Best Kafka build in Honkai Star Rail build: Relics, Light Cones, & team comp

Kafka is a powerful 5-star Lightning unit in Honkai Star Rail hailing from the Path of Nihility. Here is a guide for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail.

Kafka is a Nihility unit, but her damage scales off ATK stats and how much DoT (Damage over Time) she can stack on the enemy. The overall DoT stacking can lead to some really big numbers from her ultimate, which in turn out-damages the likes of Jing Yuan by a mile.

Kafka is definitely a top-tier unit, and she can even be referred to as a must-have. As such, if you did end up pulling for Kafka, a guide to build her, including the abilities, Light Cones, and Eidolons, have been discussed in this article.

Best Kafka build in Honkai Star Rail

Weapon	Relics	Ornament	Stats	Team Comp
Patience Is All You Need	Prisoner in Deep Confinement	Firmament Frontline Gamoth	Body: ATK% Feet: SPD Sphere: Lightning DMG Bonus Sphere: ATK% Substats: ATK%, SPD, Energy Regen	Kafka, Black Swan, Ruan Mei, Huohuo

Best Light Cones for Kafka

Patience Is All You Need

The best Light Cone for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail is Patience is All You Need. This Light Cone increases the DMG dealt by the user by 24%-40%. Apart from that, after every attack, the SPD of the user increases by 4.8%-8.0% up to 3 times.

Upon hitting an enemy not affected by Erode, you have a 100% base chance to inflict it. Every enemy affected by Erode is considered as Shocked, and they will receive Lightning DoT equal to 60%-100% of the wearer’s ATK at the start of each turn.

This Light Cone can only be obtained from the Event Warp whenever it is available. It cannot be obtained from any other source.

Reforged Remembrance

This Light Cone can be a good alternative for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail. Upon equipping it, the Effect Hit Rate of the wearer is increased by 40% and they gain a stack of Prophet upon damaging an enemy that is inflicted with Wind Shear, Burn, Shock, or Bleed.

Every Prophet stack increases the ATK of the wearer by 5% and ensures that DoT ignores 7.5% of the enemy’s DEF.

Best Relics for Kafka

Relic

The best Relic set for Kafka is Prisoner in Deep Confinement on account of its DoT effects. The set-piece bonus for this Relic set is provided below:

Set Piece	Set Bonus
2-pc	Increases ATK by 12%.
4-pc	For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of target’s DEF when dealing DMG to them. This effect is valid for a max of 3 DoTs.

Ornament

The best Ornament for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail is Firmament Frontline: Glamoth. The set bonus for this Relic set is as follows:

Set Piece	Set Bonus
2-pc	Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%. When the wearer’s SPD is equal to or higher than 135/160, the wearer deals 12%/18% more DMG.

Kafka Ascension and Trace materials

Ascension

The ascension materials for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail include Thief’s Instinct, Usurper’s Scheme, Conqueror’s Will, and Shape Shifter’s Lightning Staff. The exact number of materials she needs are as follows:

• Thief’s Instinct x15
• Usurper’s Scheme x15
• Conqueror’s Will x15
• Shape Shifter’s Lightning Staff x65

Traces

The materials you need for Kafka’s Traces in Honkai Star Rail are Obsidian of Dread and its upgrades, Thief’s Instinct and its upgrades, and Regret of Infinite Ochema. The exact number of materials she needs are as follows:

• Obsidian of Dread x15
• Thief’s Instinct x41
• Obsidian of Desolation x72
• Usurper’s Scheme x56
• Obsidian of Obsession x139
• Conqueror’s Will x58
• Regret of Infinite Ochema x12
• Tracks of Destiny x11

Best Team Comp for Kafka in Honkai Star Rail

Kafka is a DoT unit, and her damage depends on how many stacks of Shock, Bleed, or other status effects are present on the enemy. Therefore, the best partners for Kafka in the game are Black Swan, Ruan Mei, and Huohuo.

In this team, Black Swan inflicts status effects on the enemies, while Huohuo heals the team, and Ruan Mei acts as the support. It goes without saying that Kafka also inflicts status effects on enemies.

Alternatively, you can also replace Black Swan with Luka or Guinaifen for a more free-to-play friendly option

However, there is a second team where Kafka can function as the Hypercarry. This team includes Silver Wolf, Tingyun, Kafka, and Huohuo. Silver Wolf can reduce the DEF of enemies and also apply debuffs. Tingyun functions marvelously as her ATK boosts enhance Kafka’s DMG by a lot.

Lastly, Huohuo will act as the primary healer in the team.

Honkai Star Rail: Kafka abilities

Active Skill	Effect
Basic Attack: Midnight Tumult	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to a single enemy.
Skill: Caressing Moonlight	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 80% of Kafka’s ATK to a target enemy and Lightning DMG equal to 30% of Kafka’s ATK to enemies adjacent to it. If the target enemy is currently receiving DoT, all DoTs currently placed on that enemy immediately produce DMG equal to 80% of their original DMG.
Ultimate: Twilight Trill	Deals Lightning DMG equal to 48% of Kafka’s ATK to all enemies, with a 100% base chance for enemies hit to become Shocked and immediately take DMG from their current Shock state equal to 80% of its original DMG. Shock lasts for 2 turn(s). While Shocked, enemies receive Lightning DoT equal to 75% of Kafka’s ATK at the beginning of each turn.

Talent	Effect
Gentle but Cruel	After an ally of Kafka’s uses Basic ATK on an enemy, Kafka immediately launches 1 follow-up attack and deals Lightning DMG equal to 60% of her ATK to that enemy, with a base chance of 100% of increasing the DoT inflicted by 15% for 2 turns. This effect can only be triggered 1 time per turn.

Technique	Effect
Mercy is not Forgiveness	Immediately attacks the enemy. After entering battle, deals Lightning DMG equal to 50% of Kafka’s ATK to all enemies. In addition, all enemies have a 100% base chance to become Shocked for 3 turn(s).

Traces	Effect
Torture	When the Ultimate is used, enemies targets will now receive DMG immediately from all DoT sources instead of just receiving DMG immediately from the currently applied Shock.
Plunder	If an enemy is defeated while Shocked, Kafka additionally regenerates 5 Energy.
Thorns	The base chance for target enemies to get Shocked by the Ultimate, the Technique, or the Talent-triggered follow-up attack increases by 30%.

Honkai Star Rail: Kafka Eidolons

• Level 1 – Da Capo: When the Talent triggers a follow-up attack, there is a 100% base-chance to increase the DoT received by the target by 30% for 2 turn(s).
• Level 2 – Fortississimo: When Kafka is on the field, DoT dealt by all allies is increased by 25%.
• Level 3 – Capriccio: Skill Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Basic ATK Lv. +1, up to a maximum of Lv.10. 
• Level 4 – Recitativo: When an enemy target takes DMG from the Shock status inflicted by Kafka, she additionally regenerates 2 Energy.
• Level 5 – Doloroso: Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15.
• Level 6 – Leggiero: The Shock inflicted on the enemy by the Ultimate, the Technique, or the Talent-triggered follow-up attack has a DMG-multiplier increase of 156% and lasts for 1 turn(s) longer.

Kafka pros and cons

The pros and cons of Kafka in Honkai Star Rail are:

Pros	Cons
Best DoT DPS	Doesn’t have too many good teams
Easy to build
Massive damage potential

Kafka trailer in Honkai Star Rail

On August 8, 2023, HoYoverse released an official trailer for Kafka on their YouTube account. If you missed it, then please take a look at it from the link provided below.

If you are looking to know more about Honkai Star Rail characters, check out our guides on Boothill and Fu Xuan. For more on the game in general, check out our guides on banners, codes, and the Version 2.3 update.