Himeko Honkai: Star Rail Guide for Relics, Light Cones, and Skills

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HoYoVerse sure likes its redhead hotties, and we mean that in a literal sense. In every HoYoVerse game, there’s always a redhead who loves to play with fire. For Honkai: Star Rail, that would be fem-Diluc– er, sorry, Himeko. Naturally, you’d want a Himeko Honkai: Star Rail guide because her relics, Light Cones, and skills, as well as her gameplay, call for some thoroughness.

Himeko, as stated earlier, uses the Fire element in Honkai: Star Rail and the Erudition path, which is a fancier term for AoE nuker. That’s her role in this game. And if you want to effortlessly burn enemies blocking the Astral Express while Himeko sips tea and commits war crimes, then we recommend this Himeko Honkai: Star Rail guide. 

The Best Relics for Himeko

Himeko has the same role as the more recent Jing Yuan, but you could say that her element suits the Erudition Path better. Fire damage is quite thematic for her role. 

For that matter, you’d want to give Himeko the only Fire DMG relic set in the game, namely Firesmith of Lava-Forging. Thankfully, she’s pretty straightforward. Most of her abilities scale off either Fire DMG bonus or ATK. 

Firesmith of Lava-Forging

You can find this relic set in the Cavern of Corrosion in Stargazer Navalia, The Xianzhou Luofu. It shares a reward pool with the Wastelander of Banditry Desert– a set for Imaginary DMG. So if you have Welt in the party and are also farming for him, then you’ll save some of your efforts. 

Also, a side note; that’s like lowkey hinting at a “ship” between Welt and Himeko, isn’t it? Even their ideal relic sets are coupled together in one dungeon.

Anyway, here are the stats for Firesmith of Lava-Forging:

• 2-Piece Bonus – Increases Fire DMG by 10%.
• 4-Piece Bonus – Increases the wearer’s Skill DMG by 12%. After unleashing Ultimate, increases the wearer’s Fire DMG by 12% for the next attack.

This set was built with Himeko in mind (or maybe vice versa?) because it strengthens Himeko’s Skill and Ultimate, which are two of her most important abilities. 

As for the Planar Ornaments, you have a lot of choices here. You can go either Inert Salsotto or Space Sealing Station—the two encourage an offensive and all-out playstyle for Himeko. We do gravitate toward the Inert Salsotto as the better piece since it gives a direct Ultimate buff.

Inert Salsotto (Planar Ornament)

It’s a good CRIT Rate boost, and the second effect is a lot more achievable compared to most Planar Ornament sets. So you can consider this as Himeko’s ideal Planar Ornament.

These are the perks of Inert Salsotto: 

• 2-Piece Bonus – Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 8%. When the wearer’s current CRIT Rate reaches 50% or higher, the wearer’s Ultimate and follow-up attack DMG increases by 15%.

Compared to other Planar Ornaments that demand a SPD value of 120 or higher for the second bonus, this one’s more manageable since a CRIT Rate above 50 percent is the cookie-cutter norm for building characters in a HoYoVerse game, the same as in Genshin Impact– and Honkai: Star Rail is no exception.

Relic Stats to Prioritize

For Himeko’s relic stats, you’d want something straightforward and cookie-cutter as well since she’s a literal AoE nuker. The good old CRIT combo will work here, or just about any offensive stat, so prioritize those. From most important to least important: 

1. CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG (try to aim for a 1:2 ratio)
2. ATK%
3. ATK
4. SPD
5. Break Effect%

It goes without saying that the main stat for the body piece should be a boost to the character’s corresponding element. In this case, Fire DMG%.

Best Light Cones for Himeko

Himeko has her own signature Light Cone, but it’s sadly dwarfed by something that came out recently. Her “Night on the Milky Way” marginally falls behind Jing Yuan’s 5-star signature Light Cone, “Before Dawn.” So you’ll want to give that to her if you got lucky.

Before Dawn

You could say that “Before Dawn” is also the best-in-slot gear for just about any Erudition Path character in Honkai: Star Rail. For Himeko, it’s the complete package. It’s a buff to her Skill, Ultimate, and follow-up attacks, all of which involve her play style.

Take a look at “Before Dawn’s” perks:

• Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 36%.
• Increases the wearer’s Skill and Ultimate DMG by 18%.
• After the wearer uses their Skill or Ultimate, they gain Somnus Corpus. Upon triggering a follow-up attack, Somnus Corpus will be consumed, and the follow-up attack DMG will increase by 48%.

That’s a lot of interactions. And they’re all worth it. Meanwhile, Himeko’s signature 5-star weapon requires you to depend too much on Weakness Break triggers to maximize it, so “Before Dawn” is the better deal.

Budget Alternatives

Then again, if you’re less than lucky with your Light Cone pulls, then you’re stuck with budget alternatives. 

“The Seriousness of Breakfast” is a stress-free budget alternative for Himeko as it merely demands a full offensive from her for some decent buffs. Here are the perks: 

• Increases the wearer’s DMG by 12%.
• For every defeated enemy, the wearer’s ATK increases by 4%, stacking up to three times.

Meanwhile, “Today Is Another Peaceful Day” is also a good one since it increases Himeko’s max Energy though you might be forced to play a balancing game (whether to use her Ultimate or wait) to reap the full benefit: 

• After entering battle, increases the wearer’s DMG based on their Max Energy. 
• DMG increases by 0.20% per point of Energy, up to 160 Energy.

Or you could just save up for Himeko’s aforementioned signature 5-star Light Cone, as it’s available in the in-game store (via the main menu). That also works well.

Skill Priorities for Himeko

If you want Himeko to fulfill her role well, then some combat skill priorities are in order for leveling up. Make sure to max out or allocate the level-up resources for the following skills, from most important to least important: 

1. Heavenly Flare (Ultimate) – Deals Fire DMG equal to 138%–276% of Himeko’s ATK to all enemies. Himeko regenerates five extra Energy for each enemy defeated.
2. Molten Detonation (Skill) – Deals Fire DMG equal to 100%–250% of Himeko’s ATK to a single enemy and Fire DMG equal to 40%–100% of Himeko’s ATK to enemies adjacent to it.
3. Victory Rush (Talent) – When an enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break, Himeko gains a point of Charge (max three points). If Himeko is fully Charged when an ally performs an attack, Himeko immediately performs a follow-up attack and deals Fire DMG equal to 70%–175% of her ATK to all enemies, consuming all Charge points. At the start of the battle, Himeko gains a point of Charge.
4. Sawblade Tuning (Basic ATK) – Deals Fire DMG equal to 50%–130% of Himeko’s ATK to a single enemy.

Between her Ultimate and Skill, it’s a toss-up, really. Both are equally important in fights and synergize well with each other. So just spam them both interchangeably if applicable.

To level up these abilities, you’ll need copious amounts of these resources: 

You can obtain most of these through events, quests, and Calyx Dungeons.

Himeko Team Composition

A team built around Himeko (and a The Hunt Path character for single target damage) focuses on providing her with as many buffs and chances to cast her Ultimate as frequently as possible. She works best in clearing up weaker enemies and doesn’t really function well in boss fights without minions, so always bring a single-target backup.

With that in mind, the following characters are the most compatible with Himeko (aside from Grandpa Welt):

• Tingyun (ensures that Himeko’s Ultimate can be cast as frequently as possible)
• Dan Heng/Seele/Sushang/Yanqing
• Natasha (or just about any healer in Honkai: Star Rail)
• Welt (for keeping enemies incapacitated while Himeko does her work)
• Asta (for SPD buff, burn, and Fire DMG buff)
• Pela (for enemy debuffs, to soften them up)
• Bronya (best DMG buffer)
• Any character that can give a shield

Just pick one character for each role (and it’s best not to have a redundant role or Path). And above all else, it’s important to follow our recommendations for this Himeko Honkai: Star Rail guide to ensure an optimal team.