With the addition of Jing Yuan, there are currently 22 characters total for players to collect inHonkai: Star Rail(24 including both versions of the Trailblazer). Each of these characters specializes in a different Aeon Path and Elemental Affinity, and all of them are expertly designed.
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That said, some characters are obviously much better than others. So, let’s go through all of the characters currently inHonkai: Star Railand rank them from worst to best.
Disclaimer: by design 4-star characters will likely be lower than 5-stars, that’s just how the game works. Additionally, every character in HSR is amazing if enough resources are pumped into their abilities, so keep that in mind.
24Herta: Erudition
First up, last on the list, and one of the characters available to everyone for free is sadly Herta, the namesake of the Herta Space Station. Despite Herta being such an interesting character who managed to draw the gaze of the Aeon of Erudition, Nous, she’s just not very good mechanically.
And really what it comes down to is her total lack of damage. As an Erudition character, it makes sense to have less total damage than other paths, but her AoE damage is by far the lowest of all the Erudition options. Plus, Ice Weakness, at least with the content in the game currently (as of June 2023) is not quite as prevalent as the other elements, especially in groups of enemies, which further nullifies her utility.
23Sampo: Nihility
Sampo is one of the most visually recognizable characters in the Underworld of Belobog, and that contrasts pretty heavily with his overly fake ‘friendly’ personality. And, while his appearance and manner of talking are all about flair, that doesn’t at all translate to his gameplay.
As a Nihility character, Sampo probably has one of the least impactful DoT and/or Debuff abilities in that he just inflicts a slightly stronger Wind Shear, evenwith the best Light Cone setup. He’s not awful, but if players are looking for Wind Damage then it’s much easier to just rely on Dan Heng.
22Physical-Element Trailblazer: Destruction
It’s funny that the main character of the entire game is this low, but to be fair the Physical Element version of the Trailblazer is literally justrunning around bonking things with a batwhile others are summoning swords of ice or calling down orbital strikes.
Again, not a bad option if a player is in desperate need of Physical damage, but as soon as players unlock the Fire Aspect Trailblazer they’ll likely never switch back.
21Qingque: Erudition
Qinque, in terms of how she’s written as a character, is honestly one of the best. Her’all play and no work' attitude archetype, adoration of tile-based games, and complete lack of any sort of professional ‘drive’ are all aspects that make her such a relatable character.
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But, in terms of gameplay, she requires a lot of resource investment to really shine (especially compared to Seele, her only Quantum damage competition, who outranks her in every category). With the right team comp, Light Cone, and Trace Levels,Qingque can be very reliable and even an amazing DPS, but she needs more work than most to get there.
20Arlan: Destruction
Out of the 5 Lightning Element characters currently in the game, it’s a bit of a shame that two of them rank so low, but Arlan really needs the right team and has to be constantly monitored in order to be truly useful.
The fact that he uses HP instead of Skill Points for his Skill is a huge help in team comps that would otherwise be constantly struggling for Skill Points, but he also has to put himself at so much risk when using his Skill.He’s an incredible secondary DPS in a teambut the ‘meta’ of the game in 1.0 and 1.1 is primarily centered around a single DPS, a healer, a tank, and a support, so it’s often not worth subbing anyone out to put Arlan in.
19Serval: Erudition
If players don’t pull any other Erudition characters other than Serval (or Herta) then Serval becomes the lynchpin of their lineup. However, if a player pulls Himeko, Arlan, Jing Yuan, Bailu, Tingyun, or even Qingque, then their Serval will likely be sitting on the sidelines a lot of the time.
Again, she’s not at all a bad character, in fact with enough investment in her Relics, Traces, level, and Eidolon Level she’s actually pretty amazing considering how often players are fighting against a group of enemies who are mostly weak to Lightning. Plus, the minute DoT damage becomes more viable overall (which willlikely happen alongside Kafka’s eventual release) Serval will become much better seemingly overnight.
18Sushang: The Hunt
Sushang, honestly, deserves to be higher just for the simple fact that she’s the only real pure Physical damage dealer in the Physical Element aside from the Physical Trailblazer. Clara technically does more damage, but that’s not her intended ‘role’.
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And, with proper usage of her Ultimate, Sushang can deal out a lot of Physical Damage in a single turn. But, when compared to the other Hunt characters, she just falls a little short. If players only get one Sushang, she may not be worth investing in, but as soon as they unlock her first Eidolon Resonance, Cut With Ease, she’s suddenly a lot more viable in a Skill Point-heavy team comp.
17Hook: Destruction
Next up is Hook, the adorable little rascal boss of the Moles Adventure Squad in Belobog’s underground. Hook is one of the rare few Destruction Characters alongside Arlan, Clara, and the Physical Trailblazer.
While Arlan works for both single and multi-target damage and Clara is a raw tank, Hook is specialized in inflicting Burns and dealing high single-target damage. But, the amount of investment needed to get her to shine and her lack of utility against enemies not Weak to Fire sort of counteract her many benefits.
16Himeko: Erudition
Himeko, like Herta, has everything mechanically that she needs to have. She’s an Erudition character with follow-up mechanics, which means she often attacks multiple times due to the initial AoE of her Molten Detonation Skill and then the triggering of her Victory Rush Talent.
Sadly, however, her damage is just a little low and she shares the same element with the Fire Trailblazer and Asta who both do their jobs better than she does hers. If Mihoyo simply buffs her damage output by just a bit or even reduces the number of Weakness Breaks her Victory Rush needs by 1, Himeko will quickly jump up the rankings.
15Dan Heng: The Hunt
Dan Heng’s up next with his ‘always serious’ attitude and mysterious past with the Xianzhou Luofu. Dan Heng is the default Hunt character people start out with and is one of three Wind Element characters.
But, since Sampo is worse than him and Bronya is a 5-star pull, most people are going to be relying on Dan Heng (and investing in him) against the tough enemies who are weak to Wind. He’s a pretty lackluster character gameplay wise but his damage output is pretty noticeable and he fills a pretty much-needed Wind DPS slot, which is why he ranks this high.
