Herta's Top Light Cones in Honkai: Star Rail

Quick Links

• The Seriousness of Breakfast (S5)
• The Day The Cosmos Fell (S5)
• Eternal Calculus (S5)
• Yet Hope Is Priceless (S1)
• Geniuses' Repose (S5)
• An Instant Before A Gaze (S1)
• Before Dawn (S1)
• Today Is Another Peaceful Day (S5)
• Night on the Milky Way (S1)
• Into the Unreachable Veil (S1)

The HertaIceErudition5-StarGuides

Build Guide | Level-Up Materials | Team Composition | Best Light Cone | Back to All Characters

The Herta is a powerful 5-star Ice Erudition unit in Honkai: Star Rail, renowned for her potent self-buffs and impressive damage multipliers. As a damage dealer, she thrives on maximizing CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and ATK, along with any general damage boosts offered by her Light Cones. Her inherent 80% CRIT DMG buff makes CRIT Rate a priority; Light Cones boosting Skill and Ultimate damage are also highly valuable due to her Interpretation mechanic, with Skill DMG being particularly desirable.

While the ideal combination of CRIT Rate and Skill DMG boosts is rare outside her signature Light Cone, The Herta has many viable options within the Erudition Path, including both limited and free Light Cones. Their effectiveness is often surprisingly close. Below, we've compiled the best Light Cone choices for The Herta in Honkai: Star Rail.

The Seriousness of Breakfast (S5)

HPATKDEF846476396S5 Passive

Increases the wearer's DMG by 24%. For every defeated enemy, the wearer's ATK increases by 8%, stacking up to 3 times.

The Seriousness of Breakfast is a freely obtainable Light Cone, acquired through Lucent Afterglow purchases or Echo of War drops. A copy can also be earned by completing a hidden task on the Herta Space Station. While not her optimal choice, it serves newer players well as a reliable placeholder until a superior Light Cone is obtained, offering straightforward damage boosts.

The Day The Cosmos Fell (S5)

HPATKDEF953476331S5 Passive

Increases the wearer's ATK by 24%. When the wearer uses an attack and affects at least 2 enemies with a corresponding Weakness, the wearer's CRIT DMG increases by 40% for 2 turns.

Also freely available via Lucent Afterglow or Echo of War drops, or by finding all Origami Birds in Golden Hour, this Light Cone offers slightly better performance than The Seriousness of Breakfast. However, its effectiveness hinges on consistently maintaining its conditional CRIT DMG buff. If these conditions aren't met regularly, its performance can drop significantly. Still, a viable temporary option.

Eternal Calculus (S5)

HPATKDEF1058529396S5 Passive

Increases the wearer's ATK by 12%. After using an attack, for each enemy hit, ATK increases by an additional 8%, stacking up to 5 times and lasting until the next attack. If 3 or more enemies are hit, SPD increases by 16% for 1 turn.

A free 5-star Light Cone purchased from Herta's Store using Herta Bonds. This Light Cone provides a substantial ATK% boost, but its effectiveness fluctuates depending on the number of targets hit, performing less well against fewer enemies. Despite this limitation, it's a solid choice when its full effects are leveraged. The 16% SPD increase at S5 can also be advantageous for reaching specific SPD breakpoints. A decent placeholder.

Yet Hope Is Priceless (S1)

HPATKDEF952582529S1 Passive

Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 16%. While in battle, for every 20% CRIT DMG exceeding 120%, follow-up attack DMG increases by 12%, stacking up to 4 times. When the battle starts or after using a Basic ATK, enables Ultimate or follow-up attack DMG to ignore 20% of the target's DEF for 2 turns.

Jade's signature Light Cone offers a valuable 16% CRIT Rate increase at S1. While The Herta can't utilize the follow-up attack buffs, it serves as a reliable stat stick. The 20% DEF penetration for the Ultimate can be useful if used early, but isn't consistent, as The Herta ideally avoids Basic ATKs. Its performance doesn't surpass several F2P alternatives, so avoid specifically pulling for it for The Herta.

Geniuses' Repose (S5)

HPATKDEF846476396S5 Passive

Increases the wearer's ATK by 32%. When the wearer defeats an enemy, CRIT DMG increases by 48% for 3 turns.

A great 4-star Light Cone from the standard Stellar Warp. It offers a significant 32% ATK increase and a 48% CRIT DMG boost at S5. The CRIT DMG buff requires The Herta to personally defeat enemies, but this is usually easy to maintain. However, its effectiveness decreases in prolonged battles against single bosses without regular summons.

An Instant Before A Gaze (S1)

HPATKDEF1058582463S1 Passive

Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. When using the Ultimate, Ultimate DMG increases based on Max Energy (0.36% per point, up to 180 Energy).

Argenti's signature Light Cone provides a 36% CRIT DMG increase and a 64.8% Ultimate DMG boost. While valuable, The Herta prefers Skill DMG or general DMG, limiting this Light Cone's overall ranking. Avoid pulling specifically for The Herta.

Before Dawn (S1)

HPATKDEF1058582463S1 Passive

Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. Increases Skill and Ultimate DMG by 18%. After using a Skill or Ultimate, gains Somnus Corpus; consuming it on a follow-up attack increases follow-up attack DMG by 48%.

Jing Yuan's signature Light Cone offers excellent unconditional stats. It grants a 36% CRIT DMG increase and an 18% damage boost to both Skill and Ultimate. While The Herta would prefer more CRIT Rate, the additional CRIT DMG is highly valuable.

Today Is Another Peaceful Day (S5)

HPATKDEF846529330S5 Passive

After entering battle, increases the wearer's DMG based on Max Energy (0.4% per point, up to 160 Energy).

An outstanding 4-star Light Cone providing a substantial unconditional damage boost. The Herta's high Energy cost easily maximizes this effect, resulting in a 64% damage increase at S5. It also boasts high base ATK, making it the best option for F2P and low-spending players.

Night on the Milky Way (S1)

HPATKDEF1164582396S1 Passive

For each enemy on the field, increases the wearer's ATK by 9%, up to 5 stacks. When an enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break, DMG increases by 30% for 1 turn.

A great 5-star option from the standard Stellar Warp. It performs exceptionally well when its effects are consistently maintained, reaching a 45% ATK boost at S1 with five enemies. Its performance diminishes with fewer targets, and requires at least one Weakness Break for the damage buff.

Into the Unreachable Veil (S1)

HPATKDEF953635463S1 Passive

Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 12%. When using the Ultimate, increases Skill and Ultimate DMG by 60% for 3 turns. After using the Ultimate (consuming 140+ Energy), recovers 1 Skill Point.

The Herta's signature Light Cone, her best-in-slot option, provides immense value. It significantly boosts Crit Rate and damage to both Skill and Ultimate. It also recovers a Skill Point per Ultimate use, making it exceptionally effective for SP-heavy teams. It boasts the highest ATK stat among Erudition Light Cones.