Ever since HoYoverse started the rerun banners in Honkai Star Rail, it's worth looking back at older characters, who have been released over the course of the last year. One of them, who was probably the most hyped unit ever, is Kafka and our favorite Stellaron Hunter is ready to make her great comeback very soon!
It is no secret that Honkai Star Rail's Kafka has been a fan favorite ever since her trailer “Dramatic Irony” dropped! Her spider themed visual design and overall intimidating vibe is just unmatched and many players, including me, instantly fell in love with her!
And there's good news for those who couldn't get Kafka during her release banner: She will be getting her rerun in the second half of version 1.6, starting on January 17. But is she still as strong as she used to some patches ago, and is it still worth pulling for her now?
Let's once again look at Kafka a little closer! (Respectfully)
Honkai Star Rail: Is Kafka Still Worth It In Version 1.6?
One thing we should get straight right at the get-go: If you really like Kafka, whether it's because of her design, her gameplay or maybe even her lore, you should totally get her!
Always remember that in Honkai Star Rail, almost any character can carry you through the game as long as you have built a good team around them! Don’t be scared to pull for a character you really enjoy playing, just because they might not be on top of the tier list!
Kafka's Role
In order to figure out, if you should consider to pull for Kafka in her upcoming rerun, we will first take a look at her role within a team and what perks she has to offer to your account.
How can you be so chill while fighting (and winning) a 1v9 battle?!
Kafka is a pretty special character, because of her quite unique set of skills. She is a DPS unit, who follows the path of the Nihility and because of that, she 100% relies on damage over time effects (DoT), which can be caused by breaking your enemies weaknesses. Kafka falls under the category of a DoT enabler. These DoTs will damage any effected unit at the start of a new round. Next to that, some characters apply their DoTs with their abilities, like Guinaifen and Luka for example!
Each element's DoT effects after weakness break:
- Lightning: Shock
- Physical: Bleed
- Fire: Burn
- Wind: Wind Shear
The other three combat types, being Ice, Quantum and Imaginary, have different weakness break effect, which will still deal damage to the enemy target when the next turn starts, however, these damage instances do not count as DoT. Ice will apply Freeze, Quantum applies Entanglement and Imaginary Imprisonment.
One Of A Kind
However, let’s go back to Kafka! She is basically the queen of DoTs because of her skill “Caressing Moonlight”. For the cost of one skill point, this ability will instantly retrigger all DoTs which are currently on a target enemy, letting them detonate one extra time. With this skill, Kafka can have an insane damage output if you pair her up with at least two other units, who can apply damage over time effects.
“Playing the violin and firing a gun both require flexible fingers, but bullets are more obedient.” — Kafka
As of right now, there is no other character, who can make use of DoTs like this, which makes her truly unique in this regard! This also means that the likelihood of Kafka being power-crept in the near future is rather unlikely. She will stay an amazing unit, as long as DoTs are a thing, and the best part is: Kafka will just get stronger with new, upcoming characters, who also apply powerful DoTs, like Black Swan for example!
Kafka's Recent Buffs
As I already mentioned, after Kafka's release, HoYoverse gave us even more fun and super strong character who can apply DoTs quite easily! This makes team building with Kafka so much easier, since you are not limited to using Sampo and Luka only! One of them is definitely Guinaifen, who afflicts enemies with Burn by using her skill on them.
Another thing, which makes Kafka even stronger now, than she was with her release, is the brand-new set of relics called “Prisoner in Deep Confinement”. This set is purely made for units who play around the DoT mechanic, and because of that, gives her a huge boost of damage!
Prisoner in Deep Confinement has the following effect:
- 2-piece: ATK increases by 12%.
- 4-piece: For every DoT the target enemy is afflicted with, the wearer will ignore 6% of its DEF when dealing DMG to it. This effect is valid for a max of three DoTs.
To wrap things up, Kafka is still an amazing DPS, if you understand her kit and know how to build her the right way! Next to that, her play style is quite satisfying and feels really fit for her overall design and her lore. If you enjoy the idea of letting your enemies die in a slow and painful way, Kafka could be right up your alley! Kafka = Big recommendation!