Asta is a character that almost all Honkai: Star Rail players will get, and she can be very useful when properly built. Here is some guidance on how to build Astra in HoYoverse’s latest installment.
Asta is a Fire character from the Harmony subclass who can provide buffs to the team while dealing useful Elemental damage to break enemies’ shields.
She’s one of the first characters you will encounter in the game’s main story. Asta is the lead astronomer in the Herta Space Station and the only Fire character from the Harmony subclass. Best of all, she is free, which makes her highly used in team compositions.
Asta’s skills in Honkai: Star Rail
Asta’s skillset can seem quite simple, but you might not notice some of their effects, which is still key to maximizing her potential in a team. The Harmony character’s skills are:
- Basic attack: Asta deals fire damage that equal to 60 percent of her Attack to a target.
- Skill: deals Fire damage amounting on Asta’s 30 percent Attack to a target, as well as more waves of Fire damage to a random enemy that amount to 30 percent of her Attack.
- Ultimate: increases Speed of all allies by 38 for two turns.
- Talent: gains one Charge for every enemy hit by Asta, as well as one more attack if the enemy has Fire as a weakness. Increases Attack to all allies for charges gained. After the second turn, the Charging count is reduced by three at the start of every turn.
- Technique: attacks the enemy immediately. After the battle started, Asta deals Fire damage to all enemies that equal to 50 percent of her Attack.
There are a few ways to improve the playable character’s attacks in Honkai. The first one is Traces. Those are paths that can be unlocked as you progress further through the game, unlocking more stat and effect bonuses on the way. More are unlocked by Ascending her and reaching higher Equilibrium levels.
Related: Best Ways to Farm Relics in Honkai: Star Rail
The other one is Eidolons. Those are a few precious bonuses that players can activate by obtaining duplicate versions of Asta, mostly by pulling her in Warps. Here are the bonuses given by each Eidolon:
- Star Sings Sans Verses or Vocals (A1): when using her Skill, Asta deals damage to a random enemy one more time.
- Moon Speaks in Wax and Wane (A2): when using her Ultimate, Asta won’t get her charge reduced by one in the next round.
- Meteor Showers for Wish and Want (A3): level up her skill and talent.
- Aurora Basks in Beauty and Bliss (A4): increase of 15 percent Regeneration Rate when Asta has at least two Charging stacks.
- Nebula Secludes in Cold Cosmos (A5): increase of Ultimate and basic attack.
- Galaxy Dreams in Calm and Comfort (A6): Asta loses one less charging stack in each turn.
Some of the buffs above are very powerful, but they’re also costly to unlock. That said, I found that the character’s stats have many ways to get improved, making those a key part of her build. Here is the best build for Asta in Honkai.
Asta’s best build in Honkai: Star Rail
Light Cones
Light Cones provide strong stat buffs when enhanced to their max level, as well as unique passive effects that can enhance the character’s potential, based on their strengths and the strategy you’re choosing for them. In addition, it’s not too difficult to choose one Cone, since their effects are tied to one specific path; in Asta’s case, the path of Harmony.
But the Battle Isn’t Over
- Rarity: Five stars
- Path: Harmony
- Ability: Increases Asta’s Regeneration Rate by 10 percent and regenerates one skill point when the Ultimate is used on an ally. The effect can be triggered after every two uses of Ultimate. When the Skill is used instead, the ally taking action deals 30 percent more damage for one turn.
This Light Cone is very powerful since it will allow her to use her buffs more often thanks to an increased Regeneration Rate. The Cone was initially designed with Bronya in mind, the only five-star character from the Harmony subclass, so if you have her, I’d recommend you use it on her rather than on Asta. Still, it’s a strong solution to maximize her potential if you haven’t pulled Bronya yet.
Memories of the Past
- Rarity: Four stars
- Path: Harmony
- Ability: It increases the Break Effect of Asta by 28 percent. She also gains four of Energy when attacking, with a maximum occurrence of one per turn.
Usually, Asta will be the only Fire ally in a Honkai team, which makes her Elemental damage key in fights and orients her towards this Light Cone. In addition, increasing her Break Effect will grant her more utility, in addition to her Attack and Speed boosts.
Dance! Dance! Dance!
- Rarity: Four stars
- Path: Harmony
- Ability: When Asta uses her Ultimate, all actions of allies are Advanced Forward by 16 percent.
Asta is all about Speed, especially since her Ultimate provides a huge boost that can reverse the tide of a combat by giving one extra turn to all her allies. With this extra bonus, Asta’s potential will further increase.
Mediation
- Rarity: Three stars
- Path: Harmony
- Ability: Upon battle entry, all allies receive a Speed bonus for one turn.
If you have yet to collect free four-star or five-star Light Cones, the best three-star alternative might be this one. It grants all allies more Speed, which Asta is all about. Three-star Light Cones might be better to equip rather than four-star when you’re starting out since you’ll be able to Superimpose them more easily.
Relics
Relics can be farmed using many ways. Generally, you’ll want to get at least two items from the same set to obtain bonus effects. They work for two and four pieces of the same set equipped, respectively.
Firesmith of Lava-Forging
- Rarity: Five stars if possible
- Two-Piece Effect: Fire damage plus 10 percent
- Four-Piece Effect: Skill damage of Asta increased by 12 percent. After using her Ultimate, her Fire damage is increased by 12 percent for the next attack.
- Location:Â Stargazer Navalia, The Xianzhou Loufu
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This Relic set can be exceptional on Asta because it increases both her Attack and her Fire damage. In addition, if you’ve followed this build and got her more Energy, she’ll regain the use of her Ultimate faster and will trigger the Relic set’s effects more often in a battle. While this Relic set will increase the Harmony character’s offensiveness, you can also boost her utility instead with another Relic set suggested below.
These Relics can be farmed in the Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Conflagration. To unlock it, players will be required to reach Trailblaze level 24 and complete the corresponding main quest, called Sweltering Morning Sun. Then, those activities will appear in the player’s guide, in a dedicated tab.
Fleet of the Ageless
- Rarity: Five stars if possible
- Two-Piece Effect:Â HP increased by 12 percent. If Asta’s Speed is above 120, her and all allies gain an eight percent Attack increase.
- Location: Simulated Universe, World Three
This is a Planar Ornament set. Only two of them can be equipped, and you’ll unlock them further down into Honkai‘s main story. They are all obtained through the Simulated Universe’s levels.
