Best Kafka Build, Teams and Light Cones in Honkai: Star Rail

Kafka is one of the most popular characters in Honkai: Star Rail. She managed to grasp various players’ hearts (and wallets) from the moment she appeared in the very first minutes of the game with her powerful attitude and presence. And a few months after the game’s release, she’s finally a playable character too!

Serving as a Lightning Nihility 5-star character, Kafka is quite unique when it comes to building and team comps. And I mean it in a good way considering how versatile this woman can be. Here’s everything you need to know for building your ultimate Kafka in the game, from her best Light Cone choices to the most fitting teammates.

Kafka Overview, Role, and Traces in Honkai: Star Rail

Much like some of the previous banner characters, Kafka’s best played as a main DPS. But instead of acting like your average damage dealer such as Jing Yuan and Blade, she’s more focused on her Damage Over Time (DoT). Her kit is focused on applying the Shock debuff to her targets while also activating them in her own turn.

She always leaves her mark on enemies, but she also can interact with other types of DoTs. So building a team focused on DoT dealers is essential to maximize her potential. You can try to pull off a good Critical DPS build, but it takes a lot more investment. Using these resources on a character like Jing Yuan would probably give you a better result.

Related: All Ascension and Trace Materials for Kafka in Honkai: Star Rail

Her priority is Skill > Ultimate > Talent > Basic, and you should level them as quickly as possible to maximize her potential. Eidolons are definitely not necessary but are a significant boost for her overall performance if you have the extra tickets to spare.

Best Relics for Kafka

Kafka’s preferred set is the 4-piece Band of Sizzling Thunder set. It increases her attack after using her skill, which will increase her DoT damage as a result. You can also go with 2-piece Sizzling Thunder + 2-piece Musketteer of Wild Wheat for an unconditional Atk% increase if you have better substats on those.

For Ornaments, her best option is definitely the Space Sealing Station. You can reliably activate its secondary effect with Speed boots alone, and this is another direct damage increase to her various DoTs.

DoT damage is only increased by Attack% stats, Elemental DMG bonus, and other direct DMG increases (buffs like Tingyun’s Ultimate or certain Light Cones). While Critical stats are useful for Kafka, they’re far from a priority, which makes her easier to build as good Crit pieces are hard to come by. You’ll still need to roll some good substats in your pieces for the best results.

Speed is preferred for boots, but you can use Atk% too if you manage to find a good piece with strong substats. Aim for at least 120 Speed always to activate your Space Station set.

Effect Hit Rate is desired, but there’s no need to aim for higher than 29%. Extra damage and more speed are your main priorities always, and Kafka can already reliably hit her DoTs even with lower EHR%.

Best Light Cones for Kafka

Kafka is very F2P friendly when it comes to Light Cones. From easy-to-get options to gacha, expensive ones, she can use any of these options for various different situations.

1 – Patience is All You Need

Her signature, premium Light Cone. This is her best choice as it gives some extra Speed as well as some extra Debuffs in her kit (as if she needs any!). The reason some people claim “it’s not needed” is because some of the 4-star options are just as competitive with enough Superimpose levels. 

2 – Good Night and Sleep Well

Her best 4-star cone by far as it boosts her damage by a good margin, especially at Superimpose 5 where it’s comparable to her signature Cone. It might be outclassed by other options with higher Superimpose levels than itself, but it’s still generally the best option out there.

3 – Eyes of Pray

Another general DoT damage-increaser that will almost automatically fulfill Kafka’s needs for Effect Hit Rate. A very solid option if you’re not already using it on characters like Sampo, who do enjoy it more thanks to that EHR%.

4 – Solitary Healing

A Light Cone introduced in the 1.3 update. Obtained for free from Herta’s Store, this is a F2P option with great base stats, with the only downside of its DoT-increasing effect being tied to the Ultimate. It shines on AoE scenarios, and having free Superimpositions every two weeks is also a great touch.

5 – In the Name of the World

While it has a good general damage increase, it’s more of a stat stick than anything for Kafka. Always a great pick with superior stats to the 4-star options, but it wouldn’t be worth buying just for her. Use it if there are no other good options left (and if you have no Welt, since this is amazing on him).

6 – Fermata

The F2P Light Cone which can be farmed through Echo of War and the Forgotten Hall. Kafka isn’t necessarily the best Toughness breaker, but she’s quite good at that, so this Cone is viable if you lack anything else.

Related: Honkai: Star Rail Damage Over Time (DoT) Explained

You should definitely grab at least an S1 Fermata if you don’t have anything else. Some of Kafka’s best teammates like to use the same Cones as her, so make sure everyone gets a good enough option for themselves. She’s the team’s core, though, so she’s usually the priority for the best ones.

Best Kafka Teams and Compositions

With a huge emphasis on different types of DoTs, Kafka shines when she’s paired with other appliers. And it’s not a coincidence that her banner features exactly those characters. Sampo and Luka in particular are incredibly powerful DoT-focused characters who pair up nicely with her. Both of them can increase DoT base damage and even proc them during their turns just like Kafka.

Serval is also a good pick, but not as essential as her fellow DoT characters. While her DoTs and Kafka’s are counted separately, all that she does is maintain the Shock stat on opponents, something Kafka can already do for herself already. She’s definitely useful if you need more AoE coverage and/or more Lightning damage for a certain boss, so consider pairing them.

But Kafka works very well as a solo DoT character too, she’ll need some other supports paired with her. Silver Wolf is a prime example. Her various debuffs can make an enemy even more vulnerable to Kafka’s poison, as well as implementing Lightning weaknesses if the target doesn’t have it naturally. Pela can break defenses too and increase overall EHR%, so you should also consider her.

Usual buffers like Bronya, Asta, and Tingyun can also give Kafka even more beef. Save a slot for a healer/shielder as necessary too. If there’s anyone faster than Kafka in the team, use their Basic Attack as soon as possible to proc her Talent. Ideally, you’ll be activating it every turn.

While team composition plays a huge part, Kafka’s main damage comes from leveling her Traces, so make sure you have everything prepared for her arrival.