The best Honkai: Star Rail Yukong build is all about providing extra buffs that synergise with her Roaring Bowstrings attack boost. When the archer uses her skill, she applies this buff to the next two allies that attack, and if she then uses her Diving Kestrel ultimate while this passive is active, she’ll provide a further buff to crit rate and crit damage.
This combo makes her the best four-star Harmony character in the game so far. Yukong is also strong because these buffs are fixed percentages, meaning you don’t need to build her stats to boost them. Instead, you can focus on building her towards damage and providing even more buffs for the party. Here, I’ll run through my recommended Honkai: Star Rail Yukong build, plus her abilities, and what materials you’ll need to ascend her.
The best Yukong build
Yukong is a Harmony path support character who can buff ally attack with her Roaring Bowstrings, as well as crit rate and crit damage when she uses her ultimate. As mentioned, these buffs are fixed percentages, so it makes more sense to build her towards buffing the party in other ways and dealing damage.
- Light Cone: But the Battle Isn’t Over or Past and Future
The five star But the Battle Isn’t Over is definitely the strongest Light Cone for Yukong, buffing energy regeneration by 10% and granting a skill point when the character uses their ultimate. This is good since Yukong relies on a steady stream of points to use her skill and provide Roaring Bowstrings for the party. When she performs her skill, this Light Cone also makes the next character deal 30% increased damage, which ties in perfectly to the attack buff Roaring Bowstrings apply to the next ally that acts.
For a less-rare alternative, the four-star Past and Future Light Cone is essentially a worse version of the one above, granting 16% increased damage to the next character that acts after using the skill. Carve the Moon, Weave the Clouds is also very good. This Light Cone is a little like the Widsith from Genshin Impact, providing one of three random buffs ranging between a boost to party-wide energy regen, attack, or crit damage.
- Relics: Musketeer of the Wild Wheat (Four-pieces equipped)
In terms of relics, Musketeer of the Wild Wheat and its attack boost help Yukong hit harder. Two-pieces grant a 12% attack buff, while four-pieces increase speed by 6% and basic attack damage by 10%. Speed is very important for Yukong so she can provide Roaring Bowstrings as often as possible, but it will also help fulfil the secondary bonus from the Fleet of the Ageless ornament to buff party-wide attack.
Even though Yukong should ideally use her skill as much as possible, she does receive enhanced basic attacks through her talent, so that basic attack buff will help there. For stats, you’ll want attack, crit rate, crit damage, and at least 120 speed overall to get that secondary ornament buff. It’s worth taking into account the crit rate and crit damage boost Yukong will get from her ultimate, so you might not have to build those stats quite as high as usual.
- Planar Ornaments: Fleet of the Ageless (Two-pieces equipped)
For providing party-wide benefits, Fleet of the Ageless is a strong pick for Yukong. This buffs HP by 12% and provides an 8% attack buff for all allies when speed reaches over that all-important 120 mark. Stat-wise, I’d recommend Imaginary Damage Boost on the sphere, and then energy regen on the link rope. Altogether, this build should ensure that Yukong is providing extra attack and damage buffs that stack alongside her Roaring Bowstrings and ultimate, while also giving her enhanced basic attacks and overall damage a bit of a boost.
Yukong abilities and Eidolons
Here are Yukong’s abilities, traces you get from ascension, and the Eidolons you can upgrade her with using additional copies:
| Basic attack | Arrowslinger: Deals 50% of Yukong’s attack at Imaginary damage to an enemy. |
| Skill | Emboldening Salvo: Obtain two stacks of Roaring Bowstrings. When Roaring Bowstrings is active, ally attack is increased by 40%. Yukong loses one stack every time an ally’s turn ends, except for the turn when she uses the skill. |
| Talent | Seven Layers, One Arrow: Basic attack additionally deals 40% of Yukong’s attack as Imaginary damage, and increases the toughness-reducing damage of this attack by 100%, too. |
| Ultimate | Diving Kestrel: Deals Imaginary damage equal to 228% of Yukong’s attack to a single enemy. If Roaring Bowstrings is active when Yukong when used, all allies gain 21% increased crit rate, and 39% crit damage. |
| Bonus ability | Archerion: Yukong can resist one debuff application every two turns. |
| Bonus ability | Bowmaster: When Yukong is on the field Imaginary damage from allies is increased by 12%. |
| Bonus ability | Majestas: When Roaring Bowstrings is active, Yukong generates two energy every time an ally acts. |
| Technique | Chasing the Wind: Yukong enters sprint mode for 20 seconds, gaining 35% increased movement speed and two stacks of Roaring Bowstrings when she attacks an enemy to begin combat. |
| Aerial Marshall | Increases the speed of all allies by 10% for two turns at the start of a battle. |
| Skyward Command | When any ally’s energy is at its energy limit, Yukong regenerates five additional energy. She can do this once per ally, and this is reset when she uses her ultimate. |
| Torrential Fusillade | Skill +2 levels and Basic Attack +1 level up to a maximum of 15. |
| Zephyrean Echoes | When Roaring Bowstrings is active, Yukong deals 30% increased damage. |
| August Deadshot | Ultimate +2 levels and Talent +2 levels up to a maximum of 15. |
| Bowstring Thunderclap | When Yukong uses her ultimate, she immediately gains one stack of Roaring Bowstrings. |
Yukong Ascension materials
Here’s what you’ll need to ascend Yukong, not including XP materials:
- 12 Artifex Modules
- 13 Artifex Cogwheels
- 12 Artifex Gyrehearts
- 50 Golden Crown of Past Shadow
- 246,400 Credits approx
The easiest way to get Artifex Modules is to send characters on assignment, then use them to craft the higher tier variants you need in the synthesiser, though you can also defeat Entranced Ingenia enemies in the Xianzhou Luofu. Golden Crown of Past Shadow comes from the Stagnant Shadow: Shape of Mirage in Backwater Pass on Jarilo-VI. You can get any extra credits you need from the Golden Calyx.