Like countless games that came before it, Honkai: Star Rail (HSR) has its unique set of combat mechanics that players must master. However, not all of these mechanics are explicitly explained in the tutorials, skill and item descriptions, or other in-game materials. This can often leave players confused or unaware of certain game mechanics that could be vital to their success. Effect Hit Rate is one such mechanic that players must fully grasp to become effective in combat. With the recent introduction of Silver Wolf and Version 1.1, Effect Hit Rate seems to have become even more crucial than before. So, let’s delve deep into what Effect Hit Rate is, how it impacts your team and playstyle, and other related stats you should be aware of.
What is Effect Hit Rate?
Effect Hit Rate (EHR) is a statistic that determines the chance of triggering an effect on your opponents with your attacks. As you may already know, each element in the game has a corresponding debuff that can be inflicted on enemies. For example, Ice can cause Freezing, Fire can cause Burning, Wind can cause Wind Shear, and so on. Additionally, different characters have unique crowd control debuffs, like Silver Wolf’s glitches. At its core, EHR determines the likelihood of inflicting these effects on enemies through your abilities. While EHR doesn’t directly enhance your team’s overall damage, they can still benefit from the debuffs in various ways, such as granting speed, reducing the enemy’s defense, or delaying the target’s action.
Currently, only a handful of characters heavily rely on inflicting debuffs on enemies, which necessitates higher EHR stats. Nihility characters such as Pela, Sampo, Welt, and the newly added Silver Wolf depend on EHR to activate their Nihility effects. These effects are powerful debuffs that can turn the tide of battle in your favor. However, EHR isn’t exclusively beneficial to Nihility characters. For instance, many abilities, like March 7th’s Glacial Cascade, have a base chance to inflict elemental debuffs on enemies. Increasing EHR stats for a Preservation character like March 7th can enhance the probability of triggering Freeze, making her skill more reliable against any foe.
How Important is Effect Hit Rate?
Having high EHR stats means that your character has a better chance of inflicting debilitating effects on enemies, greatly weakening them and making them easier to defeat. This is particularly crucial in battles against formidable enemies or bosses, where even the slightest advantage can make a difference. Characters that rely on inflicting debuffs, such as Nihility characters, benefit greatly from having a high EHR as it allows them to trigger their powerful debuffs more frequently. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize EHR when building a team around these characters. This becomes especially evident when facing bosses with high resistance to debuffs, where a low EHR can make it nearly impossible to apply debuffs effectively.
While EHR is important for debuffers, it is not recommended to prioritize it for characters that focus on raw damage output, as they don’t heavily rely on elemental debuffs to deal damage. Ultimately, the significance of EHR depends on the specific characters and the player’s playstyle.
Effect RES and Debuff RES
On the other side of the spectrum, Effect RES is the statistic that determines a character’s resistance to debuffs. This statistic works alongside Debuff RES, which essentially functions similarly to Effect RES. The game does not provide a clear distinction between the two, but both are crucial in determining a character’s ability to resist debuffs.
Having high Effect RES and Debuff RES means that a character is less likely to be affected by debilitating effects, which can be crucial in battles where the enemy frequently inflicts debuffs. The same applies to common enemies and bosses. Whether you’re playing in the Simulated Universe, Cavern of Corrosion, or just the overworld, bosses often possess dangerously high Effect RES, making them nearly immune to status effects. This is where EHR becomes crucial, as characters with high EHR have a better chance of inflicting debuffs even on resistant enemies.
Calculating the Probability of a Debuff Being Applied
Certain characters’ skills and attacks have a base chance to inflict debuffs, which is then modified by their Effect Hit Rate statistic. Your character’s total EHR stats can be enhanced by equipping them with Relics and Light Cones that boost this particular statistic. Traces and Eidolons can also grant bonus EHR, depending on their abilities and passive skills. Furthermore, some characters have abilities or passive skills that increase their own EHR or decrease the enemy’s Effect RES, which can prove useful in battles where debuffs play a major role. For instance, Silver Wolf’s second Eidolon applies a 20% Effect RES reduction to all enemies during combat, thereby affecting the probability of her debuffs landing on an enemy.
The tricky part, however, is that having 100% EHR does not necessarily guarantee successful debuff infliction on enemies. Remember, Effect RES and Debuff RES are also factors to consider. If the enemy has high enough numbers in both statistics, your EHR may not be enough to overcome their resistance.
Here is a basic computation to determine the probability of successfully applying a debuff to an enemy:
Real Effect Probability = Base Effect Probability x (1 + Attacker’s EHR) x (1 – Target’s Effect RES) x (1 – Target’s Debuff RES)
Let’s use Pela as an example. Suppose your current EHR for Pela is 85% from all her Light Cones, Traces, and Relics. Additionally, her Ultimate skill has a base effect probability of 100% for inflicting DEF reduction. The enemy you’re facing has 50% Effect RES and 30% Debuff RES against DEF reduction.
Real Effect Probability = 100% x (1 + 0.85) x (1 – 0.50) x (1 – 0.30)
Real Effect Probability = 100% x 1.85 x 0.50 x 0.70
Real Effect Probability = 64.75%
This means that, given Pela’s current EHR and the enemy’s resistance, there is a 64.75% chance of successfully inflicting DEF reduction with her Ultimate skill.
It’s worth noting that some enemies may have complete immunity to certain debuffs, rendering your EHR useless in those situations. For example, Cocolia, a boss enemy in the Simulated Universe, is completely immune to Freezing. So, no matter how high your EHR is, you cannot freeze her. Therefore, it’s vital to consider the weaknesses, strengths, and resistance of enemies before attempting to inflict a debuff.
Weakness Breaks and Debuffs
In combat, reducing an enemy’s Toughness gauge to zero results in a Weakness Break. Weakness Breaks grant the attacking character a 150% base chance to apply debuffs to enemies. This is one reason why traditional DPS characters do not necessarily require a significantly high EHR since they can rely on Weakness Breaks to apply elemental debuffs to enemies. However, if you have a Nihility character that heavily relies on inflicting crowd control debuffs on enemies, then having a high EHR should be a priority. For a more comprehensive discussion on Weakness Breaks and elemental debuffs, refer to our HSR Combat Mastery Guide.
Having high EHR is vital for certain characters, especially those that rely on debuffing enemies. However, it’s not the sole factor to consider. You also need to take into account the enemy’s Effect RES and Debuff RES, as well as your skill’s base probability of inflicting a debuff. Additionally, DPS characters may not need to prioritize EHR as much since they can rely on Weakness Breaks to apply elemental debuffs. Now that you understand the importance of EHR, be sure to keep it in mind when building your team and selecting gear for your characters. Ultimately, considering all factors when optimizing a character and their equipment is essential to maximize their combat effectiveness.
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