Best Yukong builds and skills in Honkai: Star Rail

The very first four-star Imaginary character in Honkai: Star Rail is Yukong, a character who walks the Harmony path and possesses a powerful buffing skillset. Most players likely don’t have an Imaginary recruit for their team just yet, so obtaining Yukong is a powerful choice for Trailblazers as long as they assess her skills and build her carefully.

Yukong will have her debut run as a featured four-star recruit on the five-star Imaginary character Luocha’s “Laic Pursuit” banner. She will be available with an increased drop rate from June 28 to July 18, so players hoping to obtain her can pull for her during this timeframe or wait for Version 1.2 when she will be available for free after participating in one of the events.

Buffing units are powerful characters to have on your team in Honkai: Star Rail and Yukong’s abilities are quite impressive. Trailblazers who are adding her to their roster will want to ensure they understand how her skills work and what the best way to build her is so she supports the team she is placed on to the best of her ability.

Yukong’s skills in Honkai: Star Rail

All playable recruits have five skills that are unique to them. Most of these abilities are only usable in combat, but all characters also have one ability that can be used outside of combat or leading up to combat which is their technique.

As players level Yukong up, they will see all of her unique abilities become more powerful. Each of Yukong’s skills is discussed at the lowest possible percentage and the highest possible percentage so players can see where she will start and where she will end up.

• “Arrowslinger” basic attack: Deals 50 to 130 percent of Yukong’s attack as Imaginary damage against the targeted opponent.
• “Emboldening Salvo” skill: Yukong receives two stacks of “Roaring Bowstrings.” When this effect is active, all allies’ attack is raised by 40 to 100 percent, and each time an ally’s turn concludes Yukong then consumes one stack of “Roaring Bowstrings.” Yukong can only ever have two stacks of this effect present.
• “Diving Kestrel” Ultimate: Upon casting her Ultimate and if “Roaring Bowstrings” is active, all allies’ critical rate is then raised by 21 to 31.5 percent and critical damage is increased by 39 to 78 percent. Additionally, this ability also dishes out Imaginary damage equal to 228 to 456 percent of Yukong’s attack against a single opponent.
• “Seven Layers, One Arrow” talent: Causes Yukong’s basic attack to deal Imaginary damage equal to 40 to 100 percent of her attack. This talent also increases the toughness reducing damage dealt through this attack by 100 percent. Yukong can activate this effect again after one turn has passed.
• “Chasing the Wind” technique: One her technique is used, Yukong then enters a special sprint mode for 20 seconds. While in this mode, movement speed is raised by 35 percent and Yukong is immediately granted two stacks of “Roaring Bowstrings” when she enters a battle by striking an enemy.

Related: All Honkai: Star Rail character ages and heights

Yukong’s Ascension materials in Honkai: Star Rail

To make any playable recruit as powerful as possible in Honkai: Star Rail, players will need to work toward fully ascending them. This is a process that can only happen over time since players will also need to raise their Equilibrium level as they go.

For Yukong to reach the maximum Ascension level, players will need to gather and use the following materials across all of her levels.

• 240,000 Credits
• Five Artifex’s Module
• 13 Artifex’s Cogwheel
• 12 Artifex’s Gyreheart
• 50 Golden Crown of the Past Shadow

Yukong’s Trace materials in Honkai: Star Rail

Every playable unit has what is essentially a skill tree that Trailblazers can level up over time. These skills are called Traces and provide a wide array of benefits ranging from leveling up Yukong’s various abilities to providing massive percentage boosts to her health points or Imaginary damage.

To fully raise all of Yukong’s Traces to their maximum levels, Trailblazers will need to gather the following.

• 2,400,000 Credits
• 12 Harmonic Tune
• 54 Ancestral Hymn
• 105 Stellaris Symphony
• 28 Artifex’s Module
• 42 Artifex’s Cogwheel
• 42 Artifex’s Gyreheart
• 12 Destroyer’s Final Road
• Five Tracks of Destiny

Yukong’s best build in Honkai: Star Rail

Overall, players will want to focus on building Yukong for a support and buffing-centric role. She does deal some solid Imaginary damage, but her skills are best suited to being a buffing support unit that amplifies her allies.

Best Light Cones for Yukong in Honkai: Star Rail

There is currently only one five-star Light Cone for members of the Harmony path which means more are likely to arrive in the future and will change what the best Light Cones for Yukong are. The best Light Cones for Yukong will vary depending on how you want to build her, but regardless, there will almost certainly be better options for her in the future which will be added here once they release.

For now, there are five viable Light Cones that players can equip on Yukong.

• But the Battle Isn’t Over
  • Rarity: Five-star
  • Path: The Harmony
  • “Heir” Ability: Raises the equipping character’s energy regeneration by 10 percent and restores one skill point when the wearer uses their Ultimate skill. Trailblazers can activate this effect once for every two uses of the equipping recruits Ultimate. When the wearer uses their skill, the next ally on their team who performs an action will deal 30 percent more damage. This effect cannot be activated on the equipping recruit.
• Carve the Moon, Weave the Clouds
  • Rarity: Four-star
  • Path: The Harmony
  • “Secret” Ability: This Light Cone randomly activates one of three possible effects at the start of the battle and whenever the equipping recruit performs an action. Each chosen effect cannot be the same as the last effect that was applied and will immediately replace the last one. The active effect will end if the wearer of this Light Cone is knocked down and all effects cannot be stacked with an effect of the same type. The possible effects this Light Cone may grant are:
    • Increase all allies’ attack by 10 percent.
    • Raise all allies’ critical damage by 12 percent.
    • Increase all allies’ energy regeneration rate by six percent.
• Dance! Dance! Dance!
  • Rarity: Four-star
  • Path: The Harmony
  • “Cannot Stop It!” Ability: When the equipping character uses their Ultimate ability, all allies’ actions are then advanced forward by 16 percent.
• Past and Future
  • Rarity: Four-star
  • Path: The Harmony
  • “Kites From the Past“ Ability: When the equipping character uses their skill, the next ally deals 16 percent increased damage for one turn. This effect cannot be applied to the wearer.
• Chorus
  • Rarity: Three-star
  • Path: The Harmony
  • “Concerted” Ability: Upon entering into a battle, the wearer of this Light Cone then increases the attack of all allies by eight percent.

Best Relics for Yukong in Honkai: Star Rail

There currently aren’t any Relic sets that seem to be specifically designed for enhancing a buffer character’s skillset. It’s likely that many more Relics will be added in the future and that these potential Relics will be better options for Yukong, but for now players should mostly focus on building her attack since her abilities scale off of it and her general support capacity.

• Wastelander of Banditry Desert
  • Rarity: Two-star, three-star, four-star, or five-star
  • Two-piece effect: Raises the wearer’s Imaginary damage by 10 percent.
  • Four-piece effect: Upon hitting a debuffed enemy, the equipping character’s critical rate is raised by 10 percent. If the targeted enemy is also imprisoned, then the wearer’s critical damage is raised by 20 percent.
  • Location: Cavern of Corrosion, Echo of War, Treasures, and Synthesizing Relics
• Musketeer of Wild Wheat
  • Rarity: Two-star, three-star, four-star, or five-star
  • Two-piece effect: Raises attack by 12 percent.
  • Four-piece effect: Raises the equipping recruit’s speed by six percent and increases their basic attack damage by 10 percent.
  • Location: Cavern of Corrosion, Echo of War, Treasures, and Synthesizing Relics

• Space Sealing Station
  • Rarity: Two-star, three-star, four-star, or five-star
  • Two-piece effect: Increases the equipping character’s attack by 12 percent. When the equipping character’s speed reaches 120 or higher, their attack is additionally raised by another 12 percent.
  • Location: Simulated Universe and Synthesizing Relics
• Sprightly Vonwacq
  • Rarity: Two-star, three-star, four-star, or five-star
  • Two-piece effect: Raises the wearer’s energy regeneration rate by five percent. Once the equipping character’s speed reaches 120 or higher, their action is then immediately advanced forward by 40 percent when they enter battle.
  • Location: Simulated Universe and Synthesizing Relics

We gathered this information by playing Honkai Star Rail Version 1.1 “Galactic Roaming” on PC.