Honkai: Star Rail tells an epic story featuring numerous memorable characters. A lot of the people you meet are available as party members, once you recruit them. Some of them are clearly more exciting additions than others. Here is our Honkai: Star Rail tier list, ranking the available characters from best to worst.
Note: We’ll have a Honkai: Star Rail guides and features hub once the game has officially released, so stay tuned.
Tier list ranking all characters in Honkai: Star Rail
Remember that you’re looking for synergy. Even characters with a poor rank might find a place on a strong team. Check our list on the best team comps in Honkai Star Rail for more information. Below, find our list of where the various characters rank, divided by tier and arranged alphabetically.
S-Tier Honkai Star Rail characters
Screenshot by HoYoverse
Clara – Capable of dealing substantial damage, and can sneak in extra attacks.
Gepard – His Ice damage is no joke, plus he works great as a tank.
Jing Yuan – Jing Yuan is your best option for AoE damage and uses the Lightning element.
Luocha – His strong healing capabilities and powerful attack are first-rate, plus he can debuff enemy units.
Seele – A versatile damage dealer who can hit single targets reasonably hard, but who excels when cleaning up mobs.
A-Tier Honkai: Star Rail characters
Screenshot by HoYoverse
Bailu – She’s one of the best healers in the game, plus she deals Lightning damage. However, Luocha has her beat.
Blade – When you create the best build for Blade in Honkai Star Rail, you’ll find he sacrifices life in exchange for damage. He hits hard, but you’ll want to keep an eye on his health and pair him with a strong healer.
Bronya – If you’re looking for someone who can strengthen your team and eliminate debuffs, you’ll want to have Bronya in your party. Just don’t expect her to deal a lot of damage.
Himeko – She deals fire-based area damage and takes advantage of her friends’ actions. When you’re farming weaker enemies, she can make quick work of them by initiating combat with her technique.
Kafka – Kafka can deal powerful lightning damage, and she gets better over the course of a battle, but she needs to be buffed to reach her full potential.
Natasha – The healthier she is, the more she heals her friends. If you need a decent healer, Natasha can be well worth the energy you spend improving her.
Pela – Besides dealing powerful ice damage, she can debuff enemies so that your heavy hitters can more quickly eliminate them.
Silver Wolf – She can both debuff enemies and hit them hard with individual attacks, though she’s not a great choice if you’re looking to deal with large mobs.
Trailblazer – You can adapt Trailblazer to multiple paths and elements, making them especially versatile.
Welt – His claim to fame is his ability to deal Imaginary damage, which is more impressive than it sounds. He’s also good at weakening adversaries in general.
Yanqing – He uses Ice damage and can hit individual targets very, very hard. If you focus on building his attack and crit rate, he can be a terrific asset against bosses.
B-Tier Honkai: Star Rail characters
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Arlan – You need a good healer if you make Arlan part of your team, but he is capable of dealing strong lightning-based damage. Unfortunately, that’s not especially unique.
Asta – A strong Support character you’ll find early in the adventure.
Dan Heng – During the early game in particular, his strong Wind attacks will tear through much of the resistance you encounter.
Herta – Ice-based area damage is Herta’s specialty, plus she produces follow-up attacks and may freeze enemies to prevent them from racking up damage.
Hook – She’s a competent fire user who really excels when paired with others of her kind, though she focuses on one target at a time.
March 7th – Her ability to create shields for other party members can keep them in the action even when facing powerful foes.
Qingque – She’s capable of hitting both single targets and enemy groups, but she doesn’t seem to excel in either role.
Sampo – Wind-based attacks and debuffs are Sampo’s specialty. Make sure to build up his hit rate to make the most of those capabilities.
Sushang – If you need to take down a boss with a lot of HP, Sushang is one of the best options around.
C-Tier Honkai: Star Rail characters
Screenshot by HiYoverse
Serval – Even after you put together the best Serval build, you’ll find that numerous other AoE characters can hit harder. With that said, her lightning attacks are useful in the early game as you seek better options.
Tingyun – She can buff herself and an ally, plus she’s capable of dealing lightning damage. However, numerous other characters can do almost anything better than she can.
Honkai: Star Rail is available via its official website.
