I was mid-raid when the screen blinked and my Gilgamesh sat there, empty-handed. You can feel the room go quiet—one misread stat and a perfectly-timed Ultimate evaporates. I wrote this so you won’t make that mistake twice.
HSR Gilgamesh Build: Hands-on summary
I once watched two teams trade him around like a hot potato because no one had planned his energy. He demands attention before the first fight starts.
Gilgamesh is the single-most anticipated DPS from the HSR x Fate collaboration for a reason: his damage ceiling is obscene, but his energy threshold is punishing. If you want raw numbers, this build centers on crit rate, crit damage, ATK%, and Lightning DMG—while deliberately ignoring Energy Recharge because his ult timing comes from teammates.
| Type | Information |
|---|---|
| Light Cone | I Am As You Behold |
| Relic | Scholar Lost in Erudition |
| Planar Ornament | Cosmic Life Sciences Institute |
| Main Stats | Body: Crit Rate % Boots: ATK% Sphere: Lightning DMG% Rope: ATK% |
| Sub Stats | Crit Rate = Crit DMG > ATK% |
| Team | Gilgamesh, Saber, Mortenax Blade, Huohuo |
What is the best light cone for Gilgamesh?
You should treat light cones like tools: some are hammers, others are scalpels. The signature I Am As You Behold is the hammer—massive damage scaling tailored to his kit. It’s worth the Stellar Jade pulls if you want him to hit his ceiling (expect banner costs in the ballpark of 100 USD (€93) depending on your luck).
| Priority | Name |
|---|---|
| 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 |
If you can’t or won’t chase the signature cone, A Thankless Coronation is a high-end 5-star swap (Saber’s cone), while On the Fall of an Aeon remains the best F2P Destruction option. For day-to-day farming, the 4-star options work—but don’t expect miracles compared with his signature piece.
Relics: What you actually want
At a farming party, someone will ask for a relic swap and people will groan—because relic choice actually moves the needle here.
Gilgamesh’s damage expresses itself most clearly through his Ultimate. That makes any relic set that buffs Skill and Ultimate damage or increases crit chance inherently valuable. Scholar Lost in Erudition is the direct hit: crit rate plus Skill/Ult damage—exactly the stat profile he uses.
| Priority | Name |
|---|---|
| Best | Scholar Lost in Erudition |
| Alternative | The Ashblazing Grand Duke Genius of Brilliant Stars Poet of Mourning Collapse (base speed) |
If Scholar is out of reach, The Ashblazing Grand Duke helps his Follow-up hits and Genius of Brilliant Stars is a safe choice for pure DPS scaling. For a base-speed playstyle you can try Poet of Mourning Collapse for its crit stats.
Planar ornaments: farming priorities
I’ve seen experienced players farm the wrong set for weeks—then swap one piece and gain an entire damage tier. Small choices add up fast.
The new Cosmic Life Sciences Institute is tailored for Gilgamesh because it scales with max energy over 200. Given his high energy requirement, this set converts excess energy into reliable damage. His energy bar is a locked vault; give it the right key and the numbers open up.
| Priority | Name |
|---|---|
| Best | Cosmic Life Sciences Institute |
| Alternative | Inert Salsotto Durin, Dynasty of Running Wolves |
If farming that set isn’t practical, Inert Salsotto is the safe, universal DPS option. Durin can be useful if you prioritize Follow-up damage instead of raw Ultimate numbers.
Stat goals and how to chase them
When you open your stat screen, numbers should answer questions—don’t let them ask you any.
| Stat Type | Stat Goal | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Crit Rate | 100% | High |
| Crit Damage | 140% or more | High |
| ATK | 3200 | High |
| Speed | Base speed | – |
Target 100% crit rate with buffs so he actually crits when it matters. Aim for 140%+ crit damage and roughly 3200 ATK for his kit to sing. Don’t chase Energy Recharge on him—he gets fixed energy from teammates’ Ultimates, so invest those substats where they multiply damage.
What relic and stat combinations give the biggest damage lift?
Short answer: crit rate on body, ATK% on boots/rope, Lightning DMG on sphere, with Crit DMG and ATK% subs. This mirrors what sites like Game8, Honey Impact, and community builds on Reddit r/HonkaiStarRail recommend—then you tune for your team.
Teams: where timing beats raw stats
I once swapped Saber into a run and the whole group hit Ult windows three turns earlier. Timing matters as much as raw numbers.
Gilgamesh needs teammates that feed him Ult energy and set up damage windows. There are two reliable approaches: the Saber duo that accelerates his energy and a hypercarry setup where he receives heavy support from ash/field comps. Your playstyle chooses the lane.
| Team Comp | DPS | Sub-DPS / Support | Support | Sustain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilgamesh Saber Duo (Best) |
Gilgamesh | Saber | Mortenax Blade | Huohuo |
| Gilgamesh Saber Duo (Alternative) |
Gilgamesh | Saber | Tribbie / Remembrance Trailblazer | Hyacine / Dan Heng Permansor Terrae |
| Gilgamesh Hypercarry (Best) |
Gilgamesh | Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Huohuo |
| Gilgamesh Hypercarry (Alternative) |
Gilgamesh | Sunday / Remembrance Trailblazer | Tribbie / Sparkle | Hyacine / Dan Heng Permansor Terrae |
In the Saber duo you prioritize Mortenax Blade and Huohuo so Gilgamesh gets rapid Ult windows. For hypercarry you switch Saber for Ashveil (or Sunday/Remembrance Trailblazer) and double down on supports that create energy and buff follow-ups. Team lists from creators on YouTube and community threads on Reddit are good places to test variants before you commit materials.
His Ultimate is a thunderclap that separates casual clears from content-crushing runs; build around that rhythm and you’ll see why people call him a win condition.
Final notes, build checklist, and resources
My checklist is short: hit 100% crit rate, 140%+ crit damage, ~3200 ATK, Scholar relic or similar, and Cosmic ornaments if you can. Use Game8 and Honey Impact for numerical sims and follow high-signal creators on YouTube for timing videos. Hoyoverse patch notes and r/HonkaiStarRail will tell you when your windows change.
Questions about specific artifacts, light cone rolls, or team tweaks—what mismatch in your current roster costs you the most DPS?