Gilgamesh is the second Fate/stay night collaboration character in Honkai Star Rail, and every player who already claimed Archer gets him for free. He is a 5-star Lightning unit on the Path of Destruction, and he hits like a premium carry once he is built. The catch is his enormous energy requirement, so the wrong gear leaves him doing very little. The build below squeezes the most damage out of his kit.
Quick answer: Run I Am As You Behold, a 4-piece Scholar Lost in Erudition, and the Cosmic Life Sciences Institute planar set. Prioritize Crit Rate, Crit DMG, ATK%, and Lightning DMG, skip Energy Regen, and pair him with Saber, Mortenax Blade, and Huohuo.
Gilgamesh build summary
Gilgamesh deals most of his damage through his Ultimate and his enhanced Skill, so every choice here funnels toward Crit and raw ATK. He gains a large amount of Crit DMG from his own traces, which is why Crit Rate is the stat you actually chase on gear.
| Slot | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Light Cone | I Am As You Behold |
| Relic set | Scholar Lost in Erudition (4-piece) |
| Planar Ornament | Cosmic Life Sciences Institute |
| Body | Crit Rate% (or Crit DMG%) |
| Boots | ATK% |
| Planar Sphere | Lightning DMG% |
| Link Rope | ATK% |
| Substats | Crit Rate = Crit DMG > ATK% |
| Best team | Gilgamesh, Saber, Mortenax Blade, Huohuo |
Best Light Cones for Gilgamesh
His signature, I Am As You Behold, is the clear best-in-slot. It raises his ATK and Energy Regeneration Rate, scales his Ultimate damage with the amount of energy he spends, and hands the whole team a Crit DMG buff after he uses his Ultimate or enters combat. Every stat on it feeds his energy-hungry, Ultimate-centered loop.
If you do not pull it, there are strong fallbacks. A Thankless Coronation, Saber’s signature, suits his high-energy frame well. On the Fall of an Aeon is the best free-to-play Destruction option and can be maxed from the Herta Store, which makes any 4-star cone unnecessary once you own it.
| Priority | Light Cone |
|---|---|
| Best | I Am As You Behold |
| 5-star alternative | A Thankless Coronation, On the Fall of an Aeon (F2P) |
| 4-star alternative | A Trail of Bygone Blood, Under the Blue Sky |
Best relics and planar ornaments
Scholar Lost in Erudition is the top relic set. The 2-piece adds Crit Rate, and the 4-piece increases both Skill and Ultimate damage while boosting his follow-up Skill after an Ultimate. That matches his rotation exactly, since his big turns are all Skill and Ultimate.
For planar ornaments, Cosmic Life Sciences Institute is tailor-made for him. It raises damage based on how far his Max Energy exceeds 200, and Gilgamesh carries one of the highest energy ceilings in the game. If you would rather not farm the new set, Inert Salsotto is a safe pick once his Crit Rate is above 50%.
| Gear type | Best | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Relic set | Scholar Lost in Erudition | The Ashblazing Grand Duke, Genius of Brilliant Stars, As Navigator Isee Sees It, Poet of Mourning Collapse (base speed) |
| Planar Ornament | Cosmic Life Sciences Institute | Inert Salsotto, Durin, Dynasty of Running Wolves |
Note: The Ashblazing Grand Duke and Durin, Dynasty of Running Wolves only make sense if you are leaning into his follow-up attack damage, which mostly matters in the Saber pairing.
Stat targets and substats
Because Gilgamesh receives fixed energy whenever allies use their Ultimates, you do not build Energy Regeneration Rate on him. Push Crit Rate to a reliable 100% with buffs so his nukes never miss a crit, then stack Crit DMG and ATK. Run him at base speed rather than chasing a speed breakpoint.
| Stat | Goal | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Crit Rate | 100% | High |
| Crit DMG | 140% or more | High |
| ATK | 3,200 | High |
| Speed | Base speed | – |
Level his abilities in the order Skill = Ultimate > Talent > Basic ATK. The Skill and Ultimate carry nearly all of his damage, the Talent controls his Interest gain and Ultimate buff, and the Basic ATK is mostly an automatic filler he uses before his Interest gauge fills.
Best Gilgamesh teams
Gilgamesh comes in two flavors. One is built around Saber, who unlocks his Joint Follow-Up Attack and roughly doubles his output, and the other treats him as a hypercarry without her. Both want fast, Ultimate-heavy allies so his energy and Interest stay topped up.
With Saber on the field, prioritize Mortenax Blade and Huohuo to charge his Ultimate as fast as possible. You can swap Mortenax Blade for Tribbie or the Remembrance Trailblazer, and Huohuo for Hyacine or Dan Heng Permansor Terrae.
Without Saber, run him as a hypercarry with Ashveil as the sub-DPS, again backed by Mortenax Blade and Huohuo. Sunday or the Remembrance Trailblazer stand in for Ashveil, while Tribbie or Sparkle cover the amplifier slot.
| Team | Members |
|---|---|
| Saber Duo (best) | Gilgamesh, Saber, Mortenax Blade, Huohuo |
| Saber Duo (alt) | Gilgamesh, Saber, Tribbie or Remembrance Trailblazer, Hyacine or Dan Heng Permansor Terrae |
| Hypercarry (best) | Gilgamesh, Ashveil, Mortenax Blade, Huohuo |
| Hypercarry (alt) | Gilgamesh, Sunday or Remembrance Trailblazer, Tribbie or Sparkle, Hyacine or Dan Heng Permansor Terrae |
Since Gilgamesh is handed out for free during the collab, the smart move is to farm his Crit and ATK relic pieces early, secure On the Fall of an Aeon if you are skipping his signature, and slot him into whichever of the two team shapes your roster supports. Get his Crit Rate to 100%, feed him allies that spam Ultimates, and his Enuma Elish will do the rest.
