Best Honkai Star Rail Clara Build, Relics, and Light Cone
Small but mighty, with the help of Svarog.
UPDATE 16/12/2024: We have updated this guide with additional information on Clara's best team compositions, light cones, ascension materials, and what order to prioritise her Traces in.
As you progress through Honkai: Star Rail and grind your way to the top, you’ll want to make sure your characters are as strong as can be so that they can take anything thrown at them during battle. Clara, or should I say Svarog (who does all the work for her), is a great tank for any party.
If you’re looking for a member of your party who can take damage and dish it out in equal measure, often tanking hits your other party members may not have been able to handle, Clara is the best of the best. So to get the most of her powerful skillset, here’s our guide to the best build for Clara in Honkai Star Rail, including Relics, Light Cones, and more.
Best Honkai Star Rail Clara Build
Clara is a 5-Star character on the Path of Destruction in Honkai Star Rail. Her element is Physical, and she’s capable of dealing and taking massive amounts of damage, making her a great tank unit to have on your team.
Svarog will protect Clara from 10% of damage (increased via Traces), she’ll attack first when entering battle, and ultimately, is very good at protecting herself and her team.
After using her ultimate, Clara will often become the sole target of enemies. Given that she can take damage well, this is a good thing for us; she’ll tank hits other allies might not be able to. If these enemies are also marked by Svarog with his Mark of Counter (he marks them after they have attacked Clara once), he will counter-attack them; just note that using Clara’s skill (her AOE attack) resets the counter. With this all in mind, we want to focus on boosting her attack where possible, and increasing her damage reduction.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Clara Light Cone
5-Star Clara Light Cones
Something Irreplaceable is a five-star Light Cone that is simply built for Clara. When equipped, it’ll increase Clara’s attack by 20% (increased via Superimposition), and when Clara defeats an enemy or is hit by one, she’ll immediately restore some of her HP. In addition to this, it gets even better; Clara’s damage will increase by 20% until the end of her next turn.
Five-star Light Cones are at the whim of the gacha-Gods, so you might not have Something Irreplaceable. However, if you have the five-star On the Fall of the Aeon Light Cone, this is a great alternative too. Whenever Clara attacks, her attack will be increased, stacking up to four times. On top of this, whenever she inflicts a Weakness Break, she’ll also increase her damage for two turns!
There's also the Dance at Sunset five-star Light Cone, which you might've luckily acquired. This increases the chance that Clara will be attacked and increases her crit damage, which is what we want! On top of that, Clara will receive one stack of Firedance whenever she uses her Ultimate - stacking up to two times - whihc will increase the damage dealt by Clara's follow-up attacks while the buff is active.
4-Star Clara Light Cones
Now, if gacha hasn’t been too kind to you, there are two four-star alternatives. Four-star Light Cone Nowhere to Run will increase Clara’s attack and see her restoring her HP when attacked. On the other hand, four-star Light Cone The Moles Welcome You (one of my favourites solely because of its description), will give Clara a stack of mischievous every time she acts; each stack will increase her attack further.
3-Star Clara Light Cones
Three-star Light Cone Collapsing Sky also makes a good, lower-levelled pick. Considering how common the Light Cone is, you can easily Superimpose it five times. At the fifth level of Superimposition, the Light Cone will increase Clara’s basic attack and skill by 40%! It’s not the best, but it does the job until a better Light Cone comes along.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Clara Relics
Clara has a few sets of Relics to choose from, depending on whether you want to improve Clara’s attack or defensive capabilities better.
I’ve personally opted for Champion of Streetwise Boxing. With two pieces equipped, Clara’s physical damage is increase by 10%. With four pieces, Clara’s attack increase by 5% for the rest of the battle when she is hit, stacking up to five times.
Another viable option is the Guard of Wuthering Snow set. Two equipped pieces of gear will reduce the damage Clara takes by 8%. With four pieces, if Clara’s HP is less than or equal to 50% at the beginning of a turn, HP equal to 8% of her max HP is restored, alongside 5 energy.
Another defensive set of Relics you can consider are Longevous Disciple. These increase Clara's max HP by 12%, and if she is hit or has her HP consumed (by an ally or herself), her crit rate is increased by 8% for up to two turns. This can stack twice.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Clara Ornaments
There are a few different Ornaments you can kit Clara out with in Honkai Star Rail. The first is Duran, Dynasty of Running Wolves. When allies use follow-up attacks, Clara will receive one stack of Merit, up to five times. Every stack of Merit increases the damage dealt by Clara's follow-up attacks by 5%. This can be up to 25% depending on how many stacks of Merit Clara has.
An alternative to this is Inert Salsotto, a foolproof set of Ornaments. These will increase Clara's crit rate by 8%, and when her crit rate reaches 50% or higher, her Ultimate and her follow-up attacks will do 15% more damage.
Honkai Star Rail - Clara Traces Priority
Clara's talent allows you to reduce the amount of damage she takes while also marking and dishing out follow-up attacks to those who try to attack her. It's what we'll be using the most, so level that first!
While doing so, you should level up Clara's skill simultaneously where you can. This allows her to attack a targeted enemy, as well as any enemies who have been marked by her talent.
After this, focus on Clara's ultimate, which allows her to take even less damage, increases her chances of being attacked, and enhances her follow-up attacks. Last, but not least, you can level Clara's basic attack.
- Talent
- Skill
- Ultimate
- Basic Attacks
Honkai Star Rail - Clara Ascension Materials
To get Clara from Level 1 all the way to Level 80 in Honkai Star Rail, you will need the following Ascension Materials for her:
- 15x Ancient Parts
- 15x Ancient Spindles
- 15x Ancient Engines
- 65x Broken Teeth of Iron Wolf
- 308000x Credits
Honkai Star Rail - Best Clara Teams
Clara will act as the main DPS for any team you place her in, so you'll want characters that can amplify her kit - preferably buffing her attack - as well as one sustain character that can keep your team healed.
For your amplifier role, which you can choose two characters for, we recommend the likes of Robin, Sparkle, or Topaz. For more free-to-play friendly options, you could consider Tingyun or March 7th: The Hunt.
Robin is undoubtedly the best pairing for Clara, with Robin - who is incredibly powerful - able to buff both Clara's attack and crit damage. Sparkle is also capable of buffing Clara's crit damage, but for a more easily attainable character that functions similarly, you could consider using Bronya.
Tingyun is a good free-to-play option to choose from, too. She'll buff the attack and damage of Clara, while also being able to regenerate Energy for her so she can regularly use her Ultimate.
As for your healer, you've a few options! Fu Xuan is great. She's capable of reducing the damage her team receives while also using her skill to buff the max HP and crit rate of her allies, which is great news for Clara. She's also, of course, able to patch up any concerningly low HP bars.
Alternatively, you could consider Huohuo or Aventurine as your healer.
The ideal Clara team looks a little bit like the following:
- Clara
- Robin
- Sparkle or Tingyun
- Fu Xuan or Huohuo
Is Clara good in Honkai Star Rail?
Clara isn’t just good in Honkai Star Rail, she’s great. As an S-tier character, she’s one of the most capable tank-characters that there is. Not only does she focus on tanking damage that would save allies from precarious scenarios, or fainting, but she can dish out equally impactful amounts of damage too.
Clara might not be necessary to every party or battle, but when going up against a tanky enemy who doesn’t seem to want to go down, she can make a huge difference. If you happen to get her Eidolons with some luck, she only gets stronger; her attack can increase following her ultimate, her damage taken can be reduced, and these are all things she is incredibly valuable for.
She also recruits Svarog to do most of her bidding, and who doesn’t love a big ol’ robot?
Should I pull for Clara in Honkai Star Rail?
Clara is a five-star character, and while she’s great, you could be Warping for a long time before you actually get her. That said, she's available via the permanent banner, which you'll no doubt end up spending your free pulls on anyway. I just wouldn't recommend going out of your way and spending any Stellar Jade on trying to get her.
On top of that, there are a few opportunities to get free 5-Star characters - from the game's permananent banner - for free as part of Star Rail's events, so keep your eyes peeled for those.
Without Clara, both the Fire Trailblazer and Gepard make pretty good tanks; each of them have their differences to Clara in battle, obviously, but these characters prioritise protecting their team from heavy hitters.
For more on Honkai Star Rail, take a look at our guide to the best build for free healer, Natasha, as well as the other free characters you can unlock in Honkai Star Rail.