Gilgamesh — Honkai Star Rail Character Guide

Overview

Free collab Lightning sub-DPS built for Saber: shared attack tallies fire a joint Follow-up ATK that feeds her 120 fixed Energy and doubles her next Ultimate, while his aura grants up to 120% ATK and CRIT DMG to high-Max-Energy allies.

Lightning Destruction sub-DPS designed to pair with Saber. Gains Interest from ally actions and Ultimates — each point held grants 10% SPD, and each point gained feeds a stacking +150% CRIT DMG trace. Once Interest first reaches 10 he locks into a Skill-only mode, spamming a no-SP 280% ATK blast that grants himself 30% DEF ignore. Attacks by Gilgamesh or Saber build a shared tally; at 8 the pair launch a joint Follow-up ATK that also grants Saber 120 fixed Energy and doubles her next Ultimate. His 360-Energy AoE Ultimate is funded by fixed refunds equal to 30% of allies' Ultimate Energy costs, and his field aura grants all allies up to 120% ATK and CRIT DMG scaled by their Max Energy.

Key Mechanics

• His Energy economy is almost entirely fixed-value: 30% refunds from ally Ultimates plus flat Basic/Skill gains. Energy Regeneration Rate barely helps, so ERR ropes are devalued; ally Ultimate frequency (and Huohuo's 20% Max Energy restore) is what cycles his 360-cost Ultimate.
• He has no Energy overflow mechanic — ally Ultimates fired while he sits near 360 Energy waste the refund. On the Saber side, the joint attack's 120 fixed Energy equals her overflow cap, so any overflow she already holds is equally wasted.
• A6 makes him a Max-Energy-scaling aura buffer: allies at 240+ Max Energy receive the full 120% ATK and CRIT DMG, while low-Energy-cost allies receive only the 20%/20% base — his buffs are dramatically better on high-Energy carries.
• Interest SPD fluctuates mid-cycle as allies act, so his effective SPD is irregular; hard SPD breakpoints are unreliable and he is typically built on ATK boots at base SPD.
• Ultimate damage (boosted by King's Burden and fed by fixed refunds) is his largest personal damage source, ahead of the joint Follow-up ATK and Skill spam — he contributes real sub-DPS damage rather than only buffs.
• joint-attack
• I Grant You Permission To Strike
• Dual-character Joint Follow-Up ATK system shared with Saber. Attacks by Gilgamesh or Saber build a shared tally; when it reaches 8 (checked after any unit attacks), both launch a joint Follow-up ATK and Saber receives large Energy and Ultimate payoffs.
• When Gilgamesh or Saber attacks, the shared attack tally increases by 1. After any unit attacks, if the tally has reached 8, Gilgamesh and Saber launch a Joint Follow-Up ATK dealing Lightning DMG equal to 400% of Gilgamesh's ATK and Wind DMG equal to 600% of Saber's ATK to all enemies. The tally then resets.
• On trigger: Gilgamesh gains 3 Interest, Saber regenerates a fixed 120 Energy, and Saber's next Ultimate deals 200% of its original DMG. Timing that doubled Ultimate is the core piloting decision of the pair.
• The joint attack counts as a Follow-up ATK, interacting with follow-up-triggered team effects and relic conditions.
• The system requires Saber on the team — without her, the tally, the joint attack, and its payoffs are all inactive.

Gilgamesh FAQ

Who works best with Gilgamesh in HSR?

Gilgamesh's best team options include Mortenax Blade, Sunday, Huohuo. StarGuide rates teammates by role and composition fit so the recommendation reflects how the character is actually played.

What relics should Gilgamesh use?

Gilgamesh's recommended relic setup is Scholar Lost in Erudition with Cosmic Life Sciences Institute, with stat targets around CRIT Rate ~100% in-combat, CRIT DMG 140-150% pre-buff, ATK 3200-3500.

What is the best light cone for Gilgamesh?

I Am As You Behold is the top listed light cone for Gilgamesh. Signature, obtainable free via the collab banner's 200-warp selector. The per-Energy Ultimate DMG scaling (72% at his full 360 spend) is the load-bearing stat; the 10% ERR is largely wasted on his fixed-Energy income and the 24% team CRIT DMG is modest. Best in slot, but not worth a dedicated warp chase — the gap to alternatives is unusually small.

How should I invest in Gilgamesh?

Gilgamesh's first listed investment priority is E1. Universal stopping point: extends the 30% DEF ignore to the whole team, adds +60% ATK, and a fixed 40 Energy per Skill. The single biggest upgrade for the Saber pairing and what unlocks his flex value elsewhere.

Gilgamesh Investment Priority

1. E1 — Universal stopping point: extends the 30% DEF ignore to the whole team, adds +60% ATK, and a fixed 40 Energy per Skill. The single biggest upgrade for the Saber pairing and what unlocks his flex value elsewhere.
2. LC S1 — Claim from the collab banner's 200-warp selector if reached; not worth a dedicated warp chase. The per-Energy Ultimate DMG (72% at his full 360 spend) is the meaningful stat.
3. E2 — Only after E1 and S1. Skill multipliers rise to 380%/190% with faster Interest ramp — solid, but the weakest of the three steps.

Gilgamesh Relics and Stat Targets

Recommended: Scholar Lost in Erudition with Cosmic Life Sciences Institute

Stat targets: CRIT Rate ~100% in-combat, CRIT DMG 140-150% pre-buff, ATK 3200-3500

Main stats: Body: CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG · Feet: ATK% · Sphere: Lightning DMG > ATK% · Rope: ATK%

Best Gilgamesh Light Cones

• I Am As You Behold (Best in Slot): Signature, obtainable free via the collab banner's 200-warp selector. The per-Energy Ultimate DMG scaling (72% at his full 360 spend) is the load-bearing stat; the 10% ERR is largely wasted on his fixed-Energy income and the 24% team CRIT DMG is modest. Best in slot, but not worth a dedicated warp chase — the gap to alternatives is unusually small.
• A Thankless Coronation: Saber's signature performs close to his own signature on him — the nearly-identical-cluster case. When both are fielded together, Saber holds it; on a Saber-less Gilgamesh it is the premium alternative.
• On the Fall of an Aeon: Best free-route option from the Herta Store and the realistic default when the signature isn't claimed — the minimum-viable baseline at S5.
• A Trail of Bygone Blood: Best 4-star option (Battle Pass), strongest at high superimposition. Covers his two biggest button presses but not the joint Follow-up ATK.

Best Gilgamesh Teams

Solo King

Gilgamesh as the lone carry in a standard hypercarry shell. Playable — and markedly smoother at E1, when his 30% DEF ignore extends to the team and each Skill adds 60% ATK plus fixed Energy — but deliberately ranked below his Saber partner teams: his kit was tuned around a partner, and the Max-Energy-scaled aura that defines him returns almost nothing to low-Energy amplifiers. Field it when Saber is unowned or fighting on another side.

• B-tier: Gilgamesh, Mortenax Blade, Sunday, Huohuo
• B-tier: Gilgamesh, Sunday, Tribbie, Huohuo
• B-tier: Gilgamesh, Mortenax Blade, Robin, Huohuo

Best Gilgamesh Teammates

Amplifiers: Mortenax Blade (S), Robin • Summeretto (S), Sunday (A), Tribbie (A), Trailblazer • Remembrance (A), Robin (B), Bronya (C), Sparkle (C), Ruan Mei (C), Cipher (C)

Sustains: Huohuo (S), Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae (B), Luocha (C)