Honkai: Star Rail – Arlan build and ascension guide
Fight to the bitter end with the best Honkai: Star Rail Arlan build and come out on top despite the odds being stacked against you. Herta Space Station’s security chief follows the Path of the Destruction and deals Lightning Damage. He stands out a bit from the rest of the launch roster in terms of mechanics, making him an interesting character to build a team around.
Arlan’s Skill, Shackle Breaker, consumes 15% of his maximum HP to deal Lightning Damage based on his Attack. His Talent, Pain and Anger, plays into this dynamic, increasing his damage for every percent of HP he’s missing.
His Ultimate, Frenzied Punishment, deals Lightning Damage to one target and a reduced amount of Lightning Damage to adjacent enemies – there is no HP component in this case outside of his Talent’s bonus damage.
Arlan is Herta Space Station's chief of security.
HoYoverse
You can increase Arlan’s prowess by raising his Eidolon levels, which is only possible by pulling duplicates of him. Level 1 allows you to use Arlan’s Skill even if his HP are down to 5%, reducing him to one HP. Level 2 boosts his Skill damage by 10% and dispels one debuff Arlan is suffering from on use. Level 4 enables Arlan to survive a killing blow, bringing him back with 25% of his maximum HP once per battle. Finally, level 6, increases his Ultimate’s damage when Arlan is below 50% of his maximum HP.
Honkai: Star Rail – Arlan: best Light Cones
Arlan’s signature Light Cone in Honkai: Star Rail, which is called A Secret Vow, is certainly a good option for him, as it boosts the wearer’s damage by default and then again if they focus targets with a higher HP percentage than themselves.
However, the release of Blade has brought his own signature Light Cone, The Unreachable Side, into the game. Since Blade's mechanics revolve around HP consumption as well, his weapon is a perfect fit for Arlan, too. It increases the Critical Hit Rate and maximum HP of the wielder, boosting their damage whenever they are attacked or consume their own HP.
Best Light Cones for Arlan:
- The Unreachable Side (5-Star)
- Brighter than The Sun (5-Star)
- On the Fall of an Aeon (5-Star)
- A Secret Vow (4-Star)
- The Moles Welcome You (4-Star)
- Nowhere to Run (4-Star)
- Collapsing Sky (3-Star)
- Mutual Demise (3-Star)
Honkai: Star Rail – Arlan: best Relics
Arlan’s offensive powers depend on his Attack stat and you don’t necessarily need to focus on his HP – after all, his Skill consumes it percentage-wise. It’s best to keep Arlan shielded or have some health regeneration for him in store in the form of a healer or a Light Cone effect, keeping the focus of his Relics on the offense.
Best Relic Sets for Arlan:
- Band of Sizzling Thunder (4) – +10% Lightning Damage, +25% Attack for one turn after the wearer uses their Skill.
- Musketeer of Wild Wheat (4) – +12% Attack, +10% Normal Attack Damage, and +6% Speed.
Best Planar Ornaments for Arlan:
- Rutilant Arena (2) – +8% Critical Hit Rate, +20% Basic Attack and Skill Damage if Critical Hit Rate surpasses 70%.
- Space Sealing Station (2) – +12% Attack, and another +12% Attack when the wearer’s Speed reaches 120 or higher.
Prioritize the following Relic and Planar Ornament stats for Arlan:
- Head – HP (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Attack %, Break Effect %
- Hands – Attack (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Attack %, Break Effect %
- Body – Critical Hit Rate (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Attack %, Break Effect %, Speed
- Feet – Speed (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Attack %, Break Effect %
- Planar Sphere – Lightning Damage % (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Attack %, Break Effect %
- Link Rope – Attack % (Primary), Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Rate, Break Effect %, Speed
Honkai: Star Rail – Arlan: best teams
Since Arlan does damage to himself when using his Skill you’ll want to keep him outside the line of fire by shielding him from external harm. Healing him will become necessary in longer fights, is ideally done in small doses, however, so it doesn’t reduce his damage output too much.
A team with Arlan is one of the rare instances where Natasha is to be preferred over Bailu, since you don’t want too much healing to go around. March 7th, Gepard, or Trailblazer (Fire) keep their shields up to protect Arlan, while Bronya, Tingyun, Asta, or Yukong buff him. You could play a variation of this composition as well, replacing the buffer with Clara to tank and deal additional damage.
Honkai: Star Rail – Arlan: ascension materials
Here’s everything you need to know to get Arlan ascended to the maximum level and upgrade all of his talents.
Arlan requires the following ascension materials to get to level 80 in addition to the necessary XP:
- Credits x246,000
- Extinguished Core x12
- Glimmering Core x13
- Squirming Core x12
- Lightning Crown of the Past Shadow x50
You can collect Cores from Flamespawns and other enemies in Backwater Pass or Rivet Town as well as the Simulated Universe. You can create or exchange them through the Omni-Synthesizer on the Astral Express, too. Extinguished Cores are one of the basic materials you can easily farm through the Daily Assignments to your characters, making for a steady income of the resource.
Lightning Crowns of the Past Shadow are dropped by the Stagnant Shadow in the Corridor of Fading Echoes or gained through exchange. The best source of Credits is the Golden Calyx (Great Mine).
Unfortunately, Arlan is not very highly regarded in the community.
HoYoverse
Arlan requires the following materials to upgrade her combat abilities and Traces:
- Credits x2,400,000
- Extinguished Core x28
- Glimmering Core x42
- Squirming Core x42
- Shattered Blade x12
- Lifeless Blade x54
- Worldbreaker Blade x105
- Destroyer’s Final Road x12
- Tracks of Destiny x5
For the materials already mentioned, check above. Blades can be farmed in the Storage Zone Crimson Calyx. As usual, you can create the high-level materials by using lower-level materials in the Omni-Synthesizer on the Astral Express.
Destroyer’s Final Road is a rare material only gained from the Echo of War (Supply Zone) domain, while Tracks of Destiny can be obtained during time-limited events, the Embers Exchange, the Nameless Honor, or as a Simulated Universe Points Reward.
