Honkai Star Rail: Should you farm the new relic sets in version 1.2?

While the highlight of Honkai: Star Rail version 1.2 is the release of three new characters; namely Blade, Kafka, and Luka, the update also added four new relics to help players better strengthen their characters.

These four new relics include the Longevous Disciple and Messenger Traversing Hackerspace sets from the Caverns of Corrosion as well as the Rutilant Arena and Broken Keel sets from the new Simulated Universe World 7.

So, how good are these new relics and which characters should you start farming them for? Read on and we’ll help you find out.

Longevous Disciple (Cavern of Corrosion)

• 2 Piece: Increases Max HP by 12%.

• 4 Piece: When the wearer is hit or has their HP consumed by an ally or themselves, their CRIT Rate increases by 8% for 2 turn(s) and up to 2 stacks.

The Longevous Disciple set is obviously built for the new 5-star Destruction character Blade, whose damage scales off his Max HP and inherently consumes his own HP to trigger the set’s Crit Rate bonus. It should go without saying, but if you have Blade, then you should already be farming for a 4-piece Longevous Disciple set.

The 4-star Destruction character Arlan can also make use of this set, as he consumes his HP to use his skill, although his damage doesn’t scale off his Max HP so he won’t make much use of the 2-set bonus outside of some added survivability.

The Longevous Disciple set can also be an alternative option for the 5-star Destruction character Clara, who can draw enemy aggro with her ultimate to trigger the 4-piece set bonus. With that said, Clara has a much better option in the Champion of Streetwise Boxing set that we recommend going for instead.

While the Longevous Disciple set is meant for damage-dealing characters due to its 4-piece bonus, it can also be used as part of a mixed set by characters whose abilities scale off Max HP.

Two such characters are the healers Bailu and Natasha, whose healing abilities scale off their Max HP pools. While these characters often go for the 4-piece Passerby of Wandering Cloud, they can now also go for a mix of the 2-set Longevous Disciple and 2-piece Passerby of Wandering Cloud to buff their Max HP and Outgoing Healing stats for more heals.

An interesting tidbit about the Longevous Disciple set is that its 4-piece bonus also triggers when its wearer has their HP consumed by an ally. No such character currently in the game has an ability that consumes the HP of their allies, which should hint that such a character will be coming some time in the future.

Messenger Traversing Hackerspace (Cavern of Corrosion)

• 2 Piece: Increases SPD by 6%.

• 4 Piece: When the wearer uses their Ultimate on an ally, SPD for all allies increases by 12% for 1 turn(s). This effect cannot be stacked.

Speed is an often underrated stat in Honkai: Star Rail, as players typically prefer to get more eye-popping stats like Crit Rate, Crit DMG, or ATK. However, Speed can be just as, if not more, important as those stats, as more Speed lets a character take more actions over the course of multiple turns.

After all, getting to attack twice before an enemy even gets to hit you once can be the difference between victory and defeat.

With that in mind, the Messenger Traversing Hackerspace set is valuable for the teamwide Speed buffs it can grant with its 4-piece bonus. Since that Speed bonus only triggers when a character uses their ultimate on an ally, you should get this set for Harmony characters who often have such abilities.

So, if you have Bronya, Asta, Yukong, or Tingyun, then you should start farming for the Messenger Traversing Hackerspace set. It is especially valuable in hypercarry teams, where one or two characters can carry the Messenger Traversing Hackerspace for its Speed teamwide buffs and the Fleet of the Ageless set for its teamwide ATK buffs.

Rutilant Arena (Simulated Universe)

• 2 Piece: Increases the wearer's CRIT Rate by 8%. When the wearer's current CRIT Rate reaches 70% or higher, the wearer's Basic ATK and Skill DMG increase by 20%.

The Rutilant Arena set gives its wearer Crit Rate, which is always valuable, while also increasing their basic attack and skill DMG by 20% should they reach 70% Crit Rate or higher.

With that, the Rutilant Arena set will be another option for DPS characters, with the Inert Salsotto set being the other, looking for more Crit Rate and DMG bonuses on their abilities.

If your character’s damage output is more reliant on their basic attacks or skills, then go for the Rutilant Arena. If they are more reliant on their ultimate or on follow-up attacks, then Inert Salsotto is the way to go.

However, do keep in mind that the Rutilant Arena set has a much higher Crit Rate requirement, at 70%, for its additional buffs compared to the Inert Salsotto set.

The likes of Blade, Seele, Yanqing, Qingque, and Sushang in particular can make good use of the Rutilant Arena set. Crit Rate-increasing Light Cones like ‘In the Night’, ‘The Unreachable Side’, and ‘Return to Darkness’ can also help you reach the Crit Rate requirements for this set.

Broken Keel (Simulated Universe)

• 2 Piece: Increases the wearer's Effect RES by 10%. When the wearer's Effect RES is at 30% or higher, all allies' CRIT DMG increases by 10%.

Effect RES is another underrated stat in Honkai: Star Rail, though it is not as impactful as Speed, for example. Even so, it is especially valuable for Abundance characters who need to resist enemy debuffs so that they can keep healing their allies regardless of whatever attacks the enemy throws at them.

But while Effect RES is often scoffed at, Crit DMG is very much wanted, especially if you can give it to your entire party.

With that, the Broken Keel set is perfect for healers like Luocha, Bailu, and Natasha, as it gives them some added survivability and damage buffs to their allies. Going for the Broken Keel on your party’s healer is especially valuable if you already have another character carrying the Fleet of the Ageless set, which gives party-wide ATK buffs.

Since Effect RES cannot be acquired as a relic main stat, we recommend using the ‘Perfect Timing’ Light Cone in conjunction with the Broken Keel set, unless you already reached 30% Effect RES through substats.

At S1, Perfect Timing increases its wearer’s Effect RES by 16% and their Outgoing Healing by an amount that is equal to 33% of Effect RES, although the Outgoing Healing can only be increased this way by up to 15%.

Getting Perfect Timing to S2 gives its wearer 20% Effect RES, which guarantees its Crit DMG buff even without additional Effect RES from substats.

Honkai: Star Rail is currently in version 1.2, with Blade as the featured 5-star of the first half. The second half will see Kafka take the spotlight as the featured 5-star alongside the debut of new 4-star character Luka.

After Honkai: Star Rail version 1.2 comes version 1.3, which features new 5-star characters Imbibitor Lunae and Fu Xuan as well as a new 4-star in Lynx Landau. Version 1.3 is expected to come out in mid-August.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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