Ruan Mei is a top-tier Ice character from the Harmony Path in Honkai: Star Rail and, with the right build, can be a devastating force. A member of the Genius Society and one of the minds who helped develop the Simulated Universe, Ruan Mei acts as a in combat to boost the effectiveness of Breaks across the entire team. Ruan Mei piggybacks on her team's Breaks to apply her own Ice DMG alongside the existing Break DMG.

As a 5-Star character, Ruan Mei has a limited-time run on a character banner. You can pull for her on the Floral Triptych banner from December 27th, 2023, to January 17th, 2024. Once this banner ends, you won't be able to obtain Ruan Mei until her banner has a rerun.

Best Light Cones For Ruan Mei

Like other 5-Star characters in Honkai: Star Rail, Ruan Mei has a custom Light Cone. This Light Cone, Past Self In Mirror, is perfectly tailored to Ruan Mei's kit thanks to its focus on Break Effect. Past Self In Mirror boosts the wearer's Break Effect by 100% when fully advanced. Ruan Mei's Ultimate increases her teammates' DMG by 40% for three turns. If Ruan Mei's Break Effect is 150% or higher, she will get a Skill Point back. Finally, when a new wave begins, all teammates regenerate 20 Energy.

Ruan Mei's arrival brings the second 5-Star Harmony Light Cone in the entire game. In earlier versions of the game, there was only one 5-Star Harmony Light Cone, but The Battle Isn't Over is the signature Light Cone for Bronya in Honkai: Star Rail.

Memories of the Past is a 4-Star Light Cone involving Break Effect, making it the perfect substitute for Past Self In Mirror in Honkai: Star Rail. With this Light Cone, Ruan Mei gets up to 56% more Break Effect. Ruan Mei can also regenerate 8 Energy when she attacks, giving her a decent way to regain lost Energy. Memories of the Past and Past Self In Mirror are currently the only two Harmony Light Cones that involve Break Effect, which means these two far outpace any other Light Cone in of what works for Ruan Mei.

If you need other Light Cone options or want an overview of the best build options for Ruan Mei, you can check out the table below:

Best Relics, Ornaments, & Stats For Ruan Mei

Since Ruan Mei is focused on Break Effect, it won't surprise long-term players that her best-fit Relic set is Thief of Shooting Meteor. When Ruan Mei has four pieces equipped in this set, she will get a 32% Break Effect bonus. Ruan Mei can also regenerate 3 Energy whenever she inflicts a Weakness Break. If you still need to get more Break Effect, this is the Relic set for you.

However, if your Light Cone and other bonuses already give you plenty of Break Effect, you can give Ruan Mei a four-piece Messenger Traversing Hackerspace set. With this set, Ruan Mei gets a 6% SPD bonus and can boost the SPD of her allies by 12% for one turn after she uses her Ultimate. While SPD isn't as important in Ruan Mei's kit as in other Harmony characters like Hanya in Honkai: Star Rail, every ing character can benefit from SPD buffs in Honkai: Star Rail.

If you need more break effects, when it's time to pick an ornament, you will probably want Talia: Kindgom of Banditry. This Ornament guarantees a 16% Break Effect bonus. If Ruan Mei's SPD is 145 or higher, she will also get an extra 20% Break Effect. If you want to expand Ruan Mei's other stats, give her Penacony, Land of the Dreams. Ruan Mei will get a 5% Energy Regeneration Rate boost and will boost the DMG of other Ice allies by 10%.

If you pair Talia: Kindgom of Banditry with Messenger Traversing Hackerspace, you will have a better chance of getting to 145 SPD and getting the extra Break Effect. Meanwhile, if you use Thief of Shooting Meteor, you should pair that with Penacony, Land of the Dreams.

Outside of the Break Effect, Ruan Mei needs boosts to her Ice DMG and SPD in Honkai: Star Rail. Many Break bonuses center around her Ice Break DMG, making it more critical than ATK. Meanwhile, her Talent provides an SPD bonus to her allies but not to herself, so that extra SPD would benefit her. Lastly, Energy Regeneration will help Ruan Mei trigger her powerful Ultimate more often.

Best Team Composition For Ruan Mei

As a character, Ruan Mei's team comps will not be centered on her. Instead, Ruan Mei should be paired with DPS units that need a Weakness Break bonus. One of her best team comps is a DoT team, as Ruan Mei can delay an enemy's Break recovery and allow DoT effects to damage enemies. Other team comps include DPS characters who can effectively break down Toughness and trigger the needed Weakness Breaks.

Skill Priority For Ruan Mei

Ruan Mei's Skill and Ultimate are of equal value to upgrade, as her various abilities hinge on these moves. With her Skill, Ruan Mei boosts her team's DMG and Weakness Break Efficiency. When Ruan Mei triggers her Ultimate, she boosts All-Type RES PEN and prolongs the duration of an enemy's Weakness Break by dealing Ice Break DMG when they try to recover. During gameplay, you will save Skill Points during other turns to use for Ruan Mei, as her Basic ATK is essentially useless in her kit.

Once you've leveled up Ruan Mei's Skill and Ultimate, make sure to invest some resources into her Talent. Ruan Mei's Talent boosts the team's SPD and deals extra DMG when an ally inflicts a Weakness Break. This bonus DMG makes Ruan Mei the perfect for any DPS characters in Honkai: Star Rail with specialized Weakness Break abilities.