Honkai Star Rail was released with a lot of characters, and it's hard to pick the best character to clear content with. Here's our Honkai Star Rail Version 1.0 Tier List.
Honkai Star Rail V1.0 Tier List
Note that order within tiers is arbitrary. All characters were rated at Eidolon 0 except for Trailblazer whose Eidolons can be earned for free.
This list was last updated on May 30th, 2023.
Bailu – S
Bailu is one of the two available healers in the game, the other being Natasha. This alone makes her incredibly valuable, not to mention that both her Skill and her Ultimate allow her to heal multiple members of the party. Bailu (or Natasha) is almost a necessity for the long-running game modes like Simulated Universe if you do not have a Preservation character in your party.
Bronya – S
Bronya's party-wide buffs and ability to bump other characters up can be extremely powerful when used correctly. Bronya alone can be a valuable asset in your party, but the synergy that she has with specific characters like Seele cannot go unmentioned. She's going to get you through a lot of the early game content as soon as you figure out how to effectively use her abilities.
Seele – S
Seele is the best single-target damage dealer in the game right now due to the fact that she can get an extra turn upon defeating an enemy. She can easily wipe out waves on her own, and will quite literally solo most early game content. Not to mention that she deals Quantum damage – a damage type that is extremely scarce and the other source exists on the other side of this tier list.
Tingyun – S
Tingyun is one of (if not the best) 4-star character in Honkai Star Rail. She is rated highly not only because her buffs are nice and will work against almost everything the game throws at her, but also because she acts as a battery for your main damage dealer, allowing them to cast their Ultimate a lot more.
If you have a Tingyun, raise her now. She is a great investment, whether you're taking your time Trailblazing or rushing through to get to endgame content.
Jing Yuan – A+
The most recent addition to the playable roster, Jing Yuan is a 5-star Lightning Erudition character that excels in AoE damage. However, this doesn't mean his single-target damage isn't good. He can hold his own versus chunky enemies, but he does truly shine against waves of enemies. He requires some investment to be a competitive choice compared to the other damage dealers.
Fire Trailblazer – A+
The Fire Trailblazer follows the path of the Preservation, meaning they take on a more defensive role compared to their Physical version. The taunt is what makes this character, as it forces all enemies to focus their attacks on them for one turn. That being said, the Fire Trailblazer will eventually get whittled down, and will need some other form of sustain from healing or protection from shields that come from other Preservation characters like March 7th. Fire MC can also be great as a source of Fire DMG, seeing as they can deal massive amounts of AoE damage, albeit inconsistently.
Natasha – A+
Natasha is one of the two healers in the game, apart from 5-star Bailu. You also get her for free, and you're bound to need a healer at some point in the early game. If you don't have Bailu, Natasha is quite literally your only other choice, but she's not a bad one. She's easy to fit in any team composition, and at higher Eidolon's she even begins to hit hard for a healer.
Gepard – A
The best Shield provider in the game. Gepard has a massive party-wide shield that can almost eliminate the need for a healer for any overworld battle you would have. Having a massive shield also means that you have more room to basic attack for Skill Points. He may be slightly overkill for early game, but he performs well in the currently available endgame content.
Himeko – A
Himeko is the auto-player's best friend. Her AoE damage is exceptional thanks to her Ultimate and her follow-up attacks, and she has passable single-target damage. She might need some investment before she starts displaying her full power, but it's worth it – you'll never have to think about losing an auto battle again.
Welt – A
Welt is an amazing, versatile unit. He can act as a debuffer, slowing and Imprisoning enemies, but his damage is nothing to scoff at, either. Not to mention his Imaginary damage type is also quite rare. The only downside to Welt and his slow-centric kit is when turns are being counted, like in the Forgotten Hall.
Sampo – A
Sampo Koski is a reliable Wind character, with consistent damage coming from his Talent that also applies Wind Shear. Like Welt, his downside is that he might be less useful on time-constricted stages as he doesn't have much burst damage.
Sushang – A
Sushang is one of the best single-target 4-star characters in Honkai Star Rail. Not only that, she's also great at taking advantage of weakness break on enemies. While she herself doesn't need much setup to dish out decent damage, you might need to spread out damage types on your party to make sure you can reliably break enemies.
Clara – A
Clara has the potential to deal massive damage, both single-target and AoE. This is thanks to Svarog's Counter having the ability to hit multiple times in a single turn, especially with Clara's Ultimate. She can be a really good character and most early- to mid-game content can be annihilated by this deadly duo once you learn their mechanics.
Physical Trailblazer – B
Physical Trailblazer will get you through the early game, but only just. Even though you get all of their Eidolons for free, the Fire version is just better all across the board. That being said, if you find yourself in need of a Physical damage dealer and lacking better characters, Physical Trailblazer can be a solid choice.
Asta – B
Good buffs, can break Fire weakness easily thanks to her skill. Not that good against multiple enemies or enemies without Fire weakness.
Dan Heng – B
Excels in single-target and can perform even in mid- to late-game content. Unfortunately, his Talent requires a buffer to take effect, and he may need some investment and familiarity to maximize his performance.
Hook – B
Good single-target damage and DoT with her burn. May underperform in time-constricted stages due to her reliance on her ultimate.
March 7th – B
Big single-target shield, and she can also remove debuffs. March 7th performs well with characters like Clara and Fire Trailblazer. Her shield is only a soft taunt, which does not guarantee enemy focus.
Pela – B
Plays around her DEF debuff, causing the entire party to deal more damage to any and all enemies. In this manner, Pela is a unique character. However, she needs a team that can make full use of her debuffs for her to shine.
Serval – B
You get Serval for free from the pre-registration bonus. Her skill-set's synergy is nice, allowing her to deal exceptional AoE damage that can compare to some 5-star characters. On the other hand, her single-target damage is a little subpar.
Yanqing – B
Good stats, and can easily wipe early-game content. Yanqing also has reliable Freeze with little investment, which is useful in most cases. He demands a team to be built around him to perform decently.
Arlan – C
Needs a lot of investment, and requires survivability from his party to not die.
Herta – C
Underwhelming character across the board, and is basically only usable on Auto.
Qingque – D
Highly inconsistent damage. Playing Qingque is playing a gacha game within a gacha game. Only use when in dire need of Quantum damage.
Honkai: Star Rail is now available for iOS, Android, Windows PC, and the Epic Games Store.
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