Putting together the best Honkai Star Rail Acheron build seems fairly straightforward, thanks to the Emanator’s unique spin on the path of Nihility. However, the way Acheron’s kit works means she needs no effect hit rate, and that limits the choices of viable Light Cones rather a lot. Acheron might’ve been on the scene for a while now, but HoYoverse hasn’t added many new – and no free – Light Cones that match her abilities.
Still, a good Relic set and the right teammates go a long way toward getting the most from the not-quite-Galaxy Ranger. As long as you have at least one additional Nihility character who inflicts debuffs on enemies, your Acheron’s in a solid position to deal heavy damage.
Our Honkai Star Rail Acheron build guide breaks down the best Light Cones and Relics for her, and we put together some Acheron team recommendations as well. If you’re wondering what you need to level her up, keep our Acheron materials list handy.
Honkai Star Rail Acheron build
Honkai Star Rail: Acheron Light Cones
Acheron’s signature Cone is Along the Passing Shore, which increases her crit damage by 24 percent outright. It also applies the Mirage Fizzle affect to foes she attacks, which lasts for one turn, increases the damage that target takes by 24 percent, and raises how much damage Acheron’s ultimate causes by 24 percent. It’s a strong set of buffs, though you can replicate some of them with characters such as Pela, who reduce enemy defenses, and good crit damage rolls on your Relics.
No other 5-star Light Cones perfectly match Acheron’s kit, though you can use Welt’s In The Name of the World to good effect. It raises the user’s damage against enemies with debuffs by 20 percent and increases skill damage by 24 percent. Acheron’s skill is primarily useful for applying Crimson Knot, though extra damage never hurts..
Kafka’s Patience is All You Need also gives Acheron some useful buffs. It boosts speed by 4.8 percent when the user attacks, an effect that stacks three times, and it applies a status that inflicts lightning damage on foes equal to 60 percent of the user’s attack. The user also gets a 24 percent damage buff.
Boundless Choreo, which often runs on Acheron’s Light Cone banner, is the closest to Acheron’s signature. It increases the user’s crit rate by eight percent and lets the user deal 24 percent more crit damage to enemies with reduced defense. That leaves the burden of raising Acheron’s attack and speed to your Relics, and it means you should either have Pela or Black Swan – or both – on your Acheron teams at all times or have someone who’s using Resolution Shines as Pearls of Sweat to reduce enemy defense.
Good Night and Sleep Well is her best 4-star choice, as it lets the user deal 12 percent more damage to foes with debuffs, and the effect stacks three times. Acheron’s enemies will nearly always have debuffs on them, so that buff will be active more often than not.
The free It’s Showtime also works, albeit with slightly less efficacy. It gives the user a Trick stack when they inflict debuffs, and each stack increases their damage dealt by six percent, up to 18 percent total. It takes longer to reach the max, since the wearer has to apply the debuff themselves, but it’s still a good one to start with if you don’t have Good Night and Sleep Well.
Honkai Star Rail: Acheron Relics
Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters is Acheron’s best Relic set.
- Two-piece effect: Increases damage dealt to enemies with a debuff by 12 percent
- Four-piece effect: Increases crit rate by four percent, and lets the user deal eight/12 percent additional crit damage to enemies with two or three debuffs. Once the wearer inflicts a debuff, the Relic’s buffs increase by 100 percent for one turn
Acheron inflicts a debuff by applying Crimson Knot, and since she needs to have at least one other Nihility character on her team, you’ll almost always have the Relic set’s full buff active. Using it effectively does require good timing, though. Ideally, you’d want to use Acheron’s ultimate after she inflicts Crimson Knot and triggers that extra 100 percent increase.
The 2.6 Relic set Scholar Lost in Erudition is also useful.
- Two-piece effect: Increases crit rate by eight percent
- Four-piece effect: Skill and ultimate deal 20 percent more damage. Skill deals 25 percent damage more after the equipping character uses their ultimate
Honkai Star Rail: Acheron Ornaments
Your best bet for Acheron’s Ornament set is Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm, a set that becomes available in Simulated Universe World 9. It raises the user’s attack by 12 percent and, if at least one other party member is on the same path, the equipping character gets a 12 percent crit rate buff as well.
World 9 takes some time to unlock. If you don’t have access to it yet, you could try for Inert Salsotto. It gives the equipping character an eight percent crit rate buff, and when their crit rate exceeds 50 percent, their ultimate deals 15 percent more damage.
Honkai Star Rail: Acheron stats
Acheron’s stat needs depend on who she’s in a party with and what Relics you have. For example, you can focus less on speed and crit damage if you’re using Sparkle, while Aventurine’s ultimate adds a debuff that makes enemies take more crit damage. The accepted norm for Acheron is to get 80 percent crit rate, though you can also achieve some of that in battle thanks to Relic effects.
In general, though, here’s what to aim for.
- Body: Crit rate or crit damage, depending on your needs
- Feet: Attack
- Sphere: Attack or lightning damage
- Rope: Attack
Crit rate and crit damage are the most useful substats if you can get them, and if you’re running attack shoes without Sparkle or Bronya on the team, getting speed as a substat is a good idea as well.
Honkai Star Rail: Acheron teams
Acheron’s A4 bonus Trace and need for debuffs makes it essential to have at least one other Nihility character on your team. The bonus Trace increases basic, skill, and ultimate damage by 116/160 percent of its original value if you have one or two other Nihility characters with Acheron. Black Swan was Acheron’s ideal partner at the start of the 2.X patches, though Jiaoqiou has since taken that spot thanks to his unique blend of support abilities. That said, Black Swan is still an excellent choice for Acheron teams, especially if you’re running a Light Cone that requires defense reduction to work.
Some possible team combinations are:
Black Swan and Jiaoqiu debuff enemies and make them take more damage. Silver Wolf inflicts defense and speed reduction debuffs without using skill points, which makes her a strong choice for SP-needy teams, while Pela can shred enemy defenses with her skill. Aventurine’s ultimate makes foes take more crit damage, and Fu Xuan’s Matrix of Prescience boosts the party’s crit rate.
Some teams ditch the second Nihility character for a support, such as Sparkle, who can advance Acheron’s turn, increase her crit damage, and give the party additional skill points.
Check out our Honkai Star Rail tier list to see how these team options stack up and who else might be a good pick, and head over to our Star Rail codes page for some freebies to help with your next pull.