Sampo Koski Lore Notes
Because we love our HSR himbo, Trailblazers all over the internet have begun to form many theories surrounding our beloved scammer. There are a lot of details about this man that are peculiar, and for those like me who love to overanalyze their favorite characters and how they contribute to the lore, I have created a list of notes about Sampo that point to him being downright suspicious.
Warning: Very, very long post ahead.
He is has a lot of intel apparently... where does he get them from?
Knowledge Voiceline: "Come on, how did you guys end up in the middle of the Snow Plains? UFO? Let me guess, you took a train, haha. Seriously though."
About Natasha Voiceline: He's not from the Underworld.
He loves money; money is considered to be a form of pleasure; does this refer to the Masked Fools being hedonists?
Turn Begins 1: "We're just having fun." Elation??
Hit by Heavy Attack: "Hey! W-watch the face!" Sampo is not really the type to be narcissistic… unless this is a pleasure-related matter…
Ultimate: Unleash: "Betraying the king" is often seen in literary works and other similar fictional media, and these types of things are often used for pleasure and entertainment
Return to Battle, Health Recovery, Natasha's About Sampo Voicelines: He's also… altruistic?
Hook's About Sampo Voiceline: He can be everywhere
Character Story: Part I: He slips away easily
Character Story: He is good at disguises, as if he's an actor… as if he were wearing a mask… because actors and masks and roles… Masked Fools foreshadowing?
Character Story: Why did they choose this specific story to be the one in his profile? The tale seems so random… or is it?
Character Story: Everything is purely dialogue… almost as if it were a script. If we compare it to the others, they have character stories that match them well, such as Bailu, whose character story is in the format of a prescription because she is a doctor.
Light Cone - Eyes of the Prey: "In reality most prety don't realize when danger is encroaching. This one's no exception." After reading the description, it may seem weird since Sampo noticed the sniper BUT what if the sniper is the REAL prey?
Light Cone - Eyes of the Prey: "So that's what greed looks like. That amount is equal to several of my contracts already… No wonder someone wants him dead." Another reference to money being a form of pleasure.
Light Cone - Eyes of the Prey: "As if these thoughts were broadcasted out loud, the an in the scope turns his head, looking straight into the eyes of the sniper. 'I've been waiting for you. Would this much be enough for you to hear me out?'" The EYES of the PREY refers to the SCOPE of the SNIPER. The light cone depicts Sampo from the EYES of the PREY.
Splash Art: The city in the background is likely NOT on Jarilo VI
Splash Art: It looks like he's jumping off a ledge or something similar
Design: @littlekiara96 noticed that his design refers to death a little too much due to the amount of skeleton imagery on him…
Kit: His technique is to blind enemies, which may call back to the fact that he slips away easily without anyone noticing
Kit: Why are his weapons blades that turn into boomerangs and not anything related to his obvious line of work?
Kit: His basic attack is called "Dazzling Blades"; I might be overthinking but the word "dazzling" is something I would hear when one describes an actor…
Kit: His skill is called "Ricochet Love"; "ricochet" often refers to projectiles bouncing more than once off of a surface (verb) or a shot that bounces more than once off of a surface (noun)---so where does the "love" come into all this? Love is another form of pleasure; I don't know but this skill reminds me of the Masked Fools again just because of all the bouncing more than once off of a surface and the love thing..
Kit: His ultimate is called "Surprise Present"; Sampo can be called a master of the element of surprise as he often appears suddenly without anyone suspecting him to---the present can also be something unexpected and weird (like a RICKROLL) which gives off MAJOR Masked Fools vibes…
Kit: Why is his element Wind?
Kit: Why is his path Nihility? @gachagen pointed out that Nihility characters hide secrets (Welt, Pela, Silver Wolf, Kafka). For my own observation, Nihility states that the universe is meaningless while Elation states that the universe is one big joke; both paths seem to infer that the universe has little meaning…
Kit: Half his Eidolons are about his scamming business and the other half are about… love and enthusiasm; both aforementioned concepts seem to call back to the Masked Fools and Aha the Elation…
Achievements: Versatile Joker is a hidden achievement until it is unlocked… does this fact and the achievement itself indirectly infer to Sampo's secret connection to the Masked Fools and Aha the Elation?
Missions: Besides Pela, Sampo is the only other 4-star character from Jarilo VI who does not have a companion mission yet
Character Traits: He BOWS like an actor (as seen in the Jarilo VI Trailblaze Mission), as if he is bowing for his PERFORMANCE
Character Traits: If I had a penny for every time Sampo was aware that he was being watched like how Aha did in the Simulated Universe (Jarilo VI quest conclusion, Eyes of the Prey light cone), I'd have two pennies… which isn't much but it's weird that it happened twice…
And that's pretty much it! Feel free to add more observations in the replies, or reblog too.
(This is so detailed omg)
Things I want to add (a lot because he has A LOT, also most of these are taken from @sampofools on Tiktok {I recommend checking their whole acc}, also including the things you said in Part 2 because I'm using this entire post as a writing note later. ALSO, since I don't play the game myself, please correct my mistakes if there is any so I can fix it. Also, long post warning):
1, Aha also bows in one of their voicelines in the Simulated Universe! And you can also see this bowing gesture as similar to how bartenders bow to their patrons.
2, His 4th Eidolon name is "The Deeper the Love, the Stronger the Hate", which showcase the image of him losing the light in his eyes and smiling creepily.
3, Sampo is NOT his real name! It's an alias. This is confirmed by an NPC.

















