Since the launch of Honkai: StarRail one of the most anticipated characters by players was without a doubt Kafka, which has finally arrived with version 1.2 of the game. She is a five-star Nihility class fighter with a very particular Lighting element, in that specialized in applying DoTs (Damage over Time abilities, which cause damage over time) and make those inflicted by teammates "explode on command".
In this guide we will give an overview of the characteristics of this character and what the Light Cone, Relic and statistics are ideal for creating best build for Kafka.
How do DoTs work in Honkai: Star Rail?
As mentioned at the beginning Kafka is a character specialized inapply DoTs and activate those of your companions. In fact, through the Skill and the Ultimate it immediately activates any DoT applied to an enemy by a companion. It goes without saying that the best way to use this character is by taking advantage of the DoT characteristics and combining her with characters that are based on this particular source of damage.
For this reason it is good to take a quick overview of this mechanic. In Honkai: Star Rail there are currently four types of DoT main ones: Bleed (physical), Burn (fire), Shock (electro) and Wind Shear (wind) and basically inflict damage every time the affected opponent's turn begins. Frozen (ice), Entanglement (Quantum) are not considered DoTs.
There are two ways to apply DoTs: Through offensive abilities and specific Light Cone effects that cause these status alterations or when the Weakness Break is activated (i.e. depleting the enemies' stamina bar). In the first case, the damage basically depends on the characteristics of the ability or equipment that caused it (usually scales on the ATK, but it is not a fixed rule). As for Weakness Break DoTs, they always scale on the ATK and Break Effect statistics, with the damage also varying based on the enemy's maximum Toughness level (i.e. how much damage it must receive before activating a Weakness Break).
Another important factor to take into consideration is that DoT damage cannot cause critical damage. For this reason Crit Rate and Crit DMG are completely useless statistics in their case. Finally, keep in mind that skill/equipment DoTs and Weakness Break DoTs are considered different and independent even if they belong to the same type. In the image above, for example, we see an enemy afflicted by three different DoT Shocks, one applied by Kafka, one by Serval and the third caused by a Weakness Break.
Trace skill and priority overview
NB: whenever we talk about the values and statistics of Skill, Ultimate, Talents and so on we will always refer to those of the Trace developed at the highest level without Eidolon bonuses, in order to give an idea of the character's potential at its maximum potential.
Having made these assumptions about DoTs, it is time to give an overview of the Kafka kit and to do so we will start from Skill. This ability deals 160% of Kafka's ATK to one enemy and 60% to adjacent enemies. If the main target of the attack is afflicted with DoTs, they are immediately activated and deal 75% of their original damage. Basically, an opponent will take both the damage from Kafka's ability plus the damage from any DoT applied, which is basically why this character has phenomenal synergy with characters capable of consistently causing DoTs like Sampo and Luka .
La Ultimate of Kafka targets all opponents on the field with a power equal to 80% of the character's ATK, a scaling that is not particularly high, but it is the additional effects that make the difference. In fact, all enemies hit have a 100% base chance (not affected by the Trace's level) to suffer Shock, which inflicts damage equal to 290% of Kafka's ATK for two turns, and immediately suffer 100% of the original damage of this DoT. If this attack in itself is already phenomenal, it becomes even more so thanks to the "Torture" bonus ability, thanks to which the Ultimate immediately activates the damage of all the other DoTs applied to enemies hit by companions.
Through our Talent, Kafka performs a follow-up attack when an ally uses a basic attack, dealing 140% of his ATK to the targeted enemy. Furthermore, there is a 100% base chance of inflicting Shock, with the characteristics of this DoT being identical to that of the Ultimate.
Complete the kit Technical, thanks to which Kafka immediately attacks all enemies at the start of the fight, causing damage equal to 50% of his ATK and also has a 100% base chance of applying the Shock status, with the damage of this DoT which in this case too is equal to that of the Ultimate.
Thanks to the passive "Thorns", the chances of inflicting Shock with the Ultimate, the follow-up attack and the Kafka Technique increase by 30%. Also taking into account the 18% Effect Hit Rate obtained through Traces, it means that Kafka has approximately a 90% chance of applying his Shocks even against enemies with the highest resistances and consequently requires a very minimal investment in Effect Hit Rate to reach absolute 100% (we'll talk about this in more detail later). The third and final bonus skill is "Plunder" which recharges Kafka with 5 energy points every time an enemy afflicted with Shock is defeated by any character on the team.
With regard to the Trace priority to develop, we suggest you invest in Ultimate and Skill, which are Kafka's main sources of damage. Leveling up Talent is useful but not essential, while the basic attack ends up at the bottom of the list since in optimal conditions you will almost never use it.
The best Light Cones for Kafka
The best Light Cone for Kafka is without a doubt the five stars "Patience Is All You Need" available exclusively in event banners. Specifically, in addition to offering a bonus DMG of 24%, every time the user launches any attack it increases the SPD by 4,8%, a bonus that can be cumulated up to three times (for a total of 14,4%). But that's not all, as the Light Cone can also apply the Herod status which damages the target every turn for damage equal to 60% of the user's ATK.
However, there are valid and much more accessible alternatives among the 4 Star Light Cones. The best in our opinion is the "Good Night and Sleep Well", which increases the wearer's damage dealt by 12% for each debuff applied to an opponent (up to a maximum of 36%), including DoTs.
Alternatively we recommend the "Stop", which increases Break Effect by 16% and, if an enemy is affected by Shock or Wind Shear, damage by 16%, including DoTs. In particular, this Light Cone can be obtained through the Forgotten Hall shop and the Echo of War, so it is not difficult to upgrade it to the maximum, thus increasing its effects.
Finally, Hoyoverse has confirmed that in version 1.3 a new 5-star Light Cone will be added for Nihility class characters in Herta's shop of the Simulated Universe, which we presume could prove to be a very valid alternative for Kafka, so if you are not in a hurry maybe you could wait for the next update.
The best Relics for Kafka and recommended statistics, how much Effect Hit Rate is needed?
Speaking of Relic, while waiting for sets with specific advantages for DoT, the best choice for Kafka is undoubtedly represented by four pieces of "Band of Sizzling Thunder". The two-piece bonus increases Lightinig element damage by 10%, while the four-piece bonus increases the ATK stat by 20% for one turn when the user uses their Skill. Both very useful bonuses for this character.
A less efficient but still viable alternative is to use a two-piece mix of "Musketeer's Wild Wheat", which offers a flat 12% bonus to ATK, and "Messenger's Holovisor", which increases SPD by 6%.
Moving on to Planar Ornaments, at the moment there is only one really good set, that is "Space Sealing Station", which offers +12% to ATK, a bonus that doubles if the user has an SPD equal to or greater than 120, an easily achievable requirement.
With regard to main statistics, given that DoTs cannot cause critical damage, stats like Crit Rate / DMG are essentially much less relevant than ATK. Furthermore, it is advisable to pump the SPD as much as possible, so that Kafka can act, activate DoTs and recharge his follow-up attack more frequently, consequently increasing his offensive potential. However, a Rope with Energy Regeneration Rate is not necessary, given that between the follow-up attacks, Skill and the passive Pluder, Kafka obtains good quantities of Energy sufficient to regularly cast his Ultimate. To summarize, here are the main attributes for the Relics that we suggest:
- Chest: ATK%
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: Lighting DMG Boost
- Rope: ATK%
for secondary statistics of Relics, aim to further increase SPD and ATK%. Furthermore, a few points of Break Effect (which enhances the DoTs applied with the Weakness Break) and Effect Hit Rate don't hurt. Finally, although not of the highest priority, Crit Rate/DMG are not completely useless, since they still increase the character's damage outside of DoTs.
As regards'Effect Hit Rate, taking into account the 18% bonus obtained with the Trace and the "Thorns" passive, in principle you only need an additional 10% to apply Kafka's DoTs with practically 100% probability even against enemies with resistances. However, you will need a few more points if you decide to use the Light Cone "Patience Is All You Need" and/or if you unlock the first Eidolon bonus: the additional effects given by these two elements do not benefit from the "Thorns" bonus and therefore a higher Effect Hit Rate would be needed, around 66% including the 18% guaranteed by the Traces, to have the mathematical certainty of activating them. It must be said in any case that even against the most resistant enemies the activation probabilities are still high so in our opinion it is not advisable to go beyond 10% of Effect Hit Rate with the secondary statistics of the Relics, given that otherwise you would sacrifice important attributes such as SPD and ATK.
Finally, if you prefer a more classic build based more on critical hits and less on DoTs (which is still valid, even if not optimal) use a chest con Crit Rate / DMG and prioritize these statistics for secondary attributes.
The best teams for Kafka
Considering his peculiarities, Kafka should always be accompanied by at least one character specialized in DoTs. Unfortunately at the moment the options offered by Honkai: Star Rail are quite limited, in fact you basically only have two: Sampo and Luka. The first uses the Wind element and is more suitable in battles against multiple enemies, since it can apply DoTs to multiple targets. Luka, on the other hand, uses physical attacks and has a greater advantage against single targets.
In principle, therefore, a functional training should include one of these two characters, a healer and a Harmony unit or debuffer. For support characters, considering that DoTs cannot deal critical damage, the best choice is Asta as he can boost both the SPD and ATK of allies as well as apply Burn with the basic attack (a decidedly weak DoT, but it is an extra doesn't hurt). Among the debuffers, however, we recommend Pela and Silver Wolf due to their abilities that can reduce the opponents' defense.
However, if you are aiming to maximize damage, the best choice would be to use two specialized DoT characters alongside Kafka, with the fourth slot occupied by a curator. This formation does not work in all cases and can be complicated to manage Skill Points, but it is the one with the greatest future potential, when additional characters specialized in DoTs arrive.
To recap, here are some examples of ideal formations for Kafka:
- Kafka
- Sampo / Luka / (other characters specializing in DoTs)
- Asta / Tyngyun / Bronya o Silver Wolf / Pela
- Natasha / Luocha / Bailu
or
- Kafka
- Sampo (or any other specialized DoT unit)
- Luka (or any other DoT specialist unit)
- Natasha / Luocha / Bailu
On our pages you will also find guides dedicated to other characters from Honkai: Star Rail, including Tingyun, Blade, Luocha, Sushang, March 7th and the Trailblazer (Fire).
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