Okay so last Sunday I woke up thinking, “Right, gotta sort out my relics and light cones for once.” Been playing Honkai Star Rail for ages, right? But my characters always felt kinda… weak. Not dying instantly, but not crushing things either. Just meh. Figured it was time to actually put some real thought into it, not just throw on whatever had the highest Attack stat.
First Thing: The Mess I Started With
I logged in and went straight to my main DPS character. Opened the relics screen and honestly? Felt overwhelmed. Complete stat soup. Had pieces from like 4 different sets mixed together, main stats all over the place. Some had Break Effect for a character who barely breaks toughness? What was I even thinking back then? Probably just slammed ‘Equip Best’ and called it a day. Lazy, I know.
Light cones were almost as bad. Grabbed one early on that boosted Attack percentage a ton and just… never switched it off. Like, maybe it wasn’t even the best fit for his actual damage type? Never really checked properly. Just saw the big Attack number and went with it.
So I Started Cleaning Up
First step, I forced myself to actually read. Read the relic set bonuses properly. Like, what does this 2-piece actually do? What does the 4-piece actually do? Does it sound like it helps my character do the thing they need to do? The Lightning set, for example – looked great for my main damage dealer ’cause it amps up Attack AND boosts Lightning damage? Heck yes!
Next was main stats. This is where I screwed up bad before. Boots with Effect Hit Rate on a pure damage dealer? WTH was that? Trashed those immediately. Looked for Boots with Speed or Attack percentage. Body pieces? Focused solely on Crit Rate or Crit Damage main stats now. Forget Defense or HP for DPS. For the Planar Sphere, gotta match the element! Lightning character needs Lightning Damage bonus, simple.
Light cones needed the same treatment. Stopped just looking at the big Attack number up top. Instead, I scrolled down and actually read the passive effect. What does this cone do when the character uses their skill? Their ultimate? Does it stack something useful? Does it boost the type of damage they mainly deal? Had a cone that boosted Ultimate damage massively – swapped that onto my character whose whole thing IS spamming their Ultimate. Way better fit than the generic Attack booster.
Putting It Together & Feeling The Difference
Took me a solid hour. Swapped relics around, sold or salvaged the useless junk (goodbye, HP% boots on Seele!), farmed a couple specific relics I was missing (Curse you, RNG!), and got a full set of the Lightning gear together with correct main stats. Slapped on the new Ultimate-focused light cone.
Time to test. Hopped into Simulated Universe. Found some decently tough elite enemies.
- Before: My DPS felt like a wet noodle. Needed a few turns to whittle things down.
- After: Holy crap, the difference! The Lightning set bonuses kicked in, the Crits started hitting WAY harder. That new light cone? His Ultimate just melted the enemy health bar. Felt like a proper damage dealer finally!
What I Actually Figured Out
It sounds dumb simple when I type it out now, but it made such a difference:
- Relic Sets First: Pick the set bonus that matches what your character does. Damage? Survivability? Buffing? Get that 4-piece bonus rolling. Forget mismatched pieces.
- Main Stats Are Queen: Don’t get fooled by high level or substats if the main stat is garbage. Boots: Speed/Atk%. Body: Crit Rate/Dmg%. Sphere: Element Damage. Rope: Energy Regeneration/Atk%. That’s the core.
- Light Cones Aren’t Just Attack Sticks: That passive effect text? READ IT. Does it actually benefit how YOU play that character? Synergy is key.
Seriously, felt like I’d been playing blind before. Dumping gear on without thinking just wasted all that potential. Taking that Sunday morning to finally sort it out? Best decision ever. Characters actually feel powerful now. Time well spent.