Best Light Cone
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The Herta is a powerful 5-star Ice Erudition unit inHonkai: Star Rail, boasting incredibly strong self-buffs and damage multipliers. As a damage dealer, she is primarily looking for the classic trifecta of CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and ATK, as well as any general damage boosts from her Light Cones. Given The Herta’s kit provides a generous 80% CRIT DMG buff, she typically prefers Light Cones that grant CRIT Rate. Additionally, increases to her Skill and Ultimate output are also valuable for her damage profile, due to her Interpretation mechanic, with a particular preference for the former.
While the combination of CRIT Rate and Skill DMG increases is rare outside her signature Light Cone, The Herta still has numerous viable options in the Erudition Path. Many of these Light Cones, both limited and free, offer valuable stats and perform closely to each other in effectiveness. Below are the best Light Cone options for The Herta inHonkai: Star Rail.
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S5 Passive
Increases the wearer’s DMG by24%. For every defeated enemy, the wearer’s ATK increases by8%, stacking up to3time(s).
The Seriousness of Breakfastis a free Light Cone that can be purchased with Lucent Afterglow or obtained through Echo of War drops. Players may also obtain one copy fromcompleting a hidden task aboard the Herta Space Station. While this Light Cone is far from The Herta’s best choice, it is still a serviceable one for newer players that have no other options. It offers straightforward damage boosts, making it a solid placeholder until a better Light Cone is obtained.
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Increases the wearer’s ATK by24%. When the wearer uses an attack and affects no fewer than 2 attacked enemies with a corresponding Weakness, the wearer’s CRIT DMG increases by40%for 2 turn(s).
The Day The Cosmos Fellis another free Light Cone that can be purchased with Lucent Afterglow or obtained through Echo of War drops. Similarly, players can obtain a free copy byfinding all the Origami Birds in Golden Hour. While this Light Cone offers slightly better performance than The Seriousness of Breakfast, its effectiveness is tied to maintaining its conditional CRIT DMG buff. If players struggle to meet these conditions consistently, its performance can fall significantly. Nevertheless, it remains a viable placeholder option for The Herta until a more optimal Light Cone is acquired.
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Increases the wearer’s ATK by12%. After using an attack, for each enemy target hit, additionally increases ATK by8%. This effect can stack 5 times and lasts until the next attack. If there are3or more enemy targets hit, this unit’s SPD increases by16%, lasting for1turn(s).
Eternal Calculusis a free 5-star Light Cone, available for purchase fromHerta’s Store using Herta Bonds. This Light Cone offers a significant ATK% boost, but its performance will fluctuate based on the number of targets hit, making it considerably weaker in scenarios with fewer enemies. Despite this drawback, Eternal Calculus remains a solid choice when its effects are fully utilized. Additionally, its 16% SPD increase at S5 can be beneficial for achieving certain SPD breakpoints in combat. Like the other free options, Eternal Calculus serves as a decent placeholder for The Herta until a stronger alternative is obtained.
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S1 Passive
Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by16%. While the wearer is in battle, for every20%CRIT DMG that exceeds 120%, the DMG dealt by follow-up attack increases by12%. This effect can stack up to4time(s). When the battle starts or after the wearer uses their Basic ATK, enables Ultimate or the DMG dealt by follow-up attack to ignore20%of the target’s DEF, lasting for2turn(s).
Jade’s signature Light Cone,Yet Hope Is Priceless, is a decent option for The Herta, offering a valuable 16% CRIT Rate increase at S1. While she cannot utilize the Follow-Up buffs, this Light Cone should still serve as a simple and reliable stat stick. The 20% DEF penetration for the Ultimate can be nice if players use it early in battle, but it is not a reliable effect as The Herta ideally avoids using Basic ATKs. Additionally, Interpretation stacks may not be as high that early in the fight for the Ultimate to make the most use of the effect.
Players should avoid pulling this Light Cone specifically for The Herta, as its performance does not surpass some of the more F2P-friendly alternatives. If players already have Yet Hope Is Priceless, it may be better suited for a unit that can fully utilize its effects, as the free Light Cones available for The Herta are very close in performance.
Increases the wearer’s ATK by32%. When the wearer defeats an enemy, the wearer’s CRIT DMG increases by48%for3turn(s).
Geniuses' Reposeis a great 4-star Light Cone obtainable from the standard Stellar Warp. It offers a significant 32% ATK increase and a 48% CRIT DMG boost at S5. While The Herta needs to personally defeat an enemy to activate the CRIT DMG buff, it should be easy to maintain in most situations, as the effect lasts for three turns. However, this Light Cone loses effectiveness in prolonged battles against singleboss targetsthat lack regular summons to refresh the buff, such as Hoolay.
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Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by36%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, the wearer’s Ultimate DMG increases based on their Max Energy; Ultimate DMG increases by0.36%per point of Energy, up to180Energy.
Argenti’s signature Light Cone,An Instant Before A Gaze, is a great option for The Herta. At S1, it provides a 36% increase to CRIT DMG and a 64.8% boost to Ultimate DMG. While the Ultimate buff is valuable, The Herta would ideally prefer Skill DMG or general DMG instead, which limits this Light Cone’s ranking. Similar to Yet Hope Is Priceless, players should only use this Light Cone if they already have it and avoid pulling specifically for The Herta.
Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by36%. Increases the wearer’s Skill and Ultimate DMG by18%. After the wearer uses their Skill or Ultimate, they gain Somnus Corpus. Upon triggering a follow-up attack, Somnus Corpus will be consumed and the follow-up attack DMG increases by48%.
Before Dawn,Jing Yuan’s signature Light Cone, is a strong option for The Herta. While The Herta cannot take advantage of the Follow-Up Attack buff, the Light Cone still offers excellent unconditional stats that complement her kit. At S1, Before Dawn grants a significant 36% CRIT DMG increase and an 18% damage boost to both Skill and Ultimate. Although The Herta would prefer more CRIT Rate due to her A4 Trace, the additional CRIT DMG from this Light Cone is still highly valuable.
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After entering battle, increases the wearer’s DMG based on their Max Energy. DMG increases by0.4%per point of Energy, up to160Energy.
Today Is Another Peaceful Dayis an outstanding 4-star Light Cone that offers a substantial and unconditional damage boost. Thanks to The Herta’shigh 220 Energy cost for her Ultimate, she easily maximizes the Light Cone’s effect, providing a total 64% damage increase at S5. Furthermore, Today Is Another Peaceful Day also possesses the highest base ATK out of all the current 4-star Erudition Light Cones, on par with the 5-star Eternal Calculus. This makes it the best option for F2P and low-spending players, and some might even argue that it is a more consistent choice compared to the next Light Cone on the list.
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For every enemy on the field, increases the wearer’s ATK by9%, up to 5 stacks. When an enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by30%for 1 turn.
Night on the Milky Wayis a great 5-star option that can be obtained from the standard Stellar Warp. This Light Cone can perform extremely well for The Herta, provided its effects are consistently maintained. While the Light Cone can reach up to a large 45% ATK boost at S1, it requires five enemies on the field to maintain those stacks. The Light Cone’s performance diminishes considerably as the number of targets decreases. Additionally, players need to ensure that at leastone enemy is inflicted with Weakness Breakto activate the damage buff. While its consistency may fall behind a few other Light Cones, Night on the Milky Way remains a very strong choice, particularly for Pure Fiction.
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Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by12%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, increases DMG dealt by the wearer’s Skill and Ultimate by60%, lasting for3turn(s). After the wearer uses their Ultimate, if this Ultimate consumed 140 or more Energy, recovers1Skill Point.
The Herta’s signature Light Cone,Into the Unreachable Veil, is unmatched as her best-in-slot option due to the immense value it provides. It offers a significant boost to Crit Rate and provides a generous damage increase to both her Skill and Ultimate. Additionally, this Light Conerecovers a Skill Point each timeThe Herta uses her Ultimate, making it exceptionally effective for SP-heavy teams. With a base ATK of 635, it also boasts the highest ATK stat among all Erudition Light Cones currently available. Its value extends to many other Erudition characters, even those who cannot meet the Energy requirement for the Skill Point.
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