The Ultimate Gallagher Guide in Honkai Star Rail

Gallagher, known for his dual roles as a sustain and breaker in Honkai Star Rail, offers a unique blend of abilities that make him a versatile unit to any team.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through how to maximize Gallagher's potential, covering everything from his kit to the best team compositions to use his strengths fully.

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The Ultimate Gallagher Guide: Best Builds and Team Comps

Gallagher's Abilities Overview

Corkage Fee & Enhanced Basic ATK: Nectar Blitz

Corkage Fee: Gallagher's basic attack, dealing 100% of his ATK as Fire DMG to a single target, serves as a consistent source of damage.

Nectar Blitz (Enhanced Basic ATK): When activated, Gallagher's attack power significantly increases, dealing 250% of his ATK as Fire DMG. Importantly, it also debuffs the target by reducing their ATK by 15% for 2 turns, offering strategic advantage by weakening enemies.

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Skill: Special Brew

This ability showcases Gallagher's role as a healer, directly restoring 1600 HP to a target ally.

The healing effect does not scale with Gallagher's HP or ATK but is a flat amount, emphasizing the importance of leveling up this skill for increased healing potential.

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Ultimate: Champagne Etiquette

Gallagher's ultimate ability inflicts the "Besotted" state on all enemies for 2 turns, simultaneously dealing 150% of his ATK as Fire DMG.

Also, it upgrades his next basic attack to Nectar Blitz, ensuring his next hit packs a more significant punch and applies a valuable ATK debuff.

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Talent: Tipsy Tussle

This talent enriches Gallagher's utility by making "Besotted" enemies more vulnerable to Break DMG by an additional 12%.

Furthermore, attacking a "Besotted" target heals the attacker by 640 HP, indirectly boosting the team's sustainability during encounters.

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Technique: Artisan Elixir

Upon entering battle, Gallagher automatically applies "Besotted" to all enemies, diminishing their combat effectiveness and dealing an initial burst of Fire DMG equal to 50% of his ATK.

This preemptive strike sets the stage for enhanced team performance right from the battle's onset.

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Major Traces

Novel Concoction (A2)

Novel Concoction directly boosts Gallagher's healing efficiency by linking it to his Break Effect potency.

For a character whose healing output does not inherently scale with typical stats like HP or ATK, this trace presents a strategic value to enhance healing through Break Effect investment.

By achieving up to a 75% increase in Outgoing Healing, Gallagher can significantly boost his team's sustainability, making it crucial to equip relics and light cones that enhance his Break Effect to maximize this trace's benefits.

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Organic Yeast (A4)

Organic Yeast offers Gallagher exceptional utility in battle through action acceleration.

Activating his ultimate not only applies the "Besotted" debuff across all enemies but also grants Gallagher an immediate additional turn.

This acceleration can be pivotal in numerous situations, allowing Gallagher to quickly follow up with his enhanced basic attack, "Nectar Blitz," to debuff enemies or provide immediate healing to allies in critical conditions.

This trace enhances Gallagher's flexibility, enabling rapid responses to the shifting dynamics of combat.

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Bottoms Up (A6)

Bottoms Up elevates Gallagher's utility by extending the healing effect of his Talent, "Tipsy Tussle," beyond the attacker to the entire team when utilizing "Nectar Blitz" against "Besotted" enemies.

This trace transforms Gallagher from a single-target healer into a potential team-wide healer under specific conditions, significantly increasing his value in prolonged engagements.

The strategic importance of this trace cannot be overstated, as it not only incentivizes applying the "Besotted" debuff through his Ultimate but also prioritizes the use of "Nectar Blitz" for its enhanced healing benefits.

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Trace Priorities

Talent

Gallagher's Talent, "Tipsy Tussle," is a critical component of his kit, enhancing his role as a sustain character.

It increases the break damage received by Besotted enemies and provides healing whenever such enemies are attacked.

Given its impact on both Gallagher's healing output and the team's break capabilities, prioritizing this talent ensures that you're maximizing the utility Gallagher brings to every fight.

It's a cornerstone for maintaining high team survivability and leveraging break damage effectively.

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Skill

"Special Brew" is Gallagher's direct healing ability, offering immediate HP restoration to a selected ally.

Since Gallagher's primary role involves keeping the team healthy, investing in "Special Brew" next ensures that your team can withstand more prolonged encounters.

Upgrading this skill increases the flat healing amount, which is particularly useful since Gallagher’s healing doesn’t scale off conventional stats like HP or ATK but rather benefits from enhancements to Outgoing Healing and Break Effects.

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Ultimate

While Gallagher's Ultimate, "Champagne Etiquette," plays a crucial role in applying the Besotted debuff and enabling his enhanced basic attack, it ranks lower in priority for upgrades.

This is because the primary utility of the Ultimate is its debuffing and action-reset capabilities rather than its damage output.

Enhancing this ability improves the damage dealt and can slightly increase the debuff's effectiveness, but the initial utility remains strong even without heavy investment.

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Basic Attack

Gallagher's basic attack and its enhanced version, "Nectar Blitz," are the least priority for upgrades.

While "Nectar Blitz" is significant for applying attack debuffs and triggering team-wide healing with the "Bottoms Up" Major Trace, the necessity to upgrade this ability falls behind the more impactful aspects of Gallagher's kit focused on healing and debuffing.

Enhancing these attacks should be considered only after maximizing the potential of his Talent and Skill.

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Light Cone Recommendations

Night of Fright

"Night of Fright", Huohuo's signature Light Cone, stands out as the optimal choice for Gallagher.

It increases energy regeneration, which is crucial for Gallagher to consistently use his healing and debuffing abilities.

The Light Cone also enhances the team's overall performance by providing buffs, making it an all-around excellent choice for boosting Gallagher's sustain capabilities and supporting the team.

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What Is Real?

Another good Light Cone for Gallagher is "What Is Real?"

This option boosts break effects, directly enhancing Gallagher's role as a breaker.

Additionally, when Gallagher attacks with his Basic Attack, this Light Cone provides him with self-healing, ensuring his durability in prolonged fights.

While it doesn’t offer the energy benefits of "Night of Fright", it still solidifies Gallagher’s position as a valuable team member by enhancing his break efficiency.

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Post-op Conversation

"Post-op Conversation" is a viable alternative, especially if you're looking for an increase in energy alongside a boost to Gallagher’s Outgoing Healing.

While it offers less energy regeneration compared to "Night of Fright", it remains a beneficial choice for teams that require consistent healing and support from Gallagher.

The increase in Outgoing Healing ensures that Gallagher’s heals are more potent, directly benefiting his primary role as a healer.

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Best Relic Sets & Planar Ornaments

Best Relics for Gallagher

Thief of the Shooting Meteor Set

The "Thief of the Shooting Meteor" set is Gallagher's best Relic choice.

The two-piece bonus boosts his break effects significantly, making his break abilities more potent against enemies.

The four-piece bonus further enhances his energy regeneration upon breaking enemies, which is critical for Gallagher to continuously use his Ultimate and Skill for healing and applying debuffs.

This set synergizes perfectly with Gallagher’s role by allowing him to heal more frequently while also contributing to the team’s break strategy.

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Alternatives

Mixed Sets‍

If a full "Thief of the Shooting Meteor" set isn’t available, mixing two pieces of it with another two-piece set that provides break effects, such as "Watchmaker, Master of Dream Machinations", can still be beneficial.

This ensures Gallagher maintains a high level of break efficiency.

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Best Planar Ornaments

Talia: Kingdom of Banditry Set

The "Talia: Kingdom of Banditry" Planar Ornament set is highly recommended for Gallagher.

The bonus from a two-piece set increases his break effects by a significant margin, directly enhancing his ability to contribute to the team's overall break strategy.

Ensuring Gallagher has enough speed to act promptly in battles is also crucial, making the "Talia" set's speed bonus invaluable for his performance.

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Alternatives

Broken Keel Set

‍While not as directly impactful on his healing or breaking roles, a two-piece "Broken Keel" set can provide Gallagher with increased effect resistance, helping him resist debuffs that could hinder his performance.

This can be paired with a speed-focused set to ensure he acts quickly and effectively.

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Penacony, Land of the Dreams Set‍

If Gallagher's team benefits from specific elemental damage types or if energy management is a concern, the "Penacony, Land of the Dreams" set can offer some utility.

However, this is generally less preferred compared to focusing on break effects and speed.

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Main Stats Priority

Body Piece: Outgoing Healing

Given Gallagher's primary role as a healer, maximizing outgoing healing on his body piece is crucial.

This ensures that any healing abilities or effects he performs are significantly enhanced, providing more robust support to the team.

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Boots: Speed

Speed is essential for Gallagher to ensure he can act frequently, applying debuffs to enemies and providing timely healing to allies.

Faster actions mean more opportunities to heal and sustain your team, making speed a top priority for his boots.

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Sphere: HP or Fire Damage

For the sphere, you have a choice depending on your team's needs and Gallagher's role.

Increasing HP can enhance his survivability, allowing him to stay in the fight longer and continue supporting the team.

Alternatively, focusing on Fire Damage can boost his damage output, particularly useful if you're leveraging his breaker capabilities alongside his sustain.

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Rope: Break Effects or Energy

Choosing between break effects or energy for the rope depends on your specific needs.

If Gallagher serves as a primary breaker in your team, enhancing break effects can make him more effective in this role.

However, if you find him energy-starved and needing to use his abilities more frequently, focusing on energy regeneration can be more beneficial.

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Substats Priority

• ‍Break Effects: If Gallagher is utilized for his breaking capabilities, prioritizing break effects as a substat will enhance his efficiency in reducing enemy break gauges.‍
• Speed: Additional speed substats further ensure Gallagher acts promptly, which is critical for both applying debuffs and delivering heals.‍
• Effect Resistance: To ensure Gallagher can reliably perform his duties without being hindered by enemy debuffs, effect resistance is valuable.‍
• HP and Defense: Boosting Gallagher’s survivability ensures he remains active to support the team, making HP and Defense worthwhile substats.

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Crafting the Perfect Team for Gallagher

Core Principles for Building Around Gallagher

Synergy with Debuffs‍

Gallagher's ultimate applies the Besotted debuff, enhancing the damage enemies receive from break attacks and healing the attacker.

Characters that can capitalize on or add to this debuffing mechanism enhance the team's overall effectiveness.

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Break Effectiveness‍

Gallagher contributes significantly to breaking enemies.

Including characters that can benefit from or contribute to breaking enemies faster makes battles smoother and quicker.

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Sustain Needs‍

As Gallagher offers team-wide healing, pairing him with characters who can either provide additional healing or benefit from the consistent healing due to their frontline roles is ideal.

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Recommended Team Compositions

Acheron as the Main DPS

• Acheron brings a unique energy system and massive DPS, especially when debuffs are plentiful, which Gallagher can provide.
• Silver Wolf for applying multiple debuffs which synergize well with both Acheron’s and Gallagher’s kits, enhancing overall DPS and healing.
• Pela as a breaker who can also benefit from and contribute to the debuff strategy, further enhancing Gallagher's healing through her ability to apply additional debuffs.

This team optimizes Gallagher's debuff-based healing and synergizes with Acheron's debuff-reliant DPS, making it formidable in sustained battles.

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Dr. Ratio for a Debuff-Heavy Team

• Dr. Ratio as the main DPS, benefits greatly from the debuffs Gallagher provides, enhancing his damage output significantly.
• Topaz adds to the team's ability to break enemies quickly and can also benefit from the healing Gallagher provides, maintaining DPS output.
• Gallagher ensures the team remains healed and takes advantage of the debuffs applied by other team members for enhanced break damage.

This composition focuses on maximizing debuff synergies, with Gallagher bolstering both healing and break damage, making it effective against tough enemies.

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Balanced Team with Focus on Break and Healing

• Gallagher as the team's healer and breaker, applying crucial debuffs and healing.
• Ruan Mei, brings her exceptional buffs, notably enhancing Break Effect, which synergizes seamlessly with Gallagher's healing and Toughness breaking capabilities.
• A flex spot for an Abundance or additional Nihility character, depending on the specific challenge, to round out the team’s elemental coverage or enhance its debuff strategy.

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Eidolons: A Quick Look

E1: Salty Dog

Upon entering battle, Gallagher gains an immediate energy boost and a significant increase in Effect RES.

This Eidolon is particularly useful in ensuring Gallagher can use his skills more frequently from the get-go, enhancing his role as a healer and breaker early in the battle.

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E2: Lion's Tail

This Eidolon turns Gallagher's healing skill into a cleanse tool, removing debuffs from allies and increasing their resistance to future debuffs.

It's crucial for teams facing enemies with heavy debuff strategies, allowing Gallagher to safeguard and sustain his team effectively.

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E4: Last Word

Extending the Besotted state from Gallagher's Ultimate by an additional turn increases the window for your team to exploit the increased break damage and healing opportunity.

This Eidolon strengthens Gallagher's utility by prolonging the debuffs' beneficial effects on enemies.

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E6: Blood and Sand

By increasing Gallagher's Break Effect and Weakness Break Efficiency, this Eidolon solidifies his role as a powerful breaker in the team.

It ensures that Gallagher can contribute significantly to reducing enemy toughness, facilitating quicker defeats of tough opponents.

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Maximizing Gallagher's Potential

Use Eidolon Potential Wisely

Eidolons like E2: Lion's Tail, which adds a debuff cleanse to Gallagher's skill, and E6: Blood and Sand, enhancing his break efficiency, are essential.

These Eidolons transform Gallagher into a versatile support unit capable of sustaining allies while weakening enemies.

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Ability and Talent Priority

Prioritize upgrading Gallagher's Talent for its team-wide healing effect upon attacking Besotted enemies.

Next, enhance his Skill for more reliable healing output. Gallagher's Ultimate and Basic Attack follow in priority, focusing on increasing his damage and debuff application where possible.

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Strategic Gameplay

Utilize Gallagher's Ultimate strategically to apply the Besotted debuff at crucial moments, enhancing your team's break damage output and ensuring timely healing.

Remember that his enhanced Basic Attack post-Ultimate can heal your team, so plan your moves to maximize this effect, especially in challenging encounters.

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Master His Technique

Gallagher's Technique ability, which applies the Besotted debuff at the start of battle, provides an immediate advantage.

Use it to start on a strong footing, especially in battles where breaking enemies quickly is crucial.

This initial advantage can be decisive in high-stakes encounters.

By focusing on these key areas, Gallagher can become a cornerstone of your team's success in "Honkai: Star Rail."

His unique abilities make him not just a healer but a versatile support character capable of turning the tide in challenging battles with strategic debuff application and enhanced break effectiveness.