Honkai: Star Rail: Character Tier List and Best Characters (October 2023)

Pick carefully

by Sammy Barker Mon 13th May 2024

Looking for a character tier list and best characters in Honkai: Star Rail? As you pull on banners, you'll want to know which characters are worth building to maximise the potential for your team compositions. Tier lists like the one below can help illustrate the best characters with the most power in the game. On this page, as part of our Honkai: Star Rail guide, we're going to share our character tier list and best characters.

Honkai: Star Rail: Character Tier List and Best Characters

Below we've assembled a character tier list and best characters based on the current roster of playable characters in HoYoverse's turnbased RPG. We'll be updating this guide regularly as new characters are released and the developer makes crucial balance changes. Please do keep in mind that this is not a definitive solution, and your mileage may very depending on your personal playstyle and team composition. However, this should be used as a guideline to help you to understand the best characters currently available in the game.

S Tier

Name	Role	Pros	Cons	Description

Seele	Damage	Incredible single target damage Follow-ups make her powerful against groups, too	Can be skill point hungry	A powerful offensive character, Seele is unstoppable in one-on-one situations and can earn additional turns for each knockout she earns.
Bronya	Support	Outstanding damage buffs Turn advance skill pairs well with damage dealers	Works best with strong damage dealers	A capable support character, Bronya can dispel debuffs and boost damage while her ultimate powers up your entire team for two turns.
Silver Wolf	Support	Can make enemies susceptible to new weaknesses Strong debuffs which make seriously amplify damage	Requires some luck to make the most of	Silver Wolf's ability to install new weaknesses on enemies opens up a ton of team-building opportunities, and her debuffing capabilities make her a dangerous squad addition.
Gepard	Defense	Impenetrable shields which fortify entire teams Difficult to knock out	Shields are arguably over-the-top for most scenarios	A fearsome shielder, Gepard can protect your entire team with his ultimate, safeguarding them with an extremely high absorption shield.
Luocha	Healer	Incredible overall healing output Dispels buffs and attacks on Ultimate	Doesn't have a panic heal option	Unlike other healers in the game, Luocha requires a little more forethought to be truly effective, but his ability to dispel buffs, restore HP, and even do damage make him an excellent option.

A Tier

Name	Role	Pros	Cons	Description
Clara	Damage	Incredible damage output Surprisingly durable and resistant to debilitating effects	Needs to take damage to realise full potential	A capable counter-attack character, Clara can draw the attention of enemies, shielding herself from their attacks and punching back when allies are hit.
Jing Yuan	Damage	Brilliant at breaking enemies due to Lightning-Lord Amazing at attacking multiple enemies	Doesn't tandem well with support characters	A very unique attacker, Jing Yuan's use of Lightning-Lord effectively gives him two attacks per turn, and while he's good in one-on-one scenarios, he specifically excels against groups
Welt	Damage	All-rounder with offensive and defensive strengths Can fulfil a multitude of roles	Slowing effects don't suit all scenarios	An all-round offensive and defensive powerhouse who can slow down enemies, Welt provides team mates with more and more turns to dish out damage.
Yanqing	Damage	Freezing abilities make for great crowd control	Requires quite a lot of skill points	An impressive ice damage dealer with good critical damage, Yanqing can dish it out in one-on-one encounters and can manage crowds by freezing foes.
Pela	Support	Destroys enemy defence significantly powering up attack Recovers energy easily	Middling damage output	An aggressive debuffer, Pela is able to successfully reduce the defence of enemies, meaning she pairs well with big hitters who can follow-up with huge damage.
Tingyun	Support	Helps energy hungry allies a lot Flexible and pairs well with different teams	Can only buff one ally at a time	A good support option, Tingyun can boost damage and restore energy on a single ally, meaning she complements a strong attacker well.
Trailblazer (Preservation)	Defense	Great shielding ability and breaking potential Draws damage away from allies	Shields are generally a lot weaker than other options	A total tank, Trailblazer (Fire) can draw the damage of enemies and effectively soak it all up, while also providing valuable shields to allies.
Bailu	Healer	Revive mechanic is a literal life-saver in some scenarios Keeps allies healthy and topped up	Cannot cleanse allies	A capable healer, Bailu can recover the first knocked out teammate in your party and can also buff allies with her special to ensure they recover health when hit.
Natasha	Healer	Free and very useful character Low energy requirement for consistent party healing	Better healing output elsewhere	A healer with low energy requirements, Natasha can be pretty effective at restoring the HP of your entire party and removing debuffs.

B Tier

Name	Role	Pros	Cons	Description
Dan Heng	Damage	Decent damage output and the ability to slow enemies	High learning curve and superseded by better options	A decent enough damage dealer, Dan Heng pairs well with speed debuffers like Welt.
Himeko	Damage	Good multi-target damage Damage over time is always a useful attribute	Mediocre single-target damage	A good fire damage dealer who excels when enemies are broken, Himeko has relatively decent AoE abilities but there are better options.
Hook	Damage	Great against single-target enemies Decent energy economy	There are much better options	A fire damage dealer that excels against single targets, Hook is a decent option but there are much better characters in the game.
Qingque	Damage	Exceptional damage output with good luck Can restore skill points	Highly luck-based and dependent on her Ultimate	A quantum-based damage dealer, Quingque is exceptional assuming you get lucky with her RNG mechanics.
Serval	Damage	Surprisingly strong against multiple targets Good damage over time ensures ongoing output	Poor against single targets and can only hit three enemies at once	A strong damage over time and Lightning user, Serval excels against small groups of enemies.
Sushang	Damage	Deals decent damage in single-target scenarios Good break effect	Relies heavily on weakness breaks	A decent physical damage dealer, Sushang is at her most powerful when you're effectively able to break the weaknesses of foes.
Asta	Support	Good general support option with decent attack buffs	Random nature to damage over time abilities	A good support character that can increase the team's speed, Asta can also use her passive to buff the attack of teammates depending on how many enemies she's hit.
Yukong	Support	Really powerful team buff capabilities	Difficult to learn and use effectively	Yukong is an effective support character, but also one with an incredibly high ceiling which requires a high degree of understanding to utilise effectively.
March 7th	Defense	Really good single-target shields Synergises well with other shielders for a hugely defensive team	Rubbish against Ice resistant enemies	Able to consistently preserve the HP of allies, March 7th doesn't have much attacking prowess but can effectively extend skirmishes.

C Tier

Name	Role	Pros	Cons	Description
Arlan	Damage	Excels when put under pressure	Requires constant protection and healing	A Lightning damage dealer that's particularly useful in the early parts of the campaign, he can use HP instead of skill points to use his abilities.
Herta	Damage	Not a lot, we're afraid	Virtually everything, unfortunately	A pretty low quality Ice damage dealer, Herta is only useful in specific scenarios or if you don't have an alternative.
Sampo	Damage	Pairs well with damage over time characters	A slow starter with very specific use cases	Filling a very specific role, Sampo pairs nicely with other damage over time characters like Hook and Serval.
Trailblazer (Physical)	Damage	A great unit for the early game while you get started	Overshadowed by Fire alternative	Can dish out some decent Physical damage, but you'll want to replace them.

Did you find this character tier list and best characters in Honkai: Star Rail guide helpful? Let us know in the comments section below, and check out our Honkai: Star Rail guide for much more information.