Gepard is, by nature of him being a 5-star, one of the best Preservation units in Honkai: Star Rail as of the time of writing. The Shield he creates with his Ultimate can absorb the most damage out of other characters in the same Path, and he can tank quite a bit thanks to his high HP. Gepard is like a Nokia phone, unwavering and unfailing in his duties. Here are some Light Cones and Relics you can put on Gepard to turn him into the hardest tank thus far in Honkai: Star Rail.

As a Preservation character, Gepard’s main utility in a team comes from his shield. It scales based off of his DEF, so you want to put everything into that. Gepard’s problem is that he has a bit of a hodgepodge kit. His Skill is an offensive one, but he likely can’t do much with it. His ATK and Ice DMG won’t be that high because he wants DEF, after all. It’s still a nice thing to have if you’re looking to Break an enemy with Ice Weakness though. In any case, everything you put on Gepard should facilitate his Ultimate, which is where he gets his shield from.

Screenshot by Siliconera

Here are Light Cones you can consider for Gepard in Honkai: Star Rail:

• This Is Me!
  This Light Cone increases Gepard’s DEF (so his shield strength) and increases how much damage he can do after his Ultimate based off his DEF. So not only can he provide a stronger shield, but he can also deal quite a bit of damage after he protects the party too. Gepard is always going to have really high DEF by nature of his kit, so this is a great one for him to have as long as you have it.
• Moment of Victory
  As Gepard’s signature Light Cone, this is obviously a good one for him to have. It increases his DEF, as well as makes enemies target him more. So even if you don’t have his Ultimate up, he can kind of protect the party from enemy attacks. Since this Light Cone increases his DEF when an enemy attacks him, you can time your Ultimate around that for improved shield strength.
• Trend of the Universal Market
  This is another Light Cone similar to This Is Me where it increases the wearer’s DEF (shield strength) while dealing damage at the same time. This one will let Gepard inflict Burn when an enemy hits him, as well as deal DoT that scales off of his DEF. It’s less of a nuke damage compared to This Is Me but it’s a good one for longer fights.
• Landau’s Choice
  This isn’t the best thing to give him compared to the other Light Cones, but it’s not the worst. It’s ideal when Gepard is the shielder for a hyper carry team comp, since most hyper carries have two support characters. You can protect them with Landau’s Choice, which increases the chance of an enemy hitting Gepard, as well as reduces how much DMG he takes.

Screenshot by Siliconera

Here are some Relics you can consider for Gepard in Honkai: Star Rail:

When choosing your Relics, you should always prioritize his DEF. Other stats that you can consider are his Speed and Effect Hit Rate. You can also give him as much Energy Regeneration as you can, since his shield comes from his Ultimate.

• Knight of Purity Palace
  This is Gepard’s best Relic Set because it increases his DMG and how much DMG his shield can absorb. There is no other use for Gepard outside of his shield so this is only set that he really needs.
• Guard of Wuthering Snow
  This is an alright Set for Gepard and works best if you’re going to use him for Taunt purposes. It increases his overall survivability because it can reduce how much DMG he takes, as well as restores HP when it’s below 50%. It’s not as good as Purity Palace simply because it cannot do anything directly for the rest of the team.
• Belobog of the Architects
  This increases DEF, as well as gives a bonus when Gepard has more than 50% Effect Hit Rate. Since he’s an Ice character, his Break Effect is pretty good. So you would naturally want to stack him with some anyway.
• Sprightly Vonwacq
  This Planar Ornament Set increases Gepard’s Energy Regeneration. Since his Shield is locked to his Ultimate, you want him to be able to fire it off as many times as he can.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on mobile devices and Windows PC. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.