Aside from the memes about her spinning and her amazing synergy with Himeko, Herta is a good Erudition unit in Honkai: Star Rail, especially for F2P players. Not only is she free when you complete the newbie missions, she also grants you her Eidolons as you clear Simulated Universe. Though Herta’s Follow-Up Attack might not be as effective in long battles compared to her current Erudition fellows (Himeko and Jing Yuan), she is a great unit against mobs and Calyxes. In order to make the best of Herta in Honkai: Star Rail, her Relics and Light Cones should improve on her Follow-Up Attack efficiency.

To understand what Relics and Light Cones to put on Herta, you must first understand how her kit works. Herta’s Follow-Up Attack deals AoE Ice DMG as soon as an enemy’s HP falls below  50%. This doesn’t stack so even if you whittle down two enemies’ HP to 50% with a single move, Herta still only twirls once. Aside from her follow-up attack, Herta is an AoE Ice attacker, which makes her more suited for battles with lots of enemies than boss fights.

Image by Siliconera

What are the best Light Cones for Herta in Honkai: Star Rail?

• Before Dawn
  So far in the game, Before Dawn is the best Erudition Light Cone because of how much it increases the Crit DMG, Skill, and Ultimate of your character. It also, at S0, increases the character’s Follow-Up Attack DMG by 48% after they use a Skill or Ultimate. This is fantastic for Herta, whose kit revolves around her twirling. Unfortunately, Before Dawn is a limited 5-star Light Cone, which makes it hard to get.
• The Seriousness of Breakfast
  Like Before Dawn, The Seriousness of Breakfast is a really good general Erudition Light Cone. It increases the wearer’s ATK for every enemy they defeat, which makes it a good one to wear while farming for resources.
• The Birth of the Self
  This Light Cone increases Follow-Up Attack DMG by 24%. It also deals extra Follow-Up Attack DMG by 24% when the enemy’s HP falls below 50%, which just so happens to be the trigger condition for Herta’s twirling anyway.

As for Relics, there aren’t a lot of options for Herta right now. You should focus on giving her Relics that increase her Crit skills so that she can deal more damage per Follow-Up Attack. Unlike Himeko or Jing Yuan, her Follow-Up Attack can only activate once per enemy, so try to make it count.

Image by Siliconera

What are the best Relics for Herta in Honkai: Star Rail?

• Hunter of Glacial Forest
  Hunter of Glacial Forest is the Relic of choice for Ice characters right now. Not only does it passively increase Ice DMG by 10%, but it also increases Crit DMG by 25% for two turns after you use your Ultimate. If you stack enough Energy Regeneration on Herta, then it should be easy for her to recover it.
• Musketeer of Wild Wheat
  This is one of the better general sets, because it increases ATK, SPD, and Basic ATK DMG. You can also mix and match Musketeer with Hunter depending on what you have on hand.
• The Ashblazing Grand Duke + Hunter of Glacial Forest
  Because of how Herta’s follow-up attack can only technically occur once per enemy, she cannot fully take advantage of the Set’s 4-pc effect (which increases ATK every time a follow-up deals damage). As such, the 2-pc is more than enough for her. You can replace Hunter with Musketeer depending on what you have.
• Inert Salsotto
  This increases the wearer’s Crit Rate, as well as increases Ultimate and Follow-Up Attack DMG by 15% when Crit Rate reaches 50%. Obviously, you will need to get enough Crit Rate on Herta before this is useful at all. Her E2 and Traces increase Crit Rate if your luck with Relics is bad.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on mobile devices and Windows PC. It’ll appear on the PS4 and PS5 in the future. You can get Herta for free, as well as earn copies for her through Simulated Universe. She is also in the gacha.