Gilgamesh Best Build, Team and Eidolons HSR 2026

The best Gilgamesh build in Honkai Star Rail is mostly centered around stacking Interest (a resource that climbs from ally turns and Ultimates) to buff his own SPD and CRIT DMG before unleashing a devastating Joint Follow-Up ATK alongside Saber.

I’ve put together the Light Cones, Relics, Trace priority, stat priority, teams, and Eidolon verdicts for the best Gilgamesh build in this guide, along with his material costs and a final verdict on whether he’s actually worth pulling for and building depending on the state of your account/current character roster.

TL;DR – Best Gilgamesh Build at a Glance

Best Light Cone	I Am As You Behold
Best F2P Light Cone Alternative	On the Fall of an Aeon
Best Relic Set	Scholar Lost in Erudition (4pc)
Best Planar Ornament Set	Cosmic Life Sciences Institute (2pc)
Main Stats	Body: CRIT Rate Boots: ATK% Planar Sphere: Lightning DMG Link Rope: ATK%
Substat priority	CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG > ATK% > SPD
Best team (Overall)	Gilgamesh (Hybrid) Saber (DPS) Mortenax Blade (Support) Tribbie (Support)
Best team (F2P)	Gilgamesh (Hybrid) Saber (DPS) Trailblazer Remembrance (Support) Dan Heng Permansor Terrae (Support)

How to Play Gilgamesh: Rotation and Tips

Gilgamesh’s playstyle revolves around stacking Interest, which climbs every time an ally takes their turn and grants him a steady SPD boost. His Talent, Amuse Me to the Fullest, automatically triggers his Basic ATK at the start of his turn, and once Interest hits 10 he enters the “Interest Piqued” state, locking him into repeated casts of his Skill, Gate of Babylon, for DEF-ignoring Lightning damage.

The real payoff comes from his Talent’s second effect: every 8 attacks landed by Gilgamesh or Saber together trigger a Joint Follow-Up ATK, hitting all enemies with heavy Lightning and Wind damage, refunding Saber’s Energy, and doubling the damage of her next Ultimate. 

Outside of that combo, his own Ultimate, Enuma Elish, adds a reliable AoE burst whenever his Energy is ready.

Best Light Cones for Gilgamesh

I Am As You Behold is Gilgamesh’s best-in-slot Light Cone and his signature pick. At superimposition 1 it adds 18% ATK, 10% Energy Regeneration Rate, and a massive 72% Ultimate DMG bonus, while also giving his whole team an extra 24% CRIT DMG.

A Thankless Coronation, Saber’s own signature cone, is a strong alternative if you already own it. It grants Gilgamesh 80% ATK and 36% CRIT DMG on all his attacks, plus a fixed Energy refund whenever Saber uses her Ultimate, making it a natural pick for a Gilgamesh and Saber team.

On the Fall of an Aeon is Gilgamesh’s best F2P option, available from Herta’s Simulated Universe store. It boosts his ATK by 64% after some ramp-up at the start of combat, and since Gilgamesh deals solid Toughness damage, its Weakness Break DMG bonus sees regular use.

For a more in-depth look at his best Light Cones, visit our Best Gilgamesh Light Cones Guide.

Best Relic and Planar Ornament Sets

The 4-piece Scholar Lost in Erudition Relic Set is Gilgamesh’s most-used option, since it directly boosts his CRIT Rate and increases both his Skill and Ultimate DMG.

For the Planar Ornament slot, Cosmic Life Sciences Institute (2pc) is the strongest pick thanks to Gilgamesh’s high Energy cost. It adds a 32% DMG bonus on all his attacks, which translates directly into extra Ultimate and Joint Follow-Up ATK damage.

Run CRIT Rate on the Body, ATK% on the Boots and Link Rope, and Lightning DMG on the Planar Sphere. Prioritize CRIT Rate over CRIT DMG and ATK% for substats, since Gilgamesh needs a stable CRIT Rate floor before his other multipliers pay off.

Gilgamesh’s Stat Priorities

• Priority 1: CRIT Rate
• Priority 2: CRIT DMG
• Priority 3: ATK%
• Priority 4: SPD

🎯 Ideal Stat Goals: Aim for an ATK of at least 2,600 outside combat, and target his base 97 SPD breakpoint in battle, since Gilgamesh doesn’t need extra SPD investment to function. Flat substats are fine filler once percentage rolls run dry.

Gilgamesh’s Trace Priorities

Traces	Priority Level	Why?
Basic ATK: Halfhearted Blow	Low	Rarely the focus of investment, since it only provides chip damage while other resources build up.
Skill: Gate of Babylon	Medium	Deals solid single-target and blast damage and grants temporary DEF ignore, but ranks behind Talent and Ultimate.
Ultimate: Enuma Elish	High	Gilgamesh’s biggest AoE burst and a source of Interest whenever he uses it himself.
Talent: Amuse Me to the Fullest	Highest	Drives his entire Interest loop and the Joint Follow-Up ATK with Saber, so it comes first.
Bonus Ability: Hegemon’s Strife	Highest	Buffs the whole team’s ATK and CRIT DMG while Gilgamesh is on the field.
Bonus Ability: Epic’s Opening	High	Speeds up Interest generation and Energy regeneration from every ally Ultimate.
Bonus Ability: Hero’s Hauteur	Medium	Converts stacked Interest into CRIT DMG, but scales slower than the other two Bonus Abilities.

Gilgamesh’s Ascension Materials (Max Ascension)

Material	Total
Extinguished Core	15
Glimmering Core	15
Squirming Core	15
Thunder Strum	65
Credit	308,000

Gilgamesh’s Trace Materials (Max Traces)

Material	Total
Four Phases, Crossing the River to Check the King	15
Extinguished Core	41
Sixen, King-Rook Fork	72
Glimmering Core	56
Omnicolor, Fool’s Own	139
Squirming Core	58
Guardian’s Lament	12
Tracks of Destiny	8
Credit	3,000,000

Best Gilgamesh Teams (Overall, F2P, and Alternatives)

Listed below are Gilgamesh’s best overall team, F2P team, and alternative teammates to help shape your teambuilding choices based on which units are actually available in your current roster.

Best Overall Gilgamesh Team

Best Gilgamesh Team (Overall)	Role
Gilgamesh	Hybrid
Saber	DPS
Mortenax Blade	Support
Tribbie	Support

This team’s synergy leans on Gilgamesh’s Joint Follow-Up ATKs with Saber, which deals a combined 1000% ATK-equivalent multiplier across all enemies while restoring Saber’s Energy and doubling the damage of her next Ultimate. 

Mortenax Blade’s frequent attacks stack Interest quickly for Gilgamesh, and their shared DEF-ignoring and DEF-reduction effects compound for extra damage. Tribbie rounds out the team as sustain, keeping everyone alive through extended fights.

Best F2P Gilgamesh Team

Best Gilgamesh Team (F2P)	Role
Gilgamesh	Hybrid
Saber	DPS
Trailblazer Remembrance	Support
Dan Heng Permansor Terrae	Support

Trailblazer Remembrance advances Saber forward for extra True DMG, while Dan Heng Permansor Terrae (replace him with any sustain and/or general damage buffer-type support if you didn’t manage to get him for free during his giveaway event) is a reliable sustainer alt to Tribbie or Huohuo, giving this F2P-friendly lineup nearly the same payoff as the premium version above.

Best Gilgamesh Team Alternatives

Ashveil is a strong Amplifier swap for Mortenax Blade in an all-melee follow-up setup, working alongside Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae to keep Gilgamesh’s Interest loop running without needing Saber at all.

Robin Summeretto slots in excellently as a support replacement in a Gilgamesh and Saber team, offering a team-wide ATK buff that scales both attackers’ Joint Follow-Up ATK damage.

Sunday is another viable support swap with his massive CRIT DMG buff that pushes Gilgamesh and Saber’s burst damage even higher.

Yukong works as a budget/newbie-friendly support in a Gilgamesh team (players can get a copy of her for free after clearing Memory of Xianzhou Stage 1), providing DMG buffs while a secondary attacker fills out the lineup.

No matter what alternative you have available on your roster (listed here or not), the one constant you need to keep in mind is action frequency. The more often Gilgamesh’s allies attack or use their Ultimates, the faster his Interest builds and the more damage his Joint Follow-Up ATK and buffs dish out.

Gilgamesh Eidolons: Which Are Worth It

Eidolons	Return on Investment	Explanation
E1: He Who Saw the Deep	High	Extends King’s Acknowledgement’s DEF ignore to the whole team and adds 60% ATK plus extra Energy on Skill use.
E2: Wisdom That Encompassed All	Highest	Grants Interest on entry and after Ultimate, and hugely boosts Gate of Babylon’s DMG multipliers, making it the best stopping point for spenders.
E3: Journey That Spanned Far	Low	A straightforward Skill and Basic ATK level-up with no new effect.
E4: King Who Bowed to None	Medium	Increases Energy Regeneration Rate by 20%, smoothing out Ultimate uptime.
E5: Sword That Parted Gods from Man	Low	Levels up Ultimate and Talent, valuable but expensive relative to the payoff.
E6: Soul That Bore Friendship	Highest (Whale Territory)	Massively increases Ultimate bounce DMG and grants the team RES PEN, plus a stacking CRIT DMG buff on his own Ultimate.

For most players, Eidolon 2 is the practical stopping point since it delivers the largest damage jump, while Eidolon 6 is reserved for players who can spare no expense just to see this collab unit’s true potential both as a hybrid and a pure DPS.

Verdict: Is Gilgamesh Worth Building in 2026?

Gilgamesh’s Tier Ratings
Overall Rating	EX
Endgame Ratings	Memory of Chaos: EX Pure Fiction: EX Apocalyptic Shadow: EX

Gilgamesh is worth building for almost anyone who owns him, especially if Saber is already on your roster. His kit rewards a team that’s constantly attacking or using Ultimates, turning passive turns into real damage through his Interest mechanic and Joint Follow-Up ATK.

Even without Saber, his standalone follow-up setup with characters like Ashveil and Mortenax Blade holds up pretty well, and his Eidolon 2 offers one of the best value jumps of any 5-star. That said, the Saber pairing is what unlocks his true ceiling, so it’s worth prioritizing that combo before investing heavily elsewhere.

Players can get a free copy of either Gilgamesh or Archer thanks to the Imagenae Holy Grail War event that runs up till the end of Version 4.6. If you already have/plan to pull for Saber and want to build the best team for her or you just prefer good ‘ol Gil over Archer no matter the reason, then Gilgamesh is pretty much a must-pick in case you’re reading this while the event is still ongoing. 

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