Best Honkai Star Rail Gepard Build, Light Cones, and Relics
The best offense is defense or whatever they say.
UPDATE 16/12/2024: We have updated this page with additional information on Gepard's best team compositions, light cones, ascension materials, and what order to prioritise his Traces in.
The best Honkai: Star Rail Gepard build turns the Silvermane general into a mighty shield that keeps your party safe and even negates the need for a healer.
Gepard ended up pretty well off in our Honkai Star Rail tier list at launch, held back only by his almost non-existent attack power.
If you need some extra Stellar Jade to throw at the standard banner, check out our Star Rail codes list for some freebies.
Best Honkai Star Rail Gepard Build
Gepard is a 5-Star character from the Path of Preservation using the Ice element in Honkai Star Rail.
Unlike Marth 7th, Gepard functions more like a traditional tank character. He deals a decent amount of damage with his skill, but his ultimate is the more useful ability, as it creates a shield for all allies that scales based on his defense. Defense, HP, and energy regeneration are the most important parts of any Gepard build.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Gepard Light Cone
5-Star Gepard Light Cone
Moment of Victory is Gepard’s signature Light Cone, and it’s excellent for a tank like him. It raises the wearer’s defense and increases the chance that enemies will target them. More importantly, it raises their effect hit rate, which means attacks – such as Gepard’s skill – are more likely to inflict a status effect, which would be freeze in Gepard’s case. Freeze is Gepard’s second most useful function, so if you end up with this Light Cone, definitely make sure Gepard gets it.
4-Star Gepard Light Cone
Landau’s Choice is a strong 4-star pick, though it’s simpler. It raises the wearer’s defense and increases the chance that enemies will target them. This Is Me! is another good choice if you want to eke out some extra damage from Gepard’s skill. It buffs defense, and after the wearer uses their ultimate, it buffs their overall damage by an amount that scales on their defense.
You could also consider Day One of My New Life, which increases the wearer's DEF stats and the DMG RES of all allies upon entering battle, so this not only benefits Gepard's DEF, but his entire team too.
3-Star Gepard Light Cone
For 3-stars, Amber is your best pick. It gives the usual defense buff and doubles it if the wearer’s HP drops below 50 percent. If you’re struggling to keep Gepard’s HP up or don’t have a healer in the party, you may want to consider Defense, which restore’s the wearer’s HP after they use their ultimate.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Gepard Relics
Two Relic sets fit Gepard quite well, depending on what you want for him. A Gepard without a healer may benefit the most from Guard of Wuthering Snow.
- Two-piece effect: Reduces damage taken by eight percent.
- Four-piece effect: If the user’s HP is below 50 percent, they regenerate eight percent of their max HP at the start of the turn and five energy.
Knight of Purity Palace is the standard set for him, though, which does the following.
- Two-piece effect: Increases defense by 12 percent.
- Four-piece effect: Shields the user creates can absorb 20 percent more damage.
Honkai Star Rail - Best Gepard Ornaments
Belobog of the Architects works the best for Gepard. It buffs the user’s defense by 15 percent, and if their effect hit rate is higher than 50 percent, the defense buff doubles.
Whatever you decide to use on Gepard, defense, effect hit, and energy regeneration should be your main stat priorities.
- Body: Defense %
- Feet: Speed
- Sphere: Defense %
- Link Rope: Energy Regen Rate
Honkai Star Rail - Gepard Traces Priority
The most useful part of Gepard's kit, and as a result, the part we'll use the most, is his Ultimate. This is what kits the team out with shields and keeps them alive, so prioritise that first and foremost before moving onto levelling his Skill.
After that, you can level Gepard's Talent and Basic Attack in equal measure. These don't matter too much.
- Ultimate
- Skill
- Talent
- Basic Attack
Honkai Star Rail - Gepard Ascension Materials
To get Gepard from Level 1 all the way to Level 80 in Honkai Star Rail, you will need the following Ascension Materials for him:
- 15x Silvermane Badge
- 15x Silvermane Insignia
- 15x Silvermane Medal
- 65x Horn of Snow
- 308000x Credits
Honkai Star Rail - Best Gepard Teams
Gepard, as a 5-Star who's main role is to shield the team, can be slotted into an array of different teams as a Sustain character. That said, he needs a strong DPS character to take down foes, someone such as Seele, Acheron, or Clara.
Sn Erudition character would be helpful as well – Himeko or Jing Yuan for example.
We also recommend sticking Tingyun, Bronya, or Asta on the team to regenerate energy and keep speed up. You could also consider the likes of Jiaoqiu.
Given that Gepard's shielding keeps the team alive, you don't need and shouldn't really bring a healer alongside him.
Is Gepard good in Honkai Star Rail?
Gepard is the best defender in the game as of the launch version, though defending is, admittedly, all he really does. His basic attack scaling is lower than it is even with some support characters, and his skill is a single-target attack that deals only moderate damage. It does, however, have a decent chance of freezing enemies, which causes extra ice damage at the start of their turn and leaves them vulnerable to melee damage.
Gepard’s ultimate creates a shield for the entire party, and his special talent saves him from a fatal blow once per battle. If you’re struggling with energy regeneration or want to focus on other stats, make sure to use Gepard’s technique before a fight. You’ll start the battle with shields for the entire party, which keeps everyone safe while Gepard’s energy meter fills up.
That’s pretty much all there is to him. It sounds bland, but his setup makes him excellent against difficult bosses, long stretches in the Simulated Universe, or Formidable Foes. A team with Gepard can also probably survive without a healer, which frees up a slot for someone else – another damage dealer or a support.
Should I pull for Gepard in Honkai Star Rail?
Gepard is one of the guaranteed 5-stars in the beginner’s banner and will remain permanently available in the standard banner. There’s no rush to pull for him, and this early in Star Rail’s life, it might be worth holding onto your Stellar Jade to see what other characters HoYoverse has in store.
If you’ve got extra passes to spend, though, it’s certainly worth trying to get Gepard on your team.
Take a look at our Honkai Star Rail tier list to find more characters worth pulling for, and don’t forget to increase your Equilibrium Level and tackle the Simulated Universe for some extra rewards.