Gilgamesh HSR: Character Overview and Kit 2026

Gilgamesh is a 5-star Lightning element character on the Path of Destruction, introduced in Honkai Star Rail as part of the Fate collaboration (Phase 2) alongside his signature partner, Saber (Phase 1). This character guide covers his kit, Traces, Eidolons, banner status and whether he’s worth pulling for based on what’s already in your roster and available resources.

I’ve also broken down how his Interest-stacking passive works, what his Joint Follow-Up Attack with Saber actually does, and where his personal damage ceiling sits if you’d rather build him as a Main DPS instead of a support + sub-DPS Hybrid.

Gilgamesh at a Glance: Character Profile

Rarity	5★
Element	Lightning
Path	Destruction
Role	Hybrid
Released	Version 4.4 (Of the Beginning, Enuma Elish banner)
Reruns	Collab Banner Available Indefinitely
Voice actors	Tomokazu Seki (JP) Xin Teng (CH) Kim Jong-yeop (KR)
Overall Rating	EX
Endgame Ratings	Memory of Chaos: EX Pure Fiction: EX Apocalyptic Shadow: EX

Story and Background: Who is Gilgamesh in Honkai Star Rail?

Gilgamesh crosses over from the Fate franchise as the condescendingly proud, yet overwhelmingly mighty hero-king of legend himself – the King of Uruk and mankind’s oldest epic hero. Honkai Star Rail introduced him as a playable character during the second wave of the Fate collaboration, arriving alongside Rin Tohsaka, both of whom were preceded by Saber and Archer’s own joint debuts. 

Now, Gilgamesh’s personality and in-game kit might give him a straightforward damage-dealer identity on paper, but his actual kit leans just as hard into support, if not harder. 

Despite his self-centered persona, he’s built specifically to strengthen Saber, sharing a new Joint Follow-Up Attack mechanic that lets the two of them strike together once their combined attack tally builds high enough.

Gilgamesh’s Kit Explained

Gilgamesh’s kit in Honkai Star Rail runs on two separate counters that build in the background while he does very little himself. The first is “Interest,” which climbs by 1 every time an ally other than Gilgamesh takes a turn, and each point raises his SPD by 10 percent, so the counter alone makes him faster the longer a fight goes on. 

Once Interest hits 10 for the first time, he enters the “Interest Piqued” state for the rest of the battle, where he can only use his Skill, Gate of Babylon, and every Skill use clears his Interest back to zero so the buildup starts over.

The second counter tracks a shared attack tally between Gilgamesh and Saber. Every time either of them attacks, the tally increases, and once it reaches 8, they trigger a Joint Follow-Up ATK that hits every enemy with both Gilgamesh’s Lightning damage and Saber’s Wind damage at once. 

That exchange resets the tally, refunds Saber a large chunk of Energy, and boosts the damage of her next Ultimate, which is the core reason the two of them are built to be run together.

Outside of those two systems, his Ultimate, Enuma Elish, hits every enemy once and then fires ten additional random-target hits, making it strong against both single tough targets and full enemy waves. His Talent also grants him a temporary Ultimate DMG buff whenever any ally uses their own Ultimate, which rewards teams built around frequent Ultimate use.

Gilgamesh’s Traces and Eidolons Overview

Here’s what each of Gilgamesh’s Traces actually do, followed by his Eidolons.

Gilgamesh’s Traces

His Basic ATK, Halfhearted Blow, deals Lightning DMG equal to up to 100% of Gilgamesh’s ATK to one designated enemy. It’s a simple filler hit he mostly falls back on before his passives ramp up.

His Skill, Gate of Babylon, grants him “King’s Acknowledgement,” letting him ignore up to 30% of the target’s DEF for 3 turns, then deals Lightning DMG equal to up to 280% of Gilgamesh’s ATK to one designated enemy plus up to 140% of his ATK to adjacent targets.

His Ultimate, Enuma Elish, deals Lightning DMG equal to up to 400% of Gilgamesh’s ATK to all enemies, then fires 10 additional instances that each deal Lightning DMG equal to up to 100% of his ATK to a random enemy.

His Talent has two named components. Amuse Me to the Fullest grants him “King’s Burden” whenever an ally uses their Ultimate, raising his own Ultimate DMG by up to 40% for 3 turns, and separately builds his Interest stacks as ally turns pass. I Grant You Permission To Strike tracks the shared attack tally with Saber described above, culminating in their Joint Follow-Up ATK.

Gilgamesh’s Technique
Enkidu	Creates a Special Dimension for 10 seconds that freezes enemies caught inside it. Attacking one of those enemies to start combat deals Lightning DMG equal to 200% of Gilgamesh’s ATK to all enemies and grants him 3 Interest.

Gilgamesh’s Bonus Abilities
Epic’s Opening	When Gilgamesh uses his Ultimate, he gains 2 Interest. When other allies use their Ultimates, he gains 2 Interest and regenerates Energy equal to 30% of the Energy they spent.
Hero’s Hauteur	Raises his CRIT DMG by 25% for every point of Interest he holds during the battle, stacking up to 6 times.
Hegemon’s Strife	Raises all allies’ ATK and CRIT DMG by 20% while he’s on the field. If an ally’s Max Energy exceeds 140, every excess point adds up to another 100% combined bonus to both stats.

Gilgamesh’s Stat Bonuses (Total)
+18% ATK	+18.7% CRIT Rate	+8% Lightning DMG

Gilgamesh’s Eidolons

His E1, He Who Saw the Deep, shares his DEF-ignore effect from “King’s Acknowledgement” with the whole team, raises his own ATK by 60%, and refunds 40 Energy every time he uses his Skill. This is a very good stopping point for anyone who’s content to play Gil as his intended Hybrid role at a higher performance level compared to his E0.

His E2, Wisdom That Encompassed All, is the best stopping point for players who want to use him as a “true” DPS carry. It grants 5 Interest on entering combat and another 5 when he uses his Ultimate, while raising his Skill‘s damage multiplier by up to 100% against its primary target and 50% against adjacent enemies.

His E3 through E5 are smaller, level-based upgrades: E3 raises his Skill and Basic ATK levels, E4 boosts his Energy Regeneration Rate by 20%, and E5 raises his Ultimate and Talent levels further.

His E6, Soul That Bore Friendship, though expensive, is a clear standout aside from his E2. It raises the bounce DMG multiplier of his Ultimate by 80%, gives the whole team 20% All-Type RES PEN while he’s on the field, and lets him bank “Golden Rule” points from ally Ultimates that convert into a large CRIT DMG boost the next time he uses his own Ultimate.

Gilgamesh Honkai Star Rail Meta Evaluation: Is Gilgamesh Good?

Gilgamesh is a very strong, top-tier Hybrid-type unit specifically for teams built around Saber and other high Energy-cost Ultimate carries, since his passive buffs scale directly with how much Energy his allies burn through.

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

Gilgamesh performs better as Hybrid (Sub-DPS + Support) instead of a pure DPS because his kit hands the whole team a flat ATK and CRIT DMG boost that climbs even higher against high Energy-cost Ultimates, on top of sharing his personal DEF ignore with everyone once he reaches Eidolon 1. 

His Joint Follow-Up Attack with Saber adds a genuine second damage instance to that pairing’s rotation, and his Technique’s crowd-control effect makes him useful even before he acts for the first time. 

His main limitation as a standalone Main DPS is that his own damage output leans heavily on Eidolon investment. His performance without his E2 sits closer to a strong support and sub-DPS role than a top-end carry.

How to Get Gilgamesh in Honkai Star Rail: Banner, Warp Cost and Top-Up

Gilgamesh is a Fate collab-limited 5-star character in HSR who can be pulled from his own Character Event Warp, not the permanent Standard Warp. To pull for him, you need Stellar Jades, which convert 1:1 from Oneiric Shards. 160 Stellar Jades buys you one Special Warp Pass, which you can then use on his Character Event Warp.

Oneiric Shards are the premium currency you get by topping up directly, and it’s worth checking the top-up screen for first-purchase bonus or time-limited bundle offers before a new banner drops. Gilgamesh debuted on the Of the Beginning, Enuma Elish banner in Version 4.4, which currently runs indefinitely.

Unusually for a limited 5-star, Gilgamesh (or Archer, your pick) can be claimed for free between his July 24, 2026 debut and the end of Version 4.6, so you don’t necessarily need to pull on his banner at all to add him to your roster. That login reward is separate from his own banner and doesn’t affect his rerun schedule.

Verdict: Should You Pull For Gilgamesh in 2026?

Gilgamesh is an absolute must-pull if you plan to run Saber as a Main DPS in one of your teams, since his kit is built specifically to make her rotation hit harder through the Joint Follow-Up Attack and his passive buffs. 

Even without Saber, his personal Energy-scaling buffs make him a solid support and sub-DPS pickup for any team leaning on a big-Ultimate carry.

Because he’s also free to claim through Version 4.6, there’s very little reason – unless you prefer Archer – to skip adding him to your roster even if you don’t plan to invest further. Gilgamesh’s kit rewards further investment mostly if you want to push him toward a genuine Main DPS role instead of a support + sub-DPS one.

Pros

Cons

✅ Free to claim through Version 4.6 just by logging in, no pulling required to unlock him ✅ Built-in DEF ignore that extends to the whole team once he reaches Eidolon 1 ✅ Strong passive ATK and CRIT DMG buffs that scale further with allies’ Max Energy ✅ Adds a genuine second damage instance through the Joint Follow-Up Attack with Saber ✅ Technique’s crowd control effect is useful even before he takes his first turn ✅ Completely Skill Point neutral, so he doesn’t strain the team’s SP economy

❌ Personal Main DPS output leans heavily on Eidolon investment to compete with dedicated carries ❌ Needs a short ramp-up period before his passive buffs and Skill access kick in ❌ His Energy economy and SPD swing depending on how much his allies are acting

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