Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide – In this Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide, I’m going to share my Arlan Build to destroy enemies relentlessly. I’ll 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 Arlan shine in encounters. If you want to play as a main DPS who takes risks despite having low HP in order to deal greater Lightning Damage, then this Level 40 Arlan Build Guide is for you!

Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide

Arlan is a resilient 4-star character who thrives in maintaining lower-than-usual HP to deal the most amount of Lightning Damage possible. He can execute crits frequently as well as damage over time (DoT) upon inflicting Shock. Despite his risky demeanor, he has sufficient abilities that protect him from taking too much damage.

When it comes to choosing the right support characters for Arlan, it’s important to remember that he’ll be needing a shielder instead of a healer to continue to deal significant damage. A shield will defend him without further lowering his HP to dangerous levels, which is why Gepard would be an important member of the team. He’ll also need either Bronya or Pela for the extra Attack boosts or to debuff enemies, respectively, as well as Tingyun for her Energy restoration Ultimate.

Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide – Stats And Eidolons

In Honkai: Star Rail, Arlan follows the Destruction Path, which lets him deal massive damage and allows him to remain resilient in combat. By dealing Lightning Damage, he can potentially inflict the Shock effect to deal Lightning DoT. Doing so will most likely end the encounter quicker. To make the most out of Arlan’s DPS ability, you’ll primarily invest in Crit Rate, Crit Damage, and Attack.

These main stats should significantly boost his overall Crit Damage in order to hit targets harder. What’s more, is that since Lightning Damage scales with Attack %, you’ll need to enhance this stat frequently to further raise the damage he deals.

For substats, you’ll still be increasing Crit and Attack but you’ll also be on the lookout for Speed and Energy Regeneration Rate. Having high Speed will help Arlan attack more often and faster since he’ll be high up on the Action Order. Meanwhile, Energy Regeneration Rate focuses on restoring as much Energy as possible over time. Frequently triggering his Ultimate will result in dealing devastating damage against a single target as well as surrounding enemies.

When it comes to Arlan’s Eidolons, reaching Level 6 should be your ultimate goal, especially if he’ll be your main DPS. The important ones to unlock are Breaking Free at Level 2, Turn the Tables at Level 4, and Self-Sacrifice at Level 6. Breaking Free automatically removes any debuff Arlan incurs whenever he uses his Skill or Ultimate. It’s definitely a huge plus given that for the majority of any fight, he shouldn’t reach max HP so he needs to at least take in less damage and status effects.

Next is Turn the Tables, which essentially saves him from getting knocked down. What this does is instead of dying in combat, a portion of his HP will automatically be restored just like what Gepard’s Unyielding Will Talent does for him. And lastly, there’s Self-Sacrifice. Self-Sacrifice further boosts the Lightning Damage he deals with his Ultimate by +20%. To make matters better, adjacent enemies will also take increased damage!

Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide – Skills And Traces

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

• Pain and Anger (Talent) – This passive is what Arlan’s core build is all about. For every HP % decrease below his Max HP, he’ll gain a damage boost up to a certain value based on Pain and Anger’s level. As such, it’ll be much better to invest in other traces like HP Boost and Effect RES Boost together with the following Bonus Abilities – Revival, Endurance, and Repel. Revival saves Arlan from dying as long as his HP % is less than or equal to 30% and he ends up slaying a target. So what happens is that 20% of his Max HP will be restored. Endurance, which becomes available in Character Ascension 4, improves his chances of resisting DoT and debuffs by as much as 50%, thereby making it likely to survive longer in combat. And lastly, Repel negates the burst damage Arlan receives (except for DoT) when he enters the battlefield provided that his HP is less than or equal to 50%.  

• Swift Harvest (Technique) – This is a straightforward active technique that lets Arlan initiate combat. Doing so allows him to deal massive Lightning Damage against all enemies based on his current Attack Stat. To enhance Attack even more, be sure to unlock ATK Boost.

• Lightning Rush (Basic ATK) – This is Arlan’s regular attack that lets him deal Lightning Damage against a single target. There’s nothing special here because no other traces improves Lightning Rush. Instead, you’ll end up using it only when you’re in need of skill points.
• Shackle Breaker (Skill) – This skill works hand-in-hand with Arlan’s Pain and Anger Talent in terms of the immediate damage buff he receives since the cost of activating it is 15% of his Max HP. As such, he’ll be able to deal great Lightning Damage against an enemy. Should his remaining HP be insufficient, he can still trigger Shackle Breaker but his HP will literally be reduced to 1 afterward. 

• Frenzied Punishment (Ultimate) – This is Arlan’s strongest skill as it allows him to deal almost double the Lightning Damage of Shackle Breaker against a single target while inflicting sufficient (but lower) burst damage to surrounding enemies. More often than not, he’ll end up obliterating them with Frenzied Punishment, especially those without Toughness.

Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide – Light Cones

When it comes to Light Cones, the ones you’ll want to chase after for Arlan’s kit are Mutual Demise, The Moles Welcome You, and On the Fall of an Aeon. Mutual Demise is a 3-star Light Cone, which boosts his Crit Rate as long as his current HP is lower than 80%. This is a very risky weapon to have but during the early game, he won’t often get hit by powerful enemies so he will continue to live. Just be sure to pair Arlan with Gepard or March 7th so they can keep shielding him, especially when his HP is that low. You can ascend Mutual Demise by as much as Level 30 until you get ahold of The Moles Welcome You from the Warp. 

The Moles Welcome You is a 4-star Light Cone that incentivizes him to use any of his abilities may it be the Basic Attack, Skill, or Ultimate. Either way, Arlan will obtain 1 Mischievous stack and for every stack, he gains an Attack buff. The Moles Welcome You becomes more potent when his Speed is high since he’ll be able to attack more frequently in combat. 

Last but not least is the 5-star Light Cone you’ll want the most for Arlan, which is On the Fall of an Aeon to significantly improve his overall damage. This can be bought in Herta’s Store for 8 Herta Bonds. You’ll be able to get this within 2 weeks of playing as long as you keep participating in the Simulated Universe. On the Fall of an Aeon will boost his Attack by up to 4x every time he executes an ability. Once Arlan inflicts Weakness Break, he’ll receive a Lightning Damage buff, which lasts for 2 turns. 

Honkai: Star Rail Arlan Build Guide – Relics

In terms of Relics, it’s important to remember that for the Head and Hands, 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 Crit and Attack. 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 Arlan, 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 Arlan’s Relics, you’ll only need to wear one 4-piece set, particularly the Band of Sizzling Thunder. It not only increases his Lightning damage but also his Attack upon triggering the Shackle Breaker Skill. Again, every damage and Attack boost is helpful to enhance Arlan’s effectiveness in combat. You can farm the Band of Sizzling Thunder Set from the Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Holy Hymn. For the Band’s Leather Jacket with Studs and Ankle Boots With Rivets, you’ll want to be on the lookout for Crit and Attack, followed by Speed and then Energy Regeneration Rate.

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 Arlan Guide, I’ll be sharing the best characters to go with him and how effective their skills are for this build.

Since Arlan will be the main DPS in your team, you’ll primarily want hybrid support characters who can also deal a good amount of damage. For starters, you’ll need Gepard or March 7th of the Preservation Path. Both Gepard and March 7th are excellent Ice damage dealers who can freeze enemies in place. As such, these targets will stay immobilized so much so that they may even miss their turns in combat. But between the two, I prefer Gepard since he can conjure shields for all allies with his Enduring Bulwark Ultimate. Should you go for a free-to-play character, March 7th is a decent option since she can raise a shield one teammate at a time.

Next, it’s ideal to select Bronya of the Harmony Path or Pela of the Nihility Path, depending on whom you’ll get first. Bronya is an excellent Attack and Crit Damage buffer thanks to her The Belabog March Ultimate. She also has a unique ability that boosts her allies’ defenses at the start of every encounter, making her a must-have member of Arlan’s team. On the other hand, Pela is another good option. Rather than applying buffs, she’ll focus on debuffing targets and inflicting Defense reduction for them to absorb more damage. Because she specializes in dealing Ice Damage, she can also freeze enemies.

And finally, you’re going to want to get Tingyun who follows the Harmony Path. Tingyun is an exceptional Attack and damage buffer and Energy regenerator thanks to her Amidst the Rejoicing Clouds Ultimate. 

Final Tips

Arlan is a decent 4-star character who can carry his team to victory but he has specific requirements to do so. For instance, it won’t be ideal to bring along Natasha because she’ll end up healing him, which would interfere with his damage boosts. In terms of skill rotation, you’ll be prioritizing the Frenzied Punishment Ultimate to be able to annihilate multiple targets at once so he needs to gain as much Energy as possible. This will be followed by the Shackle Breaker Skill to focus on dealing huge Lightning Damage against a single target. And then finally, there’s the Pain and Anger Talent, which increases his damage as his HP decreases. 

Another good option for Arlan’s 4-star Light Cone is The Secret Vow. This not only boosts his burst damage by default but also enhances it further as long as he’s facing an enemy who has a relatively higher HP % than him. More often than not, this would be the case so Arlan ends up dealing double the Lightning Damage with The Secret Vow.

Lastly, when you manage to unlock Planetary Ornaments, remember to go for the Inert Salsotto. Doing so will improve Arlan’s Crit Rate. Once this stat reaches a certain threshold, the damage dealt by his Ultimate Ability and any follow-up attacks will be increased further.

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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 Sushang Build Guide, Tingyun Build Guide, Pela Build Guide, Hook Build Guide, Bronya Build Guide, Asta Build Guide, Natasha Build Guide, March 7th Build Guide, Welt Build Guide, Seele Build Guide, Sampo Build Guide, Yanqing Build Guide, Gepard Build Guide, F2P Characters Overview, Honkai: Star Rail Beginner Guide, and Honkai: Star Rail Gameplay Overview (F2P Turn-Based RPG).