Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Build Guide – How To Build Gepard – In this Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Build Guide, I’m going to share my Gepard Build who is an excellent tank and support character. In fact, he can be brought along as a secondary DPS against enemies who are weak to the Ice Element. I’ll also be discussing the Stats and Skills you should pay attention to, the Light Cones and Relics to strive for, and the Companions to pick in order to make Gepard more effective in combat. If you’re looking for an early game Level 40 Gepard Build, then this Guide is for you!

Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Build Guide

Gepard is a 5-star character, whom you can acquire from Starter and Stellar Warps. He excels in dishing out Ice Damage to immobilize enemies in combat by freezing them for good crowd control. Those who are particularly weak against this element tend to remain frozen for several turns, even bosses themselves. This allows your team to spam attacks, making encounters run faster than intended. Additionally, Gepard is a master at drawing Shields for the entire team so it’s highly recommended to activate the corresponding ability immediately but the problem is it takes some time to maximize his energy meter to do so.

To ensure his survivability and that of his allies, you’ll want to pair him with Natasha since she can reliably save everyone during clutch moments because of her healing skills. It would then be better to add Trailblazer (Physical) and Sampo to the mix as they’ll fulfill the primary damage dealer roles.

Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Build Guide – Stats

Gepard is one of the two Preservation Path characters in Honkai: Star Rail with March 7th being the second. He’s an excellent character to have on your team because he soaks in a considerable amount of damage. To be able to withstand repeated enemy damage, his HP and Defense need to be maintained at high values, thereby necessitating the right equipment from certain sets to boost both stats. He even becomes more resilient at higher levels in which you get to boost his Effect Resistance, which pertains to lowering the chances of receiving debuffs. 

On the other hand, you can also turn him into a hybrid character by raising the Ice Damage Stat to improve Gepard’s burst and sustained damage. Another stat to look out for is the Effect Hit Rate since you’ll want to improve the chances of freezing enemies, which potentially results in lowering their Action Value to skip a turn in combat. If you manage to pull two more Gepards, you’ll be able to unlock the Due Diligence and Lingering Cold Eidolons. Doing so will increase the probability of inflicting freeze. And once they’re unfrozen, their Speed Stat will be lowered further, making Gepard more valuable against targets with high HP.

Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Build Guide – Skills And Traces

In this section, we’ll talk about Gepard’s Skills and Traces together with what you should prioritize in combat.

• Unyielding Will (Talent) – This is a passive that instantly restores a portion of Gepard’s HP once he dies in combat. The amount of HP depends on the level of the corresponding talent trace so, at Character Ascension 2, it can go up by as much as 30%. Unyielding Will is a good skill to have considering that Gepard taunts enemies from the get-go. This becomes better when you unlock the Integrity Ability so on the off-chance that he doesn’t put up his Shield in time and his HP hits 0, he’ll have an automatic fail-safe. Furthermore, this talent synergizes well with the Commander Ability, which readies your Ultimate for activation the moment you “die”.
• Comradery (Technique) – This is a defensive technique that Gepard can trigger every time before the start of an encounter in which Shields will automatically be provided for all allies. The durability of these Shields is dependent on Gepard’s current Defense +150 so the higher this stat is, the better. Additionally, it should last 2 turns, giving you some time to accumulate energy and trigger your Ultimate Ability. 

• Fist of Conviction (Basic ATK) – This is a basic attack where Gepard hits a target twice with his fists to deal Ice Damage. There’s nothing special about Fist of Conviction and as such, it’s your last resort when you can’t activate Daunting Smite or you need to save points for other teammates to unleash their Skills. This isn’t something I would choose unless there are no more available options.
• Daunting Smite (Skill) – This is an incredible skill because of its multiple uses. Not only can Gepard deal massive damage as a result of bombarding a single target with three powerful blows but he can also possibly inflict freeze, and in doing so deal damage over time at the start of their turn. Freeze is one of the best status effects in the game because this renders the target immobile. In some cases, their Speed Stat is greatly reduced so they might not even perform any action during their supposed turn. So regardless of whether or not the enemy is weak against the Ice Element, I highly recommend triggering Daunting Smite as often as possible. The trace upgrades that make this skill better are DMG Boost: Ice, which is self-explanatory and Fighting Spirit. Fighting Spirit considerably boosts Gepard’s attack power for every turn based on a percentage of his current Defense Stat. 

• Enduring Bulwark (Ultimate) – This ultimate is Gepard’s main tank and support skill in that it allows him to summon Shields for everyone in the team. Each of these is able to absorb enough damage to sustain major hits for about 3 turns. Enduring Bulwark is a must-trigger Ultimate every time you fill up your energy meter because when you unlock the Integrity Ability, the chances of getting attacked in combat increase dramatically, making it crucial to raise a Shield immediately to tank more damage. 

Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Guide – Light Cones

When it comes to weapons or Light Cones, the ones that fit Gepard’s kit very well are Amber, We Are Wildfire, and Moment of Victory. Amber is a 3-star Light Cone, which you can ascend to Level 20 until you get either of the two Light Cones I’ve mentioned. This is good to have since it boosts Gepard’s Defense. If his HP is less than or equal to 50%, the percentage increase doubles, improving his durability significantly. Since he’s your tank, he needs to survive throughout the encounter. Although you have the Unyielding Will Talent, it’s better to be prepared by raising his Defense as much as you can.

Meanwhile, We Are Wildfire is a 4-star Light Cone that you can obtain from Lauder, the Grocery Store Worker, in Jarilo-VI as part of his rewards upon spending 500 Shield. This Light Cone is team-friendly because the damage received by all your allies will be reduced for 5 turns at the start of every encounter. On top of this, a portion of their HP based on their max HP minus current HP will be restored, thereby improving their survivability. This will serve you well in the Simulated Universe where there aren’t enough checkpoints to replenish health. I recommend ascending We Are Wildfire to Level 30 or 40 to make the most out of the benefits it provides.

A great alternative to this is the 5-star Light Cone known as Moment of Victory, which is obtained in the Starlight Exchange or Warp. Although I’ve yet to test the Light Cone out, this seems to be the ultimate weapon for Gepard at endgame because it not only increases his Defense but also his Effect Hit Rate so he’ll be able to freeze targets more frequently. Although he’ll be attacked often, this shouldn’t be a concern given that once again, his Defense will be boosted by the same amount to withstand whatever damage he’s taking. 

Honkai: Star Rail Gepard Guide – Relics

In terms of Relics, it’s important to remember that for the Head and Gloves, your character gets a flat HP and Attack bonus, respectively. This isn’t the case for the Body and Feet, which are comprised of random stats such as Defense and Speed. Ideally, you’d want to equip 4-star Relics since they provide 2-3 substats in addition to their main stat. But remember that regardless of the rating, enhancing them for every 3 levels will yield a random substat. For a Level 40 Gepard, it’s enough to level up his Relics to a maximum of +6 for 4-star gear until you get their 5-star versions to reserve enough resources by then.

For Gepard’s Relics, you’ll want to focus on acquiring the following stats in this order – Defense, Effect Resistance, Effect Hit Rate, and Break Effect. Break Effect pertains to the effectiveness of your Ice Damage when you break the enemy’s Toughness together with the damage they’ll receive when frozen and how delayed their succeeding action will be. 

There are three sets to choose from, namely the Guard of Wuthering Snow, Knight of Purity Palace, and Hunter of Glacial Forest. If you still have the Amber Light Cone equipped, you’ll want to pair this with the Guard of Wuthering Snow four-set piece. Doing so will significantly improve the HP you restore based on your max HP at the start of the turn, and your Defense increases. Plus, you generate extra energy in order to activate your Ultimate sooner. 

Alternatively, you can go for the complete Knight of Purity Palace set because of the multiplicative % increase in Gepard’s Defense. The max cap of your Shield will also be raised in order to absorb more damage without breaking. This Shield can either come from your Ultimate or Comradery Technique. And last but not least, you have the Hunter of Glacial Forest where Gepard will only need to wear any of the two pieces of equipment from this set to amplify his Ice Damage if you wish to fulfill the hybrid support DPS role. You can then equip two pieces from the Knight of Purity Palace. 

Team Composition

In Honkai: Star Rail, you’ll have all four characters available while combat is ongoing so you won’t be swapping from one to the next. There also won’t be elemental pools left behind. Instead, you’ll focus on the enemy’s weaknesses to deplete their Toughness and HP accordingly. For this Gepard Guide, I’ll be sharing the best characters to go with him and how their skills are effective for this build. 

Natasha of the Abundance Path is the first character you’ll want to pick for Gepard. Although it might seem like overkill to combine two support-focused characters in a single team, trust me, this decision is worth it. One of Gepard’s weaknesses in the early game is that he can’t generate energy quickly enough so his Shields won’t be conjured immediately. To compensate for this, you’ll need Natasha’s Love, Heal, and Choose Skill and Gift of Rebirth Ultimate to be able to heal yourself and your allies effectively.

Once your Shields are active, Natasha can simply trigger her Skill over and over again to heal everyone. She’ll then reserve her Ultimate for critical circumstances like when 2-3 teammates only have 60% of their HP left and they don’t have Shields anymore. 

Trailblazer (Physical) of the Destruction Path is a good second character due to the Physical Damage he/she deals and their improved survivability. Because they can attack multiple characters at once with the RIP Home Run Skill and Stardust Ace Ultimate, the Trailblazer is able to fulfill the role of Erudition characters quite well during the early game.

Another advantage they have is that a lot of enemies during this time are weak against the Physical Element, making it easier to break them.

Sampo of the Nihility Path is the last character for Gepard’s team. Not only can you blind enemies at the start of the encounter to delay their actions, but you’re also able to deal considerable Wind Damage against single and multiple targets. Together with the Trailblazer, you should be able to annihilate mobs and bosses in no time! 

Final Tips

Gepard is a great 5-star character to have if you’re looking for a decent support character who can also tank a good amount of damage. For skill rotation, you’ll always want to enable Comradery before an encounter starts so that you and your allies have Shields right from the get-go. Next, you’ll want to accumulate as much energy as possible, which can be done organically by getting hit and using Daunting Smite at every turn. It’s ideal to leave one extra point for Gepard’s skill to increase the chances of freezing targets, especially when their Toughness is about to hit 0.

If you want Gepard’s Action Value to decrease, you can choose to swap Trailblazer or Sampo for Asta. Asta specializes in dealing decent Fire Damage and buffing the Speed Stat of allies with her Ultimate, often pushing enemies down the Action Order. Since there are a good number of targets who are weak against the Fire Element, Asta will stay relevant for a lot of fights during the early game. But against beefy bosses, you can swap her for Dan Heng as he deals amazing single-target Wind Damage due to his crits.

Lastly, when you manage to unlock Planetary Ornaments, you can go for the Space Sealing Station 2-set piece if you include Asta in your team. The reason is that you’ll most likely reach the 120 Speed Stat requirement, thereby increasing your Attack by +24% to amplify your Ice Damage. 

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Stay tuned for more Honkai: Star Rail Character Guides and be sure to drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. For more Honkai: Star Rail content, check out Honkai: Star Rail Guide – F2P Characters Overview, Honkai: Star Rail Beginner Guide, and Honkai: Star Rail Gameplay Overview (F2P Turn-Based RPG).