Best Ruan Mei Honkai Star Rail build: Light Cone, Relics, teams, more

Honkai Star Rail welcomed a new support character with the highly anticipated Ruan Mei, and players are trying to add her to their teams. So, here’s everything you need to know to build her with the best Light Cone, Relics, teammates, and more.

Honkai Star Rail released the version 1.6 update that brings a new storyline alongside new and powerful playable characters. Trailblazers are eager to continue the main quest before another big update brings the next chapter in HoYoverse’s RPG story, but they’re also happy to finally meet Ruan Mei.

So, if you’re one of the lucky players who got Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail’s gacha, here’s how to build her with the best possible Light Cone, Relic sets, and more.

• Ruan Mei’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail explained
• Best Relics for Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail
• Best Planar Ornament for Ruan Mei
• Best Light Cone for Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail
• Best Honkai Star Rail teams for Ruan Mei

Ruan Mei’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail explained

Ruan Mei is a five-star Honkai Star Rail Ice element character in the Path of The Harmony. This means she’s a support character in charge of enhancing her allies’ abilities and DMG output. Ruan Mei is currently boosted in the first phase of update 1.6 in her own banner.

Below are all of Ruan Mei’s abilities in Honkai Star Rail:

• Threading Fragrance (Basic attack) – Deals Ice DMG to a single enemy.
• String Sings Slow Swirls (Skill) – Ruan Mei gains ‘Overtone,’ an effect that lasts for 3 turns. When Ruan Mei has ‘Overtone,’ all allies’ DMG increases by up to 35.2% and Weakness Break Efficiency increases by 50%.
• Petals to Stream, Repose in Dream (Ultimate) – Ruan Mei deploys a field that lasts for 2 turns. While inside the field, all allies’ All-Type RES PEN increases by up to 27% and their attacks apply ‘Thanatoplum Rebloom’ to the enemies hit. When these enemies attempt to recover from Weakness Break, ‘Thanatoplum Rebloom’ is triggered, extending the duration of their Weakness Break, delaying their action based on Ruan Mei’s Break Effect and dealing Break DMG based on Ruan Mei’s Ice Break DMG. It’s worth noting that enemy targets can’t have ‘Thanatoplum Rebloom’ re-applied to them until they recover from Weakness Break.
• Somatotypical Helix (Talent) – Increases SPD up to 10.4% for the team (excluding Ruan Mei). When allies Break an enemy target’s Weakness, Ruan Mei deals Break DMG based on her Ice Break DMG to the same enemy target.
• Silken Serenade (Technique) – After using the Technique, gains ‘Silken Serenade.’ At the start of the next battle, automatically triggers the Skill for one time without consuming Skill Points. In Simulated Universe, when Ruan Mei has ‘Silken Serenade,’ the team actively attacking enemies will always be regarded as attacking their Weakness to enter battle, and this attack can reduce all enemies’ Toughness, regardless of Weakness types. When breaking Weakness, triggers Weakness Break Effect corresponding to the attacker’s Type.

Ruan Mei’s kit makes her a very sought-after character after the 1.6 update was released. Her Skill and Ultimate can enhance allies while also applying effects on enemies to weaken their defenses. What’s more, her Talent allows Ruan Mei to deal a powerful follow-up attack to finish enemies up or break their Toughness for a DPS to finish the job.

With all that in mind, Trailblazers should focus on improving Ruan Mei’s SPD and Break Effect. Her ATK% is also an important stat to keep in mind, as well as her Ice DMG, since some of her abilities rely on those atributes.

Best Relics for Ruan Mei in HSR

Thief of Shooting Meteor

• Two-piece bonus: Increases Break Effect by 16%.
• Four-piece bonus: Increases the wearer’s Break Effect by 16%. When the wearer inflicts Weakness Break on an enemy, regenerates 3 Energy.

Thief of Shooting Meteor is the best Relic set for Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail. The complete set increases her Break Effect helps her regenerate Energy when breaking enemies’ Weakness, which is something she’ll be doing a lot. Alternatively, you can also choose to combine a two-piece set with other Relics we recommend below.

Messenger Traversing Hackerspace

• Two-piece bonus: Increases SPD by 6%.
• Four-piece bonus: When the wearer uses their Ultimate on an ally, SPD for all allies increases by 12% for 1 turn. This effect cannot be stacked.

As we mentioned, Ruan Mei’s SPD should be a priority when building her, so Messenger Traversing Hackerspace is a great Relic set to use. The full set can also work very well with Ruan Mei since it improves her and her allies’ SPD even more.

Hunter of Glacial Forest

• Two-piece bonus: Increases Ice DMG by 10%.
• Four-piece bonus: After the wearer unleashes their Ultimate, their CRIT DMG increases by 25% for two turns.

On the other hand, Hunter of Glacial Forest can enhance Ruan Mei’s Ice DMG to boost the DMG output of her Ultimate. In this case, we only recommend the two-piece set since you’re not interested in Ruan Mei’s CRIT DMG at all.

Best Planar Ornament for Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail

Penacony, Land of the Dreams is the go-to Planar Ornament for Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail. It increases her Energy Regeneration Rate by 5% and also increases DMG by 10% for all other allies that are of the same Type as the wearer. This can be a great addition since it gives Ruan Mei even more supporting capabilities.

Talia: Kingdom of Banditry is a very good alternative that increases Ruan Meis’s Break Effect by 16% for starters. Additionally, when her SPD reaches 145 or higher, her Break Effect increases by an extra 20%. Since most of Ruan Mei’s abilities are focused on Weakness Break, this Planar Ornament fits her like a glove.

Lastly, Sprightly Vonwacq is another viable option. This Planar Ornament is similar to the first one, increasing Ruan Mei’s Energy Regeneration Rate by 5%. However, when her SPD reaches 120 or higher, her action is Advanced Forward by 40% immediately upon entering battle. Having support characters participating in battle often can be a game-changer, so keep this set in mind.

Best Light Cone for Ruan Mei in HSR

Past Self in Mirror

Like all five-star Honkai Star Rail characters, Ruan Mei debuted alongside her signature Light Cone, so you should use it if you get the chance. Past Self in Mirror increases her Break Effect by up to 100%, and when she uses her Ultimate, increases all allies’ DMG by up to 40% for 3 turns.

Additionally, during the start of every wave, all allies regenerate up to 20 Energy, and Ruan Mei can recover a Skill Point if her Break Effect exceeds a certain limit. This Light Cone can work very well with other support characters thanks to its many effects, so you might want to pull for it during Ruan Mei’s banner.

Memories of the Past

Memories of the Past is a very viable alternative for those who can’t afford Past Self in Mirror. This Light Cone increases the wearer’s Break Effect by up to 56%, and when the wearer attacks, additionally regenerates up to 8 Energy.

But the Battle Isn’t Over

Bronya’s Light Cone also increases the wearer’s Energy Regeneration Rate by up to 18% and regenerates 1 Skill Point when the wearer uses their Ultimate on an ally. This works very well with Ruan Mei, but keep in mind that this effect can be triggered after every two uses of the Ultimate.

Additionally, when the wearer uses their Skill, the next ally taking action (except the wearer) deals up to 50% more DMG for 1 turn, which would give Ruan Mei more supporting capabilities.

Best Honkai Star Rail teams for Ruan Mei

Since Ruan Mei is a support character in Honkai Star Rail, the best approach is to pair her with one or two DPS and a healer. Alternatively, you can replace a DPS with another support character, whether to boost allies or weaken enemies.

For DPS, you can go with Dan Heng in a free-to-play composition or try with Jingliu or Blade if you pulled them through the gacha. Natasha is the only free Honkai Star Rail healer so far, but if you have Huohuo or Luocha, they’re great options for Ruan Mei’s team.

Lastly, for support characters, you can add Asta to enhance everyone’s SPD in battle. On the other hand, premium characters like Bronya can work very well alongside Ruan Mei to boost the main DPS. On the other hand, Ruan Mei’s abilities can pair very well with Nihility characters like Silver Wolf and Kafka to apply as many DoTs to enemies as you can while their Weakness is broken.

For more Honkai Star Rail content, you can check out some of our other guides below:

Honkai Star Rail pity system explained | Best Tingyun Honkai Star Rail build | Best March 7th Honkai Star Rail build | Best Blade Honkai Star Rail build | Does Honkai Star Rail have controller support? | Honkai Star Rail: How to link your account to PS5 | All Honkai Star Rail character ages & heights | Honkai Star Rail: All Ministry of Education Quiz answers | All free Honkai Star Rail characters & how to get them | How many people play Honkai Star Rail?