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

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If we had a nickel for every time there’s a character in a HoYoverse game that could be described as a child pyromaniac; we would have two nickels. It’s not a lot, but if it happened twice, it must be for good reason. Meet Hook, the adorable little firestarter in Honkai: Star Rail.

This self-proclaimed boss of the Moles adventure squad is part of the Path of Destruction. Outstanding amounts of firepower meet childlike recklessness in a scary combination that’s sure to strike fear in the hearts of many adults.

It’s dangerous to go alone, so take this Hook Honkai: Star Rail guide and build yourself the perfect expedition buddy with Pitch-Dark Hook the Great.

Best Relic Set and Ornament for Hook

Hook primarily deals Fire DMG. This makes the fire-specific relic set, Firesmith of Lava-Forging, a very appealing option for your Hook. However, its 4-Piece bonus is not that strong, so it’s advisable to run a pair of Firesmith of Lava-Forging with a pair of Musketeer of Wild Wheat relics instead for a higher damage yield. You can get these relics from the Cavern of Corrosion, in the Path of Conflagration and the Path of Drifting, respectively.

Running a hybrid setup will give Hook the following perks:

• 2-Piece Bonus: Firesmith of Lava-Forging – Increases Fire DMG by 10%.
• 2-Piece Bonus: Musketeer of Wild Wheat – ATK increases by 12%

For her Planar Ornaments, Space Stealing Station is the tried and tested for all things DPS. The ATK% increase that this set gives makes it the best option for Hook as all of her Burn damage scales from her ATK stat. You can farm these ornaments in World 3 of the Simulated Universe.

Space Stealing Station has the following effects

• Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When the wearer’s SPD reaches 120 or higher, the wearer’s ATK increases by an extra 12%.

Stats to Prioritize for Hook

Don’t send Hook out adventuring without giving her proper gear:

• Body: Crit Rate
• Feet: SPD or ATK%
• Planar Sphere: Fire DMG
• Line: ATK%

Unlike other DPS characters like those from the Path of the Hunt, Hook doesn’t have access to a lot of avenues where she could get CRIT Rate from, which makes using a CRIT Rate Body piece crucial for her damage output. ATK% is a common choice to boost her scaling further, but you could also consider SPD to not only make her attack more frequently but also be able to meet her ornament’s requirements. As for her Planar Sphere, Fire DMG is the only notable option.

It goes without saying that any character that wants to deal great damage must get substats that abide by the DPS Holy Trinity of CRIT Rate, Crit DMG, and ATK%. You would also like to get a few points in SPD whenever you can. 

Best Light Cone for Hook

For all intents and purposes, the Destruction light cones are geared towards improving the wearer’s ATK in some form of way. ‘On The Fall of an Aeon’ gives Hook the best deal for the easiest requirement, as she only needs to keep attacking to stack those ATK buffs. It’s also one of the easiest light cones to get and superimpose as you can buy it from Herta’s Shop for eight Herta Bond.

‘On the Fall of an Aeon’ grants the wearer these perks:

• Whenever the wearer attacks, their ATK is increased by 8/10/12/14/16% in this battle, up to 4 time(s). When the wearer inflicts Weakness Break on enemies, the wearer’s DMG increases by 12/15/18/21/24% for 2 turn(s).

Budget Alternative

Hook’s already adorable on her own, but equipping her with a light cone that has Peppy on its cover is almost too cute to handle. The best part about this is that you don’t even have to sacrifice efficiency for cuteness because ‘Woof! Walk Time!’ is also her best 4-Star light cone option. The additional damage to burned enemies is tailor-made for Hook’s playstyle. You get a copy of this light cone for free by spending 390 Hertareum at the Internal Purchase Officer. Copies of this light cone can be obtained as either a drop in Echo of War or by purchasing it from the Light Cone Manifest shop for 200 Lucent Afterglow.

‘Woof! Walk Time!’ proves Peppy is a good boy by giving these bonuses:

• Increases the wearer’s ATK by 10/12.5/15/17.5/20%, and increases their DMG to enemies afflicted with Burn or Bleed by 16/20/24/28/32%. This also applies to DoT.

Hook Skill Priorities

Tremble before the powers of Pitch-Dark Hook the Great:

• Hehe! Don’t Get Burned! (Basic ATK) – Hook’s Basic ATK deals Fire DMG equal to 50 to 110% of her ATK to an enemy.
• Hey! Remember Hook? (Skill) – Hook’s skill not only deals Fire DMG equal to 120 to 264% of her ATK to a single enemy but also inflicts Burn on them for 2 turns. Burned enemies take Fire DoT equal to 25 to 71% of her ATK at the beginning of each turn.
• Boom! Here Comes the Fire! (Ultimate) – Her Ultimate nukes a single enemy, dealing a devastating amount of Fire DMG equal to 240 to 432% of her ATK and enhances her next Skill use—this Enhanced Skill deals AoE Fire DMG.
• Ha! Oil to the Flames! (Talent) – If Hook attacks a burned target, she deals Additional Fire DMG equal to 50 to 110% of her ATK and regenerates 5 extra Energy.
• Ack! Look at This Mess! (Technique) – Immediately attacks the enemy. Upon entering battle, Hook deals Fire DMG equal to 50% of her ATK to a random enemy and inflicts Burn on every enemy for 3 turns, damaging them with Fire DoT equal to 50% of her ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Prioritize leveling her skills in this order:

• Ultimate (Boom! Here Comes the Fire!)
• Skill (Hey! Remember Hook?)
• Talent (Ha! Oil to the Flames!)
• Basic ATK (Hehe! Don’t Get Burned!)

At max level, Hook’s Ultimate is by far her best damaging ability with a staggering 432% scaling so players that want to blow their enemies sky-high will have to prioritize this first. Since her Ultimate also enhances her Skill, that should come second on the list. You will also get a lot by leveling her Talent as it’s almost always certain that Hook will attack a burned enemy. Basic ATK gets the lowest priority as you will only resort to using this if you happen to run out of skill points.

To level these skills up to their fullest potential, you will need these materials:

These resources are not hard to gather, but they can be time-consuming. Resources like Guardian’s Lament requires spending Trailblaze Power, a finite but regenerating resource. Unless you are using Fuel or your precious Stellar Jades to replenish your Trailblazing Power, you will need to be smart as to what skills would be the most cost-effective.

Best Hook Team Composition

Hook might be in the vanguard at causing a commotion in Boulder Town, but what’s a boss without her crew? Burning is her specialty, but without the right teammates, Hook might not burn as brightly as she’s capable of doing or worse, risk burning out too quickly.

If the Moles are looking into recruiting more honorary members, these characters will be our pick:

• Natasha (Keeps Hook healthy)
• Asta (SPD and Fire DMG buff)
• Trailblazer (Fire) (Taunter that can burn enemies)
• Pela (DEF shred on enemies)
• Himeko (If you fancy to run a Mono-Fire Team)
• Sampo (Can be partners in DoT crimes)

Supporting her can come in all sorts of ways so players can ‘hook’ their little Diggertron up with the support style of their choosing. Hook’s not afraid to play nice in a team that runs another DPS either. Whether she’s leading the way or setting the world ablaze, there’s bound to be fun adventures to be made by having Hook on your team.