Best Acheron Honkai Star Rail build: Light Cone, Relics, teams, more

Honkai Star Rail keeps unfolding the Penacony storyline, and Acheron is finally playable. Here’s how to build Acheron in HSR, including the best Light Cones, Relics, and team compositions.

The version 2.1 update of Honkai Star Rail is here, and Trailblazers are trying to get the powerful debuting Acheron for their teams.

So, here’s everything you need to know to build Acheron in HSR, including all her abilities, the best Light Cones, Relic sets, and more.

• Acheron’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail explained
• Best Relics for Acheron in Honkai Star Rail
• Best Planar Ornament for Acheron
• Best Light Cone for Acheron in Honkai Star Rail
• Best Honkai Star Rail teams for Acheron

Acheron’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail explained

In Honkai Star Rail, Acheron is a Lightning element character in the Path of The Nihility, just like Kafka. Characters in this path can be DPS, but they specialize in applying DoT (Damage over Time) to enemies. Acheron is boosted in the first phase of update 2.1 in her own banner.

Here are all of Acheron’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail:

• Trilateral Wiltcross (Basic ATK) – Deals Lightning DMG to a single-target enemy.
• Octobolt Flash (Skill) – Gains 1 point of Slashed Dream and inflicts 1 stack of Crimson Knot on a single enemy, dealing Lightning DMG to it and adjacent targets.
• Slashed Dream Cries in Red (Ultimate) – Sequentially unleash Rainblade 3 times and Stygian Resurge 1 time, dealing lots of Lightning DMG to a single target enemy, and additional Lightning DMG to other targets. Here are Rainblade and Stygian Resurge descriptions:
  • Rainblade: Deals Lightning DMG to a single target enemy and removes up to 3 stacks of Crimson Knot from the target. When Crimson Knot is removed, immediately deals Lightning DMG to all enemies. Removing Crimson Knots increases the DMG multiplier.
  • Stygian Resurge: Deals Lightning DMG to all enemies and removes all Crimson Knots. Crimson Knot cannot be applied to enemies during the Ultimate.
• Atop Rainleaf Hangs Oneness (Talent) – The Ultimate can be activated when Slashed Dream reaches 9 points. Reduces enemies’ Toughness regardless of Weakness Types and reduces all enemies’ All-Type RES for the duration of the Ultimate.
• Quadrivalent Ascendance (Technique) – Immediately attacks the enemy. At the start of each wave, gains Quadrivalent Ascendance, dealing Lightning DMG to all enemies and reducing Toughness of all enemies. When Weakness is broken, triggers the Lightning Weakness Break effect. Here’s Quadrivalent Ascendance’s description:
  • Quadrivalent Ascendance: After using the Ultimate, Acheron gains 1 point of Slashed Dream and inflicts 1 stack of Crimson Knot on a single random enemy. If attacking a normal enemy, immediately defeats them without entering combat. When not hitting enemies, no Technique Points are consumed.

It’s important to note that when any unit inflicts debuffs on an enemy, Acheron gains 1 point of Slashed Dream and inflicts 1 stack of Crimson Knot on the target. What’s more, if debuffs are inflicted on multiple targets, then the stack of Crimson Knot will be inflicted on the enemy target with the most Crimson Knot stacks.

Many players agree Acheron is a very unique character. She doesn’t consume nor produce her own Energy, so she needs other characters applying DoTs to build her Ultimate. However, her Ultimate is so powerful it can turn the tide of any battle, thanks to ignoring Weakness Types. Acheron can also deal with many enemy targets at the same time, making her an extremely powerful DPS for your team.

Best Relics for Acheron in Honkai Star Rail

Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters

• Two-piece bonus: Increases DMG dealt to enemies with debuff by 12%.
• Four-piece bonus: Increases CRIT Rate by 4%. The wearer deals increased CRIT DMG to enemies with at least 2 debuffs. After the wearer inflicts a debuff on enemy targets, the effects double for 1 turn.

Pioneer of Diver of Dead Waters is a great Honkai Star Rail Relic set for Nihility characters, so it works great with Acheron. This set was introduced with the 2.0 update and also fits great on Black Swan’s kit. Since Acheron is a DPS, she can deal more DMG and CRIT DMG frequently with these Relics equipped. However, you can also try combining it with other sets for different results.

Band of Sizzling Thunder

• Two-piece bonus: Increases Lightning DMG by 10%.
• Four-piece bonus: When the wearer uses their Skill, increases the wearer’s ATK by 20% for 1 turn.

Band of Sizzling Thunder is great for increasing Acheron’s Lightning DMG. The full set can also improve her ATK stat temporarily, but it’s better to complement this two-piece set with another.

Musketeer of Wild Wheat

• Two-piece bonus: ATK increases by 10%.
• Four-piece bonus: The wearer’s SPD increases by 6% and Basic ATK DMG increases by 10%.

Musketeer of Wild Wheat is the go-to Relic set for DPS in Honkai Star Rail, so if you don’t have a better option just yet, you can’t go wrong here. Again, if you have the chance to get other sets, we recommend combining options to get unique results.

Best Planar Ornament for Acheron in Honkai Star Rail

Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm is a new Planar Ornament introduced in Honkai Star Rail with update 2.1, and it seems tailor-made for Acheron. It increases the wearer’s ATK by 12%, and when entering battle, if at least one other ally follows the same Path as the wearer, then the wearer’s CRIT Rate increases by 12%. Since Acheron works best paired with other Nihility characters, this should be your top choice.

Firmament Frontline: Glamoth is a great alternative, as it increases the ATK for starters, and when the wearer’s SPD is equal to or higher than 135/160, the wearer deals 12%/18% more DMG.

Rutilant Arena increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate, and when the wearer’s current CRIT Rate reaches 70% or higher, their Basic ATK and Skill DMG increase by 20%.

Increasing Acheron’s ATK and DMG output is key, so you can also go for other Ornaments, like Celestial Differentiator, Broken Keel, or Inert Salsotto. Your choice depends on what part of Acheron’s kit you want to enhance, as some Planar Ornaments focus on the Ultimate, Skill, or her overall ATK and DMG.

Best Light Cone for Acheron in Honkai Star Rail

Along the Passing Shore

Acheron’s signature Light Cone in Honkai Star Rail increases her CRIT DMG by 36%. Then, when she hits an enemy target, inflicts ‘Empy Bubbles’ on the enemy for 1 turn. This effect can be triggered one time against each target. Additionally, the wearer deals 24% more DMG to targets afflicted with Empty Bubbles, and DMG from the wearer’s Ultimate additionally increases 24%.

This is all you want in a Light Cone for Acheron, so you should try getting it while it’s boosted. However, there are other viable alternatives.

Good Night and Sleep Well

This Light Cone is a great alternative for Acheron, because for every debuff/DoT the target enemy has, the DMG dealt by the wearer increases by up to 24%, stacking up to 3 times.

Patience Is All You Need

This Light Cone increases the DMG dealt by up to 40%, and after every attack launched by the wearer, their SPD increases by up to 8%, stacking up to 3 times. Additionally, if the wearer hits an enemy target that is not affected by Erode, inflicts Erode on the target. Enemies afflicted with Erode are considered to be Shocked and will receive Lightning DoT at the start of the next turn.

This adds even more debuff capabilities to Acheron’s kit, so it’s a great choice. Incessant Rain, In the Name of the World, and Reforged Remembrance are other suitable alternatives for the five-star character.

Best Honkai Star Rail teams for Acheron

As we mentioned, Acheron works best in Honkai Star Rail when paired with other Nihility characters, so you’ll want to have at least one debuffer in your HSR team.

If you’re going for a free-to-play composition, you don’t have Nihility characters to choose from, but you can pair Acheron alongside Asta, Serval, or Dan Heng. With the right build, the Fire Trailblazer can also apply Burn, so keep that in mind. You can pick Natasha or Lynx as healer so your team stays alive while Acheron decimates enemies.

On the other hand, if you pulled other characters in previous banners, we recommend pairing Acheron with units like Pela, Silver Wolf, Guinaifen, or Sampo. Their debuffs will help Acheron eliminate enemies faster, but you’ll need a support like Fu Xuan to keep everyone in one piece.

And there you have it! For more on Honkai Star Rail, make sure to check other guides below:

Honkai Star Rail Gallagher Ascension & Traces level-up materials | Honkai Star Rail 2024 player count | How to get Tears of Dreams in Honkai Star Rail | Honkai Star Rail pity system explained | Does Honkai Star Rail have controller support? | All free Honkai Star Rail characters & how to get them | Honkai Star Rail codes | How to uninstall Honkai Star Rail