The Herta, also known as Madam Herta, is a powerful 5-Star Ice Erudition unit in Honkai: Star Rail and an Emanator of Nous, the Aeon of Erudition. She is member 83 of the esteemed Genius Society and the founder of the Herta Space Station. The many Herta puppets seen throughout the station, including the playable 4-star variant, are all modeled after The Herta’s younger self.
As an Erudition unit, The Herta naturally excels in AoE situations but is also capable of performing well with lower target counts. She boasts impressive self-buffs and damage multipliers, including a team-wide 80% CRIT DMG boost when paired with another Erudition unit and a personal three-turn ATK buff from her Ultimate. As a result, The Herta requires relatively lower investment to build and offers several F2P-friendly options for Light Cones and teammates.
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Herta’s gameplay revolves around gaining Inspiration stacks for herself and building Interpretation stacks on enemies. Consuming an Inspiration stack allows Herta to unleash an enhanced version of her Skill. Meanwhile, thanks to her Talent and Traces, the more Interpretation stacks enemies accumulate, the higher the damage dealt by her Enhanced Skill and Ultimate. With this in mind, here’s a quick overview of the best build options to maximize Herta’s formidable kit in Honkai: Star Rail.
Best The Herta Build In Honkai: Star Rail
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Light Cone |
Relic Sets |
Relic Stats |
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Relics:
Planar Ornaments:
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Best The Herta Relics In Honkai: Star Rail
When building The Herta, she generally favors the classic trinity of ATK, CRIT Rate, and CRIT DMG. Additionally, since her Enhanced Skill and, to a lesser extent, her Ultimate, contribute the majority of her damage output, any boosts to these abilities will be highly desirable. While SPD can be beneficial for The Herta, its importance largely depends on her teammates and their synergy.
As such, The Herta’s best Relic set is the aptly named Scholar Lost in Erudition. This set provides an 8% CRIT Rate increase and a 20% damage boost to both her Skill and Ultimate. To further complement her kit, the set also grants an additional 25% damage boost to the next Skill used after an Ultimate. The Herta’s Ultimate, Told Ya! Magic Happens, not only grants an Inspiration stack to enhance her Skill but also allows her to take immediate action to use it.
The Herta can perform well with the Poet of Mourning Collapse set by refraining from leveling her SPD Traces and avoiding all SPD substats. However, this is challenging to achieve and not recommended for most players.
For players who do not yet have the Scholar Lost in Erudition set, the Hunter of Glacial Forest set is a solid alternative. While it is not as potent as the Scholar, it is still a great set to use, as it provides a 10% Ice DMG boost and a 25% CRIT DMG increase for two turns after using an Ultimate. That said, farming Scholar Lost in Erudition is generally more efficient, as it shares a Cavern of Corrosion with Sacerdos’ Relived Ordeal, an excellent support-focused Relic set.
For newer players or those with limited resources, any 2-piece combination of CRIT Rate, Ice DMG, or ATK% can serve as effective placeholders until a stronger set is acquired.
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For Planar Ornaments, the Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm set offers the best overall performance for The Herta. This set provides a 12% ATK boost and an additional 12% CRIT Rate increase when paired with another ally of the same Path. When partnered with an Erudition ally, The Herta’s Talent amplifies the damage multiplier of Interpretation stacks, while her A4 Trace grants all allies 80% CRIT DMG and increases the number of Interpretation stacks that Erudition units can apply. The value of this set extends to The Herta’s Erudition partner, who can also equip and benefit from Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm.
An excellent alternative is the Rutilant Arena set, which grants an 8% CRIT Rate boost and a 20% damage increase to The Herta’s Skill. This set’s performance is comparable to Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm, and the minor gap can easily be closed with well-rolled substats. Additionally, Rutilant Arena is a versatile set that is popular among many units in the game, making it a practical and worthwhile farming option.
Lastly, Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation can outperform both sets when used only in Pure Fiction. However, this set is generally not recommended, as The Herta performs exceptionally well in other game modes, while Sigonia does not. That said, since Sigonia can be farmed alongside Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm, players may choose to maintain a dedicated Sigonia set specifically for Pure Fiction.
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The Herta Ideal Stats |
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2,500-2,800 ATK (SPD Boots) |
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3,000-3,400 ATK (ATK% Boots) |
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3,600-3,900 ATK (ATK% Boots & Sphere) |
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Base SPD or 134 SPD |
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80%-100% CRIT Rate (In Combat) |
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180%-200%+ CRIT DMG (w/ A4 Trace) |
Since The Herta’s A4 Trace grants 80% CRIT DMG in combat, it is recommended for most players to equip a CRIT Rate chest to help approach the ideal 100% CRIT Rate. Additionally, players can use support units like Sunday or Remembrance Trailblazer to fill in any CRIT Rate gaps as needed.
When it comes to SPD, The Herta can perform well at several breakpoints, so the amount she needs will depend heavily on the teammates and Eidolons available to the player. Since The Herta relies on her teammates to generate Interpretation stacks and Energy, she can function effectively even at base SPD, particularly when paired with suitable characters. For example, Jade, one of her best Erudition partners, provides a 30 SPD boost to The Herta while also helping her generate stacks efficiently through Follow-Up Attacks.
The Energy provided to The Herta by her allies through her A2 and A4 Traces is a fixed amount and is therefore unaffected by an Energy Regeneration Rope.
The Herta’s Eidolons also enhance her ability to function without SPD boots. Her E1 allows her to reach the 42 Interpretation stack threshold of her A2 Trace with only 28 stacks, while E2 grants her action advances each time her Enhanced Skill is used. Furthermore, E4 gives all Erudition characters on the team a 12% SPD boost, allowing The Herta to realistically reach the 134 SPD breakpoint without SPD boots.
Of course, with SPD boots and the right teammates, The Herta can also excel at higher SPD thresholds, such as 146 and 164.
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Best The Herta Light Cones In Honkai: Star Rail
The Herta’s best Light Cone is undoubtedly her signature one, Into the Unreachable Veil, which boasts the highest base ATK out of the current Erudition Light Cones. At S1, this Light Cone provides a 12% CRIT Rate increase and a generous 60% damage boost to both her Skill and Ultimate for three turns after using the latter. Additionally, if the Ultimate costs 140 or more Energy, a Skill Point is recovered. Not only are these stats highly desirable for The Herta, but the utility also allows Skill Point-heavy teams to function more effectively.
Aside from her signature Light Cone, The Herta has several viable alternatives. Night on the Milky Way offers the second-highest potential, provided both of its effects can be maintained consistently. An Instant Before A Gaze is another good 5-star option, granting CRIT DMG and Ultimate damage boosts. While The Herta cannot utilize the Follow-Up Attack buffs, both Before Dawn and Yet Hope Is Priceless serve as strong stat sticks. The former enhances CRIT DMG, Skill damage, and Ultimate damage, while the latter provides a solid CRIT Rate boost.
Night on the Milky Way’s strength diminishes significantly when there are fewer than four enemies on the field or the DMG bonus is not active.
Among 4-star options, Today Is Another Peaceful Day and Geniuses’ Repose stand out as great choices, particularly for F2P and low-spending players. Despite being a 4-star Light Cone, Today Is Another Peaceful Day at S5 can outperform many non-signature 5-star Light Cones while also being more consistent than Night on the Milky Way.
For newer players lacking options, the free Erudition Light Cones—Eternal Calculus, The Day The Cosmos Fell, and The Seriousness of Breakfast—are all serviceable for The Herta and can eventually be obtained at S5.
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- Released
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April 26, 2023
- Engine
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Unity
- ESRB
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T for Teen
- How Long To Beat
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24hours
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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yes
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
- Cross Save
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yes
- Cross-Platform Play
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Yes, Honkai Star Rail does have cross progression on PS5