With its focus on strategy and turn-based combat, there are a lot of factors inHonkai Star Railplayers need to grasp. For new players joining with the Playstation release, this can be a daunting endeavor, since the game has been out for a while. If you want to progress your account fast, the best way to do so is to get familiar with the game’s strongest characters so you can start taking out those tough enemies asap.
RELATED:Honkai Star Rail: All Enemies & Weaknesses
Through theory crafting and testing conducted by various sources, includingprydwen.ggand the Chinese community, these are the characters that have emerged as the game’s best damage dealers. Plan your pulls and builds accordingly.
All calculations were done with 4-star characters at E6, and 5-stars at E0.
Honkai: Star Rail
The eldest of the Landau siblings, and a Lightning Type character who follows the Path of Erudition,Servalis a good character to build if you want to inflict AOE Lightning damage. Her kit focuses on adding the Shock DOT to enemies with her Skill and extending it with her Ultimate. Her Talent also lets her do increased damage to shocked enemies, so she excels in scenarios with 3 targets.
Since she’s a 4-star unit and you’re able to obtain a free copy of her, Serval is a great unit to build, especially in the early game. While her single target damage is not noteworthy, her ability to Weakness Break multiple enemies and damage them all make her a solid unit.
Himekois the navigator and de facto leader of the Astral Express crew. She is a Fire Type character who follows the Path of Erudition, and her kit focuses on dealing AOE Fire damage, Weakness Breaking enemies, and using Follow-Up attacks.
As a 5-star unit, Himeko is available on the Regular Warp banner. While her damage multipliers aren’t as strong as other DPS characters, her Follow-Up capability is ideal for AOE scenarios, and paired with the right teammates, she can dish out significant damage.
8Jing Yuan
Jing Yuanis the general of the Cloud Knights, and a Lightning Type character who follows the Path of Erudition. His kit revolves around summoning the Lightning Lord, which appears as a separate entity on the Turn Order and deals significant AOE and single target damage.
Jing Yuan is a 5-star unit available only on the limited Character Event banners. His play style involves adding stacks to Lightning Lord’s Attack Count by using his Skill and Ultimate, who then unleashes multiple instances of Lightning damage. Since Lightning Lord’s attack is shared by all enemies on the field, he is great for dealing AOE damage, but even better for single target scenarios where all that damage is concentrated on one enemy.
Seeleis a key member of Belobog’s Wildfire organization, and a Quantum Type character who follows the Path of the Hunt. Like other Hunt characters, she can dish out massive damage against single targets, but can also overcome the single target limitation by gaining an extra turn after she defeats an enemy.
RELATED:Honkai Star Rail: In The Night Light Cone Guide
Seele was the first limited 5-star available when Honkai Star Rail released. She was the original DPS queen, but has recently got power crept by newer Destruction units. Nevertheless, she still remains one of the game’s top damage dealers, and absolutely dominates in single target scenarios. She is, however, very Skill Point hungry, which can lead to some less optimal rotations.
Qingqueis the resident slacker of the Divination Commission, and a Quantum Type character who follows the Path of Erudition. Her play style focuses on using her Skill to accumulate 4 matching Jade Tiles, which enhance her Basic Attack and deal AOE Quantum damage.
Qingque is a 4-star character who really benefits from her E4 and E6 Eidolons. She is one of the most interesting characters to play, with RNG playing a big factor in her ability to stack those 4 Jade Tiles. A successful stack is rewarded with incredible damage output, which in AOE scenarios, even outperforms characters like Seele.
Kafkais one of the infamous Stelleron Hunters, and the first character you meet in the game. She is a Lightning Type character who follows the Path of Nihility, who deals incredible AOE damage by triggering DOTs on opponents.
RELATED:Honkai Star Rail: Letter From A Strange Woman Mission Guide
Kafka is a limited 5-star character with a unique play style. Her Skill and Ultimate add the Shock DOT on an opponent, whilst also triggering any DOTs they currently have. Since her ability can trigger DOTs without reducing their count, Kafka is the premiere unit in dealing damage-over-time. With any future 5-star DOT applying units, Kafka’s value will only improve.
Clarais a soft-spoken, shy girl who is accompanied by a massive robot named Svarog. She is a Physical Type character who follows the Path of Destruction, and her kit focuses on tanking enemy attacks and responding with deadly counters.
Clara is a 5-star character available on the Regular Warp banner. With recent changes to endgame content like Memory of Chaos, she has shot up the rankings to be one of the game’s best damage dealers. However, her damage is dependent on RNG, since she needs to get attacked by enemies to hit back with a counter.
A Mara-struck and troubled Stelleron Hunter,Bladeis a Wind Type character who follows the Path of Destruction. His berserker play style involves consuming his own HP and inviting damage in order to increase his own destructive output.
Blade is a limited 5-star and one of the strongest damage dealers in the game. He is also easier to build than other DPS units, since his damage scales on his HP, allowing you to avoid farming rarer Crit stats. Managing his HP consumption is both challenging and rewarding, so you should consider him if you like that play style. He is also one of the few Skill Point positive DPS units, since he only uses Skill Points to enter his enhanced state.
Jing Yuan’s mentor and one of the legendary High Cloud Quintet,Jingliuis an Ice Type character who follows the Path of Destruction. Her kit revolves around accumulating stacks of Syzygy to enter her Spectral Transmigration state, which enhances her Skill to deal more damage.
Jingliu is the most recent limited 5-star Destruction character, and arguably the strongest damage dealer in the game, depending on the situation. Her unique mechanics include consuming her allies HP to buff her own attacks, making her synergistic with characters like Blade. She is also a net Skill Point neutral character, since she requires Skill Points to enter Spectral Transmigration, but doesn’t consume them when she is in that state.
1Dan Heng: Imbibitor Lunae
Dan Heng’s true form, and the reincarnation of the former high-elder of the Vidyadhara, Imbibitor Lunae is an Imaginary Type character who follows the Path of Destruction. His play style includes consuming up to 3 Skill Points to enhance his Basic Attack, which deals insane amounts of damage.
Imbibitor Lunae is a limited 5-star character who has some of the highest damage multipliers in the game. Depending on the situation, he is unmatched by all but Jingliu, with his increased toughness damage giving him the slight edge in certain scenarios. He is extremely Skill Point hungry, however, which limits his team options and can result in some less than optimal rotations.
NEXT:Honkai Star Rail: How To Unlink PSN ID From Hoyoverse Account
