Ultimate Guide to Honkai: Star Rail's Mastermind, Dr. Ratio

Dr. Ratio, the Intelligensia Guild's pride, stands out in Honkai: Star Rail for his intellectual prowess and disdain for the uninformed. As a brilliant yet somewhat elitist scholar, he challenges the Genius Society's restrictive knowledge-sharing stance. With a penchant for wearing a plaster mask reminiscent of classical statuary, Dr. Ratio has made quite the impression as the Guild's first playable character and also as the game's initial limited-time 5-star character offered by HoYoverse. 

The hallmark of Dr. Ratio's combat style lies in his ability to enhance damage against enemies plagued with debuffs and to execute follow-up attacks. Although some fighters in Honkai: Star Rail, such as Kafka, deal more damage to enemies suffering from certain status ailments, and others are known for their follow-up assaults, Dr. Ratio is a novel blend of both roles. His adeptness at follow-up attacks turns his somewhat solitary demeanor into a strength that benefits the whole team.

His ultimate ability, in particular, causes foes to receive additional hits every time allies target them. This capability is further bolstered by his talent, which ups the ante for a follow-up attack each time he uses his skill. The chance for such an attack increases with each debuff on the adversary. Dr. Ratio's ascension passives further enhance his critical strike potential and the damage he deals to debuffed foes.

Here's an overview of Dr. Ratio's skills:

Mind is Might (Basic Attack)
Dr. Ratio inflicts damage to an individual enemy based on 50% of his attack value.

Intellectual Midwifery (Skill)
An attack that deals damage in congruence with 75% of Dr. Ratio's attack statistic again targets a single foe.

Syllogistic Paradox (Ultimate)
This powerful move deals damage at 144% of the attack value and bestows the Wiseman's Folly effect, ensuring that a retaliatory hit follows each ally's attack up to twice. It's an effect that refreshes with every new ultimate cast.

Cogito, Ergo Sum (Talent)
Dr. Ratio's skill use comes with a 40% base chance of a subsequent attack dealing additional damage. When an enemy has debuffs, this likelihood skyrockets, enhancing this stat up to a maximum of 80%.

Mold of Idolatry (Technique)
In creating a decoy dimension, Dr. Ratio can reduce enemy speed within its confines and draw their aggression toward the illusion.

For best results, upgrade Dr. Ratio's capabilities in the following order: Talent, Ultimate, Skill, and Basic Attack.

Ascension Passives
Dr. Ratio's ascension passives boost his critical hit rates, critical damage, and overall effectiveness against heavily debuffed enemies. In particular, his Ascension 6 Passive is a game-changer, enhancing his damage output significantly when targeting foes with multiple debuffs.

Dr. Ratio's Optimal Light Cones (Descriptions at Level 1)

- Baptism of Pure Thought: This Cone increases Critical damage by 20% and gives more for each debuff on the adversary, stacking up to three times. Upon ultimate activation, it also grants the Disputation effect, enhancing damage and partially ignoring defense for several turns.
- Worrisome, Blissful: Boosts Critical Rate and follow-up attack damage and increases Critical damage received by debuffed enemies.
- Cruising in the Stellar Sea: It raises the Critical Rate and inflicts a substantial boost when attacking enemies at half health or less. Defeating an enemy enhances the attack for a short duration.
- Sleep Like The Dead: A Cone that enhances Critical damage by a significant margin and amplifies Critical Rate after non-critical hits within a cooldown period.
- Only Silence Remains: It fortifies the attack and Critical Rate when facing a limited number of foes.
- Return to Darkness: Enhances Critical Rate and offers a chance to strip buffs from the enemy after a critical hit.
- Arrows: Temporarily boosts Critical Rate at the beginning of battle.
- Darting Arrow: Increases attack for several turns after felling a foe.

The ideal relics for Dr. Ratio

The ideal relics for Dr. Ratio seem custom-made to elevate his Imaginary Damage capabilities and enhance his critical hit prowess when dealing with debuffed opponents. His proficiency against enemies afflicted with the 'Imprisoned' condition is further amplified through additional critical damage perks.

Though getting the perfect four-piece Wastelander of Banditry Desert set may require some time, a temporary alternative could involve pairing a two-piece Wastelander set with a two-piece Ashblazing Grand Duke set. The Ashblazing set, which came alongside Topaz & Numby, synergizes with Dr. Ratio by increasing follow-up attack damage. Another viable combination could be the two-piece Musketeer of Wild Wheat set with a two-piece Wastelander set for an Imaginary Damage and attack power boost.

Here are the set bonuses you might want to consider:

With the Wastelander of Banditry Desert set, a duo of relics raises Imaginary Damage by 10 percent, whereas a full set not only increases the critical hit rate by 10 percent when targeting debuffed adversaries but also raises critical damage by 20 percent for opponents bearing the 'Imprisoned' condition.

The Ashblazing Grand Duke set enhances follow-up attack damage by 20 percent with two relics. If you complete the set, each successful follow-up attack increments the wearer's attack strength, which could stack multiple times, dissipating upon the next follow-up attack.

The Musketeer of Wild Wheat set boosts attack by 12 percent with just two relics, and when fully equipped, it also enhances speed and basic attack damage.

For his ornamental gear, Dr. Ratio thrives with Inert Salsotto, not only amplifies critical rates but also elevates ultimate and follow-up attack damage once a benchmark critical rate is attained. Otherwise, the Space Sealing Station can be utilized for its generous attack increase, especially when the character's speed surpasses a certain threshold.

Focusing on Dr. Ratio's relic stats, prioritizing attack, critical damage, and critical rate is key. His body piece should ideally focus on critical rate unless you've already got a high rate from other equipment and character attributes; in such a case, critical damage should be the next focus. Speed is paramount for his feet to ensure he can take frequent turns.

Selecting an Imaginary Damage sphere and an Energy Regeneration rope for his ornaments would be wise, elevating his Imaginary Damage output and allowing for regular use of his powerful ultimate that tags an enemy to invoke follow-up attacks by allies.

Dr. Ratio shines brightly when paired with teammates who bring out his full potential. Being a singular focus and follow-up forward DPS, he needs teammates who can elevate his damage through debuffs and complementary follow-up attacks. He's quite versatile and can be paired effectively with exceptional 5-star characters known for their debuffing and follow-up skills, like Topaz, Kafka, and Welt, or even with more accessible 4-star and free-to-play characters.

A team comprising Dr. Ratio, Topaz, Guinaifen, and Lynx would see Dr. Ratio benefit from Topaz's enhancements to follow-up strikes and Guinaifen's capability of spreading 'Burn.' Lynx plays the role of healer and provides an area-of-effect cleanse to boost team endurance.

Alternatively, a combination of Dr. Ratio, Serval, Natasha, and Kafka could prove effective. Serval and Kafka can apply 'Shock' to adversaries, which aligns with Dr. Ratio and Kafka's knack for dealing extra harm to such affected targets. Natasha can take the healer's spot, but she is interchangeable with others like Lynx, Huohuo, or Luocha; Serval and Natasha are suggested for their ease of acquisition for free-to-play enthusiasts.

Another viable team could be Dr. Ratio with Lynx, Tingyun, and Welt. With Pela and Welt administering debuffs and Lynx as the healing pillar, this setup allows Tingyun to increase Dr. Ratio's damage and assist in ultimate charge-up when necessary.

Lastly, a free-to-play-friendly formation might include Dr. Ratio, Natasha, Fire Trailblazer, and Asta. This assembly revels in a balance of defense and damage over time effects. By equipping specialized relics on a Preservation character with 'Taunt,' such characters get transformed into damage specialists over time. This happens because of a special ability that inflicts 'Burn' on any foe attacking the wearer, with damage calculations based on the defender's DEF stat. With Fire Trailblazer, you get a character who not only has abilities benefiting from DEF but also has 'Taunt' to trigger these effects. Asta can further contribute by increasing speed and effectively applying 'Burn' when properly geared.

With these insights and the right strategies, players can make Dr. Ratio a formidable force on their team in Honkai: Star Rail, allowing his intellectual might to shine through on the battlefield.