Topaz comes blazing as the first Fire Hunt character in Honkai: Star Rail. As a debt collector for the Interastral Peace Corporation, she carries out her duties diligently and with empathy, something she’s gained from growing up on a dying planet. She’s accompanied by Numby, a special Space Trotter capable of devastating enemies with their follow-up attacks. Those follow-up attacks are also the basis of their playstyle, so you have to know how to buff them up as much as possible. Here’s what you need to know to build your best Topaz, including the best Light Cones, best Relics, and team comps.

Topaz abilities

The bulk of Topaz and Numby’s damage comes from follow-up attacks. That said, many of their abilities support a playstyle that strengthens those attacks and others’ follow-up attacks, too.

Topaz and Numby are a team. Think of them as a two-in-one deal, similar to Jing Yuan and the Lightning-Lord. Numby acts on their own turn, and all of their damage counts as a follow-up attack as a result.

Here’s an overview of Topaz and Numby’s abilities, starting at Level 1 without leveling up Traces.

Basic attack: Deficit…

Topaz’s basic attack deals a portion of her ATK to a single target. One of her Trace abilities changes her basic attack into a follow-up one, so keep that in mind for follow-up-focused abilities.

Skill: Difficulty Paying?

Topaz applies a Proof of Debt marker to a single target and increases the DMG they receive from follow-up attacks by 25 percent. Numby deals Fire DMG equal to 75 percent of Topaz’s ATK to this target as follow-up attack damage.

Difficulty Paying? only applies to one target at a time, so you can’t use her skill to inflict an entire team. Topaz randomly applies Proof of Debt to an enemy at the start of an ally’s turn if no enemies currently have the mark active.

Ultimate: Turn a Profit!

Numby enters a special state called « Windfall Bonanza! », which increases its DMG multiplier by 75 percent and Crit DMG by 12 percent. Windfall Bonanza expires after Numby takes action twice.

Talent: Trotter Market!?

Topaz automatically summons Numby at the start of the battle. On their turn, Numby deals Fire DMG equal to 75 percent of Topaz’s ATK to any enemy Topaz afflicts with Proof of Debt. Numby’s action is Advanced Forward by 50 percent when an ally attacks the afflicted enemy. Note that Numby’s attacks count as follow-up attacks.

Technique: Explicit Subsidy

Numby can sniff out Basic Treasures and Trotters when Topaz activates her Technique. Topaz also regenerates 60 Energy after Numby’s first attack in the next battle. After the battle, she gets « paid » a small amount of Credits if she’s still on the team.

Ascension Passives

• Ascension 2 Passive–Overdraft: Changes Topaz’s Basic ATK damage to follow-up damage.
• Ascension 4 Passive–Financial Turmoil: Increases Topaz and Numby’s DMG to enemies weak against Fire by 15 percent.
• Ascension 6 Passive–Technical Adjustment: Topaz regenerates 10 Energy when Numby uses an attack while in the Windfall Bonanza! state.

Best Light Cone for Topaz

Nearly every five-star Hunt Light Cone works well with Topaz. All of them focus on raising overall damage with ATK power, ability buffs, Crit DMG, or Crit Rate, so they generally benefit any DPS character.

Topaz’s best Light Cone is her signature Worrisome, Blissful because it raises Crit Rate and follow-up attack Crit DMG, something that uniquely benefits her as a follow-up-focused damage-dealer. However, it’s a limited-time gacha item that many players will pass on because of the sheer amount of resources you need to get it.

Cruising in the Stellar Sea, the free-to-play five-star Hunt Light Cone, compliments Topaz well enough that you shouldn’t feel the need to get a slightly better Light Cone from gacha. Anyone can earn it by battling through Herta’s Simulated Universe. Sleep Like The Dead, a five-star Hunt Light Cone you can get through gacha banners, also works if you’re lucky enough to get it.

As mentioned earlier, Cruising in the Stellar Sea is a free five-star Light Cone. It outperforms its four-star counterparts, so there’s no point wasting resources on weaker alternatives. You can still use Swordplay or Only Silence Remains as acceptable replacements if you can’t get Cruising in the Stellar Sea just yet or perhaps need to use it for another character, though.

If you don’t have any of the options listed above, Arrows or Darting Arrow (for battles with multiple enemies) should work in the meantime. However, you should replace it with a better Light Cone whenever you get the chance.

These are the descriptions for each Light Cone mentioned above (at Level 1):

• Worrisome, Blissful (5-star): Increase the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 18 percent and DMG from follow-up attacks by 30 percent. When allies hit enemy targets under the Tame state, every Tame stack will increase the CRIT DMG received by 12 percent.
• Cruising in the Stellar Sea (5-star): Increases the wearer’s CRIT rate by 8 percent, and increases their CRIT rate against enemies with HP less than or equal to 50 percent by an extra 8 percent. After wearer defeats enemy, increases ATK by 20 percent for 2 turns.
• Sleep Like The Dead (5-star): Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 30 percent. When the wearer’s Basic ATK or Skill does not result in a CRIT Hit, increases their CRIT Rate by 36 percent for 1 turn. This effect can only trigger once every 3 turns.
• Swordplay (4-star): For each time the wearer hits the same target, DMG dealt increases by 8 percent, stacking up to 5 times. This effect will be dispelled when the wearer changes targets.
• Only Silence Remains (4-star): Increases the wearer’s ATK by 16 percent. If there are 2 or fewer enemies on the field, increases wearer’s CRIT Rate by 12 percent.
• Arrows (3-star): At the start of the battle, the wearer’s CRIT Rate increases by 12 percent for 3 turns.
• Darting Arrow (3-star): When the wearer defeats an enemy, increases ATK by 24 percent for 3 turns.

Best Relics for Topaz

Topaz comes equipped with a four-piece Firesmith of Lava-Forging and two-piece Inert Salsotto build in her trial run. However, it’s more efficient to equip her with a two-piece Firesmith and two-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat. Here are the effects of both Relic sets:

Firesmith of Lava-Forging

• Two-piece effect: Increases Fire DMG by 10 percent.
• Four-piece effect: Increases the wearer’s Skill DMG by 12 percent. After unleashing Ultimate, increases the wearer’s Fire DMG by 12 percent for next attack.

Musketeer of Wild Wheat

• Two-piece effect: ATK increases by 12 percent.
• Four-piece effect: The wearer’s SPD increases by 6 percent and Basic ATK DMG increases by 10 percent.

A four-piece Firesmith set enhances Topaz’s skill. However, that doesn’t mean much considering her skill doesn’t directly deal damage to enemies. It buffs Numby for future follow-up attacks. An increase in Fire DMG does technically improve her Ultimate’s power, but an overall ATK increase is generally more useful. That way, all her attacks including her Ultimate benefit from the buff.

As for Ornaments, Topaz is one of the few characters that benefits from Inert Salsotto more than Space Sealing Station. Topaz’s focus on follow-up attacks tie-in directly with Inert Salsotto’s special effect. However, if you can’t get a set with ideal substats or have enough Crit Rate to activate the effect, go with a two-piece Space Sealing Station instead.

• Inert Salsotto: Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 8 percent. When the wearer’s current CRIT Rate reaches 50 percent or higher, the wearer’s Ultimate and follow-up attack DMG increases by 15 percent.
• Space Sealing Station: Increases the wearer’s ATK by 12 percent. When the wearer’s SPD reaches 120 or higher, the wearer’s ATK increases by another 12 percent.

Topaz’s Relic stats

Most of Topaz and Numby’s attacks scale with ATK, so you’ll want to raise it as high as possible. That’s why we recommend focusing on ATK for your feet Relic and Link Rope. Of course, SPD will always be important for gaining an advantage in the turn economy, but it can be improved to a serviceable degree just using buffs from allies. Meanwhile, Energy Regeneration has less relevance than ATK overall because Topaz’s Ultimate isn’t a big sell compared to the more useful abilities in her kit.

If you choose Inert Salsotto as your Ornament set, it’ll be especially important to raise Crit Rate high enough to activate the special effect. A five-star Crit Rate body piece can give you at least 32.4 percent at its highest level, leaving you to fill in the rest of the 50 percent requirement with sub stats from other Relics. Alternatively, you can go for a Crit DMG body piece if you somehow get a godly amount of Crit Rate through sub stats or choose Space Sealing Station as your Ornament set instead.

Note that the sub stats for all the Relic pieces are the same: ATK, Crit DMG, Crit Rate, and SPD. These are all important stats for any DPS or carry character. You likely won’t be able to get all of them in one Relic, but getting at least three (or two, if you want to be risky) should be fine.

Best teams for Topaz

Topaz works best with teammates who can take advantage of her follow-up buffs. Someone like Clara or Jing Yuan would be ideal because of their strong follow-up attacks, but any character with a follow-up attack can benefit from her buffs, too. Anyhow, you should mix and match characters based on type weaknesses where applicable.

These are just a few examples of teams that can work with Topaz. We included a free-to-play option at the bottom of the list.

Topaz, Clara, Lynx, Asta

• Clara benefits from follow-up buffs and taunts enemies away from allies. Lynx keeps HP up and removes debuffs, making her an ideal choice over Natasha. Asta, who makes a good teammate for any Topaz-centered team, provides ATK and SPD buffs. Equip her with Planetary Rendevous to further raise Topaz’s Fire DMG.

Topaz, Jing Yuan, Lynx, Tingyun

• Like Clara, Jing Yuan can take advantage of Topaz’s follow-up buffs with his Lightning-Lord, even if he doesn’t taunt. Tingyun’s energy recharge ability can help ensure that Lynx keeps everyone healed at all times.

Topaz, Clara, Luocha, Yukong

• Luocha is the strongest healer in the game and deals massive Imaginary DMG to enemies. Tingyun would still work better in this particular case, but Yukong also makes a strong contender for support buffs (and she’s free).

Topaz, March 7th, Natasha, Asta (free-to-play)

• March 7th has a follow-up attack that activates when an enemy hits an ally protected by her shield, so she still ties into the follow-up theme that Topaz embodies. March might not be able to defend allies all at once, but Natasha can hopefully heal who she can’t shield. As a plus, both of them can dispel debuffs with their Skills.