Herta is a 4-star Erudition character with the Ice damage type and she has become an absolute necessity for clearing the hardest stages of Pure Fiction. The number 83 of the Genius Society has always been considered a weak early-game character, but now she has completely overturned that outlook by becoming an S-tier Pure Fiction character in Honkai Star Rail. If built correctly, she can work as a Hyper Carry in Pure Fiction dealing insane damage. Here is how you can best build Herta for Pure Fiction.
How to Get Herta in Honkai Star Rail
Herta is a free 4-star character in Honkai Star Rail and unlocks for free after clearing World 1 of the Simulated Universe, which is part of the Simulated Universe Tutorial missions. Additionally, you can get 4 free Herta Eidolons for the first time clearing stages 2, 4, 6, and 7 of the Simulated Universe. You can pull the last 2 Eidolons from Character Banners.
Herta’s Kit and Cycle Rotation in HSR Pure Fiction (At Max Level)
Herta has a strong kit for Pure Fiction and she can hyper-carry through the hardest stages. Let’s look closer at her kit to understand to how play her properly.
- What Are You Looking At? (Basic Attack): It deals single target Ice Damage equal to 130% of Herta’s Attack.
- One-Time Offer (Skill): It does AoE Ice Damage equal to 125% of Herta’s Attack. Damage dealt to enemies with 50% or higher HP is increased by 20%.
- It’s Magic, I Added Some Magic (Ultimate): Deals AoE Ice damage equal to 240% of Herta’s Attack.
- Fine, I’ll Do It Myself (Talent): Herta launches an AoE Follow-up attack, dealing Ice Damage equal to 47.5% of Herta’s Attack to all enemies when any enemy’s HP falls to 50% or lower.
- It Can Still Be Optimized (Technique): Increases Herta’s Attack by 40% for 3 turns, from the start of the battle.
Herta’s kit is focused on her Talent-triggered AoE Follow-up attack. For Pure Fiction, your main focus should be to use Herta’s Skill and Ultimate to bring down the health bar of weaker enemies to 50% or below to trigger her Follow-up attacks. Constantly target the weaker enemies, and you will be able to do massive AoE damage with Herta’s Follow-up attacks.
Also, make sure to use Herta’s Technique before entering battle in Pure Fiction as it gives a straight 40% Attack increase for 3 turns.
Good characters can be made better with the correct Relic sets and stats. Here are the best relics, planar ornaments and Sub stats for the best Herta Build.
Relics for Best Herta Pure Fiction Build
- 4-Piece The Ashblazing Grand Duke (Best for Herta)
- 4-Piece Hunter of Glacial Forest (Best Alternative)
The 4-piece Ashblazing Grand Duke is going to be Herta’s best relic set for Pure Fiction, as it considerably buffs her Follow-up attack damage. Next, the 4-piece Hunter of Glacial Forest is also a good option if you are missing good substats on the Ashblazing Grand Duke set. It provides an Ice damage boost and a damage boost after using the Ultimate, which will be very frequent due to Herta’s low Energy threshold and constant respawning enemies.
Planar Ornaments for Best Herta Pure Fiction Build
- 2-piece Inert Salsotto (Best for Herta)
- 2-piece Rutilant Arena (Best Alternative)
The 2-piece Inert Salsotto is Herta’s best Planar Ornament set and will provide a good damage increase to her Ultimate and Follow-up attacks. The 2-piece Rutilant Arena is also a good alternative.
Herta Best Main and Sub Stats For Pure Fiction
| Relics | Main / Sub-Stat |
|---|---|
| Head | HP / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
| Hands | Attack / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
| Body | Crit Damage = Crit Rate / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
| Feet | Attack % / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
| Planar Sphere | Ice Damage Boost / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
| Link Rope | ERR % = Attack % / Crit Rate = Crit Damage > Attack % > Effect Res % |
When it comes to her Main and Sub-stats, use a Crit % Body, Attack % Feet, Ice Damage Boost Sphere, and Energy Regeneration Rate for Rope. Try to hit a 75% Crit Rate, 150% Crit Damage, and 2.5k+ Attack.
Best Light Cones for Herta
- Night on the Milky Way (Best for Herta)
- The Birth of the Self (Best Alternative)
- The Seriousness of Breakfast (Best F2P option at S5)
The Night on the Milky Way is the best Light Cone for Herta in Pure Fiction. It gives an Attack buff based on the number of active enemies on the field, so it will always remain max stacked in Pure Fiction.
The Birth of the Self is also a great 4-star Light Cone option as it gives a straight 24% Damage increase from Follow-up attacks and increases the damage by another 24% when the enemy has 50% or less HP. Other than that, the Seriousness of Breakfast is a great F2P Light Cone option at Superimposition 5 for Herta.
Herta Eidolons in Honkai Star Rail
- Kick You When You’re Down (E1): Herta’s Basic Attack does additional Ice Damage equal to 40% of Herta’s Attack if the target enemy’s HP is at 50% or less of their Max HP.
- Keep the Ball Rolling (E2): Crit Rate increases by 3% (max 5 stacks) every time her Talent is triggered.
- That’s the Kind of Girl I Am (E3): Skill Level + 2, up to Level 15 max, Basic Attack Level + 1, up to Level 10 max.
- Hit Where It Hurts (E4): Damage is increased by 10% when her Talent is triggered.
- Cuss Big or Cuss Nothing (E5): Ultimate Level + 2, up to Level 15 max, Talent Level + 2, up to Level 15 max.
- No One Can Betray Me (E6): Attack increases by 25% for 1 turn, after using her Ultimate.
Herta’s first 4 Eidolons are for free. Complete the Simulated Universe Worlds for the first time to get them. The last 2 Eidolons are also worth getting as they provide a nice damage increase for Herta.
Herta Traces In Honkai Star Rail
Bonus Abilities:
- Efficiency (Ascension 2): Damage boost effect on target enemies is increased by an additional 25% when Skill is used.
- Puppet (Ascension 4): Crowd Control Debuff Resistance chance increases by 35%.
- Icing (Ascension 6): Deals 20% more Damage to Frozen enemies when her Ultimate is used.
Stat Boosts:
- Defense Boost: 22.5%
- Ice Damage Boost: 22.4%
- Crit Rate Boost: 6.7%
Best Team Comps for Herta in Pure Fiction
| Order | Main DPS | Support/Sub DPS | Support | Sustain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best | Herta | Himeko | Ruan Mei | Luocha |
| Alternative | Herta | Topaz | Bronya | Fu Xuan |
| F2P | Herta | Serval | Asta | Fire Trailblazer |
When it comes to the best teams for Herta, Himeko is her best DPS partner. If the enemy node has both the Fire and Ice weaknesses, then Herta and Himeko together will destroy most enemies without sweating.
Other than that, you can pair Herta with Ruan Mei, Bronya, Tingyun, or Asta for support and Luocha, Fu Xuan, and Fire Trailblazer for Sustains. Serval can also be a good sub-DPS for Herta if the enemies have lightning weaknesses.
Should You Build Herta For Pure Fiction in HSR
Yes, you should build Herta for Pure Fiction. Herta is one of the best characters in Pure Fiction and can help you get 3 stars easily in Stages 3 and 4. She is also a free character and you get most of her Eidolons for free. As Pure Fiction will refresh every few weeks, building a strong Herta will help you get those sweet Stellar Jades each time.