Great Hertha in Honkai Star Rail: Build Guide and Best Units

Greater Hertha in Paths of Erudite with an ice element. During combat, the scientist focuses on destroying groups of enemies by inflicting massive damage. At the same time, her final damage can be increased by levels of the Interpretation status.

The heroine's specificity requires a specific build that turns her into a powerful combat unit for completing endgame content. In addition, having allies following the same Path will not only make leveling easier, but will also further enhance her potential by increasing her final DPS.

Being a versatile unit, the scientist demonstrates excellent results in content of any focus. Despite belonging to the class of heroes that are best revealed against a group of enemies, the girl’s skills contain mechanics that allow her to cope with single targets.

Rating	S+ position in dash list
Rarity	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
[Type] element	Ice damage type
Path	Erudition
when added to the game	January 15, 2025 (Version 3.0)
How to get a character	Banner "Event Jump: Character"
Gender	Female
Home region	Sineva
Role in the squad	Primary DPS character
Role in the game	Member of the Society of Geniuses No. 83 Hertha's true form
Signature light cone	"Towards the Undeniable"
Voice actresses	English Voice Actress - PJ Mattson Japanese Voice Actress — Yamazaki Haruka Chinese voice actress - Hou Xiaofei Corresponding voice actress - Kim Seo-yeong

Hero's story

The girl is an honorary member of the Genius Society #83, responsible for the creation of the Virtual Universe. She appears in the form of the true Gerta, a doll that was created in the image of the explorer herself in her youth. However, meeting her real one is almost impossible due to living in solitude in the most remote corner of space.

The scientist appears among people only in rare moments when it is necessary to personally solve some important problems. The heroine's story is covered in secrets and mysteries, and her true motives and goals remain not fully revealed. Research is of primary value to her, as she is deeply ionate about studying interesting things.

How to get a character

You can get the 5-star Gerta by spending Star tickets in the Event Jump: Character banner called "Letter from Beyond the Event Horizon". Available for collection during since 21 May by 10 June 2025 year in update 3.3.

Stay tuned for updates at timetable banners, where all the current "Jumps" are presented, so as not to miss the next rerun of Great Hertha.

Features

Ascension allows you to enhance the basic characteristics of the unit (health, attack power, defense). At the same time, speed and taunt remain unchanged, and the maximum amount of energy is 220 units. The table shows all available stats.

Level of	Basic Attack	Basic protection	Basic Health	Speed	Taunt
1	92	66	158	99	75
20	180	128	309	99	75
30	263	188	451	99	75
40	346	247	594	99	75
50	429	306	737	99	75
60	512	366	879	99	75
70	595	425	1022	99	75
80	679	485	1164	99	75

How Great Hertha's Skills Work

The heroine is primarily focused on dealing with crowds of enemies, inflicting damage over an area or several targets. Her key mechanic is the Interpretation status, which can be applied in various ways. This effect allows for more powerful damage.

However, the explorer can also strengthen herself with the help of superpowers, some traces and other characters. Moreover, it is in cooperation with units related to a similar Path, that is, Erudition, that she reveals her potential as the main damage dealer to the maximum.

Active skills

In combat, the scientist uses the following skills:

• technique - displays several chests on the location, and at the beginning of the battle increases the attack power. When used in "Divergent Universe" deals additional damage to enemies;
• basic attack - small damage to the selected enemy;
• common skill - Deals damage to multiple opponents, placing 1 stack of Interpretation on the selected one;
• enhanced skill - Consumes 1 stack of Inspiration and deals damage to targets on the field multiple times. Applies 1 stack of Interpretation to one enemy;
• superpower - When activated, increases the character's attack power, moves the action forward, and gives 1 level of "Inspiration". Then distributes "Interpretation" points, giving priority to elite mobs, and deals damage to all enemies.

To better understand how the Great Gerta's abilities work, we will take a detailed look at each skill, as well as traces and eidolons. We will provide the most optimal order for pumping skills.

ive skills

ive skills contain талант, which allows you to automatically apply Interpretation levels and increases the damage multipliers from activating the enhanced skill.

The order of leveling abilities

Skill ≥ Talent = Super Ability > Basic Attack

Every skill, except the basic poke, needs to be leveled up consistently. Emboldening Salvo — one of the main sources of damage along with ult, талант is a valuable buff that increases damage to enemies with the Interpretation status. Regular strikes can be upgraded last, as they are used quite rarely.

Tracks

All traces of the explorer:

Ice Bonus +3,2% (Lvl.1)
"Indifferent Honesty": An ally's attack places 1 stack of Interpretation on the enemy. For each target hit by this attack, Great Gerta restores 3 energy to herself, but no more than 5 times. If the heroine uses an enhanced skill on an enemy that has 42 stacks of Interpretation, until this skill ends, ice damage is increased by 50%.	Attack Power +4% (A2)	Ice Bonus +3,2% (A3)	Speed ​​+2 units. (A3)
"Letter from Beyond the Event Horizon": When entering battle, if there are 2 or more Path of Erudition characters in the team, the crit damage of all allies is increased by 80%. When the "Indifferent Honesty" trace counts the enemies hit, at least 3 targets are counted. After the attack, the target with the most status levels gains several stacks. If a Path of Erudition hero attacks, an additional 2 stacks are added.	Ice Bonus +4,8% (A4)	Attack Power +6% (A5)	Ice Bonus +4,8% (A5)
"The Starved Landscape": For each stack of Interpretation applied to enemies, gain 1 stack of the Answer status (max 99). When using the Ultimate, each stack of Answer increases the Ultimate's damage multiplier by 1%.	Speed ​​+3 units. (A6)	Attack power +8% (lvl.75)
Ice Bonus +6,4% (Lvl.80)

Overall increase in characteristics after upgrading all tracks:

• Ice bonus - 22,4%.
• Attack power - 18%.
• Speed ​​- 5 units.

Eidolons

All cons of the representative of Erudition:

1	"The Night the Stars Fell"	When an empowered skill calculates Interpretation stacks, it adds 50% of the stacks on the enemy with the highest stacks (main target and nearby targets are considered). When using an empowered skill to reset Interpretation, the stacks are reset to 15.
2	"The Wind Through the Keyhole"	After starting a battle and using a super ability, an additional 1 level of Inspiration status is granted. Using an enhanced skill advances the next action by 35%.
3	"The Door to Summer"	Skill level +2. Talent level +2. The maximum level is 15.
4	"The Sixteenth Key"	The speed of Path of Erudition characters in a team is increased by 12%.
5	"Truth is like bitter medicine"	Superpower level +2. The maximum level is 15. The level of basic attack +1. The maximum level is 10.
6	"Answer like sweet bait"	Ice Resistance Penetration is increased by 20%. When there are 3 (or more)/2/1 on the battlefield, the damage multiplier of the ultimate is increased by 140%/250%/400% respectively.

The best eidolons of Great Hertha are: E1, E2 and E6.

• First eidolon Allows you to deal even more damage when hitting with an enhanced version of the skill if enemies are under the Interpretation status, due to the additional stacks taken into . In addition, the stacks are reduced to 1 instead of 15 after using the skill.
• Second eidolon Allows you to maintain the enhanced skill longer due to the fact that 1 stack of "Inspiration" is added at the beginning of the battle and after activating the ult. In addition, the action is advanced, which will be useful not only for rotation, but also for more active energy regeneration.
• Sixth Eidolon is aimed at increasing damage against enemies with ice vulnerability. At the same time, the damage of the super ability increases many times depending on the number of enemies on the battlefield. Thus, single targets will receive more severe damage.

Players who are following a F2P strategy but want to unlock Eidolons are advised to stick with E2. All subsequent consts will not provide a noticeable boost (except E6).

How to play as Great Hertha

The Scientist uses her abilities to deal area-of-effect damage and quickly "clear" incoming waves of enemies. Her gameplay is primarily tied to the Interpretation status, which is a key way to increase DPS. This effect stacks as follows:

1. technique - at the beginning of the wave on a random target;
2. normal and enhanced versions of the skill;
3. talent - when enemies enter the battlefield;
4. Allied strikes.

Next, to use the buff, you need to activate the enhanced skill. It appears when you have "Inspiration", which, in turn, is given after using the super ability. Thus, the main tasks in the battle:

• impose the "Interpretation" status level with skills or with the help of allies' attacks;
• restore and cast the ultimate;
• deal damage with an enhanced skill (usually to the target with the highest number of stacks).

Full rotation of Greater Hertha:

1. The battle starts with the heroine's technique because it provides a lot of Interpretation stacks and also increases attack power by 40% for 2 turns.
2. Until the super ability appears, the skill is used. The basic poke is not a priority, since it does less damage and only affects one enemy.
3. When the ult is charging, it must be activated immediately. This will give "Inspiration", increase attack power and allow you to perform the action immediately.
4. Since the girl will be able to walk after the super ability, the enhanced skill is used on the target above which the largest number of stacks is depicted (ideally 42 units). As a rule, these are elite enemies or bosses.

All about character leveling

In this section you can find out what resources are needed to develop a unit and in what quantities.

Elevation materials

Skill Leveling Materials

The order of pumping traces

The total amount of materials for full elevation and pumping of skills, traces:

• loans (×3 888 000);
• traveler's guide (×290);
• extinct core (×56), flickering core (×71), wriggling core (×73);
• rough sketch (×18), dynamic contours (×69), masterful color sketch (×139);
• refrigerator of dreams (×65);
• soul feathers (×12);
• imprint of fate (×8).

Advantages and disadvantages

The table highlights the scientist's main strengths and weaknesses as a game character.

Advantages	Disadvantages
High-class damage dealer for ing "Pure Fiction" due to high area damage. But it is not limited to this and deals decent damage to single targets due to the Interpretation status, which mainly focuses on elite opponents.	The super ability costs 220 energy, but plays an important role in the rotation. The problem is partly solved by the build and the first trace, but you will have to collect a lot of speed/put energy in the connecting rope or take frequently attacking partners in the squad.
Has its own buffs that are built into both abilities and traces. Can independently increase its attack power, multipliers when Interpretation stacks are present, and damage from superpowers.	Wants another Erudition character in the squad, as it increases the multipliers from Interpretation stacks and the crit. parameter. In addition, such heroes give more energy and status levels from the trail. Without them, the five-star Gerta will begin to noticeably sag.
Does not depend on the signa and eidolons, and all the necessary functionality is presented among the basic mechanics. Of course, the presence of weapons and cons will strengthen it, but is not a prerequisite for revealing the potential.	The second "minus" is that the unit combines much worse with damage dealers of other classes. Basically, a classic team consists of another Path of Erudition unit, a (Harmony, Oblivion) ​​and a healer/shielder.
Combines not only high and stable damage, but also buffer capabilities. For example, the last trace, with a second Erudition unit, increases the critical damage of all allies by 80%.
A useful technique that gives a large ATK boost at the start of combat, and makes it easier to find normal chests in the open world. This skill is also useful in the Virtual or Divergent Universe due to the extra True Damage it deals.

Best Great Hertha Builds in Honkai: Star Rail

The heroine is assembled through a classic damage dealer build, where the emphasis is on development attack power и Critical parameters. At the same time, it largely depends on the superpower that allows you to activate the enhanced skill. However, due to the high cost of this skill, it is important to ensure sufficient speeds to make moves more frequently or put energy in the connecting rope.

Note that the need for speed also depends on the team. In particular, partners who actively perform strikes are able to gain stacks of Interpretation themselves and restore the explorer's energy, but then her overall damage during the battle is reduced.

In this case, how effective the Great Gerta build in XSR will be in of revealing her combat potential depends primarily on the equipment being equipped, the presence of specific allies and the level of the character herself. The main thing is that the explorer can use superpowers in a timely manner and consistently deal damage to enemy targets.

Recommended Specs

The top stats on artifacts should be as follows:

Head	HP (permanent)
Arms	Attack Power (Permanent)
Body	Crit. chance (priority) / crit damage (optional)
Legs	Speed ​​= attack power
planar sphere	Ice Bonus (priority) / attack power (optional)
Connecting rope	Attack Power (priority) / energy recovery (optional)

Priority sub-stats:

Speed ​​(if required to reach the desired "threshold") > crit chance > crit damage > attack power.

Recommended final values ​​of character parameters at the maximum stage of development:

• Attack Power — from 2-500 units;
• Crete. chance — from 80-90%;
• Crete. damage — from 100-120% (taking into the 80% increase from the “Letter from Beyond the Event Horizon” trace);
• speed — 104 units or from 134/160 units.
• health — from 2 units;
• protection — from 850 units.

Light Cone Rating

The optimal weapon is the "card" Paths of Erudite with increased attack power, critical rate, total damage dealt, or bonuses to core abilities. The signature "Towards the Undeniable" is undoubtedly the best option, as the light cone is focused on enhancing the heroine's key mechanics.

Alternatively, you can equip:

• "The Day the Universe Falls": A free cone with nice buffs in the form of attack power and crit damage. However, if the first stat is given constantly, then crits can be difficult to get on a stable basis. This is due to the fact that there must be at least 2 enemies on the field that are weak to the ice element.
• "Let the world not calm down": A good choice, especially when you're low on energy and having trouble activating your ultimate. Considering that the ultimate also plays an important role in your rotation and deals quite a bit of damage, the extra damage boost from this ability is a nice touch.
• "Insight" и "Database": 3-star weapons for the early stages, when there are no alternatives. Both "cards" are associated with a super ability. In the first case, only its activation is important to increase the attack power, and in the second, the damage of the ultimate skill itself increases.

What relics and decorations are needed

Artifacts are selected similarly to the Light Cone. You need to look for sets or combinations that offer useful stats (crits, attack power, speed), as well as increased damage for key skills.

cave relics

In addition, there are the following equipment options:

• "Discoverer of Dead Waters": can potentially significantly "speed up" the damage of the scientist, but for this to happen, the team must have a hero of Oblivion, who has at least 2 types of weakening in his arsenal. For this reason, it does not become effective in all situations and imposes additional restrictions on the composition of the squad.
• Quantum Jasper.
• "Wild Wheat Shooter": "plug" in the early stages of the game, when there are no suitable relics collected yet. Later replaced completely or used partially in combinations 2×2.

planar decorations

Situational kits:

• "Barren Sigonia": will allow you to balance critical parameters. However, it necessarily requires that there are as many opponents as possible on the battlefield and that the heroine constantly defeats them. Because of this, it is mainly worn for completing "Pure Fiction".
• "Space Sealing Station": equipment for the first time. Considering that the set is available in the starting 3rd world of the "Virtual Universe", it is easy to farm until other options open. In addition, the ive does not contain complex conditions - it is enough to put on boots for speed.
• «"Live Vonvac": does not provide damage, but can make it more comfortable to accumulate energy for the super ability. If the heroine has already reached the optimal value of DPS characteristics, but is experiencing problems with the ult or speed, this option is suitable as an alternative.

Squad Guide for Great Hertha in HSR

In the team, Great Hertha plays the role of a damage dealer, who is effective in a variety of combat scenarios. The main principle of creating a team with her is to use the second character of the Path of Erudition, because it gives a lot of advantages. To top it off, the composition is standardly supplemented with a buffer/debuffer and a healer/shielder.

Which characters are suitable?

The table shows those who would be best suited for the researcher.

Alternative characters that can be placed next to the heroine:

Does Great Hertha need Anax?

Anaxa (Erudition: Windy) — one of the best partners for the scientist, as he can make her gameplay much more comfortable due to the rapid accumulation of Interpretation levels and the mechanics of imposing all types of vulnerabilities. However, is he really necessary? The girl really gets a lot of benefit from this union. However, she has other excellent companions of varying rarity.

For example, if the has a pumped-up Jasper (Erudition: Quantum), Anaxa will be an improvement, but not so significant as to be a targeted replacement. First of all, the man will simplify the battle with a small number of targets, while against the many constantly changing enemies in Pure Fiction its effectiveness is less pronounced.

That is, Anaxa is recommended for Great Hertha in most situations, only if Jasper is missing. In this case, the hero becomes an undoubtedly profitable acquisition when trying to fully unleash the potential of the squad.

Examples of the best teams

List of squads where the girl best reveals her potential:

Is Great Hertha better than other heroes of Erudite?

As a representative of the Path of Erudition, the girl occupies a niche associated with area damage and ing modes such as "Pure Fiction". However, there are other characters in the game who adhere to a similar concept. Is 5⭐ Gerta superior to them or does she stand out in no way?

Often, each new legendary unit is really stronger than the previous ones. However, the girl stands out not so much for her damage, but for her capabilities that go beyond a certain content. Despite the high potential for distributing mass DPS, thanks to the Interpretation stack mechanic, the heroine demonstrates high results against single targets too.

Sure, many of Erudite's heroes are similarly good at single-target (Rappa, Jing Yuan, Argenti), but they don't have special abilities that boost damage to single targets. All of this is complemented by the explorer's own buffs to attack power and crit damage, allowing her to put up huge numbers during battle.

The Genius Society researcher is indeed a powerful character of the Path of Erudition, at the same time not limited by its class. However, this does not devalue the other heroes in any way, since each of them has its own unique features, combinations and application options:

• Fire Himeko.
• Jing Yuan (Erudition: Electric) - shows itself excellently in gameplay with summoned creatures.
• Rappa (Erudition: Imaginary) - ideal in teams against penetration.
• Argenti (Erudition: Physical) - Still one of the best fighters to complete Pure Fiction.

Thus, the scientist can be called meta unit of his Path. However, despite its strength and versatility, it is not an absolute replacement for the rest of the Erudite. Moreover, it does not always make sense, especially if the heroes are already well-built or there is no need for another DD.

Concerning epic version of the character, other than the element and class match, there is virtually nothing in common between the two. Her doll is a secondary damage dealer and specializes in bonus attacks, while the real Gerta is more of a team-building hero and has no follow-up mechanics. Regardless, they work very well together and are effective in the same squad.

Is it worth knocking out Great Hertha?

Great Gerta is not only an outstanding scientist, but also a strong representative of the Path of Erudition. She deals significant damage, including strengthening herself and her allies. The main mechanic is the "Interpretation" status, which the heroine applies herself or with the help of other squad . This effect increases damage many times and at the same time makes Great Gerta more "flexible", allowing her to act against single targets.

Another feature is the need for a Path of Erudition character. In this, as in other aspects, the scientist resembles Acheron: she can rely on allies or, conversely, take the lead, using only outside . Although this limits squad builds, it ultimately pays off in full with the stats demonstrated on the battlefield. On the one hand, the girl does not offer anything new, but on the other, she closes the need for a damage dealer suitable for diverse content if there are no alternatives.

Thus, the honorable explorer is worth getting if you need a character with high area damage to complete the mission. "Pure Fiction" and at the same time performs well against single opponents. However, it is equally important to have another pumped up Path of Erudition hero on your , as this has a decisive impact on its effectiveness.

Which is better: signal or E1

To help you decide, let's look at the signature weapon "Towards the Undeniable" and the first eidolon:

• E1 allows you to apply more levels of the Interpretation status, which significantly increases the damage from the enhanced skill.
• The cone gives a critical chance, enhances the super ability and skill, and in addition restores the skill point after using the ultimate.

Based on this, as a more universal investment, the signature wins. Eidolon can become relevant if there are other cones in the arsenal (for example, "Night on the Milky Way", "Today is also a peaceful day" or "Until dawn"). Otherwise, or if there is no possibility to invest in E2 later, it is better to stop at the signature. In addition, it is worth noting that the weapon becomes preferable in "gluttonous" builds.

Achievements with character

There is one hidden achievement associated with the heroine:

Name	Condition
"Interpretation of what has been read"	Use the Scholar to accumulate a total of 42 Interpretation status 5 times in one battle.

We hope that our article with a guide to the character in Honkai: Star Rail helped you to assemble the best build for Great Gerta. In the comments, ask any questions about the heroine so that the author or other players can help. In the special section, you can read about other assemblies.

Trailers

Character trailer "Genius Factory":

Анимация "Mrs. Gerta is the best!" from the category "Closer to the Stars":

Trailer of the journey of a thousand stars: "The Mysterious Silence of the Stars":

Special animation video: