Argenti Guide

Updated for Version 2.3

Note that the information given may change if new discoveries are made. More extensive testing is in progress.

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Introduction

Argenti is a dazzling Knight of Beauty coming to the rescue of any Trailblazers with poor gardening skills in Honkai: Star Rail. He is a 5★ Physical unit following the Path of Erudition with excellent AoE damage, but this is secondary to his outstanding character and charm. He is the second limited 5★ Erudition character to be introduced.

Character Overview

Argenti’s Ultimate is the cornerstone of his kit. Despite a max Energy Cost of 180, it can be activated at either 90 or 180 Energy; the former causes Argenti to deliver a single strong AoE strike, while the latter has an even stronger initial AoE hit followed by 6 bounce attacks. This makes it a flexible tool for both continuous mob clearing as well as focusing high burst damage on tankier enemies. Choosing between each becomes an important decision, determined based on the enemies you are facing.

Such an Ultimate-focused playstyle makes Energy generation fundamental to properly using Argenti. His own kit provides some tools for this by offering him 3 Energy for every enemy Argenti hits, as well as additional Energy whenever an enemy enters battle. Nonetheless, he strongly appreciates any additional means to generate Energy, whether it be through extra turns or flat Energy generation, especially in scenarios with fewer enemies. This emphasis on his Ultimate also means that timing is crucial: ensuring his Ultimate casts line up with his teammates’ buffs or debuffs and not wasting it on overkill are important for his performance.

If only there was one more enemy…

Of course, teammates and proper play can only make up for Argenti’s flaws, not completely remove them. Due to the incredibly high cost of his Ultimate, Energy generation is absolutely integral for Argenti’s performance and limits his teammate choice and gameplay. In AoE scenarios, his enhanced Ultimate’s bounce targeting can also result in unpredictable damage based on which enemies receive hits. Despite this, he is an excellent unit and a unique and valuable addition to most rosters.

Traces

Note: Trace levels shown are 1/10/12 (Basic ATK 1/6/7).

Trace Priority

Argenti’s Ultimate constitutes a large portion of his damage, and the extra CRIT Rate from his Talent is applicable to his entire kit. While his Skill is not as potent as his Ultimate or Talent, Argenti still uses it every turn. On the other hand, using his Basic ATK is generally avoided, and it can be left unleveled. 

Eidolons

Playstyles

Regardless of content, Argenti’s play pattern remains relatively consistent — he uses Skill as much as possible in order to maximize his Energy gain, while using his Ultimate as soon as he is appropriately buffed. The choice between his Ultimate variants boils down to what enemies you are facing — continuous mob clearing, such as Pure Fiction, will generally lean towards his 90-cost Ultimate, while high-HP enemies, such as those in MoC, will usually necessitate his higher-damage 180-cost one.

Build

When building Argenti, players should take advantage of any Ultimate damage buffs they can find in Light Cones or Relics. Besides that, his build is very straightforward.

Light Cones

An Instant Before A Gaze	It should go without saying that Argenti’s own Light Cone is his best option. He is able to get the maximum DMG Boost provided by this Light Cone, and it works very well on him, providing a massive DMG% buff to his Ultimate as well as a solid CRIT DMG increase.
Before Dawn	Although Argenti does not have a follow-up attack, Jing Yuan’s signature Light Cone provides an unconditional CRIT DMG buff, paired with a solid DMG% buff for Skill and Ultimate, which are the core of Argenti’s damage. The high base stats are also appreciated.
Today Is Another Peaceful Day	Argenti has an Ultimate cost of 180, which maxes out the DMG Boost provided by this Light Cone. A universal 32–64% DMG Boost is quite a significant amount, making this Light Cone his best 4★ option.
Night on the Milky Way	This Light Cone’s ATK% buff scales with the number of enemies on the field, synergizing well with Argenti’s playstyle. The DMG% buff it provides can also be reliably activated with Argenti’s 180-cost Ultimate, as it deals a large amount of Toughness damage.
Geniuses’ Repose	The CRIT DMG buff’s condition, which requires defeating enemies, works well with Argenti’s wave-clearing playstyle. Its ATK% buff is also greatly appreciated.
Make the World Clamor	With Argenti’s Technique and 2nd Bonus Ability, he can reach 180 Energy after 1 Skill use with either S1 of this Light Cone and attacking 5 enemies, S3 of this Light Cone and attacking 4 enemies, or S5 of this Light Cone and attacking 3 enemies.  Besides this interaction, this Light Cone provides a large amount of DMG% for Ultimates, which is very good for Argenti’s Ultimate-centric playstyle.
The Seriousness of Breakfast / The Day The Cosmos Fell / Eternal Calculus	Easily obtainable through the Forgotten Hall store and Herta’s Shop. All three perform somewhat similarly, but The Day The Cosmos Fell and Eternal Calculus have more restrictive effects than The Seriousness of Breakfast. These are decent and accessible options that can serve you well until you are able to upgrade to any of the Light Cones listed above.

Relics

Relic Sets

4-Pc Champion of Streetwise Boxing	Although Argenti stacks the ATK% bonus from this set’s 4-Pc Set Effect slowly, 25% ATK is still a notable amount of stat value. The unconditional 10% Physical DMG increase is also beneficial for him, making this set one of his best options.
2-Pc combinations	A combination of 2-Pc Champion of Streetwise Boxing, paired with either 2-Pc Prisoner in Deep Confinement or 2-Pc Musketeer of Wild Wheat is a good alternative when a 4-Pc Champion of Streetwise Boxing set is not available.  The pairing of 2-Pc Musketeer and 2-Pc Prisoner in Deep Confinement is generally outperformed by 4-Pc Genius of Brilliant Stars.
4-Pc Genius of Brilliant Stars	A solid alternative to 4-Pc Champion of Streetwise Boxing, even overtaking it when facing Quantum-Weak enemies. Additionally, since Champion shares its Cavern of Corrosion with Thief of Shooting Meteor, Genius is generally more efficient to farm due to the number of damage dealers that can use it, while Guard of Wuthering Snow serves as an excellent set for fragile support characters.

Planar Ornaments

Inert Salsotto	As Argenti’s Talent gives him CRIT Rate, he has no trouble activating Inert Salsotto’s Set Effect. Argenti’s Ultimate also is the largest part of his damage, making this set one of Argenti’s best options.
Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm	If Argenti is paired with another Erudition character (e.g., Herta), this set provides a much larger increase to Argenti’s CRIT stats than most of the sets listed here. Otherwise, it is not particularly notable.
Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation	As Argenti excels in defeating wave after wave of enemies, this set synergizes with his bread and butter scenarios. A strong choice for Pure Fiction, or Forgotten Hall stages with numerous enemies, but can otherwise be outshone by the other options listed here. Note that Argenti does not need to defeat enemies himself to gain CRIT DMG stacks from this set.
Firmament Frontline: Glamoth	Although Firmament Frontline: Glamoth’s ATK% buff is generally not as strong as CRIT buffs, this set is not restricted to buffing Argenti’s Ultimate, allowing his other abilities to benefit from it as well.In order to reach 160 SPD to activate the full Set Effect, it is advised to pair Argenti with supports that can increase his SPD, such as Asta or Hanya.
Rutiliant Arena	Although this set does not provide DMG% to Argenti’s Ultimate, Argenti’s Skill contributes a solid amount of damage in AoE scenarios. This set performs very similarly to Firemant Frontline: Glamoth. A major downside of this set is that the 70% CRIT Rate requirement can be difficult to reach, even if Argenti’s Talent can make it much easier to do so.
Space Sealing Station	Space Sealing Station is a decent alternative to the above sets, and only requires Argenti to have 120 SPD to fully activate its Set Effect.

Stats

Body	Boots	Sphere	Rope
CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG	SPD / ATK%	Physical DMG%	ATK%

Substats

CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG > ATK% ≥ SPD

Argenti’s Talent provides an unconditional CRIT Rate increase. Players should aim towards a 1:2 CRIT Rate to CRIT DMG ratio while factoring this buff.

SPD Boots are generally recommended, but when pairing Argenti with characters that give him extra actions, such as Asta, Hanya, or Bronya, switching to ATK% Boots can be optimal.

Although Argenti’s Ultimate is the majority of his overall damage, an Energy Regeneration Rate Link Rope is generally outperformed by an ATK% Link Rope, especially if pairing Argenti with characters that improve his Ultimate frequency, such as Tingyun, Huohuo, or even Bronya. In Pure Fiction, however, enemy HP tends to be somewhat lower than in Forgotten Hall, so an ERR Rope can potentially result in faster clears than an ATK% Rope.

E1 or S1?

Argenti’s E1 provides him with an unconditional 4% CRIT DMG per stack of Apotheosis, which comes out to 40% CRIT DMG at 10 stacks and affects all of his attacks.

His signature Light Cone provides him both an unconditional 36% CRIT DMG and a sizable 64.8% DMG Boost to his Ultimate. As it is a 5★ Light Cone, it naturally has higher base stats than 4★ options. 

Despite these generally stronger benefits from Argenti’s signature Light Cone, it is important to take your other available Light Cones into consideration. If you have Before Dawn, Night on the Milky Way, Today Is Another Peaceful Day, or Geniuses’ Repose, Argenti’s E1 can provide a greater benefit than his signature Light Cone.

Character Comparisons

Jing Yuan

Argenti and Jing Yuan’s similarities start and end with the Path they both follow. The Luofu General’s primary damage source is Lightning-Lord, which deals Bouncing follow-up damage, and he does not gain many other benefits in AoE scenarios. This makes his performance peak in scenarios with lower enemy counts, in sharp contrast to Argenti’s tendency toward wave clearing. 

It is worth noting that, with the right teammates, Argenti’s damage does not suffer as much in single-target scenarios as Jing Yuan might in AoE scenarios. This gives Argenti more flexibility, but does not change their core differences and the futility of their comparison.

Herta

Herta and Argenti both shine best when facing large groups of enemies, although Argenti is significantly more capable of handling lower enemy counts than Herta. On the flipside, in stages such as Pure Fiction, Herta is also much more capable of acting as a secondary damage dealer alongside a different unit, as she is under far less pressure to spam her Skill, and even benefits from the other damage dealers reducing enemy HP below 50% for her to trigger her follow-up attack. In such scenarios, Argenti and Herta can even be paired together to great effect.

Himeko

Argenti’s comparison with Himeko bears a great deal of similarity with Herta; despite the two being at their best at handling AoE scenarios, Argenti is more capable of handling Elites and Bosses if provided the right teammates, while Himeko tends to lose steam in such scenarios. However, it is worth noting that Himeko relies on Weakness Breaks to activate her follow-up attack, while Argenti is not as dependent on matching enemy Weakness. This makes Himeko’s performance much more dependent on the scenario at hand.

Notable Synergies

Due to Argenti’s wave-clearing playstyle, he inherently synergizes better with buffers than debuffers. Debuffs have to be reapplied with each new wave, while buffs stay on Argenti when switching waves. This is especially important for Pure Fiction, where enemies are unlikely to survive more than a hit or two.

Supports That Provide Energy

Supports that aim to improve Argenti’s Ultimate frequency through Energy regeneration, or by giving him more turns.

Tingyun	Tingyun can restore a large amount of Energy to Argenti through her Ultimate, give DMG% and ATK% through her Ultimate and Skill, and contribute a good amount of additional damage via Benediction. All this combined makes Tingyun one of Argenti’s best supports.
Huohuo	Argenti has a very high Max Energy of 180, which makes Huohuo’s percentage-based Energy restoration from her Ultimate at Lv. 10 provide him 36 Energy, effectively lowering the number of turns needed to use his Ultimate by 1. When paired with Huohuo and Tingyun, Argenti is able to reliably get to 180 Energy in 2–3 turns. Argenti also appreciates the ATK% buff from Huohuo’s Ultimate.
Bronya	A Slow Skillspam Bronya effectively doubles Argenti’s turns, which drastically improves the frequency of his Ultimate, albeit at a high SP cost. If Skill Point consumption becomes too heavy, you can use a Fast Alternating Bronya playstyle instead. For this, Argenti should avoid SPD in his Relics, while Bronya should aim to be slightly less than 1.7x Argenti’s SPD. For more information on how to use Bronya, see the KQM Bronya Guide. All of Bronya’s buffs are excellent on Argenti. It is recommended to use his Ultimate only when he is buffed by Bronya’s Skill, and Ultimate, if possible.

Other Synergies

Hanya	As Argenti and Hanya are both Physical-Type, Hanya is able to use Planetary Rendezvous, and Penacony, Land of the Dreams to provide him with a large DMG% increase. In addition, Hanya’s Skill Point recovery effect means the team can accommodate more SP-negative supports.
Robin	Robin is another character who can hold Planetary Rendezvous, and can provide strong buffs and personal damage when paired with units that attack frequently, such as Herta. Robin’s teamwide buffs and Action Advance are especially helpful in Pure Fiction.
Sparkle	Sparkle can allow Argenti to act more frequently, allowing him to use his Ultimate more often, even outside of his turns, thanks to her long buff durations. Additionally, Sparkle’s SP generation can allow Argenti to be paired with more SP-negative supports than would otherwise be possible.

Teams

Hypercarry

Argenti Hypercarry

A standard Hypercarry team. Due to Argenti’s wave-clearing playstyle, characters that buff Argenti generally have a greater value than characters that debuff enemies, as debuffs constantly need to be reapplied to new enemies. His teammates should be focused around improving his Ultimate frequency through providing him with Energy or more turns.

Example Teams

F2P

Yukong should be SPD tuned to be marginally faster than Argenti in order to buff him with her Skill. In order to use Yukong’s Skill as often as possible, Asta should use her Basic ATK often. Alternatively, Argenti and Yukong can be built much slower, allowing Asta and Natasha ample time to generate SP for the two.

In order to not interfere with Argenti and Yukong’s SPD tuning, Asta’s Ultimate should be used at the start of Argenti’s turn, before he attacks, and not during Yukong’s turn.

4★ Only

Tingyun improves Argenti’s Ultimate frequency, Hanya provides universal buffs, and Lynx both heals and cleanses the team when needed. However, as a result of the SP-positive playstyles of these supports, this team tends to generate more Skill Points than it needs.

Slow Skillspam Bronya

Bronya’s Slow Skillspam playstyle is most recommended with this team, as it can effectively double the amount of turns Argenti is able to take within a cycle, simultaneously doubling his Energy gain. Due to this Skill Point-heavy playstyle, Hanya and Lynx should build as much SPD as possible to generate enough SP. Lynx can use Multiplication to help with this, while Argenti and Bronya can also be built with less SPD, giving Hanya and Lynx more time to generate additional SP for the two. 

Argenti Ultimate Spam

Huohuo and Tingyun together greatly improve Argenti’s Ultimate frequency, allowing him to consistently get it back in 2–3 turns. Hanya is able to provide Argenti with SPD, ATK%, and DMG% buffs, and can equip Planetary Rendezvous and Penacony, Land of the Dreams for even more passive buffs — all while sustaining the Skill Point economy of the team.

Fast Alternating Bronya

As a result of Tingyun’s Energy generation, as well as the frequent actions granted by Bronya, Argenti is able to use his Ultimate very often, although at a noticeable SP cost. Lynx can hold Multiplication to help generate Skill Points, provided that she can sustain the team without needing to use her Skill.

Argenti should ideally use his Ultimate when he is buffed by Bronya’s Skill, in order for it to benefit from the DMG% buff. Because Argenti and Bronya consume a lot of Skill Points, one can use a Fast Alternating Bronya playstyle to alleviate this issue. If there aren’t enough Skill Points to go around, it can be worth using Argenti’s Basic ATK while he is unbuffed, to ensure his buffed turns have SP available for his Skill.

Dual Damage Dealer

Although putting Argenti with another damage dealer isn’t entirely beneficial in Memory of Chaos, it is an effective strategy for clearing Pure Fiction, which features waves upon waves of enemies. Since enemies in Pure Fiction also have comparatively less HP than those found in Memory of Chaos, there is less of a need to buff Argenti’s damage with two supports, allowing room for a second damage dealer to increase the team’s efficiency.

Example Teams

Argenti and Herta

A team that can work well in Pure Fiction, with Argenti and Herta dealing considerable amounts of AoE damage on each of their turns, Ruan Mei providing her teamwide buffs, and Luocha helping sustain the team’s health and Skill Point reserves.

Argenti and Himeko

Another viable team for Pure Fiction, with Himeko acting as a secondary damage dealer. This team works best when facing enemies that are Physical- or Fire-Weak, to allow Himeko’s follow-up attack to be triggered as often as possible. Hanya provides Skill Points and buffs to both Argenti and Himeko, while Natasha sustains the team.

Credits

References

HunterKee’s Argenti Calculations

Changelog

• 22 July 2024 – Published for v2.3