Kafka has finally arrived as a playable character in Honkai Star Rail. She is a Nihility character with Lightning element.
What’s interesting about her is, instead of providing regular debuffs her skillset revolves around dealing damage overtime. This gives her a unique and specific gameplay style and lineup requirement.
Even though she requires a specific lineup, she remains very powerful when played within the right setup. The rest depends on whether you’re willing to play that particular lineup and have the appropriate build.
Best Light Cones
Characters with a focus on dealing damage overtime have a unique way of enhancing the damage they inflict. Some can increase their Attack, while others can enhance the Break Effect.
The good news is that Kafka can effectively utilize both of these enhancements.
- Patience Is All You Need: Increases DMG dealt by the wearer by 24/28/32/36/40%. After every attack launched by wearer, their SPD increases by 4.8/5.6/6.4/7.2/8%, stacking up to 3 times. If the wearer hits an enemy target that is not afflicted by Erode, there is a 100% base chance to inflict Erode to the target. Enemies afflicted with Erode are also considered to be Shocked and will receive Lightning DoT at the start of each turn equal to 60/70/80/90/100% of the wearer’s ATK, lasting for 1 turn(s).
- Fermata: Increases the Break Effect dealt by the wearer by 16/20/24/28/32%, and increases their DMG to enemies afflicted with Shock or Wind Shear by 16/20/24/28/32%. This also applies to DoT.
- Good Night and Sleep Well: For every debuff the target enemy has, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by 12/15/18/21/24%, stacking up to 3 time(s). This effect also applies to DoT.
Relic and Planar Ornaments
Kafka possesses a unique mechanism where her Skill activates the damage overtime effect possessed by her enemies. This makes Speed a crucial stat for her, as the more often Kafka gets her turn, the more frequently she can use her Skill and activate higher damage overtime.
As for other stats, she can benefit from standard damage-related attributes like Attack, Lightning Damage, Critical, or Break Effect.
Newly released Prisoner of Deep Confinement is your first choice when it comes to DoT characters like Kafka, Gui, and Sampo.
Your best choice for relic set is 4 set of Band of Sizzling Thunder from Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Holy Hymn in Cloudford, Xianzhou Luofu.
| 4 Prisoner of Deep Confinement | (2) Increases ATK by 12%. (4) For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of target’s DEF when dealing DMG to them. This effect is valid for a max of 3 DoTs. |
2nd best is 4 Band of Sizzling Thunder, her previous Best in slot.
| 4 Band of Sizzling Thunder | (2) Increases Lightning DMG by 10%. (4) When the wearer uses Skill, increases the wearer’s ATK by 25% for 1 turn(s). |
For planar ornament you can either go for Space Sealing Station from Herta Simulated Universe, World 3 or Talia Kingdom of Banditry from Herta Simulated Universe, World 4.
| Space Sealing Station | (2) 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%. |
| Talia Kingdom of Banditry | (2) Increases the wearer’s Break Effect by 16%. When the wearer’s SPD reaches 145 or higher, the wearer’s Break effect increases by an extra 20%. |
As for stats and substats, ATK and SPEED taking priority than others. Followed by Effect Hit Rate, then the rest.
| Body | Feet | Planar Sphere | Link Rope |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATK% | ATK%/SPD | Lightning DMG | ATK% |
| Substats |
|---|
| ATK% = SPD > Effect Hit Rate > Break Effect > CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG |
Team for Kafka?
The two best elements to utilize damage over time are Wind and Lightning. Kafka already covers the Lightning element, and for Wind, one of your best options is Sampo.
This is because Sampo can quickly generate Wind Shear stacks. Combined with Kafka’s Skill effect, Sampo will contribute to generating high damage over time.
For the remaining slots in Kafka’s team, you can fill them with support and healer characters. Support characters that provide Speed, like Asta, or manipulate turn order like Bronya, or debuffer like Silver Wolf could be good choices.
As for a healer, you can select from the healers you have available.
