Alright, crew, it’s time to introduce yourselves to Honkai Star Rail’s Himeko. This fire-wielding redhead is the total package – a super-intelligent scientist, an adventurous trailblazer, and a formidable force on the battlefield. In this guide we explain exactly how to optimize her for your comp, in order to let her shine.
If you want to get familiar with the rest of the Astral Express family, check out our Honkai Star Rail Dan Heng and Honkai Star Rail March 7th guides. We’ve also got a Honkai Star Rail tier list to help you on your adventure into the stars.
Right, let’s look at the best build for Honkai Star Rail’s Himeko.
What’s the best Honkai Star Rail Himeko build?
| Best light cone | Night on the Milky Way |
| Light cone substitutes | The Seriousness of Breakfast, Before Dawn |
| Best relic set | Firesmith of Lava Forging |
| Main stats | Body – Crit rate/damage Feet – Speed Link rope – Attack Planar sphere – Fire damage bonus |
| Sub stats | Speed, break effect, energy regeneration |
Himeko is a powerful damage dealer, capable of taking down large groups of enemies with her potent AoE and blast attacks, follow-up move, and strong burn DoT. She treads the path of the Erudition, placing her as a multi-target damage dealer – and oh, boy, does she excel in that particular department.
We recommend building her with plenty of fire damage boost and attack stats wherever possible. If you happen to get her five-star light cone off the banners, then this is a great option, if not there are some very good alternatives – just make sure you choose one that matches her path.
How do I use Honkai Star Rail’s Himeko?
Himeko is excellent in multi-target situations like calyx’s – she’ll make farming them an absolute breeze with her ultimate and follow-up moves. However, she is not recommended for big single-target foes.
She works well with other fire characters such as Honkai Star Rail’s Asta and Honkai Star Rail’s Hook, as initiating battles with her technique increases the fire damage taken by enemies, and pairing her up with a buffer like Asta helps increase her already high attack.
What are the best light cones for Himeko?
The five-star light cone Night on the Milky Way is a perfect fit for Himeko’s kit, increasing her attack based on how many enemies are on the battlefield and whether they are inflicted with break. However, as it’s a five-star light cone only obtainable through gacha pulls, you need a strike of luck to get it.
If you’re looking for something to fill the slot in the meantime, feel free to go with any light cone that increases Himeko’s attack – just be sure to pick one that’s aligned with the path of the Erudition in order to activate its skill.
| Light cone | Effect | How to obtain |
| Night on the Milky Way (five-star) | Increases Himeko’s attack by 8% for every enemy on the battlefield, up to five times. Also increases Himeko’s damage by 24% for one turn when she inflicts an enemy with break. | Standard banner |
| Before Dawn (five-star) | Increases Himeko’s crit damage by 36%. Her skill and ultimate damage also increases by 18%. After she uses a skill or ultimate, she gains Somus Corpus. When she triggers a follow-up attack, this is consumed, and follow-up damage increases by 48%. | Light cone banner (alongside Jing Yuan) |
| The Seriousness of Breakfast (four-star) | Increases Himeko’s damage by 12%. Her attack increases a further 4% for every enemy she defeats. | Any banner |
| Sagacity (three-star) | Increases Himeko’s attack by 24% when she unleashes her ultimate. | Any banner |
What are the best relics for Himeko?
As most of Himeko’s impact hinges on her fire damage, we recommend the Firesmith of Lava Forge relic set. When it comes to sub-stats, aim for more, you guessed it, fire damage and attack. Then speed and energy recharge boost.
To pack an even stronger punch, we recommend equipping Himeko with the Space Sealing Station planar ornaments, as this set buffs her attack.
| Relic | Effect | How to obtain |
| Firesmith of Lava Forging | Two equipped: increases fire damage by 10% Four equipped: increases Himeko’s skill damage by 12%. After unleashing an ultimate, her next attack deals an additional 12% fire damage |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Conflagration in The Xianzhou Luofu’s Stargazer Navalia |
| Musketeer of Wild Wheat | Two equipped: increases attack by 12% Four equipped: increases Himeko’s speed by 6% and her basic attack damage by 10% |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Drifting in Jarilo-VI’s Corridor of Fading Echoes |
| Thief of Shooting Meteor | Two equipped: increases break effect by 16% Four equipped: increases Himeko’s break effect by 16%. Himeko regenerates three energy when she inflicts weakness break on an enemy |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Jabbing Punch in Jarilo-VI’s Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone |
| The Ashblazing Grand Duke | Two equipped: Increases follow-up damage by 20% Four equipped: When Himeko uses a follow-up attack against an enemy, it increases her attack by 6% each time the follow-up deals damage. This can stack a maximum of eight times and lasts for three turns |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Darkness in Fyxestroll Gardens |
| Prisoner in Deep Confinement | Two equipped: Increases attack by 12% Four equipped: For every DoT the target enemy has, Himeko ignores 6% of their defense when dealing damage. This effect is valid for up to three different DoT states |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Darkness in Fyxestroll Gardens |
Planar ornaments
| Relic | Effect | How to obtain |
| Space Sealing Station | Two equipped: Increases Himeko’s attack by 12%. When Himeko’s speed reaches 120 or higher, her attack increases by another 12% | Immersion Reward Devices in World 3 of the Simulated Universe |
| Inert Salsotto | Two equipped: Increases Himeko’s crit rate by 8%. When her current crit rate reaches 50% or higher, her ultimate and follow-up attack damage increase by 15%. | Immersion Reward Devices in World 6 of the Simulated Universe |
Relic stat recommendations
Main stats:
- Body: Crit rate/crit damage, effect hit rate
- Feet: Speed
- Link rope: Attack, energy regeneration
- Planar sphere: Fire damage increase
Sub-stats:
- Crit damage, crit rate
- Attack
- Break effect
- Energy restoration
- Speed
What are the best Honkai Star Rail Himeko team comps?
Himeko obviously excels in a fire-based team, making good use of Asta’s kit and her own follow-up moves. If you have a Topaz, the two of them can deal some serious fire and follow-up damage together.
| First character slot | Second character slot | Third character slot | Fourth character slot |
 Himeko |
 Asta |
 Trailblazer (fire) |
 Natasha |
| Himeko |
Asta |
 Topaz |
 Luocha |
| Himeko |
Asta |
 Fu Xuan |
 Silver Wolf |
What are Himeko’s abilities?
Here’s what the fiery Himeko is capable of in battle and what each talent specifically does.
Active skills:
| Skill | Effect |
| Basic attack: Sawblade Tuning (single attack) | Deal 50% of Himeko’s attack as fire damage to a target enemy |
| Skill: Molten Detonation (blast) | Deal 100% of Himeko’s attack as fire damage to a target enemy and 40% of her attack as fire damage to adjacent enemies |
| Ultimate: Heavenly Flare (AoE) | Deal 132% of Himeko’s attack as fire damage to all enemies. Himeko restores an additional ten energy for each enemy she defeats |
Passive skill:
| Skill | Effect |
| Talent: Victory Rush | If an enemy’s weakness breaks, Himeko gains a stack of charge (full charge is three stacks). When Himeko is fully charged after an ally attacks, she deals 68% of her attack as fire damage to all enemies and consumes all charge stacks. She gains one stack of charge at the start of battle. |
Technique:
| Skill | Effect |
| Incomplete Combustion (impair) | After using her technique, a satellite beam creates a burning zone that lasts 15 seconds. Upon entering battle in a burning zone, there’s a 100% base chance to increase fire damage taken by target enemies by 10% for two turns. |
Traces:
| Trace | Effect |
| Starfire (unlocked at ascension two) | Himeko’s basic attack has an 80% chance to burn enemies. Enemies then take fire damage over time equalling 30% of Himeko’s attack damage |
| Magma (unlocked at ascension four) | Himeko’s skill deals 20% more damage to enemies inflicted with burn |
| Benchmark (unlocked at ascension six) | Increases Himeko’s crit rate by 15% if her HP is 80% or higher |
What are Himeko’s eidolons?
In Honkai Star Rail, eidolons are similar to Genshin Impact’s constellations. They’re unique buffs and upgrades that you can unlock when you pull more than one copy of a character. Here are all of Himeko’s eidolons.
| Eidolon | Effect |
| Level one: Childhood | After Himeko triggers ‘Victory Rush’, her speed increases by 20% for two turns |
| Level two: Convergence | Deal 15% more damage to enemies below or equal to 50% |
| Level three: Poised | Increases the level of Himeko’s ultimate by three, to a maximum of level 15, and the level of her basic attack by one, up to a maximum of level ten |
| Level four: Dedication | When her skill breaks an enemy’s weakness, Himeko gains one additional stack of charge |
| Level five: Aspiration | Increases the level of Himeko’s skill by three, to a maximum of level 15, and the level of her basic attack by one, up to a maximum of level ten |
| Level six: Trailblaze! | Himeko’s ultimate deals damage two additional times, each to a random enemy, both times dealing 40% of the original damage |
What are Himeko’s ascension materials?
To get Himeko leveled up all the way you need a lot of the core items and a stack of endotherm chitins. The chitins drop as a reward in the Honkai Star Rail stagnant shadow domain, located in the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone on Jarilo-VI.
| Required level | Credits | Materials |
| 20 | 3,200 | Five extinguished cores |
| 30 | 6,400 | Ten extinguished cores |
| 40 | 12,800 | Three endotherm chitin and six glimmering cores |
| 50 | 32,000 | Seven endotherm chitin and nine glimmering cores |
| 60 | 64,000 | 20 endotherm chitin and six squirming cores |
| 70 | 128,000 | 35 endotherm chitin and nine squirming cores |
What are Himeko’s trace materials?
If you want to level up Himeko’s talents, you’ll need the following items. These are all found in the first couple of areas in the game, so if you’re a new player, you won’t miss out.
- 41 extinguished cores, 56 glimmering cores, and 58 squirming cores
- Obtain from flamespawn enemies, purchase from the Embers Exchange, and the Herta Space Station world shop
- 15 keys of inspiration, 72 keys of knowledge, and 139 keys of wisdom
- Obtain from the Bud of Erudition calyx, purchase from the Embers Exchange store, purchase from Herta’s Space Station world shop, and the Jarilo-VI world shop
- 12 Destroyer’s Final Roads
- Obtain from the Doomsday Beast weekly boss located on the Herta Space Station
- 11 tracks of destiny
- Obtain from events, as rewards in the Simulated Universe, from the Embers exchange, and Nameless Honor (battlepass) rewards
- 3,000,000 credits
Skill trace priority:
- Ultimate > talent > skill > basic attack
Major trace priority:
- Starfire > Magma > Benchmark
That’s all we’ve got on Honkai Star Rail’s Himeko. Now head over to our list of the best games like Genshin Impact to set out on a fresh adventure today, or take a look at our Genshin Impact codes page and Genshin Impact tier list.