All Honkai: Star Rail players get Archer for free during the game's collab event with Fate/stay night.

The Holy Grail War has finally arrived in Penacony in Honkai: Star Rail's long-awaited collaboration event with Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]! As part of the collaboration, all Honkai: Star Rail players will receive the 5-star character Archer for free, with his signature Light Cone also being given away to those that pulled 200 times during the duration of Version 3.4.

Just because Archer is a free character doesn't mean he won't be worth building. Wielding the Quantum element and following the Path of the Hunt, Archer specialises in dealing massive amounts of single-target DMG and can scale his DMG output up by consuming skill points. If you want to win the Penaconian Holy Grail War with Archer, read on as we break down his abilities plus his best Light Cones, relics, and teammates!

Archer build guide in Honkai: Star Rail x Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collab

Archer's kit is built around his skill, Caladbolg II: Fake Spiral Sword. Upon using it, he enters the “Circuit Connection” state and deals Quantum DMG based on his ATK to a single target. While in the Circuit Connection state, his turn doesn't end until certain conditions are met and the damage of his skill is also increased by 100%, with the damage boost stacking twice.

Archer can keep using his skill while in the Circuit Connection state up to a maximum of 5 times, or until all skill points are consumed, after which he exits the Circuit Connection state. Defeating all enemy targets in a single wave also ends the Circuit Connection state.

With Archer's primary DMG tool relying on consuming skill points, two of his major Traces assist him in this playstyle. His A2 Trace, Projection Magecraft, increases the maximum skill points available to the team by two for a maximum of seven skill points. Meanwhile, his A6 Trace, Guardian, increases his Crit DMG by 120% for one turn after the party gains a skill point and if there are four or more skill points available.

Archer's ultimate is his iconic attack, Unlimited Blade Works. It deals a massive amount of Quantum DMG to a single enemy while also giving him two stacks of Charge. Charge has a maximum stack count of four and ties into his Talent, Mind's Eye.

Mind's Eye lets Archer consume one stack of Charge and launch a follow-up attack on the primary target of an ally's attack, with the follow-up attack dealing Quantum DMG and recovering one skill point. If the target of the ally's attack is defeated before Archer's follow-up attack is launched, it will instead be redirected to a random enemy target.

Archer's Talent also ties into his A4 Trace, Hero of Justice, and Technique, Clairvoyance. Hero of Justice gives him one stack of Charge at the start of a battle to help him quickly build up Charge stacks. Meanwhile, Clairvoyance lets your party enter combat and deal Quantum DMG to all enemies while also giving Archer one stack of Charge.

In battle, Archer ideally acts after the party's supports before unleashing a massive barrage of DMG in the Circuit Connection state during his turn. Let your other party members attack the enemy first to consume stacks of Charge, with Archer's ultimate giving him more stacks, while maxing out the number of available skill points. Once Archer takes his turn, use all skill points you have available to wipe the battlefield clean of all opposition.

When leveling up Archer's abilities, prioritise maxing out his skill level first followed by his Talent and ultimate. Ideally, Archer never has to use his basic attack, so you can skip leveling it if you want to save on resources.

Archer's best Light Cones, relics, and teammates

Light Cones

Archer's best Light Cone is, of course, his signature: The Hell Where Ideals Burn. It passively increases his Crit Rate by 16% and ATK by 40% if the maximum amount of skill points your party has available is six or more, which Archer's A2 Trace guarantees. In addition, the Light Cone also grants him a 10% ATK boost after using his skill, stacking up to four times.

Archer's signature Light Cone can be acquired for free by pulling in any banner during the duration of Version 3.4, so it will be relatively easy to get if you're pulling for other characters during this version. But if you're saving up your Stellar Jade for future updates, don't fret as Archer still has good alternatives to his signature.

Among the 5-star Hunt Light Cones, your best bet will be the ever-reliable Cruising in the Stellar Sea, which can be acquired and Superimposed for free through the Simulated Universe's Herta Store. Among the limited 5-star Hunt Light Cones, you can also go for Topaz's signature, Worrisome, Blissful, or Dr. Ratio's signature, Baptism of Pure Thought, if you have them available and are not using them on their respective characters.

Among the 4-star Hunt Light Cones, your go-to option will be the new Battle Pass Light Cone See You at the End. It increases its wearer's Crit DMG by 24%, while also increasing the DMG dealt by their skill and any follow-up attacks by 24%.

Archer's free-to-play 4-star Light Cone will be Final Victor, which passively increases his ATK by 12%. And if the wearer lands a Crit Hit, they gain a stack of ‘Good Fortune', which increases their Crit DMG by 8%, up to a maximum of 4 stacks or 24% Crit DMG. Good Fortune gets removed at the end of its wearer's turn, a limit that Archer can circumvent since his skill lets him keep attacking without ending his turn.

Relics

Archer's go-to Cavern of Corrosion relic sets will be the 4-piece Genius of Brilliant Stars set by far, especially if Archer is facing enemies with a Quantum elemental weakness. 

This set's 2-piece bonus boosts Archer's Quantum DMG by 10% while its 4-piece bonus lets his attacks ignore 10% of the enemy's DEF, with an additional 10% DEF ignore if the target enemy has a Quantum weakness. DEF ignore and DEF reduction mechanics are among the best methods to boost a character's DMG output in Honkai: Star Rail, so make the most out of this set by ensuring Archer is facing Quantum-weak enemies or is running alongside Silver Wolf (more on her later).

For Archer's Planar Ornament relics, go for the 2-piece Rutilant Arena set. It increases Archer's Crit Rate by 8% and, if his Crit Rate is at 70% or higher, increases his basic attack and skill DMG by 20%. More Crit Rate is always nice and the skill DMG buff on Archer is a no-brainer.

The main stats you should go for in Archer's relics include: 

  • Body: Crit Rate/DMG - Crit Rate is preferred since he buffs his own Crit DMG already
  • Feet: Speed or ATK% - ATK% is preferred since Archer doesn't require high Speed stats
  • Planar Sphere: Quantum DMG% Boost or ATK%
  • Link Rope: ATK%

Teammates

As a traditional ATK and Crit-scaling damage-dealer, Archer's best teammates follow the typical Harmony support-sustain support-flex slot formula. With that said, his reliance on his skill and consuming skill points does make certain characters clear-cut favourites to have on his team.

For Archer's Harmony support, your go-to should be Sparkle. Sparkle increases the amount of available skill points your team has, buffs her teammates' DMG whenever they consume skill points, gives a party-wide ATK buff that also scales higher the more Quantum characters are present, and boosts the Crit DMG of her skill's target while also advancing their action by 50%. Succinctly put, Sparkle is Archer's perfect teammate.

If you don't have Sparkle, the likes of Sunday, Bronya, Robin, and Tribbie are still good picks, though you may encounter some issues with having enough skill points to maximise Archer's DMG output.

For Archer's sustain support, you want someone that can provide sustain while also generating more skill points for the team. Gallagher is the best pick for this role, though the likes of Aventurine or Luocha are also good picks. Fu Xuan or Lynx can also be considered if you're running Sparkle, and want to maximise the ATK boost she gives for running more Quantum characters. A sub-DPS sustain like Hyacine can also work nicely as long as you can manage your skill point economy.

For the flex slot in Archer's team, you can either go for a second Harmony character or a Nihilty debuffer. However, we recommend going for a Nihility debuffer instead in the form of the newly-buffed Silver Wolf. 

Silver Wolf provides massive DEF reduction debuffs to enemies to further boost Archer's DMG output. If you're running the Genius of Brilliant Stars set, Silver Wolf becomes a stronger pick, by being able to guarantee a Quantum weakness on any enemy to let Archer's attacks ignore even more of the enemy's DEF. As mentioned previously, DEF ignore and DEF reduction mechanics are among the best methods to boost a character's DMG output in the game.

Aside from Silver Wolf, another strong Nihility debuffer you can run will be Cipher. Cipher acts more like a sub-DPS than a straight-up debuffer, though she can still generate plenty of skill points when played right, while also helping the team finish off any enemies still left standing after Archer's skill barrage is done.