Argenti is Honkai: Star Rail's new AOE damage specialist! Here's how you build him, Light Cone, Relics and more

The second half of Honkai: Star Rail version 1.5 is finally here and with it comes the debut of the dashing Knight of Beauty Argenti!

Clad in full armor, spear in hand, and flaming red hair waving behind him, Argenti embodies the values of the Knights of Beauty and wanders the cosmos alone to uphold the good name of their missing Aeon. Truly, Argenti's beauty knows no bounds, as Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse has even created an entirely new variant of rose to promote his release!

Argenti wields the Physical element and follows the Path of Erudition, specialising in dealing a massive amount of area-of-effect damage with an ultimate that becomes more powerful the more energy he spends in using it.

If you were lucky enough to get Argenti to join your party, read on as we break down how to build him as well as his best Light Cones, relics, and teammates!

Argenti's kit and how you can best utilise him

In the name of Idrila

Argenti's kit is built around his powerful ultimate, For in This Garden Supreme Beauty Bestows, which lets him deal a huge amount of Physical DMG to all enemies. This ultimate can unleash two different attacks depending on how much energy you spend upon using it.

At 90 energy, using Argenti's ultimate unleashes an attack that deals Physical DMG equal to 160% of Argenti's ATK to all enemies at level 10.

At 180 energy, using Argenti's ultimate unleashes Merit Bestowed in "My" Garden instead, which deals Physical DMG equal to 280% of Argenti's ATK to all enemies and further deals Physical DMG 6 extra times equal to 95% of Argenti's ATK to a random enemy at level 10.

When keeping track of Argenti's energy level, know that he has two ultimate bars beside his portrait.

The first looks like any other characters' energy bar and when full means he can use Beauty Bestows. After Argenti's energy goes over 90, a secondary circle around the energy bar will start filling up and when full means he can use Merit Bestowed in "My" Garden.

The main way Argenti can supplement his high energy costs is through his skill and Talent.

Argenti's skill, Blazing Welcome, deals Physical DMG equal to 120% of Argenti's ATK to all enemies at level 10. It also regenerates 30 energy for him.

Meanwhile, Argenti's Talent, Sublime Object, lets him regenerate an additional 3 energy for every enemy hit when he uses his basic attack, skill, or ultimate. Additionally, this ability also lets him gain stacks of Apotheosis, which increases his Crit Rate by 2.5% at level 10. Apotheosis stacks up to 10 times.

Argenti's major Traces help with his energy needs and increases his damage output in certain situations.

His A2 Trace, Piety, lets him gain 1 stack of Apotheosis at the start of a turn. His A4 Trace, Generosity, regenerates 2 energy for him whenever a new enemy enters the battle. Meanwhile, his A6 Trace, Courage, lets him deal 15% more DMG to enemies whose current HP level is at 50% or less.

Finally, using Argenti's Technique, Manifest of Pure Virtue, lets him inflict the Dazed debuff on nearby enemies for 10 seconds. Dazed enemies will not actively attack the player to initiate combat but when attacking a Dazed enemy to initiate combat yourself, all enemies will receive Physical DMG equal to 80% of Argenti's ATK and he will regenerate his energy by 15.

When leveling up Argenti's Talents, prioritise his ultimate first, Talent second, and skill third then eventually have them all leveled up to max. You don't need to level up Argenti's basic attack since you want to be spamming his skill every turn anyway.

In battle, Argenti wants to use Merit Bestowed in "My" Garden as much as possible, so spam his skill every turn to get him to 180 energy. Thanks to his Talent and A4 Trace, getting there is easier when he's facing multiple waves of enemies, so make sure to put him in a position where he can shine.

Remember, as an Erudition character, Argenti specialises in area-of-effect damage so his damage against single targets isn't comparable to Hunt or Destruction characters. But with current endgame content like the Simulated Universe's Swarm Disaster and recent Memory of Chaos iterations featuring waves of four enemies or more, Argenti can lead your party to victory and look gorgeous while doing so.

Argenti's best gear

Light Cones

Argenti's best-in-slot Light Cone is obviously his signature, An Instant Before a Gaze, which passively increases his Crit DMG by a hefty 36%.

When using his ultimate, it also increases his ultimate's DMG based on their max energy, with each point of energy increases ultimate DMG by 0.36% up to 180 points of energy. That equals to a 64.8% DMG bonus on Argenti's ultimate, playing perfectly into his ideal high-energy playstyle.

If you don't plan on getting Argenti's signature Light Cone, his alternative options are admittedly rather limited.

For 5-stars, since there is no free 5-star Erudition Light Cone from the Simulated Universe's Herta store yet, your 5-star alternatives will have to be Before Dawn or Night in the Milky Way. However, Jing Yuan and Himeko's signature Light Cones aren't ideal fits for Argenti's playstyle, so we recommend going for 4-stars that are better suited to him. With that said, they are still worthy options for their 5-star stats alone.

However, you may be better off going for the 4-star Light Cones Today Is Another Peaceful Day and The Seriousness of Breakfast, especially at high Superimposition levels.

Today is Another Peaceful Day has a similar effect to Argenti's signature, as it increases its wielder's DMG based on their max energy. The caveat is that it's locked behind the paid upgrade for the Battle Pass.

On the other hand, The Seriousness of Breakfast is easier to acquire and should be your go-to if you don't want to spend anything. It increases its wielder's DMG by 12% and gives them a 4% ATK buff for every enemy they defeat, stacking up to 3 times for a 12% ATK buff.

Relics

Argenti's go-to Cavern of Corrosion relic set is the 4-piece Champion of Streetwise Boxing set. It increases his Physical DMG by 10% with its 2-piece bonus while its 4-piece bonus gives him a stacking 5% ATK bonus every time he attacks or gets hit, with the buff going up to a 25% ATK bonus at max stacks.

Meanwhile, his best Planar Ornament relic set is the 2-piece Inert Salsotto, which increases his Crit Rate by 8% and increases his ultimate's DMG by 15% if his Crit Rate reaches 50% or higher.

The main stats you should go for in Argenti's relics are Crit DMG/Crit Rate for the body, ATK% or Speed on the feet, Physical DMG Bonus for the Planar Sphere, and Energy Regeneration Rate or ATK% on the Link Rope. Substats you should go for are Crit Rate, Crit DMG, Speed, and ATK%.

Your main stat choice for Argenti's feet and Link Rope relics are also heavily dependent on his teammates.

If Argenti has a support like Bronya or Asta to give him action advance or more Speed, get ATK% on his feet. Otherwise, go for a Speed main stat.

If Argenti has a support like Tingyun or Huohuo to give him more energy, get ATK% on his Link Rope. Otherwise, go for an Energy Regeneration Rate main stat.

Argenti's best teammates

Argenti's two best teammates are hands-down Tingyun and Huohuo for their ability to provide him with extra energy to help fuel his high energy costs.

Tingyun slots in nicely as a Harmony support for Argenti. Not only does her ultimate give Argenti energy and a nice DMG buff, her skill also increases his ATK while Tingyun herself can generate a lot of skill points.

Huohuo also is a perfect fit in an Argenti team as the sustain unit, as she can cleanse debuffs from her allies as well as regenerate their energy and buff their ATK.

The last slot in an Argenti team can be flexed depending on the situation. Due to Argenti's need to spam his skill every turn, another support that can generate skill points will be welcome.

In this regard, Hanya is great as she can also increase the DMG dealt to a single enemy with her Talent while increasing the Speed and ATK of an ally with her ultimate on top of generating skill points with her skill. If you happen to get Hanya while pulling for Argenti, make sure to build her too!

Another good Harmony support for Argenti is Bronya, whose action advance on her skill lets Argenti go for an ATK% main stat on his feet for a more raw damage build. Her team-wide Crit buffs are also very much welcome.

Other supports you can for include Asta for Speed and ATK buffs, Pela for area-of-effect DEF shred and skill point generation, and Silver Wolf for her ability to implant a Physical elemental weakness on enemies and single-target DEF shred.

The second half of Honkai: Star Rail version 1.5 features the debuts of the 5-star Physical Erudition character Argenti and the 4-star Physical Harmony character Hanya as well as a rerun for the 5-star Quantum Nihility character Silver Wolf.

If you're still torn on whether or not you should pull for Argenti, Silver Wolf, or their signature Light Cones, we've got you covered.

Version 1.6 in December will also see the release of three new characters in Ruan Mei, Dr. Ratio, and Xueyi.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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