Break Effect is one of the primary stats in Honkai: Star Rail that players can focus on alongside other stats like ATK, DEF, HP, and Speed. While these stats are relatively easy to understand, Break Effect is often misunderstood, particularly in the early game, where some players may assume that it only increases the strength of attacks and helps deplete the enemy's toughness bar faster.
In actuality, the importance of the Break Effect on specific characters in Honkai: Star Rail is often overlooked, despite its potential to significantly boost their damage output in various content. When utilized correctly, Break Effect can serve as a valuable source of damage, especially in challenging battles, and offers distinct advantages when it comes to character building.
What Is Break Effect?
Break Effect is a stat that only becomes relevant after a character successfully triggers a Weakness Break on an enemy. It does not affect the speed at which a character chips away at the enemy's toughness meter, but it does impact the damage dealt after the Weakness Break, as well as the DoT values or the Action Delay amount, depending on the element that fully depletes the toughness meter and triggers the Weakness Break.
For example, when the enemy is in a weakened state, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Ice, and Physical elements will inflict additional DoT damage. However, if the enemy is afflicted by imprisonment or entanglement caused by Imaginary or Quantum elements respectively, their actions will be further delayed compared to what they would experience with a lower Break Effect stat. Players can view the additional increase of the Break Effect in the character sheet.
Should Players Focus On Break Effect?
In certain aspects, Break Effect in Honkai: Star Rail can be compared to Elemental Mastery in Genshin Impact. It is a standalone value that is not influenced by other stats such as ATK or, in this case, also Crit Rate and Crit DMG. This makes it a straightforward stat to prioritize, as players who choose to build characters with a focus on Break Effect do not need to excessively optimize other stats to maximize their damage. Therefore, it can be advantageous for many players, especially in the early game, to concentrate on developing this stat for certain characters. They can obtain relic pieces that have Break Effect percentage as a main or sub stat, as well as set bonuses that further enhance its effectiveness.
It is important to note, however, that in the later game, Break Effect may not hold as much significance when compared to building characters as general DPS for specific character paths, such as the Hunt. This is particularly relevant because not every enemy will have a weakness to the character's element, and players need to be prepared to face different challenging bosses in end-game content, such as the Memory of Chaos stages in the Forgotten Hall. Relying solely on Break Effect may not optimize the overall DPS output of characters in these scenarios.
Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that not every character will benefit equally from investing in Break Effect. Some characters, like Himeko or Hook, benefit from Weakness Break and are more suited for that role. Therefore, players should pay attention to their preferred team compositions and identify which characters are better equipped for performing Weakness Break.
One highly recommended character for utilizing Break Effect is Asta. As a freely given 4-star Harmony character, she focuses on buffing her allies while also dealing significant AoE bouncing attacks that contribute to Weakness Break. Additionally, she doesn't rely heavily on specific stats to scale her buffs, allowing her to prioritize the Break Effect stat more effectively. Asta can also benefit from a light cone like Memories of Past, which increases her Break Effect and helps her generate energy to enable her Ultimate more often, which will allow her to buff her teammates' speed at the same time.
Honkai: Star Rail is now available on Android, iOS, and PC. A PlayStation version is in development.