Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based RPG game that includes some complex battle mechanics encompassed by a simple UI. With relatable characters that each go through their own struggles, developers miHoYo have gone above and beyond to create a beautiful game with striking cinematics.
Some of our favorite character moments involve the Landau siblings who you’ll meet on the 2nd Planet you visit, Jarilo-VI. The elder sibling Serval is a carefree Rockstar who runs a mechanics workshop. While the middle child Gepard is the straight-laced Captain of the Silvermane Guard.
While the Landau siblings both deserve to be highlighted, this article will focus mainly on Gepard as the original premiere shielder archetype. Read on to find out Gepard’s best relics and light cones so he can keep your team alive without the need for an Abundance character!
Table of Contents
Character Overview
Gepard Character Summary
Gepard is one of the original 5-Star characters who have been available since the game’s release. Remember that we use the term available loosely since obtaining Gepard is arguably more difficult than pulling for the limited-time characters.
Most players would sigh in exasperation if they summoned a Gepard instead of the limited character they were actually aiming for but we’re here to tell you that Gepard is actually quite valuable once you’ve built him.
Gepard’s main draw is that he applies high HP shields to your entire team, effectively stopping anyone from taking any damage. A well-built Gepard can be slotted into your team in place of an Abundance character since he eliminates the need for healing.
This means that players without a 2nd Healer for Memory of Chaos can invest in their Gepards instead of trying to pull for Bailu or didn’t get to pull for Luocha.
Abilities and Traces
Gepard Abilities
| Gepard Ability | Ability Name | Ability Type | Ability Effect at Trace Lv. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | Fist of Conviction | Single Target | Deals Ice Damage equal to 50% of Gepard’s Attack to a single enemy. |
| Talent | Unyielding Will | Restore | When struck with a killing blow, instead of becoming knocked down, Gepard’s HP immediately restores to 25% of his Max HP. This effect can only trigger once per battle. |
| Skill | Daunting Smite | Impair | Deals Ice DMG equal to 100% of Gepard’s ATK to a single enemy, with a 65% base chance to Freeze the enemy for 1 turn(s). While Frozen, the enemy cannot take action and will take Additional Ice DMG equal to 30% of Gepard’s ATK at the beginning of each turn. |
| Technique | Comradery | Defense | After Gepard uses his Technique, when the next battle begins, applies a shield to all allies, absorbing DMG equal to 24% of Gepard’s DEF plus 150 for 2 turns. |
| Ultimate | Enduring Bulwark | Defense | Apply a Shield to all allies, absorbing DMG equal to 30% of Gepard’s DEF plus 150 for 3 turns. |
Gepard Traces
| Gepard Traces | How to Unlock | Trace Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Integrity | Ascension 2 | Gepard has a higher chance to be attacked by enemies. |
| Commander | Ascension 4 | When “Unyielding Will” is triggered, Gepard’s Energy will be restored to 100%. |
| Fighting Spirit | Ascension 6 | Gepard’s Attack increases by 35% of his current Defense. This effect will refresh at the start of each turn. |
Gepard’s Traces allow him to draw aggression better and perform his role as your team’s Tank. Unyielding Will also allows Gepard to respawn with a full Energy Bar so he can pop an emergency shield if ever your team is in dire straits.
Gepard’s final Trace turns Gepard into a well-rounded character that not only provides Defense but can also hit for a good amount of damage. This can make him indispensable for content like Memory of Chaos where you’re only afforded a set amount of turns before your rewards dissipate.
Eidolons
| Eidolon Level | Eidolon Name | Eidolon Effect |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | Due Diligence | When using Skill, increases the base chance to Freeze target enemy by 35%. |
| E2 | Lingering Cold | After an enemy Frozen by Skill is unfrozen, their Speed is reduced by 20% for 1 turn(s). |
| E3 | Never Surrender | Ultimate Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 15. Talent Lv. +2, up to a maximum of Lv. 10 |
| E4 | Faith Moves Mountains | When Gepard is in battle, all allies’ Effect Resistance increases by 20%. |
| E5 | Cold Iron Fist | Skill +2, up to a maximum of Lv15. Basic ATK Lv +1 up to a maximum of Lv 10. |
| E6 | Unyielding Resolve | When using Skill, increases the base chance to Freeze the target enemy by 35%. |
As usual with these sections, we want to emphasize how Eidolons are useful but never required. Players who go for Eidolons will surely have stronger characters, but that doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of characters without them.
Going for Eidolons for Gepard is even more difficult and costly since he belongs in the same pool as 6 other characters that all have equal chances of being drawn. So we do not recommend pulling for extra copies of Gepard.
That being said, people who are looking to spend a little extra for a stronger Gepard could aim for his E1, since this increases his Skill’s Freeze chance to a total of 100% on enemies without effect resistance. Effectively lessening the damage your team takes since that enemy doesn’t take any actions.
Gepard Best Build and Relics
Gepard Best Cavern Relics
| Relic Set | How to Farm | 2-Piece Set Bonus | 4-Piece Set Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight of Purity Palace | Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Holy Hymn | Increases Defense by 15%. | Increases the max Damage that can be absorbed by the Shield created by the wearer by 20%. |
| Guard of Wuthering Snow | Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Providence | Reduces Damage taken by 8%. | At the beginning of the turn, if the wearer’s HP is equal to or less than 50%, restores HP equal to 8% of their Max HP and regenerates 5 Energy. |
Gepard’s primary role is to supply your team with survivability via his shields while taking direct hits himself. Said shields scale from his Defense stat., so any Relic sets that increase his defense or HP are great picks.
Knight of Purity Palace is by and large Gepard’s best relic set because of the Defense increase as well as the boost to the shields that Gepard generates. Guard of Wuthering Snow is a decent alternative since it increases Gepard’s survivability, but only Gepard’s and not the whole team’s.
You could opt to fit Gepard with two pieces from both sets to combine the Defense bonus with the Damage Reduction bonus, but we highly recommend farming for a full set of Knight of Purity Palace for the best Gepard build.
Best Cavern Relic Stats
| Best Relic Stats | ||||
| Helm | Gloves | Body | Feet | |
| Main Stat | HP + | Attack + | DEF % | Speed |
| Sub 1 | DEF % | DEF % | Speed | DEF % |
| Sub 2 | Effect Hit Rate | Effect Hit Rate | Effect Hit Rate | Effect Hit Rate |
| Sub 3 | Speed | Speed | Effect Res | HP % |
| Sub 4 | Effect Res | Effect Res | HP % | Effect Res |
As we’ve mentioned above, Gepard really wants Defense since this helps him with survivability and increases the total amount of shields he generates. Having hefty shields from Gepard allows you to commit your other characters to offense since Gepard should have you covered on the defensive side.
After Defense, we want to prioritize Speed since Gepard is incredibly slow to take his turns. A slow Gepard means he’s slow to recover Energy, which can sometimes lead to not having shields during critical moments.
Next, we’ll want as much Effect Hit Rate and Effect Resistance as possible. The Effect Hit Rate triggers the bonus we get from our Planar Sets, while Effect Resistance stops Gepard from taking Status Effects like Freeze and Kafka’s Mind Control.
Gepard Best Planar Ornaments
| Planar Ornament Set | How to Farm | 2-Piece Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Belobog of the Architects | Simulated Universe – World 6 | Increases the wearer’s Defense by 15%. When the wearer’s Effect Hit Rate is 50% or higher, the wearer gains an extra 15% Defense. |
| Fleet of the Ageless | Simulated Universe – World 3 | Increases the wearer’s Max HP by 12%. When the wearer’s Speed reaches 120 or higher, all allies’ Attack increases by 8%. |
Belobog of the Architects is Gepard’s best set because it increases his Defense by a total of 30% if you can manage to roll enough Effect Hit Rate sub-stats. Again, we want to reiterate how important Defense is for Gepard for his shields.
Fleet of the Ageless is another considerable set for its Max HP bonus while boosting allies’ Attack. This set turns Gepard into almost a Tank-Support instead of a committed Tank if you can get enough Speed to trigger the second set bonus.
Gepard Best Planar Ornament Stats
| Best Planar Ornament Stats | ||
| Link Rope | Planar Sphere | |
| Main Stat | Energy Regeneration Rate | DEF % |
| Sub 1 | DEF % | Effect Hit Rate |
| Sub 2 | Speed | Effect Res |
| Sub 3 | HP % | HP % |
| Sub 4 | Effect Res | Speed |
Similar to his Cavern Relics, Gepard’s sub-stats should prioritize Defense and Speed while picking up Effect Hit Rate and Effect Resistance wherever he can. Enery Regeneration Rate for the main stat of his Link Rope with even more Defense on his Planar Sphere to maximize his shield uptime.
Gepard Best Light Cones
| Rarity | Light Cone | Effect | How to Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✦✦✦✦✦ | (Best in Slot) Moment of Victory | Verdict Increases the wearer’s Defense by 24% and Effect Hit Rate by 24%. Increases the chance for the wearer to be attacked by enemies. When the wearer is attacked, increase their Defense by an extra 24% until the end of the wearer’s turn. | Starlight Exchange / Gacha |
| ✦✦✦✦ | Landau’s Choice | Time Fleets Away The wearer is more likely to be attacked, and Damage taken is reduced by 16%. | Gacha |
| ✦✦✦✦ | Trend of the Universal Market | A New Round of Shuffling Increases the wearer’s Defense by 16%. When the wearer is attacked, there is a 100% base chance to Burn the enemy. For each turn, the wearer deals Damage over Time that is equal to 40% of the wearer’s Defense for 2 turn(s). | Gacha |
| ✦✦✦✦ | Day One of My New Life | At This Very Moment Increases the wearer’s Defense by 16%. After entering battle, increases All-Type Resistance of all allies by 8%. Effects of the same type cannot stack. | Gacha |
| ✦✦✦ | Amber | Stasis Increases the wearer’s Defense by 16%. If the wearer’s current HP is lower than 50%, increases their Defense by a further 16%. | Gacha |
Gepard’s best light cone is, of course, his signature Light Cone, Moment of Victory. It increases both his Defense and Effect Hit Rate while making him more likely to get attacked by enemies.
The next best Light Cone is the 4-Star Light Cone, Landau’s Choice. This Light Cone coupled with Gepard’s inherently high aggression value makes effectively allows Gepard to have a constant Taunt.
Trend of the Universal Market is another notable 4-Star Light Cone that affords more offense. This Light Clone allows Gepard the chance to proc Burn on enemies that attack him. This could pair well with the Nihility blessings in Simulated Universe, or with another playable character, Kafka.
If you’re only starting out at the game, and don’t have many Light Cones yet, feel free to equip the Amber Light Cone as a placeholder. You could also purchase the Pseudo-5-Star Preservation Light Cone, Texture of Memories, from Herta’s Store.
Conclusion
Truth be told, an argument can be made for Trailblazer (Fire) when discussing who to invest in as your lineup’s Tank because of how frequently the MC can apply shields. These shields however are significantly smaller, which means enemies that hit hard will still be able to deal chip damage to your characters.
In contrast, Gepard’s shields are much bulkier, effectively mitigating all the damage that your team takes if you have enough investment to constantly use your ultimate. This eliminates the need for an Abundance character since your team will always be full HP.
In addition to this, Gepard is of the Ice element and naturally has access to Freeze, allowing you to delay or stop most enemy attacks from ever happening in the first place.
Consider investing in Gepard if you don’t have a 2nd healer for Memory of Chaos. And consider yourself lucky if you find yourself “losing” the 50-50 on a featured banner and get a Gepard instead.