Best Sunday Light Cones HSR 2026
Recent update
This guide is fully updated for Honkai Star Rail Version 4.5. For complete coverage on this character, check out our companion guides:
This guide covers every Sunday Light Cone option worth considering in Honkai Star Rail, from his best in slot pick down to the strongest free alternative, so you’re not stuck guessing which Light Cone to give him depending on what you actually have or plan to pull for.
Before you pick the best Sunday light cone for your build, there’s one important fact to keep in mind – Sunday walks the Harmony Path. While he can equip a Light Cone from any Path for its base stats, its unique passive abilities and skill effects will only trigger if he’s equipped with a Harmony Light Cone.
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Best Sunday Light Cones Ranked (TL;DR)
| Rank | Light Cone | Why It Ranks Here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Grounded Ascent | Sunday’s best in slot pick, giving him energy regen, extra Skill Points, and a stacking DMG buff that keeps his Ultimate uptime close to permanent. |
| 2 | But the Battle Isn’t Over | A solid non-signature option that still boosts energy regen and buffs the next ally’s damage after his Skill, just for a shorter window. |
| 3 | Earthly Escapade | A CRIT-focused pick that raises Sunday’s own CRIT DMG and grants the whole team a CRIT buff through its Mask effect. |
| 4 | Past and Future | The best F2P option, still buffing the next ally’s damage after Sunday’s Skill even though the effect lasts one turn instead of longer. |
A Grounded Ascent – Best in Slot
A Grounded Ascent is built specifically around Sunday’s kit, and it’s not a close call. Every time he uses his Skill or Ultimate on an ally, he regenerates energy and that ally gains a stack of Hymn, raising their damage dealt for a few turns and stacking up to three times. At Superimposition 1, each stack adds a meaningful damage boost on top of the last, so a fully stacked Hymn turns his summon-based allies into serious threats.
The passive also solves Sunday’s biggest resource problem. Every couple of times he uses his Skill or Ultimate on an ally, he recovers a Skill Point, which keeps his rotation from draining the team’s shared pool. Combined with the energy it hands back on every cast, this Light Cone is what lets him hit his Ultimate on a tight, repeatable rotation instead of falling behind.
Though he has some pretty good alternatives, Sunday’s signature isn’t really skippable if you want the absolute best performance out of him. Without A Grounded Ascent, he loses the extra energy and Skill Point recovery that make his rotation sustainable, and his Hymn stacks take longer to build. Anyone building him seriously should treat this as the priority pull over his Eidolons.
Best Alternatives to A Grounded Ascent
But the Battle Isn’t Over is the closest thing to his signature performance-wise. It raises his energy regeneration rate and refunds a Skill Point once every two Ultimates, and using his Skill boosts the next ally’s damage for a turn.
The catch is that the buff only lasts one turn, compared to the longer window his signature grants, so his rotation feels slightly less consistent, but it still holds up as a strong alternative for anyone without his true best in slot.
Earthly Escapade takes Sunday in a different direction by boosting his own CRIT DMG instead of his support utility. At the start of battle, he gains Mask, which raises his allies’ CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG for a few turns, and recovering Skill Points builds stacks that refresh Mask later in the fight.
It’s a genuinely good pick if the rest of the team already covers energy and Skill Point needs and just wants more raw CRIT value from Sunday’s presence.
Best F2P Light Cone for Sunday
Past and Future is the strongest Light Cone Sunday can get without spending a single pulling currency since it’s purchasable through the Light cone Manifest Store. Using his Skill still boosts the next ally’s damage, which is the same core effect as his signature and But the Battle Isn’t Over both build around, just for a shorter one-turn window and without any extra energy or Skill Point recovery attached.
That gap means Sunday’s rotation runs a little less smoothly on this cone, since he loses the resource support his 5-star options provide. It’s still a genuinely solid pick for anyone still building up their roster.
Verdict: Which Light Cone Should You Give Sunday?
A Grounded Ascent is the best pick for Sunday if you can pull it, since its energy regen, Skill Point recovery, and stacking Hymn buff are all built around exactly what his kit needs to maximize his role.
But the Battle Isn’t Over is a fair stand-in, trading some consistency for a shorter buff window. Players without either should lean on Past and Future, which keeps Sunday’s core support role intact without costing anything.
FAQs
The best F2P Light Cone for Sunday is Past and Future, since it’s obtainable for free through the Light Cone Manifest Store and still boosts the next ally’s damage after he uses his Skill, even though the effect only lasts one turn.
Yes, A Grounded Ascent is worth it for Sunday because it’s built specifically around his kit, handing him energy regen, extra Skill Points, and a stacking DMG buff that keeps his Ultimate active almost every turn.
Yes, Sunday can use But the Battle Isn’t Over since it’s a Harmony Light Cone and can activate its effects, but his rotation will be slightly less consistent compared to if he was using his signature.
Sunday’s signature Light Cone is A Grounded Ascent, and it’s the strongest overall pick for him thanks to its stacking DMG buff and Skill Point recovery, which keep his rotation running smoothly.
Yes, Superimposition 1 is enough for A Grounded Ascent on Sunday, since even the base copy grants energy regen, Skill Point recovery, and a stacking DMG buff.
