Best Kafka Build in Honkai Star Rail: Relics, Light Cones, Eidolons, & Abilities

Kafka is a formidable 5-star Lightning character from the Path of Nihility in Honkai Star Rail. This guide will provide helpful tips for using Kafka effectively in the game.

Although Kafka is classified as a Nihility unit, her damage is heavily reliant on her ATK stats and the amount of DoT (Damage over Time) she can apply to the enemy. This allows her ultimate to reach impressive numbers, surpassing even Jing Yuan’s damage output by a significant margin.

Kafka is undoubtedly an exceptional unit, often considered a must-have. Therefore, if you were fortunate enough to obtain Kafka, this article provides a comprehensive guide on how to enhance her abilities, Light Cones, and Eidolons.

Best Kafka Build in Honkai Star Rail

Weapon	Relics	Ornament	Stats	Team Comp
Patience Is All You Need	Prisoner in Deep Confinement	Firmament Frontline Gamoth	Body: ATK%Feet: SPDSphere: Lightning DMG BonusSphere: ATK%Substats: ATK%, SPD, Energy Regen	Kafka, Black Swan, Ruan Mei, Huohuo

Best Light Cones for Kafka

Patience Is All You Need

Kafka’s signature Light Cone is her best-in-slot, but there are other good options too

The most effective Light Cone for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail is called “Patience is All You Need”. This Light Cone enhances the user’s DMG by 24%-40% and also boosts their SPD by 4.8%-8.0% after every attack, up to a maximum of 3 times.

If an enemy is not affected by Erode, hitting them has a guaranteed 100% chance to inflict it. All enemies who are affected by Erode are also considered to be Shocked, resulting in a Lightning DoT of 60%-100% of the wearer’s ATK at the beginning of every turn.

The only way to obtain this Light Cone is through the Event Warp when it is available. It is not possible to obtain it from any other source.

Reforged Remembrance

A screenshot from the game Honkai Star Rail — HoYoverse

Black Swan’s signature Light Cone is also very good on Kafka.

This Light Cone can serve as a suitable substitute for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail. When equipped, the wearer’s Effect Hit Rate is boosted by 40% and they also gain a stack of Prophet when damaging an enemy affected by Wind Shear, Burn, Shock, or Bleed.

Each stack of the Prophet effect boosts the wearer’s ATK by 5% and guarantees that DoT will bypass 7.5% of the enemy’s DEF.

Best Relics for Kafka

Prisoner of Deep Confinement is the best Relic for Kafka.

Description of an Ancient Artifact

The most optimal Relic set for utilizing Kafka’s abilities is the Prisoner in Deep Confinement set, primarily due to its DoT effects. The specific set-piece bonus for this Relic set is listed below:

Set Piece	Set Bonus
2-pc	Increases ATK by 12%.
4-pc	For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of target’s DEF when dealing DMG to them. This effect is valid for a max of 3 DoTs.

Ornament

The top choice for Kafka’s ornament in Honkai Star Rail is the Firmament Frontline: Glamoth set. This set’s bonus for Relics is outlined below:

Set Piece	Set Bonus
2-pc	Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When the wearer’s SPD is equal to or higher than 135/160, the wearer deals 12%/18% more DMG.

Kafka Ascension and Trace materials

Ascension

In order to ascend Kafka in Honkai Star Rail, the necessary materials include Thief’s Instinct, Usurper’s Scheme, Conqueror’s Will, and Shape Shifter’s Lightning Staff. The specific quantity of each material required is as follows:

Thief’s Instinct x15
Usurper’s Scheme x15
Conqueror’s Will x15
Shape Shifter’s Lightning Staff x65

Traces

To complete Kafka’s Traces in Honkai Star Rail, you will require Obsidian of Dread and its upgrades, Thief’s Instinct and its upgrades, and Regret of Infinite Ochema. The quantities of each material needed are as follows:

Obsidian of Dread x15
Thief’s Instinct x41
Obsidian of Desolation x72
Usurper’s Scheme x56
Obsidian of Obsession x139
Conqueror’s Will x58
Regret of Infinite Ochema x12
Tracks of Destiny x11

Kafka: Best Team Composition for Honkai Star Rail

Kafka’s damage output in battle is determined by the number of stacks of Shock, Bleed, or other status effects on the enemy, as she is a DoT unit. As a result, Black Swan, Ruan Mei, and Huohuo are considered the most effective allies for Kafka in the game.

In this team, Black Swan is responsible for inflicting status effects on enemies, while Huohuo serves as the team’s healer and Ruan Mei acts as the support. It is worth mentioning that Kafka also plays a role in inflicting status effects on enemies.

Black Swan is one of the best partners for Kafka.

Alternatively, for a more free-to-play friendly option, you can also consider replacing Black Swan with either Luka or Guinaifen.

Yet, there exists another team where Kafka can excel as the Hypercarry. This team is composed of Silver Wolf, Tingyun, Kafka, and Huohuo. Silver Wolf has the ability to lower the enemies’ DEF and inflict debuffs. Tingyun’s exceptional ATK boosts greatly enhance Kafka’s damage output.

Finally, Huohuo will take on the role of the main healer within the team.

Honkai Star Rail: Kafka’s Abilities

A screenshot for Kafka abilities in Honkai Star Rail — HoYoverse

Kafka has some really powerful abilities in Honkai Star Rail

Active Skill	Effect
Basic Attack: Midnight Tumult	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to a single enemy.
Skill: Caressing Moonlight	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 80% of Kafka’s ATK to a target enemy and Lightning DMG equal to 30% of Kafka’s ATK to enemies adjacent to it.If the target enemy is currently receiving DoT, all DoTs currently placed on that enemy immediately produce DMG equal to 80% of their original DMG.
Ultimate: Twilight Trill	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 48% of Kafka’s ATK to all enemies, with a 100% base chance for enemies hit to become Shocked and immediately take DMG from their current Shock state equal to 80% of its original DMG. Shock lasts for 2 turn(s).While Shocked, enemies receive Lightning DoT equal to 75% of Kafka’s ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Talent	Effect
Gentle but Cruel	After an ally of Kafka’s uses Basic ATK on an enemy, Kafka immediately launches 1 follow-up attack and deals Lightning DMG equal to 60% of her ATK to that enemy, with a base chance of 100% of increasing the DoT inflicted by 15% for 2 turns. This effect can only be triggered 1 time per turn.

Technique	Effect
Mercy is not Forgiveness	Immediately attacks the enemy. After entering battle, deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to all enemies. In addition, all enemies have a 100% base chance to become Shocked for 3 turn(s).

Traces	Effect
Torture	When the Ultimate is used, enemies targets will now receive DMG immediately from all DoT sources instead of just receiving DMG immediately from the currently applied Shock.
Plunder	If an enemy is defeated while Shocked, Kafka additionally regenerates 5 Energy.
Thorns	The base chance for target enemies to get Shocked by the Ultimate, the Technique, or the Talent-triggered follow-up attack increases by 30%.

Honkai Star Rail: Kafka Eidolons

A screenshot of Kafka's Eidolons in Honkai Star Rail — HoYoverse

Kafka’s Eidolons enhance her damage out by a significant amount

Level 1 – Da Capo: When the Talent triggers a follow-up attack, there is a 100% base-chance to increase the DoT received by the target by 30% for 2 turn(s).
Level 2 – Fortississimo: When Kafka is on the field, DoT dealt by all allies is increased by 25%.
Level 3 – Capriccio: Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv.10.
Level 4 – Recitativo: When an enemy target takes DMG from the Shock status inflicted by Kafka, she additionally regenerates 2 Energy.
Level 5 – Doloroso: Increases Ultimate Lv. by 2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Also increases Talent Lv. by 2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.
Level 6 – Leggiero: The Shock inflicted on the enemy by the Ultimate, the Technique, or the Talent-triggered follow-up attack has a DMG-multiplier increase of 156% and lasts for 1 turn(s) longer.

Kafka pros and cons

The advantages and disadvantages of using Kafka in Honkai Star Rail are:

Pros	Cons
Best DoT DPS	Doesn’t have too many good teams
Easy to build
Massive damage potential

Kafka Trailer in Honkai Star Rail

On August 8, 2023, HoYoverse unveiled the official trailer for Kafka on their YouTube channel. In case you missed it, you can watch it by clicking on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUffI4nAIM

Kafka Trailer — "A Dramatic Irony" | Honkai: Star Rail (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUffI4nAIM)