Herta's Top Light Cones in Honkai: Star Rail

The Herta is a formidable 5-star Ice Erudition unit in Honkai: Star Rail, renowned for her potent self-buffs and impressive damage multipliers. As a dedicated damage dealer, her optimal build focuses on the essential stats of CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and ATK, alongside general damage enhancements from her Light Cones. The Herta's kit inherently provides an 80% CRIT DMG boost, which makes Light Cones that offer CRIT Rate particularly beneficial. Moreover, boosting her Skill and Ultimate damage is crucial, especially given her unique Interpretation mechanic, with a preference for enhancing her Skill.

Although combinations of CRIT Rate and Skill DMG increases are rare outside her signature Light Cone, The Herta can still leverage numerous effective options within the Erudition Path. Both limited and free Light Cones provide valuable stats and are comparably effective. Here are the best Light Cone options for The Herta in Honkai: Star Rail.

The Seriousness of Breakfast (S5)

Increases the wearer's DMG by 24%. For every defeated enemy, the wearer's ATK increases by 8%, stacking up to 3 times.

The Seriousness of Breakfast is a freely obtainable Light Cone that can be purchased with Lucent Afterglow or acquired through Echo of War drops. Players can also secure one copy by completing a hidden task on the Herta Space Station. Although not the top choice for The Herta, it serves as a reliable option for newer players lacking better alternatives. It provides straightforward damage boosts, making it a solid temporary solution until a superior Light Cone can be obtained.

The Day The Cosmos Fell (S5)

Increases the wearer's ATK by 24%. When the wearer uses an attack and affects no fewer than 2 attacked enemies with a corresponding Weakness, the wearer's CRIT DMG increases by 40% for 2 turns.

Another free Light Cone, The Day The Cosmos Fell, is available through Lucent Afterglow purchases or Echo of War drops. A free copy can also be earned by finding all the Origami Birds in Golden Hour. This Light Cone performs slightly better than The Seriousness of Breakfast, though its effectiveness hinges on maintaining its conditional CRIT DMG buff. If these conditions aren't consistently met, its performance may drop. Nevertheless, it remains a viable temporary option for The Herta until a more optimal Light Cone is acquired.

Eternal Calculus (S5)

Increases the wearer's ATK by 12%. After using an attack, for each enemy target hit, additionally increases ATK by 8%. This effect can stack 5 times and lasts until the next attack. If there are 3 or more enemy targets hit, this unit's SPD increases by 16%, lasting for 1 turn.

Eternal Calculus, a free 5-star Light Cone, can be purchased from Herta's Store using Herta Bonds. It offers a substantial ATK% boost, though its performance varies with the number of targets hit, making it less effective in fights with fewer enemies. Despite this, when fully utilized, Eternal Calculus is a strong choice. Its 16% SPD increase at S5 can help achieve certain SPD breakpoints in combat. Like the other free options, it's a decent temporary solution for The Herta until a better alternative is found.

Yet Hope Is Priceless (S1)

Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 16%. While the wearer is in battle, for every 20% CRIT DMG that exceeds 120%, the DMG dealt by follow-up attack increases by 12%. This effect can stack up to 4 times. When the battle starts or after the wearer uses their Basic ATK, enables Ultimate or the DMG dealt by follow-up attack to ignore 20% of the target's DEF, lasting for 2 turns.

Yet Hope Is Priceless, Jade's signature Light Cone, is a viable option for The Herta, offering a valuable 16% CRIT Rate increase at S1. Although The Herta cannot utilize the Follow-Up buffs, this Light Cone serves as a straightforward stat booster. The 20% DEF penetration for the Ultimate is beneficial if used early in battle, but it's not reliable since The Herta typically avoids Basic ATKs. Additionally, early in the fight, Interpretation stacks might not be high enough for the Ultimate to fully leverage the effect.

Players should not specifically pull for this Light Cone for The Herta, as its performance doesn't outshine some more F2P-friendly alternatives. If players already possess Yet Hope Is Priceless, it might be better suited for a character that can fully utilize its effects, given the availability of competitive free Light Cones for The Herta.

Geniuses' Repose (S5)

Increases the wearer's ATK by 32%. When the wearer defeats an enemy, the wearer's CRIT DMG increases by 48% for 3 turns.

Geniuses' Repose, a 4-star Light Cone obtainable from the standard Stellar Warp, offers a significant 32% ATK increase and a 48% CRIT DMG boost at S5. Although The Herta needs to personally defeat an enemy to activate the CRIT DMG buff, maintaining it is generally straightforward, as the effect lasts for three turns. However, its effectiveness decreases in prolonged battles against single boss targets without regular summons to refresh the buff, such as Hoolay.

An Instant Before A Gaze (S1)

Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, the wearer's Ultimate DMG increases based on their Max Energy; Ultimate DMG increases by 0.36% per point of Energy, up to 180 Energy.

Argenti's signature Light Cone, An Instant Before A Gaze, is a strong option for The Herta. At S1, it provides a 36% increase to CRIT DMG and a 64.8% boost to Ultimate DMG. Although the Ultimate buff is valuable, The Herta would ideally prefer Skill DMG or general DMG instead, which slightly 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.

Before Dawn (S1)

Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. Increases the wearer's Skill and Ultimate DMG by 18%. 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 by 48%.

Before Dawn, Jing Yuan's signature Light Cone, is a robust option for The Herta. While The Herta cannot benefit from 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 remains highly valuable.

Today Is Another Peaceful Day (S5)

After entering battle, increases the wearer's DMG based on their Max Energy. DMG increases by 0.4% per point of Energy, up to 160 Energy.

Today Is Another Peaceful Day is an exceptional 4-star Light Cone that offers a significant and unconditional damage boost. Given The Herta's high 220 Energy cost for her Ultimate, she easily maximizes the Light Cone's effect, providing a total 64% damage increase at S5. Additionally, it boasts the highest base ATK among all current 4-star Erudition Light Cones, matching the 5-star Eternal Calculus. This makes it the best option for F2P and low-spending players, and some might even argue that it's a more consistent choice compared to other Light Cones.

Night on the Milky Way (S1)

For every enemy on the field, increases the wearer's ATK by 9%, up to 5 stacks. When an enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by 30% for 1 turn.

Night on the Milky Way, a 5-star Light Cone obtainable from the standard Stellar Warp, is a strong choice for The Herta, provided its effects are consistently maintained. While it can achieve up to a 45% ATK boost at S1, this requires five enemies on the field. Its effectiveness decreases as the number of targets drops. Players must ensure at least one enemy is afflicted with Weakness Break to activate the damage buff. Though its consistency may lag behind a few other Light Cones, Night on the Milky Way remains a powerful choice, particularly for Pure Fiction.

Into the Unreachable Veil (S1)

Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 12%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, increases DMG dealt by the wearer's Skill and Ultimate by 60%, lasting for 3 turns. After the wearer uses their Ultimate, if this Ultimate consumed 140 or more Energy, recovers 1 Skill Point.

The Herta's signature Light Cone, Into the Unreachable Veil, is her best-in-slot option due to its immense value. It offers a substantial boost to CRIT Rate and a generous damage increase to both her Skill and Ultimate. Additionally, this Light Cone recovers a Skill Point each time The Herta uses her Ultimate, making it highly effective for SP-heavy teams. With a base ATK of 635, it also has 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.