The true master and namesake of the Herta Space Station is one of the first playable characters in Honkai: Star Rail. Herta enters combat in one of her mechanical dolls with an oversized hammer in hand, and she's built to throw down against groups of enemies at a time.
Although she's overshadowed by every other Ice character, Herta is particularly good at farming Calyxes, and while many scoff at her meager damage numbers, she's also surprisingly effective in the Simulated Universe. No matter the case, players need to get Herta the right combination of stats and effects before she can really start pounding enemies to dust in Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai: Star Rail Herta Build
Herta excels at one thing: dealing AOE damage. All of her abilities deal damage to every target on the field, which gives her a similar niche to Himeko. The simplicity of Herta's kit means players don't have to think much about what to build on her.
- Core Stat Priorities: CRIT Rate/DMG, ATK%, SPD
- Planar Ornament Stat Priorities: Ice DMG, ATK%
- Relic Sets: Hunter of Glacial Forest (4PC), Space Sealing Station (2PC)
- Light Cones: Before Dawn (5-Star), Geniuses' Repose (4-Star), The Birth of the Self (4-Star)
Players can build Herta much like any other DPS unit. CRIT stats are the main priority, but until the right Relics drop, stacking ATK% is the way to go. Also, it's worth noting that Herta is a character who can stack CRIT easily early on, assuming that players can get all the free copies of her from the Simulated Universe. This eases the Relic grind considerably, and it opens up more ATK-heavy build paths.
The same philosophy applies when choosing Relic sets and Light Cones for Herta. Get as much ATK as possible and sprinkle in some either CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG, depending on whichever is lacking. Space Sealing Station is the go-to Planar Ornament set for stacking ATK, with Celestial Differentiator and Inert Salsotto being the options for CRIT stats.
Before Dawn is the best Light Cone for Herta since it increases her damage across the board (including her follow-up attacks). Players who do not have this Light Cone can use anything else that increases her CRIT DMG, ATK, and follow-up ATK DMG, like Birth of the Self and Geniuses' Repose.
Herta Trace Leveling Order
As far as Traces are concerned, players can stick with the usual leveling order commonly used by other DPS units:
- It's Magic, I Added Some Magic (Ultimate)
- One-Time Offer (Skill)
- Fine, I'll Do It Myself (Talent)
- Basic attack
One thing to note, however, is that players can prioritize her basic attack over her Talent should they want to. This is because the latter only triggers once enemies reach 50% HP or less, making it less reliable in battles where players can defeat enemies in one or two hits. When building Herta for the Simulated Universe specifically, then her basic attack should take leveling priority.
Efficiency, Herta's first Ascension passive, is the most important out of the bunch because it lets her reach that 50% enemy HP threshold easier. Take it as soon as possible, then maybe hold off on taking the others. Icing only becomes important in the Simulated Universe, where players have the opportunity to Freeze enemies more frequently.
As with other characters, take Herta's floating Trace nodes whenever the extra stats are needed. Make sure to follow the same stat priorities listed above.
Honkai: Star Rail is available on PC and mobile devices. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.