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The Herta is a formidable 5-star Ice Erudition character in Honkai: Star Rail, known for her potent self-buffs and damage multipliers. As a primary damage dealer, she seeks the optimal balance of CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, and ATK, alongside general damage enhancements from her Light Cones. Her kit includes a generous 80% CRIT DMG buff, which makes Light Cones that boost CRIT Rate particularly appealing. Furthermore, increases to her Skill and Ultimate outputs are crucial for maximizing her damage potential, especially through her Interpretation mechanic, with a strong preference for the former.
Although the combination of CRIT Rate and Skill DMG increases is rare outside her signature Light Cone, The Herta still has several viable options within the Erudition Path. Many of these Light Cones, whether limited or freely obtainable, offer valuable stats and perform closely in effectiveness. Below are the top Light Cone options for The Herta in Honkai: Star Rail.
The Seriousness of Breakfast (S5)
- Increases the wearer's DMG by 24%. For every defeated enemy, the wearer's ATK increases by 8%, stacking up to 3 times.
The Seriousness of Breakfast is a freely obtainable Light Cone that can be purchased with Lucent Afterglow or acquired through Echo of War drops. Players can also earn a copy by completing a hidden task aboard the Herta Space Station. Although not the top choice for The Herta, it serves as a decent option for newer players without other alternatives. It provides straightforward damage boosts, making it a reliable placeholder until a better Light Cone is acquired.
The Day The Cosmos Fell (S5)
- Increases the wearer's ATK by 24%. When the wearer uses an attack and affects no fewer than 2 enemies with a corresponding Weakness, the wearer's CRIT DMG increases by 40% for 2 turns.
The Day The Cosmos Fell is another free Light Cone available for purchase with Lucent Afterglow or obtained through Echo of War drops. A free copy can also be earned by finding all the Origami Birds in Golden Hour. While it performs slightly better than The Seriousness of Breakfast, its effectiveness depends on maintaining its conditional CRIT DMG buff. If players struggle to meet these conditions consistently, its performance can drop significantly. Nonetheless, it remains a solid placeholder option for The Herta until a more optimal Light Cone is found.
Eternal Calculus (S5)
- Increases the wearer's ATK by 12%. After using an attack, for each enemy target hit, additionally increases ATK by 8%. This effect can stack 5 times and lasts until the next attack. If there are 3 or more enemy targets hit, this unit's SPD increases by 16%, lasting for 1 turn.
Eternal Calculus is a free 5-star Light Cone available for purchase from Herta's Store using Herta Bonds. This Light Cone offers a substantial ATK% boost, though its performance can vary based on the number of targets hit, making it less effective in battles with fewer enemies. Despite this, Eternal Calculus remains a solid choice when its effects are fully utilized. Its 16% SPD increase at S5 can also help achieve certain SPD breakpoints in combat. Like the other free options, Eternal Calculus serves as a decent placeholder for The Herta until a stronger alternative is obtained.
Yet Hope Is Priceless (S1)
- Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 16%. While the wearer is in battle, for every 20% CRIT DMG that exceeds 120%, the DMG dealt by follow-up attack increases by 12%. This effect can stack up to 4 times. When the battle starts or after the wearer uses their Basic ATK, enables Ultimate or the DMG dealt by follow-up attack to ignore 20% of the target's DEF, lasting for 2 turns.
Jade's signature Light Cone, Yet Hope Is Priceless, is a viable option for The Herta, offering a valuable 16% CRIT Rate increase at S1. Although The Herta cannot utilize the Follow-Up buffs, this Light Cone still serves as a straightforward and reliable stat booster. The 20% DEF penetration for the Ultimate can be beneficial if used early in battle, though it's less reliable as The Herta typically avoids using Basic ATKs. Additionally, Interpretation stacks may not be high enough early in the fight for the Ultimate to fully capitalize on the effect.
Players should avoid pulling this Light Cone specifically for The Herta, as its performance does not surpass some of the more F2P-friendly alternatives. If players already have Yet Hope Is Priceless, it may be better suited for a character that can fully utilize its effects, as the free Light Cones available for The Herta are very close in performance.
Geniuses' Repose (S5)
- Increases the wearer's ATK by 32%. When the wearer defeats an enemy, the wearer's CRIT DMG increases by 48% for 3 turns.
Geniuses' Repose is a great 4-star Light Cone obtainable from the standard Stellar Warp. It offers a significant 32% ATK increase and a 48% CRIT DMG boost at S5. While The Herta needs to personally defeat an enemy to activate the CRIT DMG buff, this should be manageable in most scenarios, as the effect lasts for three turns. However, this Light Cone loses effectiveness in prolonged battles against single boss targets that lack regular summons to refresh the buff, such as Hoolay.
An Instant Before A Gaze (S1)
- Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, the wearer's Ultimate DMG increases based on their Max Energy; Ultimate DMG increases by 0.36% per point of Energy, up to 180 Energy.
Argenti's signature Light Cone, An Instant Before A Gaze, is a strong option for The Herta. At S1, it provides a 36% increase to CRIT DMG and a 64.8% boost to Ultimate DMG. While the Ultimate buff is valuable, The Herta would ideally prefer Skill DMG or general DMG instead, which limits this Light Cone's ranking. Similar to Yet Hope Is Priceless, players should only use this Light Cone if they already have it and avoid pulling specifically for The Herta.
Before Dawn (S1)
- Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 36%. Increases the wearer's Skill and Ultimate DMG by 18%. After the wearer uses their Skill or Ultimate, they gain Somnus Corpus. Upon triggering a follow-up attack, Somnus Corpus will be consumed and the follow-up attack DMG increases by 48%.
Before Dawn, Jing Yuan's signature Light Cone, is a strong option for The Herta. While The Herta cannot take advantage of the Follow-Up Attack buff, the Light Cone still offers excellent unconditional stats that complement her kit. At S1, Before Dawn grants a significant 36% CRIT DMG increase and an 18% damage boost to both Skill and Ultimate. Although The Herta would prefer more CRIT Rate due to her A4 Trace, the additional CRIT DMG from this Light Cone is still highly valuable.
Today Is Another Peaceful Day (S5)
- After entering battle, increases the wearer's DMG based on their Max Energy. DMG increases by 0.4% per point of Energy, up to 160 Energy.
Today Is Another Peaceful Day is an outstanding 4-star Light Cone that offers a substantial and unconditional damage boost. Thanks to The Herta's high 220 Energy cost for her Ultimate, she easily maximizes the Light Cone's effect, providing a total 64% damage increase at S5. Furthermore, Today Is Another Peaceful Day also possesses the highest base ATK out of all the current 4-star Erudition Light Cones, on par with the 5-star Eternal Calculus. This makes it the best option for F2P and low-spending players, and some might even argue that it is a more consistent choice compared to the next Light Cone on the list.
Night on the Milky Way (S1)
- For every enemy on the field, increases the wearer's ATK by 9%, up to 5 stacks. When an enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by 30% for 1 turn.
Night on the Milky Way is a great 5-star option that can be obtained from the standard Stellar Warp. This Light Cone can perform extremely well for The Herta, provided its effects are consistently maintained. While the Light Cone can reach up to a large 45% ATK boost at S1, it requires five enemies on the field to maintain those stacks. The Light Cone's performance diminishes considerably as the number of targets decreases. Additionally, players need to ensure that at least one enemy is inflicted with Weakness Break to activate the damage buff. While its consistency may fall behind a few other Light Cones, Night on the Milky Way remains a very strong choice, particularly for Pure Fiction.
Into the Unreachable Veil (S1)
- Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 12%. When the wearer uses their Ultimate, increases DMG dealt by the wearer's Skill and Ultimate by 60%, lasting for 3 turns. After the wearer uses their Ultimate, if this Ultimate consumed 140 or more Energy, recovers 1 Skill Point.
The Herta's signature Light Cone, Into the Unreachable Veil, is unmatched as her best-in-slot option due to the immense value it provides. It offers a significant boost to CRIT Rate and provides a generous damage increase to both her Skill and Ultimate. Additionally, this Light Cone recovers a Skill Point each time The Herta uses her Ultimate, making it exceptionally effective for SP-heavy teams. With a base ATK of 635, it also boasts the highest ATK stat among all Erudition Light Cones currently available. Its value extends to many other Erudition characters, even those who cannot meet the Energy requirement for the Skill Point.
