A commanding figure on the Xianzhou Luofu, Jing Yuan’s centuries-long combat experience and interpersonal wisdom make him among the most revered individuals in Honkai: Star Rail.
His likable behavior and chill personality make him a treat for fans, but your understanding of his overall build and batting mechanics might need some touching up if you want to make him a fearsome end-game damage dealer.
Jing Yuan Best Build
Calm yet observing, Jing Yuan is a formidable war general within the Xianzhou Alliance’s esteemed ranks, meaning his fighting skills are second to none.
Still, his most dangerous in-game prowess revolves around his summoned Lightning Lord, a godly entity that destroys enemies using its thunderous sword and lightning strikes.
With this in mind, Jing Yuan’s best overall build should look something like this:
| Character | Best Cavern Relics Set | Best Planar Ornaments Set | Best Light Cone |
 Jing Yuan |  (4-piece) The Ashblazing Grand Duke |  Inert Salsotto |  Before Dawn |
Noting how Jing Yuan’s kit ties heavily to Lightning Lord’s follow-up attacks, these set combinations focus on pushing its damage values as high as possible.
Plus, you’ll get bonus Critical Rate and Critical Damage to Jing Yuan’s stats for safe measure. Get some Speed stats into your build, and Jing Yuan will be nearly unstoppable!
Jing Yuan Alternate Light Cones
Getting Jing Yuan’s exclusive Light Cone, Before Dawn, can be tricky, considering its rarity. As such, you can still substitute it with different Light Cones, such as:
| Light Cone | Effect(s) |
 Night on the Milky Way | Attack increased by 9% – 15% for each enemy present (up to 5 stacks) Damage dealt increased by 30% – 50% to an enemy suffering from Weakness Break (1 turn) |
 The Birth of the Self | Follow-up attacks’ damage increased by 24% – 48% Follow-up attacks’ damage further increased by 24% – 48% when the target’s HP is less than 50% of Max HP |
 The Seriousness of Breakfast | Damage increased by 12% – 24% Attack increased by 4% – 8% for each enemy defeated (up to 3 stacks) |
Depending on your preferred setup, each of these can be used accordingly. For instance, Night on the Milky Way is superb for Boss runs, while The Birth of the Self immensely bolsters Lightning Lord’s Area-of-Effect (AoE) damage.
Jing Yuan Alternate Relics
Farming relics can be a bit of a chore, and you might be saving your Ashblazing Grand Duke set for someone else. Well, other relic sets can also be considered for Jing Yuan, with a few examples being:
Lightning-Element Build
| Cavern Relics Set | Effect(s) |
 (4-piece) Band of Sizzling Thunder | (2-piece) Lightning Damage is increased by 10% (4-piece) Upon using Skill, Attack is increased by 20% (1 turn) |
If you’re focusing on optimizing both Jing Yuan and Lightning Lord’s elemental damage, this 4-piece set helps you sweep through enemy parties weak to Lightning.
| Planar Ornaments Set | Effect(s) |
 Space Sealing Station | Attack increased by 12% If Speed is at 120 or higher, Attack is increased by another 12% |
Supplementing the Lightning Damage boosts, getting the Space Sealing Station makes Jing Yuan and Lightning Lord hit even harder, provided you get Jing Yuan’s Speed up to 120 via item substats.
Weakness Break Build
| Cavern Relics Set | Effect(s) |
 (4-piece) Thief of the Shooting Meteor | (2-piece) Break Effect increased by 16% (4-piece) Break Effect increased by another 16% (4-piece) Upon inflicting Weakness Break on an enemy, regenerates 3 Energy |
Jing Yuan (and Lightning Lord) are AoE experts, and this works exceptionally well when you strengthen their Break Effects too.
You can get Weakness Breaks more frequently by equipping this set, setting up opportunities for other heroes to capitalize on (e.g. Himeko).
| Planar Ornaments Set | Effect(s) |
Space Sealing Station | Attack increased by 12% If Speed is at 120 or higher, Attack is increased by another 12% |
Increasing Jing Yuan’s Attack using the same Space Sealing Station set is arguably the best option here, keeping him and Lightning Lord’s offensive output high.
Team Damage Build
| Cavern Relics Set | Effect(s) |
(2-piece) Band of Sizzling Thunder | (2-piece) Lightning Damage is increased by 10% |
 (2-piece) Musketeer of Wild Wheat | (2-piece) Attack increased by 12% |
Generally, combining these 2-piece sets improves both Jing Yuan and Lightning Lord’s damage potential.
Not only will their Lightning-based attacks become stronger, but Jing Yuan’s increased Attack proportionally benefits Lightning Lord’s damage output as well.
| Planar Ornaments Set | Effect(s) |
 Penacony, Land of the Dreams | Energy Regeneration Rate increased by 5% All same-element allies deal 10% increased damage |
At first glance, Penacony, Land of the Dreams might seem out of place for Jing Yuan. But, it actually helps you cycle his Ultimate faster, letting you share more hits to Lightning Lord’s attacks in fewer turns.
On top of that, this set offers a flat damage boost to every Lightning-element ally in battle (including Lightning Lord), making it a nifty party-wide damage enhancer.
Jing Yuan Best Team
As with any Honkai: Star Rail character, Jing Yuan can only do so much by himself. He needs constant heals and timely buffs from his allies too, particularly when facing end-game challenges and content.
So, here are some examples of his best team compositions today:
Follow-Up Attacks Team
 Topaz and Numby |  Asta |  Luocha |
Pure, unfiltered mayhem; this team does it with style. While Topaz makes Lightning Lord and her Numby’s attacks more powerful, Asta’s Speed buff benefits everyone (including summoned allies).
For survivability, a completely kitted Luocha provides party-wide HP heals and an Attack buff, among other aspects benefitting everyone, including Lightning Lord and Numby.
Lightning Lord Team
 Tingyun |  Bronya |  Huohuo |
This team involving Tingyun, Bronya, and Huohuo aims to elevate Lightning Lord’s multiple-hit attacks to a whole new level.
Tingyun adds even more Lighting Damage to either Lightning Lord or Jing Yuan, while Bronya can increase their offensive capabilities and Advance-Forwarding their turn when needed.
Huohuo helps sustain the team with her heals, and her Ultimate replenishes everyone’s Energy, letting you cycle through Ultimates quicker.
AoE Team
 Sparkle |  Serval |  Natasha |
Serval is another Lightning-type character dishing out multiple AoE attacks and can inflict the Shock debuff onto foes, supplementing Lightning Lord’s own multiple-hit moves.
Sparkle helps the team tremendously in different ways, including Advanced Forward, increased usable Skill cap, and more. To keep everyone alive, Natasha’s continuous healing extends the party’s longevity.
Overview
While Jing Yuan might be the brains and charm of the pair, Lightning Lord does most of the heavy lifting in combat. This is evident as we run through all of his in-game abilities:
Skills
| Skill | Effect(s) |
Basic Attack Glistening Light | Deals 50% – 110% of his Attack as Lightning Damage Toughness Damage: 30 Energy Generated: 20 |
Skill Rifting Zenith | Deals 50% – 110% of his Attack as Lightning Damage to all enemies Adds 2 additional hits to Lightning Lord’s upcoming attack Toughness Damage: 30 Energy Generated: 30 |
Talent Prana Extirpated | Lightning Lord is summoned at the start of a battle (60 Speed, 3 hits per attack/ turn) Deals Lightning-Damage (follow-up attack) equal to 33% – 72.6% of Jing Yuan’s Attack Enemies adjacent to the target also receive 25% of the damage dealt Lightning Lord’s accumulated hits per turn can’t exceed 10 hits Each hit-per-turn added to Lightning Lord’s attack increases its Speed by 10 (resets after attacking) Toughness Damage: 15 per hit (primary target only) |
Ultimate Lightbringer | Deals 120% – 216% of his Attack as Lightning Damage to all enemies Adds 3 additional hits to Lightning Lord’s upcoming attack Toughness Damage: 60 Energy Cost: 130 Energy Generated: 5 |
Although Jing Yuan deals more direct damage, it’s Lightning Lord’s multiple hits per turn that cumulatively add up during a fight, making the real difference at the end of the day.
Traces
| Trace | Effect(s) |
Battalia Crush | Lightning Lord’s Critical Damage increases by 25% when its hit-per-turn is equal to or greater than 6 accumulated hits |
Savant Providence | Instantly regenerates 15 Energy at the start of battle |
War Marshal | Critical Rate is increased by 10% after using Skill (2 turns) |
Ideally, these three are the main Traces you want to get for Jing Yuan as soon as possible. In specific circumstances, these make the difference between winning and losing.
Summarily, Jing Yuan’s other Traces increase Attack, Critical Rate, and Defense, so you can choose which ones to prioritize according to your build’s shortcomings.
Eidolons
| Eidolon | Effect(s) |
Level 1 Slash, Seas Split | Enemies adjacent to the target receiving Lightning-Lord’s attacks suffer an additional 25% of the damage dealt |
Level 2 Swing, Skies Squashed | Jing Yuan’s Basic Attack, Skill, and Ultimate deal 20% more damage (2 turns) after Lightning Lord’s turn ends |
Level 3 Strike, Suns Subdued | +2 Ultimate Level (maximum +15 Ultimate) +1 Basic Attack Level (maximum +10 Basic Attack) |
Level 4 Spin, Stars Seiged | Jing Yuan generates 2 Energy for each hit dealt by Lightning Lord’s attack during its turn |
Level 5 Stride, Spoils Seized | +2 Skill Level (maximum +15 Skill) +2 Talent Level (maximum +15 Talent) |
Level 6 Sweep, Souls Slain | Each of Lightning Lord’s hits makes the target enemy Vulnerable (stacks 3 times) Vulnerable: – Suffer 12% more damage |
Although Jing Yuan’s Eidolons bring a lot to the table, getting his duplicates from Warps can be excruciating (especially for free-to-play). So, consider his Eidolons as top-tier side bonuses, investing your time and effort in building his stats, relics, and light cones instead.
