It’s always exciting to pull the latest 5-stars in Honkai: Star Rail (HSR), but players shouldn’t count out their fantastic roster of 4-Star characters. With the release of the Version 1.2 update, we’re heading back to Jarilo-IV to see the latest addition to their lineup, Luka—Belobog Underworld’s boxing champion extraordinaire.
Hailing from the Path of Nihility, this optimistic and carefree Wildfire member fights with a big mechanical arm and an even bigger human heart. Luka uses his strength to protect the people of the Underworld and make those who dare to hurt them Bleed for it. After all, he isn’t called Luka Strongarm for nothing.
Get your Luka to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee by following this Luka Honkai: Star Rail guide. Go on, don’t let your foes beat you to the punch.
Best Relic Set and Ornament for Luka
The ‘Champion of Streetwise Boxing’ relic set clearly makes references to Luka as he is the renowned boxing champion of the Belobog Underworld. It’s a clear indication that they intend to make this set his best-in-slot, and the effects it gives prove it.
The ‘Champion of Streetwise Boxing’ packs a punch with these bonuses:
- 2-Piece Bonus: Increases Physical DMG by 10%.
- 4-Piece Bonus: After the wearer attacks or is hit, their ATK increases by 5% for the rest of the battle. This effect can stack up to 5 times.
Boxing is about footwork just as much as it is about delivering punches. If Luka needs some pep in his steps to keep up the pace, players can opt to invest in using the Messenger Traversing Hackerspace set for that SPD increase. The more SPD Luka gets, the more he can get his punches in.
A hybrid relic loadout like this will work well on Luka:
- 2-Piece Bonus Champion of Streetwise Boxing: Increases Physical DMG by 10%.
- 2-Piece Bonus Messenger Traversing Hackerspace: Increases SPD by 6%.
Like other Path of Nihility characters, Luka likes to inflict debuffs on his opponents to damage and weaken them as the fight progresses. Bleed is Luka’s specialty of DoT effect and comes easy to him, given his natural prowess in breaking the enemies’ toughness. This makes Pan-Galactic Commercial Enterprise one of his best planar ornament choices as it makes it likelier for Luka to land his Bleed effect along with dealing more damage as it converts his Effect Hit Rate into additional ATK.
Pan-Galactic Commercial Enterprise grants these effects:
- Increases the wearer’s Effect Hit Rate by 10%. Meanwhile, the wearer’s ATK increases by an amount that is equal to 25% of the current Effect Hit Rate, up to a maximum of 25%.
You can also go with Space Sealing Station for a generally good and more straightforward effect. This becomes a more valuable pick over Pan-Galactic Commercial Enterprise if Luka already has a good amount of Effect Hit Rate from his relics as well as a decent SPD stat to satisfy the requirement.
Space Sealing Station gives these bonuses:
- 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 Luka
Give Luka the best fighting chance with these stats on his relics:
- Body: Effect Hit Rate or ATK%
- Feet: SPD or ATK%
- Planar Sphere: Physical DMG Bonus
- Line: ATK%
DoT effects like Bleed scale purely from their ATK stat. This makes Luka’s builds considerably easier to achieve, as players can simply stack ATK% relics on him and call it a day. If you want his Bleed effects to be more consistent and constantly up, have your Luka equip an Effect Hit Rate Body piece and SPD Boots. Physical DMG Bonus is the only way to go when it comes to his Planar Sphere, as you cannot get this stat as a substat.
In order to be an effective debuff support, Luka will need a minimum of 40% EHR in order to debuff even the most resistant enemies. Once you’ve reached that, focus on getting more SPD and ATK%, as these two would be the most beneficial stats for him. Defensive stats like HP% or DEF% don’t really do much for him, but having them in small increments will enable Luka to brush off a punch or two without getting knocked down for the count.
Best Light Cone for Luka
5-Star light cones often give you the best deal for your characters with their high stats and fantastic abilities. The only downside to them is that you have to spend some Stellar Jades for them and get lucky. If you’re one of the lucky ones (and don’t have a certain Mr. Welt Yang), consider using ‘In The Name of the World’ for Luka. It’s a one-two punch as this light cone makes his Skill hit harder and inflict Bleed more regularly. It also makes him stronger against opponents who are already debuffed.
Give Luka’s enemies a heavy beatdown using ‘In The Name of the World’:
- Increases the wearer’s DMG to debuffed enemies by 24/28/32/36/40%. When the wearer uses their Skill, the Effect Hit Rate for this attack increases by 18/21/24/27/30%, and ATK increases by 24/28/32/36/40%.
Budget Alternative
4-Star light cones might not have great stats or elaborate effects like the premium options have, but the biggest advantage to them is that they are more readily available. This opens up the possibility of superimposition that turns their decent effects into something that actually rivals that of the 5-star light cones. In some cases, it makes these budget options even better than them.
‘Good Night and Sleep Well’ is the best budget light cone for any DoT dealer. It gives its wearer a stacking DMG bonus for the debuffs inflicted on the target that synergizes well with DoT. At max superimposition, this overtakes ‘In The Name of The World’ in terms of damage output. Meanwhile, ‘Eyes of the Prey’ is another viable option due to its boosts towards Effect Hit Rate and DoT damage. At max superimposition, this light cone gives you the minimum EHR Luka needs, which enables you to use an ATK% piece instead of an EHR piece on his Body relic.
‘Good Night and Sleep Well’ grants its wearer this ability:
- For every debuff the target enemy has, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by 12/15/18/21/24%, stacking up to 3 times. This effect also applies to DoT.
On the other hand, ‘Eyes of the Prey’ boosts the following:
- Increases Effect Hit Rate of its wearer by 20/25/30/35/40% and increases DoT by 24/30/36/42/48%.
Luka Skill Priorities
Luka’s skills are as follows:
- Direct Punch (Basic ATK) – Luka throws a straight, dealing Physical DMG equal to 50 to 110% of his ATK to a single target.
- Sky-Shatter Fist (Enhanced Basic ATK) – Luka’s Enhanced Basic ATK delivers a 3-hit Direct Punch, which deals Physical DMG equal to 10 to 22% of his ATK per hit. Then he performs a Rising Uppercut that deals one instance of Physical DMG equal to 40 to 88% of his ATK to one enemy. His Enhanced Basic ATK consumes 2 stacks of Fighting Will.
- Lacerating Fist (Skill) – His Skill deals Physical DMG equal to 60 to 132% of his ATK to the target. It has a 100% base chance to inflict Bleed on them, lasting for 3 turns. While Bleeding, the enemy will take 24% of their Max HP as Physical DoT at the start of each turn. This DMG will not exceed more than 130 to 371% of Luka’s ATK.
- Coup de Grâce (Ultimate) – Luka’s Ultimate has a 100% chance to apply the Vulnerable status on his target, which increases their DMG received by 12 to 21.6% for 3 turns. Then, Luka strikes with Physical DMG equal to 198 to 356% of his ATK. His Ultimate recovers 2 stacks of Fighting Will.
- Flying Sparks (Talent) – After Luka uses his Basic ATK or Skill, he gains 1 stack of Fighting Will, up to 4 stacks. When he has 2 or more stacks, his Basic ATK becomes Enhanced. After his Enhanced Basic ATK hits a Bleeding enemy target, the Bleed status will immediately deal DMG for 1 time equal to 68 to 88% of the original DMG to the target. At the start of the battle, Luka will possess 1 stack of Fighting Will.
- Anticipator (Technique) – Luka throws the first punch. Upon entering battle, he deals Physical DMG equal to 50% of his ATK to a random single enemy and inflicts his Skill’s Bleed effect on the target. He also gains 1 additional stack of Fighting Will.
Luka’s gameplay revolves around making his opponents bleed any chance he gets. This makes his Skill the top priority when it comes to leveling to enhance its damage. In terms of importance, his Ultimate and Talent are about the same. Levels on his Ultimate improve the Vulnerable status scaling, while levels on his Talent boost the damage output of his DoT. His Basic ATK has the lowest priority due to its poor scaling, but it’s good to upgrade when you can for additional chip damage when low on skill points.
Here are the resources you’ll need to level up his skills:
Ancient Part (Tier 1) | Obsidian of Dread (Tier 1) | Lots of Credits |
Ancient Spindle (Tier 2) | Obsidian of Desolation (Tier 2) | Regret of Infinite Ochema |
Ancient Engine (Tier 3) | Obsidian of Obsession (Tier 3) | Tracks of Destiny |
HSR is a resource game just as much as it’s a turn-based gacha game. Farming for resources, relics, and ornaments takes a lot of time. With so many characters to build and play with, it’s easy to spread yourself too thin. Knowing what resources you’ll need and where to spend them will help you use your Trailblaze Fuel efficiently.
Best Luka Team Compositions
Boxing might be a 1-on-1 sport, but Luka will need a team behind him if he’s to tackle the hard gauntlets of the Simulated Universe and the weekly Memory of Chaos. He is a flexible pick for DoT-centric teams who might appreciate a source of Bleed DoT. He can also be used in other compositions as a toughness breaker due to his Physical Element as well as the ability to debuff an enemy with the Vulnerable status.
Luka’s ready to rumble with allies like these by his side:
- Kafka (The Queen of DoT who can proc his Bleed for him.)
- Silver Wolf (Gives Physical weakness to enemies for easy breaking.)
- Sampo (A fellow debuff enabler who can boost Luka’s Bleed damage.)
- Luocha (Fantastic healer who has low skill point economy.)
- Natasha (Wildfire members unite. Keep your champ healthy to fight another round.)
- Gepard (A team shielder and tank who can pull enemy aggro away from Luka.)
- Yanqing (Can be run as a second DPS to finish off weakened enemies.)
- Clara (Good taunt character. For a Mono-Physical team.)
You don’t become the Boxing Champ of the Belobog Underworld without learning how to roll with the punches. He can act as a Physical DMG DPS, a Bleed sub-DPS, or even a Breaker Support. Regardless of what team composition you put him in, this mechanical boxer will give it his all to win the match. Punching your way through might not always be the efficient way but it sure is fun and satisfying.