When you take your initial steps into the enthralling world of Honkai Star Rail, Kafka is the first one to meet you – and she definitely makes an impact. This powerful, five-star lightning character aligns with the path of the Nihility, making her an amazing sub-DPS capable of debuffing enemies. So let’s dive into our best Honkai Star Rail Kafka build, detailing her best artifacts, light cones, and more.
To get familiar with the rest of the faces you can meet aboard the Astral Express, head over to our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail characters guides. We’ve also got more individual build guides just like this one, including Honkai Star Rail’s Luka, Honkai Star Rail’s Imbibitor Lunae, and Honkai Star Rail’s Blade.
Here’s everything in our best Honkai Star Rail Kafka build:
What’s the best Honkai Star Rail Kafka build?
Kafka is a five-star lightning character who treads the path of the Nihility, meaning she excels at debuffing her enemies and reducing their overall powers. She specializes in AoE attacks that can inflict enemies with shock, which sees them take lightning damage each turn. As such, Kafka makes for a strong sub-DPS who can weaken enemies so her main DPS can swoop in and finish them off.
Due to her ability to apply great shock damage over time and her attack-scaling skills, we recommend aiming for relics that increase both her damage and her lightning damage boost. We also recommend teaming her up with other characters who inflict DoT, like Honkai Star Rail’s Sampo or Honkai Star Rail’s Jing Yuan, to make the most of her skill.
What’s the best light cone for Kafka?
Kafka’s signature light cone is Patience Is All You Need which increases the duration and attack of DoT. Of the ones currently available in the game, the best light cone for Kafka is In the Name of the World, which boosts the damage she deals to enemies affected by a DoT, while also increasing her effect hit rate and attack after she uses her skill.
Eye of the Prey is a great four-star option as it also boosts her effect hit rate and the damage she deals with her DoT. Alternatively, feel free to try out any light cones that align with the path of the Nihility.
| Light cone | Effect | How to obtain |
| Patience Is All You Need | Kafka deals 16% more damage to enemies inflicted with DoT. For every attack, increases Kafka’s speed by 4%, up to five times. Meanwhile, enemies receiving attacks take 20% more DoT for one turn | Brilliant Fixation gacha |
| In the Name of the World | Increases Kafka’s damage to debuffed enemies by 24%. When Kafka uses her skill, the effect hit rate for this attack increases by 18%, and attack increases by 24% | Gacha or from the Starlight Exchange store |
| Eyes of the Prey | Increases Kafka’s effect hit rate by 20% and increases DoT by 24% | Gacha |
What are the best relics for Kafka?
You can equip Kafka with a total of six relics – four from the standard sets, and two from the Simulated Universe sets. For the standard sets, Band of Sizzling Thunder is a good option for boosting her lightning damage.
As for the Simulated Universe sets, we recommend Space Sealing Station for its speed and attack boost, or Talia: Kingdom of Banditry, which boosts her break effect.
| Relic | Effect | How to obtain |
| Band of Sizzling Thunder | Two equipped: increases lightning damage by 10% Four equipped: increases Kafka’s attack by 20% for one turn after she uses her skill |
Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Holy Hymn in the Xianzhou Luofu’s Cloudford |
| Musketeer of Wild Wheat | Two equipped: increases attack by 12% Four equipped: increases Kafka’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 |
Planar Ornaments
| Relic | Effect | How to obtain |
| Space Sealing Station | Two equipped: increases Kafka’s attack by 12%. When Kafka’s speed reaches 120 or higher, her attack increases by another 12% | Immersion Reward devices in World 3 of the Simulated Universe |
| Talia: Kingdom of Banditry | Two equipped: increases Kafka’s break effect by 16%. When Kafka’s speed reached 145 or higher, her break effect increases by an extra 20% | Immersion Reward devices in World 4 of the Simulated Universe |
Relic stat recommendations
When you’re picking relics for Kafka, we recommend that you prioritize the following stats.
Main stats:
- Feet: speed or attack%
- Planar sphere: lightning damage bonus
- Body: attack%
- Link rope: attack%
Sub-stats:
- Lightning damage bonus
- Effect hit rate
- Attack%
- Crit rate/damage
What are Honkai Star Rail Kafka’s abilities?
Here are all of Kafka’s attacks and abilities. Generally, we recommend using her skill and ultimate as frequently as possible, especially in multi-target situations. It’s also a good idea to apply any other DoT through her allies before you use her skill to make the most of that secondary effect.
Active:
| Skill | Effect |
| Basic attack: Midnight Tumult | Deal 50% of Kafka’s attack as lightning damage to your target enemy |
| Skill: Caressing Moonlight | Deal 70% of Kafka’s attack as lightning damage to a target enemy, and 25% of Kafka’s attack as lightning damage to enemies adjacent to the target. If the target enemy already has a DoT, immediately deal damage equal to 100% of all current DoT effects the enemy has |
| Ultimate: Twilight Trill | Deal 36% of Kafka’s attack as lightning damage to all enemies. There’s a 100% base chance for the enemies you hit to be shocked and immediately take damage equal to 80% of the received damage. Shock lasts for three turns. When shocked, enemies receive 60% of Kafka’s attack as lightning DoT at the start of their turn |
Passive:
| Skill | Effect |
| Talent: Gentle but Cruel | After an ally uses a basic attack on a shocked enemy, Kafka immediately deals 75% of her attack as lightning damage to that enemy. This effect can only be triggered once per turn |
Technique:
| Skill | Effect |
| Mercy is Not Forgiveness | Kafka immediately attacks the enemy, and deals 50% of her attack as lightning damage to a random enemy upon entering battle. Additionally, all enemies have a 100% base chance to be shocked for three turns. While shocked, enemies take 50% of Kafka’s attack as lightning DoT at the start of each turn |
Traces:
| Trace | Effect |
| Thorns | When Kafka uses her basic attack on a shocked enemy, the shocked state immediately deals damage equal to 40% of the original damage received |
| Plunder | If you defeat an enemy affected by shock, Kafka regenerates ten energy |
| Fear | Shocked enemies deal 20% less damage to Kafka |
What are Honkai Star Rail Kafka’s eidolons?
Honkai Star Rail eidolons are similar to Genshin Impact’s constellations and require you to obtain multiple copies of the same character to activate them. Here are all of Kafka’s eidolons.
| Eidolon | Effect |
| E1: Recitativo | When an enemy hits Kafka there’s a 100% base chance of her inflicting shock on them. This shock state has the same effect as the one applied by Kafka’s ultimate |
| E2: Leggiero | Kafka’s talent can trigger twice each turn |
| E3: Fantasia | Increase the level of Kafka’s ultimate by two (max level 15), and her basic attack by one (maximum level ten) |
| E4: Da Capo | When you use Kafka’s ultimate, instead of enemies immediately receiving damage from the shock state, they immediately receive damage from all current DoT sources |
| E5: Doloroso | Increases the level of Kafka’s skill and talent by two (up to a maximum level of 15) |
| E6: Fortississimo | When you trigger Kafka’s talent for the first time each battle, its damage dealt increases by 120% and immediately deals shock damage equal to 100% of the original DoT multiplier |
What are Honkai Star Rail Kafka’s ascension materials?
You can level Kafka all the way up to 80 but, in addition to the EXP logs, you also need a set of materials to ascend her at certain intervals. Here are all of the materials you need to fully ascend her to max level.
| Required level | Credits | Ascension materials |
| 20 | 4k | Five thief’s instinct |
| 30 | 8k | Ten thief’s instinct |
| 40 | 16k | Six usurper’s scheme, three shape shifter’s lightning staff |
| 50 | 40k | Nine usurper’s scheme, seven shape shifter’s lightning staff |
| 60 | 80k | Six conqueror’s will, 20 shape shifter’s lightning staff |
| 70 | 160k | Nine conqueror’s will, 35 shape shifter’s lightning staff |
Here’s where to get each of Kafka’s ascension materials:
- Thief’s instinct / usurper’s scheme / conqueror’s will – drops from voidranger enemies aboard the Herta Space Station, Honkai Star Rail Simulated Universe and assignment rewards, or purchase from the Embers Exchange and Herta Space Station world stores
- Shape shifter’s lightning staff – drops from the Honkai Star Rail stagnant shadow in the Xianzhou Luofu’s Stargazer Navalia
What are Kafka’s trace materials?
You can upgrade Kafka’s skills and abilities and unlock special passives by leveling up her traces, but you need certain materials in order to do this.
Here are all of Honkai Star Rail Kafka’s trace materials:
- 41 thief’s instinct, 56 usurper’s scheme, 58 conqueror’s will
- Obtain from voidranger enemies enemies in Herta Space Station or the simulated universe, assignment rewards, the embers exchange store, the Herta Space Station world shop, or the golden calyxes in Jarilo-VI
- 15 obsidian of dread, 72 obsidian of desolation, and 139 obsidian of obsession
- Obtain from the crimson calyx in Jarilo-VI’s Great Mine, the ember’s exchange store, or from the Herta Space Station and Jarilo-VI world shops
- 12 regret of infinite ochema
- Obtain from the Regret of Infinite Ochema boss in the Scalegorge Waterscape Echo of War located in the Xianzhou Luofu
- 11 tracks of destiny
- Three million credits
And that’s everything we’ve got on Honkai Star Rail’s Kafka. If you want to keep up with Hoyoverse’s other hit RPG, check out our Genshin Impact tier list and Genshin Impact codes, as well as build guides for characters like Genshin Impact’s Xingqiu, Genshin Impact’s Chongyun, and Genshin Impact’s Keqing.