WithHonkai: Star Rail’sversion 2.3 release comes the much anticipated Firefly as the newest character. Firefly’s extreme popularity means you’re probably going to get her as well, so here’s how you can build her up to be as strong as possible.
StrongestFirefly Build inHonkai: Star Rail
Firefly is aFire Destructioncharacter whose main role in a party is to deal massive amounts of damage. As a Destruction character, she excels in Blast-heavy scenarios (fights with three or fewer enemies), but she is very capable of dealing with everything the game has to offer… with a big catch. More on that later.
Firefly is a Hypercarry, meaning she is best served by her team rather than having others try to DPS alongside her. This is because she is entirely focused on dealingBreak Damage, and this aspect is both a massive pro and con at the same time in practically all aspects of her gameplay.
This is no exaggeration, as Firefly deals almost no damagewhen an enemy isn’tbroken. All of her initial contributions to a team before a break comes from her immense amount ofToughnessdamage. When a Break does occur, Firefly’s damage switches on, and her Hypercarry role comes into effect.
To ensure Firefly is able to perform her role soundly, she appliesFire Weaknessto her foes using her Technique and by activating her Ultimate, which also places her in theComplete Combustion state. This state is where FIrefly will dish out the majority of her damage, but it has a large energy cost to be concerned about. Fortunately, Firefly’s Skill in her normal state provides her with a massive influx of energy every time it is used, meaning that she can use her Ultimate and enter the Complete Combustion state every two turns, on average. Firefly can also performSuper Breaks, which are Breaks with significant damage behind them based on the Break Effect stat.
Despite Firefly being a hypercarry character, shedoes not use CRIT Rate or CRIT DMGin any regard. These stats are almost entirely useless on her and there is not a practical benefit to stacking either one like you would any other carry. Instead, Firefly wantsATK%,SPD, andBreak Effectas her main stats.
Focus on these stats effectively means that Firefly ismuch easier to buildthan most characters. Now, let’s talk about gearing her up for combat.
Best Relics for Firefly
As far as Relic sets go, Firefly really only has one ‘best’ option and that is the newIron Cavalry Against the Scourgeset introduced in the 2.3 update. This set gives her a significant amount of Break Effect, her main stat, but also provides a very healthy amount of Defense Shread for her Breaks and Super Breaks. You can farm this set from theCavern of Corrosion: Path of Cavalier.
For Firefly’s Planet set, I highly recommend you run the newForge of the Kalpagni Lanternset as it provides her with additional SPD and gives her an obscene amount of additional Break Effect when attacking enemies with Fire Weakness. Since she can apply Fire Weakness to her foes herself, this is a no-brainer. You can farm this set from the newDivergent Universeadded with version 2.3.
Much like Boothill, Firefly craves Break Effect, so try to get as much of as possible on her gear. This includes using Break Effect rope over anything else. Also hunt for SPD and ATK% as well, as both stats provide significant enough improvement to Firefly to be worth the investment.
Best Team Comp for Firefly
Remember that catch I mentioned earlier? Well, it’s time to talk about it here. Firefly, on her own, is a very weak Hypercarry despite everything I talked about above. She relies, heavily, on teammates that can prop her up to be at her best, and is literally non-functional unless she is run with very specific teammates. Those teammates areHarmony Trailblazer,Ruan Mei,andGallagher.
Harmony Trailblazeris a requirement for Firefly to be viable, as they provide her with an utterly massive boost to her Super Break damage. This is not an exaggeration: Firefly deals over50% less damagewithout Harmony Trailblazer on her team. If you’re planning to run Firefly, you must use this character. It is non-negotiable.
Ruan Meiis also a requirement for Firefly to be functional, for semi-obvious reasons. Ruan Mei’s ability to dramatically boost Toughness Damage means that Firefly can pretty much Break enemiestwice as fast. On top of that, Ruan Mei forces broken enemies to stay broken longer, meaning Firefly can dish out more damage. Finally, Ruan Mei’s universal DMG buff also applies to Firefly. Like with Harmony Trailblazer,you should not run Firefly without Ruan Mei.
Gallagheris Firefly’s ideal support in that he helps her Break her targets and provides sustain to the team. Unlike the above-mentioned characters, Gallagher can be substituted forHuoHuo, but he is by far the best option to have on her team.
Firefly’s overdependence on her team is a large detriment as it means she cannot be placed into any other team and be even remotely effective. Trying to run Firefly without Harmony Trailblazer, Ruan Mei, and Gallagher is an exercise in futility and a recipe for disastrous results from her.
Should you pull Firefly’s Lightcone inHonkai: Star Rail?
Despite Firefly’s team composition woes, shedoes notrequire her Lightcone to be functional. While her Lightcone,Whereabouts Should Dreams Rest, is her best option,On the Fall of an Aeonis an extremely strong alternative that provides Firefly with a large boost in ATK%. ATK% is largely converted into Break Effect for Firefly, which is why it works so well with her. The difference between the two cones is relatively small, so I don’t recommend pulling Firefly’s signature if you have Aeon available for her to use.
Best Eidolons for Firefly inHonkai: Star Rail
While Firefly is a viable character right out of the box at E0, her E1 and E2 are absurdly strong Eidolons that, if you’re planning to get copies for her, are worth going for if you can.E2 is the best stopping point,but here are all of Firefly’s Eidolons summarized for your reference.
