The Shark maid with the ability to sweep away enemies crossing from the Zenless Zone Zero universe, Ellen Joe makes her debut in Honkai Star Rail with the special collaboration event in the game’s 4.8 update patch. In this guide, we will go over how players can best build Ellen Joe to make her one of the best DPS characters in Honkai Star Rail.
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Ellen Joe Skill Kit & Playstyle Analysis
General Introduction
Ellen Joe is a 5-star character of the Ice Element and Destruction Path who specializes in dealing powerful damage against enemies inflicted with her unique debuff by using her Enhanced Basic Attack after accumulating enough unique buff stacks on herself. She also has special synergy with her other Collaboration friend Astra Yao when they are used in the same team.
Skill Analysis & Leveling Priority
| Basic Attack: Deals Ice DMG equal to 100% of Ellen’s ATK to one designated enemy. Deals Ice DMG equal to 100% of Ellen’s ATK to one designated enemy. Enhanced Basic Attack: Ice Sea Diving Consumes all “Shark’s Gotta Bite,” inflicting “Bite Mark” on the primary target and dealing Ice DMG equal to 400% of Ellen’s ATK to it. Deals Ice DMG equal to 240% of Ellen’s ATK to adjacent targets. Activation Condition: Enhanced Basic ATK activates when “Shark’s Gotta Bite” is 3 or higher. If the “Shark’s Gotta Bite” consumed exceeds 3, each additional “Shark’s Gotta Bite” consumed deals 1 instance of Ice DMG equal to 320% of Ellen’s ATK to one random enemy, prioritizing the primary target of this “Ice Sea Diving” and its adjacent targets.This attack does not recover Skill Points. | |
| Leveling Priority: Highest | |
| Reason: Ellen Joe’s main damaging move that needs to be leveled up to the highest level. |
| Skill: Gains 1 point(s) of “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” Inflicts the “Bite Mark” state on one designated enemy target, increasing the Basic ATK DMG taken by 50%. Then, deals Ice DMG equal to 400% of Ellen’s ATK to that target, while simultaneously dealing Ice DMG equal to 240% of Ellen’s ATK to adjacent targets. At the start of an ally target’s turn or when they take action, if there are no enemy targets in the “Bite Mark” state, Ellen causes the enemy target with the highest HP to become afflicted with “Bite Mark.” | |
| Leveling Priority: High | |
| Reason: Another of Ellen Joe’s damage move that should be leveled to optimize her damage output. |
| Ultimate: Deals Ice DMG equal to 400% of Ellen’s ATK to all enemies. Additionally deals Ice DMG equal to 320% of Ellen’s ATK to enemy targets in the “Bite Mark” state. After using Ultimate, increases the DMG dealt by Ellen’s next use of “Ice Sea Diving” by 400%. | |
| Leveling Priority: High | |
| Reason: Ellen Joe’s nuke skill, level up this to boost Ellen Joe’s damage output and her enhanced Basic Attack modifiers after using her Ultimate |
| Talent: At the start of the battle, summons “Sharkboo” with an initial SPD of 200 points. When “Sharkboo” takes action, it launches Follow-Up ATK, dealing Ice DMG equal to 600% of Ellen’s ATK to one enemy. “Sharkboo” will prioritize attacking targets under the “Bite Mark” state. Ellen has a “Shark’s Gotta Bite” limit of 6 points. When an ally character uses a Basic ATK, Skill, or Ultimate to attack, Ellen gains 1 point(s) of “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” “Ice Sea Diving” is unable to gain “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” Zoned In on Zero When Astra Yao is on the team:After Ellen uses her Ultimate, she automatically uses “Ice Sea Diving” 1 time, then immediately triggers Astra Yao’s “Minuet Pianissimo” and grants Astra Yao 1 extra turn. After Astra Yao uses her Ultimate, she automatically uses “Cadenza Cascade” 1 time, then immediately triggers Ellen’s “Saw Teeth Trimming,” granting Ellen 1 point of “Shark’s Gotta Bite,” and then triggers Ellen’s “Ice Sea Diving” 1 more time.When attacks triggered by “Zoned In on Zero” select a primary target, both Ellen and Astra Yao prioritize enemy targets in the “Bite Mark” state. Basic ATKs triggered by “Zoned In on Zero” do not recover Skill Points, and “Ice Sea Diving” triggered by “Zoned In on Zero” does not consume “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” After Ellen or Astra Yao uses their Ultimate, dispels the other’s Crowd Control | |
| Unlock Priority: High | |
| Reason: Ellen Joe’s talent that allows her to enhance her Basic Attack. |
| Bonus Ability 1: For each teammate who provides Ellen with at least 1 active buff, Ellen’s CRIT DMG increases by 64%, up to 2 teammates are taken into account. When 2 teammates are taken into account, DMG dealt by Ellen additionally increases by 48%. | |
| Unlock Priority: Highest | |
| Reason: An amazing ability that grants Ellen Joe a massive boost in damage when she is granted buffs from allies. |
| Bonus Ability 2: At the start of combat, Ellen gains 3 points of “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” Once “Shark’s Gotta Bite” reaches its limit, for every 2 points of excess “Shark’s Gotta Bite” accumulated, it is recorded as 1 point of “Heat,” up to a maximum of 2 points. After Ellen consumes 6 points of “Shark’s Gotta Bite” to use “Ice Sea Diving,” she clears all “Heat,” with every 1 point of “Heat” cleared recovering 1 point of “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” | |
| Unlock Priority: High | |
| Reason: An additional ability that helps Ellen Joe to conserve a portion of her excess stacks. |
| Bonus Ability 3: After “Sharkboo” attacks a target, Ellen gains 1 point of “Shark’s Gotta Bite.” This effect can trigger at most once per “Sharkboo” action. After Ellen consumes 6 points of “Shark’s Gotta Bite” to use “Ice Sea Diving,” for every 1 point of “Heat” cleared, “Sharkboo’s” action advances by 40%. | |
| Unlock Priority: High | |
| Reason: An additional ability that helps Ellen Joe’s summon Sharkboo to attck more frequently. |
Playstyle Guide & Rotation
Ellen Joe’s overall skill kit and playstyle are relatively simple in nature, revolving around 2 main effects: Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks and Bitemarks debuff.
When using her Skill and after attacks from her special summon Sharkboo’s follow up attacks, Ellen Joe will gain Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks on herself, with a maximum of 6 stacks. Any excess Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks on herself will be converted into special Heat stacks at a rate of 2 to 1 and will be converted back into Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks after she uses her Enhanced Basic Attack. Using her skill will allow Ellen Joe to generate Shark’s Gotta Bite stack for herself and inflict the Bitemark debuff on enemies.
Upon accumulating 3 Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks, Ellen Joe will be able to use her enhanced Basic Attack, dealing massive amounts of damage to enemies and is able to deal even more damage instances if she consumes more than 3 Shark’s Gotta Bite stacks, up to a maximum of 6 stacks. Upon using her Ultimate, Ellen Joe will deal a massive instance of damage to enemies and enhance her next Enhanced Basic Attack’s damage output. If Ellen attacks enemies with the Bitemark, her damage will be enhanced.
When receiving buffs from allies, Ellen Joe’s Critical Damage and overall damage will be increased and more crucially, when Ellen Joe is in the same team as Astra Yao, whenever Ellen Joe or Astra Yao uses their Ultimates, they additionally cause the other character to use their abilities 1 additional time and grants special effects to each other.
Ellen Joe Best In Slot And F2P Lightcones
Ellen Joe Best Lightcone Choices
 |  |  |
| No Shifts on Rainy Days | Brighter Than the Sun | A Trail of Bygone Blood |
| Limited 5* Lightcone | Limited 5* Lightcone | Herta Shop 5* Lightcone |
| Attack: 582 |
| Defense: 529 | |
| HP: 953 | |
| No Shifts on Rainy Days | Lightcone Rating: Best In Slot |
| Effect: Increases the wearer’s CRIT DMG by 24% and Energy Regeneration Rate by 12%. When the wearer uses a Basic ATK, they gain “Snack,” lasting for 2 turns. While “Snack” is active, the wearer’s ATK increases by 20%. When the wearer consumes at least 200 Energy at once to use their Ultimate, they gain “Iced Drink,” lasting for 3 turns. While “Iced Drink” is active, Basic ATK and Ultimate DMG dealt by the wearer ignores 12% of the target’s DEF. When the wearer has both “Snack” and “Iced Drink” simultaneously, they additionally gain “Good Mood,” and Basic ATK and Ultimate DMG dealt additionally ignores 12% of the target’s DEF. | |
| Explanation: Ellen Joe’s signature Lightcone that boosts her critical damage and energy regen stat in addition to allowing her basic attack and ultimate to ignore a large portion of the enemies’ defenses, helping to optimize her basic attack and ultimate damage output. | |
| Attack: 635 |
| Defense: 397 | |
| HP: 1058 | |
| Brighter Than the Sun | Lightcone Rating: Best Alternative |
| Effect: Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 18%. When the wearer uses their Basic ATK, they will gain 1 stack of Dragon’s Call, lasting for 2 turns. Each stack of Dragon’s Call increases the wearer’s ATK by 18% and Energy Regeneration Rate by 6%. Dragon’s Call can be stacked up to 2 times. | |
| Explanation: The best alternative Lightcone for Ellen Joe that massively boost her critical rate, attack and energy regen whenever she uses her Basic Attack. | |
| Attack: 529 |
| Defense: 331 | |
| HP: 1058 | |
| A Trail of Bygone Blood | Lightcone Rating: Good Alternative |
| Effect: Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 12%. The Skill DMG and Ultimate DMG dealt by the wearer increase by 24%. | |
| Explanation: A Good Alternative Lightcone for Ellen Joe that boost her critical rate and ultimate damage output. | |
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Ellen Joe Best Relics, Ornament Set and Stats
Ellen Joe Best Relics And Ornament Sets
For Ellen Joe, her best Relic set is the The Edacious Heretic set, which provides Ellen Joe with a massive amount of critical damage and Basic Attack damage boost in addition to an attack boost.
 | The Edacious Heretic |
| 2-pc: Increases CRIT DMG by 16%. | |
| 4-pc: Increases DMG dealt by the wearer’s Basic ATK by 36%. When the wearer uses Basic ATK, increases the wearer’s ATK by 20%, lasting for 2 turn(s). | |
| Explanation: Ellen Joe’s best relic set that grants her a boost in critical damage, basic attack damage and attack. | |
For Ornaments, Ellen Joe should use the Rutilant Arena set:
 | Rutilant Arena |
| 2-pc: Increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 8%. When the wearer’s current CRIT Rate reaches 70% or higher, DMG dealt by Basic ATK and Skill increases by 20%. | |
| Explanation: This Ornament set additionally boost Ellen Joe’s critical rate and grants her a boost in Basic Attack damage when her critical rate reaches 70% | |
Ellen Joe Best Main Stats & Sub Stats
As a powerful Basic Attack Main DPS character, Ellen Joe wants your usual critical and offensive stats to optimize her damage output.
| Piece | Main Stats |
| Body | Critical Rate% or Critical Damage% |
| Feet | Speed or Attack% |
| Orb | Ice Damage% |
| Rope | Energy Regen% |
| Priority | Sub Stats |
| 1st | Critical Rate% |
| 2nd | Critical Damage% |
| 3rd | Speed |
| 4th | Attack% |
Important Stat Threshold:
– Like with other DPS characters, players should aim for a 1:2 Critical Ratio for Ellen Joe and aim to boost her critical stats as high as possible.
– Players should use an Energy Regen Rope and Speed Boots to allow Ellen Joe to gain her stacks more often by acting more often and be able to use her Ultimate more frequently to enhance her powerful basic attack.
Ellen Joe Best Teams
As a powerful Ice Main DPS Character who specializes in dealing Basic Attack Damage, Ellen Joe wants to be in a team with characters that can boost her damage output as much as possible while also providing her with additional utilities.
Ellen Joe Hypercarry Team
 |  |  |  |
| Ellen Joe | Robin Summeretto | Astra Yao | Huohuo |
| Main DPS | Sub DPS/Support | Support | Support/Sustain |
This team is the premium Ellen Joe Hypercarry team, with 3 powerful supports massively boosting Ellen Joe’s damage output to the max to allow her to deal as much damage to enemies as possible. Robin Summeretto serves as the team’s support and sub DPS character, capable of amplifying Ellen Joe’s overall damage output and advance her action while dealing decent damage to enemies. Astra Yao is Ellen Joe’s best support partner, with Ellen Joe gaining additional Enhanced Basic Attack damge instances whenever she or Astra Yao use their Ultimates. Additionally, Astra Yao also provides Ellen Joe with a massive boost in Basic Attack Damage output. Huohuo is the team’s best sustain character, capable of providing Ellen Joe with additional Energy and attack buff while also healing the entire team.
Conclusion
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