Kafka is a 5-star character in Honkai: Star Rail with some interesting tricks up her sleeve. She does a little bit of everything, from follow-up attacks to big AOE bursts and painful DoT procs, making her somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades as far as DPS characters go.
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Being effective in so many types of damage gives her leeway when it comes to character builds in Honkai: Star Rail. As a Nihility character, players should still expect her to play more into the DoT and debuff side of things, but at the same time, Kafka is still capable of blowing targets up with her attacks and the passive effects in her Talent tree. The following build focuses on maximizing Kafka’s core identity as a high-damage DoT enabler who’s all about making everyone else in the party shine.
Updated July 5, 2025 by Marc Santos: Kafka, along with a few other HSR characters, received significant buffs to their kits in the 3.4 update, greatly enhancing their gameplay and relevance in the game’s ever-growing roster. Players can expect Kafka to still play the same as she always had, but given the buffs she got, she can also be used in ways that were previously not ideal. We’ve updated this guide to account for the changes Kafka received in Honkai: Star Rail 3.4.
Honkai: Star Rail Kafka Build
Kafka is a Lightning Nihility character with the unique ability to manually trigger DoT effects like Bleeding, Shock, and Wind Shear. She’s not as good at applying DoTs herself compared to other characters, but Kafka’s paired together with other HSR characters like Sampo, Luka, or even Serval, she can be utterly devastating against any target.
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HSR 3.4 Kafka Build |
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Core Stats |
Effect Hit Rate SPD ATK% Energy Regen |
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Relic Sets |
Prisoner of Deep Space Ashblazing Grand Duke Band of Sizzling Thunder |
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Planar Ornaments |
Revelry by the Sea Lushaka, the Sunken Seas |
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Light Cones |
Patience is All You Need Good Night, Sleep Well Holiday Thermae Escapade Lies Dance on the Breeze Those Many Springs |
Important Note: Speed is a desirable trait for Kafka, but she should never be the first one to act in a fight. If she does, she’ll have no DoTs to trigger, resulting in mediocre damage for the first turn. If you’re capable of tuning the SPD of your party, make it so that Kafka is acting second or third depending on how many DoT characters you have. On the other hand, she needs only ~28% Effect Hit Rate to guarantee Shock procs with her Ultimate against enemies with 40% Effect RES.
Prisoner in Deep Space decreases the DEF of enemies every time its wearer deals DoT damage. When inflicted, this debuff benefits all members of the party, making Kafka more valuable even to non-Nihility cast members of Honkai: Star Rail like Topaz. DEF shred effects complement other buffs and debuffs that affect outgoing damage, which is why many players use characters like Pela in hypercarry teams.
Patch 3.4 buffed Kafka’s Talent — it now triggers off any attack from any teammate, and it now has two charges instead of one. Because of this, the Ashblazing Grand Duke set has become a very appealing Relic set for her.
Players can make do without stacking as much ATK on Kafka since much of her damage will come from DoT effects applied by the whole team. Still, it’s a good idea to get her ATK stat to around the 2500 mark or higher, so her own attacks aren’t brushed off. CRIT stats aren’t that important for Kafka, but she still benefits from it thanks to her Follow-Up Attack, which works in conjunction with the rest of her abilities.
As for Light Cones, you can’t go wrong with any of the 5-Star Nihility options. Her signature Patience is All You Need LC has the best synergy with her kit, but if you don’t have this, Fermata is enough to keep Kafka’s personal damage output high. If you’re taking on something like Pure Fiction or any other encounter with many waves of enemies, then Solitary Healing can help you defeat as many enemies as possible.
Lies Dance on the Breeze (Cipher’s signature LC) is also extremely in Kafka’s hands thanks to its DEF shred and SPD bonus. It’s perfect for players who want to focus on turning Kafka into a support/sub-DPS character.
Kafka Trace Leveling Order
The Trace order for Kafka is a little different from most other characters since her main ways of applying Shock are on her Ultimate and Talent abilities. Still, the basic idea applies: focus on her hardest-hitting abilities first before taking everything else.
- Twilight Trill (Ultimate)
- Caressing Moonlight (Skill)
- Gentle But Cruel (Talent)
- Midnight Tumult (Basic Attack)
Players who plan on using Kafka exclusively as an enabler for Honkai: Star Rail’s DoT teams can focus on leveling her Skill first, as it’s the one responsible for triggering DoTs. Kafka’s Talent and Ultimate are her main sources of Shock. As long as players use Twilight Trill or a different party member’s basic attack, Kafka will be able to use Caressing Moonlight and still trigger the Shock effects she applies herself.
