Listed | Main pick, swapped out in PvP |
| Envigorated Warrior | Equipped, Tier 6 | Listed | Alternative for the Snowparting focus |
| Morale Chant | Not shown | Listed | Main pick |
| Steadfast Devotion | Not shown | Not listed | Main pick |
Game8's main set is for its recommended Phalanxbane focus. For the Snowparting focus it offers Invigorated Warrior, Adaptive Steel and Breaking Point as alternatives.
- Frost-Clad Night: a deflect with the Snowparting Blade, or a fully cast Grave Frost or Heng Blade dual-weapon skill, unlocks Finding Spring, a quick follow-up slash that costs one bar of Blade Momentum and grants Tenacity.
- Throat-Piercing Art: combo hits stack Throat-Pierced up to five times for 15 seconds, so your attacks ignore part of the target's Physical Resistance and deal more Critical damage.
- Envigorated Warrior: at Tier 6 on g drag's screen, +8% damage and healing, switched off for 5 seconds after you are hit; taking a hit also raises your damage taken by 3%. The game spells it Envigorated; Game8 writes Invigorated Warrior, and hkurosagi's sheet is hard to read at that spot.
- g drag's fourth Inner Way is equipped, but its name never appears in the video.
- For PvP, Game8 suggests replacing Throat-Piercing Art with Fury Harvest, Vital Leech or Evasive Charge, because opponents rarely let you keep its stacks up.
Stats and attributes
Rate targets. Each source gives something different: Game8 gives an order and targets, hkurosagi gives targets, and g drag's character sheet shows what his build reaches.
- Game8 (September 3): raise Precision Rate to 95% to 100% first, then Critical Rate. The Phalanxbane focus with Tier 3 Steadfast Devotion needs 75% final effective Critical Rate for its guaranteed critical hits; for the Snowparting focus, Game8 suggests 75% to 80%. Leave Affinity Rate near its natural 9.5% to 11%.
- hkurosagi's planning sheet (September 8): targets of 100% Precision Rate, 80% Critical Rate and 11% Affinity Rate.
- g drag's character sheet (October 6): Precision 109.5% (92.0%), Critical 131.9% (80.0%) and Affinity 18.4% (11.2%).
The character sheet shows two numbers for each rate, and the in-game tooltip calls the bracketed Affinity figure the rate against same-level opponents. hkurosagi's character sheet shows 123.0% (100.0%), 133.5% (80.0%) and 18.4% (11.2%): the bracketed numbers match his targets.
Stat priority. The two written priorities differ:
- Game8: Precision Rate, Critical Rate, Max Physical Attack, Power, then Min Physical Attack and Max Stonesplit Attack. It does not mention Agility.
- hkurosagi's planning sheet (Heng Blade focus): Art of Hengblade, boss damage and All Martial Arts boosts first; then Min Physical Attack and Agility; then Max and Min Stonesplit Attack. So Game8 puts Max Physical Attack right after the two rates, while hkurosagi's second tier has Min Physical Attack.
Attributes. Both players' character sheets show Agility near 540 (g drag 539, hkurosagi 546) while the other attributes stay at 169, apart from hkurosagi's Power of 215. Their gear rolls Agility on nearly every piece we could see, which Game8's priority leaves out.
Damage bonuses follow the focus. g drag's helmet, chest and bracers each roll a Phalanxbane Blade - Charged Skill DMG Boost of about 6%, and so does Tony Luu's chest (about September 23). hkurosagi's chest rolls a Snowparting Blade combo damage boost instead. Game8 gives the same rule: Phalanxbane charged-skill damage for the Burning Heart setup, Snowparting combo damage for a Snowbreak Spring setup.
Gear sets
The sources name different sets:
| Source | Weapons and accessories | Armor | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game8 (September 3) | Shattered Ridge, with Rainwhisper as the damage alternative | Obsidian Armor, with Eaglerise as an alternative and Agile Steps for PvP | — |
| hkurosagi (in game, September) | Cleftpeak, 4 of 4 (2 pieces: +78 Min Physical Attack) | Ebonward, 4 of 4 (2 pieces: +39 Physical Defense) | — |
| g drag (in game, October 6) | Not shown | Not shown | Fletchlodge, a bow and ring set (2 pieces: +4.0% Precision Rate) |
hkurosagi's own planning sheet calls his weapon set Shattered Ridge, while the set line on his in-game weapon reads Cleftpeak, so the two names may belong to one set. We have not confirmed that. The bonus numbers come from their gear and may differ on yours.
Mystic Arts
- Flute of the Tides: g drag runs it, and Game8 recommends casting it before your main burst.
- Leaping Toad: g drag's second Mystic Art, which the game marks "Recommended for Arena". Game8 lists it as an alternative to Dragon Head.
- Game8's other PvE picks are Dragon Head, Dragon's Breath and Drunken Poet. For PvP it lists Serene Breeze, Talon Strike and Dragon Head.
Official changes since July 2026
The Version 2.0 patch of July 23, 2026 changed Strength in four ways. Versions 2.1 and 2.2 changed nothing for this path.
- Grave Frost and Snowbreak Spring (Snowparting Blade) chain more smoothly at high latency in online boss fights.
- Frost-Clad Night, Tier 6: Snowbreak Spring on an Exhausted boss extends Dread by 2 seconds.
- Steadfast Devotion, Tier 3: the guaranteed critical hit for Burning Heart and Anxi Army Assist now needs 75% final effective Critical Rate instead of 70%.
- Steadfast Devotion, Tier 6: Burning Heart on an Exhausted enemy instantly grants three stacks of Charge Enhancement, and the buff lasts 18 seconds.
In the Arena, the same patch added a short delay before you can dodge after a successful deflect with the Snowparting Blade, and fixed Snowbreak Spring making the attacker appear to teleport at high latency.
Sources
- g drag (IGN Aucifel), "64K HengMo DPS Rotation | Forge Ahead Season", about October 6, 2026: character sheet at 3:38 and 3:53, Inner Ways and Mystic Arts at 4:21 to 4:39, gear at 4:47 to 5:19
- hkurosagi, "Pure Hengblade" Min Physical Attack setup, September 2026 (planning sheet dated September 8): character sheet at 1:17 and 6:33, gear and sheet at 5:03 to 5:38
- Tony Luu, Stonesplit gear, about September 23, 2026: chest at 1:39
- Game8, Snowparting Blade and Phalanxbane Blade build, last updated September 3, 2026
- NPC Waifu, PvE tier list video, published September 19, 2026
- OnKamii, 1v1 PvP tier list for Version 2.2 on the global server, published September 19, 2026
- Official Version 2.0 patch notes (changes of July 23, 2026)
- Official May 27, 2026 patch notes (Snowparting Blade: EX and Phalanxbane Blade: EX)
- Official Version 2.1 patch notes and Version 2.2 patch notes (no changes to this path)
Version history
- October 7, 2026: first published, for Version 2.2.