Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide - Theria Games
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Introduction
This 5-star Light Cone follows the Path of Harmony and is a powerful addition to any Harmony character’s arsenal. Its effects are tailored to enhance characters who excel with single-target Skills and Ultimates, making it a versatile and valuable option for those looking to boost their team’s performance in combat.
The ability “Departing Anew” activates when the wearer uses their Skill or Ultimate on an ally. It provides 6 Energy to the wearer, applies 1 stack of “Hymn” to the target for 3 turns (stacking up to 3 times), and increases the target’s DMG dealt by 15% for each stack. Additionally, after every 2 instances of using Skill or Ultimate on an ally, the wearer recovers 1 Skill Point, making the Light Cone a strong option for characters who require both energy regeneration and Skill Point recovery.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent was released on December 3, 2024, during the first half of Honkai Star Rail’s Version 2.7, featured in the Brilliant Fixation Warp Banner. The Light Cone is especially effective for characters like Sunday and Tingyun, who have single-target Skills and Ultimates. These characters can take full advantage of its consistent Energy regeneration, the “Hymn” buff, and Skill Point recovery, making them more efficient and powerful in battle.
While some players debate its value compared to other Harmony Light Cones, such as Bronya’s “But the Battle Isn’t Over,” Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is recognized for its significant potential in boosting both damage output and Skill Point management. Its utility extends to any Harmony character with a focus on single-target abilities, providing a well-rounded and reliable choice for enhancing combat strategies in Honkai Star Rail.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Light Cone Ability
The Light Cone ability of Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is called “Departing Anew”. This ability is designed to be highly effective for characters following the Path of Harmony, providing strong synergy for those who rely on single-target Skills and Ultimates. Here’s an in-depth look at how the ability works:
Trigger: The ability activates when the wearer uses their Skill or Ultimate on one ally character. The wording emphasizes that it must target a single ally, which is crucial for the full effect to take place.
Energy Regeneration: Upon using their Skill or Ultimate on the ally, the wearer regenerates 6 Energy. This amount of energy regeneration (6.0) is specifically noted in the description, ensuring a reliable source of Energy recovery for Harmony characters.
“Hymn” Buff: The targeted ally receives 1 stack of “Hymn” for 3 turns. This effect can stack up to 3 times, meaning the ally can have a maximum of 3 stacks, which would last for a total of 9 turns if they maintain the buff. Each stack of “Hymn” boosts the ally’s DMG dealt by 15%, making it a potent buff for increasing the damage output of the affected character. This stacking mechanic allows for a significant increase in damage if applied consistently.
A Grounded Ascent Superimpose Levels
Superimposition LevelEnergy Regeneration“Hymn” DMG Boost per StackSkill Point Recovery IntervalLevel 16.0 Energy15%Every 2 instancesLevel 26.5 Energy17%Every 2 instancesLevel 37.0 Energy19%Every 2 instancesLevel 47.5 Energy21%Every 2 instancesLevel 58.0 Energy24%Every 2 instancesSkill Point Recovery: After every 2 instances of the wearer using their Skill or Ultimate on one ally character, the wearer recovers 1 Skill Point. This is a crucial aspect of the Light Cone’s utility, especially for characters that need to manage their Skill Points efficiently, as it ensures a positive Skill Point economy.
The effectiveness of “Departing Anew” is closely tied to the wearer’s status as a Harmony character with single-target Skills or Ultimates. This synergy ensures that the ability triggers consistently, regenerating Energy, stacking the “Hymn” buff, and providing Skill Point recovery. Characters like Sunday and Tingyun are considered excellent users of this Light Cone due to their reliance on single-target abilities. Their Skills and Ultimates are perfect for triggering these effects repeatedly, allowing them to both deal more damage and maintain a positive Energy and Skill Point balance.
A Grounded Ascent Stats
Lv.152212420203839230345141157405092082315067327530660836342380701000409454801164476529This Light Cone is highly effective for enhancing characters like Sparkle and Tingyun, who can generate Skill Points efficiently. However, it is crucial to note that the ability’s Energy regeneration will not activate if the wearer uses an Ultimate or Skill that targets more than one character. The ability is specifically designed to trigger when targeting one ally, meaning characters with multi-target abilities will not benefit from the full potential of this Light Cone.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Best Characters to Use the Light Cone
The best characters to use the Light Cone Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent are those on the Path of Harmony with single-target Skills or Ultimates. The Light Cone’s ability, “Departing Anew,” is most effective when these conditions are met, allowing the wearer to consistently regenerate Energy, apply and stack the “Hymn” buff on a target ally, and recover Skill Points.
Best Characters to Use the Light ConeSundayThis Light Cone is considered “amazing for Sunday”. Both his Skill and Ultimate target a single ally, allowing him to consistently trigger the Energy regeneration and stack the “Hymn” buff. The additional Skill Point recovery helps make him Skill Point positive, with some suggesting that at Eidolon 0 and Superimposition 1, he can become 0.25 Skill Points positive by spamming his Skill every turn.Tingyun
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is also great for Tingyun. Tingyun’s Skill and Ultimate target a single ally, enabling her to effectively utilize the Energy regeneration and stack the “Hymn” buff. The Skill Point recovery is also highly beneficial for her, making her more efficient in battles.
For other Harmony characters, the following considerations apply:
Harmony characters with single-target Skills or Ultimates: The Light Cone works well for Harmony characters with single-target Skills or Ultimates, as it provides both Energy regeneration and the ability to buff an ally with “Hymn,” increasing damage output.
Harmony characters with only single-target Skills or Ultimates: While characters with single-target Skills but not Ultimates (or vice versa) can use Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent, they “won’t be able to utilize the Energy regen that often” and will take longer to fully stack “Hymn.” Therefore, it might not be the optimal choice for them.
Other Recommended CharactersSparkleWhile Sparkle can benefit from the Skill Point generation potential of Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent, her Ultimate does not trigger the Energy regeneration since it is not a single-target ability. Despite this, the Skill Point recovery is still useful in teams that heavily rely on Skill Point usage.Bronya
The effectiveness of “A Grounded Ascent” for Bronya depends on whether her Ultimate counts toward the Light Cone’s trigger condition. Some users suggest that if Harmony characters like Bronya use this Light Cone, the DMG boost only applies to the target character. A comparison with Bronya’s signature Light Cone, “But the Battle Isn’t Over,” shows that both provide similar effects, making Bronya’s own Light Cone a sufficient option unless you specifically want to use “A Grounded Ascent” with Sunday.
In conclusion, Sunday and Tingyun are the best characters to fully capitalize on the potential of Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent due to their single-target Skills and Ultimates. Other Harmony characters with single-target abilities can also use it effectively, but the synergy may be less optimal for those lacking both single-target Skills and Ultimates. The benefits for characters like Sparkle and Bronya are more situational, particularly regarding the Energy regeneration aspect of the Light Cone.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Is A Grounded Ascent Worth it?
Strong Points (Why it might be worth it):
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is a fantastic choice for Sunday due to his single-target Skill and Ultimate, which allow for consistent Energy regeneration and easy application of the “Hymn” buff. This boosts his damage potential and helps him remain Skill Point positive. Similarly, Tingyun benefits from the Light Cone for the same reasons—her single-target abilities synergize well with the Energy regeneration and the “Hymn” buff, providing a noticeable boost to her utility.
The ability to regenerate 6 Energy and recover 1 Skill Point after every two uses also greatly benefits Harmony characters, improving overall team sustain and action economy. Additionally, the “Hymn” buff offers a 15% DMG boost per stack (up to 45% at full stacks), which significantly enhances the damage output of the targeted ally.
Potential Drawbacks (Why it might not be worth it):
The Light Cone’s effectiveness is limited for Harmony characters that don’t consistently use single-target Skills or Ultimates. If a character lacks both a single-target Skill and Ultimate, they won’t benefit from the Energy regen as often, and stacking “Hymn” will take longer. For these characters, other Harmony Light Cones might be more efficient. Additionally, if you already own Bronya’s signature Light Cone, “But the Battle Isn’t Over,” pulling for Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent may not provide a significant upgrade, as the two Light Cones share very similar effects. For certain team strategies, such as “0-cycle clears,” other Light Cones like “Dance! Dance! Dance!” might even be a more favorable choice.
While the “Hymn” buff applies to any targeted ally, there has been some confusion regarding the DMG boost. Some claims suggested that it only applies to Servants of the target character if Sunday is using the Light Cone, but this is inaccurate. The buff applies to the targeted ally regardless of who is wearing the Light Cone. Finally, while Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent offers Skill Point generation, characters like Sparkle can also be Skill Point positive. Some players argue that Sunday may even outperform Sparkle in terms of overall utility, making the Light Cone less essential for certain teams.
If you plan to focus on Sunday or Tingyun, particularly Sunday, “A Grounded Ascent” is a highly worthwhile Light Cone due to the strong synergy with their kits. For other Harmony characters who consistently use single-target Skills and Ultimates, the Light Cone can still be a valuable addition, providing significant Energy regeneration and damage boosts. However, if you already own a well-superimposed “But the Battle Isn’t Over” or other powerful Harmony Light Cones, the benefit of pulling for “A Grounded Ascent” may be less significant, unless you specifically want it for Sunday or Tingyun. Ultimately, whether it’s worth pulling for depends on your current roster, existing Light Cones, and strategic goals.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: How to Obtain A Grounded Ascent
You can obtain the Light Cone Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent primarily through the Brilliant Fixation Warp Banner.
Obtaining “A Grounded Ascent”:
Featured Light Cone: Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent was the featured 5-star Light Cone on the Brilliant Fixation Warp Banner.
Banner Duration: The banner ran from December 03, 2024, to December 25, 2024 (UTC-5), with the start date being December 04, 2024 (GMT+8).
Release Period: The Light Cone was released on December 03, 2024, during the first half of Honkai Star Rail’s Version 2.7, alongside the character Sunday.
During the specified period, players had the chance to pull for Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent through the Brilliant Fixation banner. However, gacha banners in Honkai Star Rail have limited durations, and the initial featured banner is no longer available as of the current date.
Currently, if Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is not featured on a specific banner, it might be obtainable through the standard Warp banner, though the chances of pulling a specific 5-star Light Cone from the standard banner are typically lower. It may also appear again in future Brilliant Fixation banners. Keep an eye on in-game announcements for updates on available and upcoming banners to check if “A Grounded Ascent” is obtainable at any given time.
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Ascension Materials
Lvl.Light Cone Ascension Materials20 ➔ 30Tatters of Thought x8Credit x500030 ➔ 40Firmament Note x4
Tatters of Thought x12
Credit x1000040 ➔ 50Celestial Section x4
Fragments of Impression x8
Credit x2000050 ➔ 60Celestial Section x8
Fragments of Impression x12
Credit x5000060 ➔ 70Heavenly Melody x5
Shards of Desires x6
Credit x10000070 ➔ 80Heavenly Melody x10
Shards of Desires x8
Credit x200000
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent Guide: Conclusion
Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is a 5-star Harmony Light Cone with the unique ability, “Departing Anew,” which is especially effective for Harmony characters who rely on single-target Skills and Ultimates. This Light Cone offers a combination of Energy regeneration, damage boosting through the “Hymn” buff, and Skill Point recovery, making it a valuable option for specific character kits that can consistently trigger its effects.
The key benefits of Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent lie in its ability to regenerate 6 Energy for the wearer and grant the “Hymn” buff to the targeted ally, increasing their damage dealt by 15% per stack (up to 3 stacks). Additionally, the Skill Point recovery after every two instances of Skill or Ultimate use allows for better action economy, making it an especially potent tool for characters like Sunday and Tingyun, who can reliably use their single-target abilities to trigger these effects.
Whether Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is worth pulling depends on your current roster and resources. For players focused on Sunday or Tingyun, this Light Cone offers incredible synergy with their kits, making it a highly valuable choice. Other Harmony characters who also use single-target abilities can benefit from it, though its impact may not be as strong for those without the right tools. If you already have a solid Harmony Light Cone, like Bronya’s “But the Battle Isn’t Over,” the benefits of this Light Cone might not be as significant, and the decision to pull would depend on your strategic needs.
Originally available through the Brilliant Fixation Warp Banner in Version 2.7, Honkai Star Rail A Grounded Ascent is no longer available from that banner. However, it may be obtainable through the standard Warp banner or future reruns in featured banners. Overall, “A Grounded Ascent” is a powerful Light Cone that enhances the abilities of specific Harmony characters, particularly those with single-target Skills and Ultimates, making it a valuable tool in the right hands.
