A good Honkai Star Rail Archer build is like Archer himself – free. You can opt for his signature Light Cone, sure, but you don’t have to. One of HSR’s free Light Cones works very well with him, as does the 3.X battle pass Light Cone. Things get a bit tricker with Archer’s best teams, though, and without a certain support unit, you’ll have to manage your skill rotations more tightly than usual.
Our HSR Archer build breaks down his best Light Cones and Relics, with some Archer team recommendations thrown in as well.
Honkai Star Rail Archer build
Honkai Star Rail Archer Light Cones
Archer’s signature Light Cone is The Hell Where Ideals Burn, though unlike some signatures, it’s not all that flashy. It raises the wearer’s crit rate by 12 percent and, if the party’s maximum skill point capacity is six or higher, the wearer gets a 40 percent attack buff after they use their skill. Archer’s first major passive Trace raises the skill point max by two, so once you unlock this, you’ll always have that buff after using his skill. It’s a useful one, since Archer can attack using his skill multiple times consecutively.
However, you can also use the free Light Cone Cruising in the Stellar Sea, which comes from Herta’s store. This one raises the wearer’s crit rate by eight/16 percent – and since it’s free, you can get the items necessary to reach the max buff over time without spending money – and doubles that buff if the target enemy has less than 50 percent of their HP left. When the wearer defeats an enemy, their attack increases by 20/40 percent for two turns. The downside is that you have to consistently defeat enemies for that attack buff, which is tough to do in endgame modes against elite foes.
Another useful choice is the new 3.X battle pass Light Cone, See You At The End. This one raises the wearer’s crit damage by 24/40 percent and, more importantly, buffs skill and follow-up damage by 24/40 percent as well. There’s also Final Victor, another free option. It raises attack by 12/20 percent and grants a Good Fortune stack when the wearer lands a critical hit. You can hold up to four, and each stack increases crit damage by eight/12 percent. There’s a bit of a hiccup in that the effect just lasts for one turn, which means Archer won’t always have a full plate of Good Fortune when he’s using his skill. Still, it’s free and useful.
Finally is Swordplay, a Light Cone that’s been around since the beginning and one that suits Archer better than some might realize under the right circumstances. Swordplay increases damage dealt to the same target by eight/12 percent, an effect that stacks five times and dispels after Archer attacks a different target, after which point you have to start building damage stacks again. Archer’s a single-target guy, so he’ll only ever be attacking the same target until it’s time to find a new one. His follow-up is where things might get tricky, though. You’ll want to make sure allies are attacking Archer’s foe as well so he won’t attack a different enemy.
Honkai Star Rail Archer Relics
Archer has a few Relic options to choose from. If you’re facing an enemy with quantum weakness, Genius of Brilliant Stars is your best choice.
- Two-piece effect: Increases quantum damage by 10 percent
- Four-piece effect: Wearer ignores 10 percent of the enemy’s defense when dealing damage. Ignores a further 10 percent of the enemy’s defense if they have quantum weakness
Wavestrider Captain is a decent second choice, especially if you’re trying to improve Archer’s crit damage.
- Two-piece effect: Increases crit damage by 16 percent
- Four-piece effect: When an ally targets the wearer, the wearer gains a stack of Help. At two stacks, the user consumes all Help after casting their ultimate and gains a 48 percent attack buff for one turn.
The set, meant for Phainon, doesn’t factor in buff uptime or the practicalities of needing that many buffs for him, and Archer isn’t an ult-focused unit. It’s still a good choice – just a bit more finicky than Brilliant Stars.
If you need attack buffs, you could combine two pieces of Musketeer and Prisoner for a 24 percent buff, or if you need crit rate, there’s always Castorice’s Poet of Mourning Collapse. Archer can’t get the full effect, but he’ll still get 10 percent extra quantum damage and 20 percent extra crit rate.
Finally is Scholar Lost in Erudition, a more generally useful set for Archer without having anything specifically useful for him.
- Two-piece effect: Increases crit rate by eight percent
- Four-piece effect: Increases skill and ultimate damage by 20 percent. The next instance of the wearer’s skill after casting an ultimate will deal 25 percent more damage
Honkai Star Rail Archer Ornaments
There’s not really a set designed for Archer, though he can make use of a few different pieces. Herta’s Space-Sealing Station gives him a 24 percent attack buff when his speed hits 120 or higher, a point which isn’t too hard to reach. Rutilant Arena increases crit rate by eight percent, and when it hits 70 percent or higher, his basic attack and skill deal 20 percent more damage.
There’s also Wondrous BananAmusement Park for 16 percent extra crit damage, even though he can’t use the set’s second buff, and Izumo Gensei if you’re running an unorthodox team with a second hunt character. Izume Gensei raises attack by 12 percent and, if another character following the wearer’s path is on the team, raises crit rate by 12 percent as well.
Honkai Star Rail Archer stats
The way Archer’s kit works means that he doesn’t have stupendously demanding stat requirements. His skill increases its damage, and his third passive Trace grants him 120 percent crit damage for one turn if an ally recovers a skill point and there are more than four skill points. That won’t always happen, depending on your skill rotation, but it’s still feasible even without Sparkle.
So, what you want to aim for is the Hunt character’s typical attack stat of 3,000 or higher, crit rate as close to 100 percent as you can get it, and crit damage of 150 percent or higher.
- Body: Crit rate (or crit damage, if you’re struggling to activate his third major passive Trace)
- Feet: Attack (speed doesn’t matter for Archer)
- Orb: Attack or quantum damage
- Rope: Attack
Honkai Star Rail Archer teams
Archer’s potential teams are a mix of ideal premium pairings and flexible everything else. Sparkle’s crit damage buffs and skill point maniuplation make her a useful partner, though you can certainly still get by without her.
Other helpful teammates include:
- Sunday
- Bronya
- Cipher, Silver Wolf, or Pela for defense reduction
- Ruan Mei for toughness reduction and passive speed boosts
- Tingyun for damage buffs
- Hanya for skill point recovery and attack buffs
- March 7th Hunt for crit damage buffs
- Robin for flat damage buff and increased follow-up damage (not ideal, but it works)
- Remembrance Trailblazer for crit damage buffs
Poor Hanya hasn’t had much going for her in a long time, but she fits quite well in Archer parties thanks to her Burden effect. Burden lets allies recover one skill point after attacking the affected enemy twice, and it increases how much damage they take. Her ultimate can also buff a single target’s attack.
What tier is Archer in HSR?
Archer is definitely top-of-the-class in our HSR tier list. He’s free, easy to build, and can work well with a wide variety of premium or free characters. There’s no reason not to at least try him while he’s free, and he doesn’t benefit terribly much from his extra Eidolons.
Head over to our Star Rail codes page for some freebies to help with your next pulls, whether you’re after Phainon or saving for a future banner.