While the best characters for you personally are going to vary wildly based on who you pulled and who you've built up already, there are many characters in Honkai: Star Rail that are just indisputably good. Let's take a look at ten of those five star characters, ranking them from okay to best.
10. Gepard (Okay)
While he's ranked here as merely "okay," don't let that fool you. He's one of two standard characters that made it to the list at all, and with good reason.
With the tankiest shield currently available, a taunt built into his kit, and a self-resurrection ability, he's easily the best shielding unit in the game. You'd be lucky to lose your 50/50 to him… for the first couple Eidolons, at least.
Gepard Strengths
- Strongest shield in the game
- Self-resurrection ability
- Taunt unlocked through traces
Choose Gepard if…
- You need more protection
- You want to run a team without a healer
- You want an easy Simulated Universe run on the Preservation Path
9. Kafka (More okay)
Kafka is actually a great unit, despite her low spot on this list. She's just not as easy to slot in as the other available DPS units, so her supports are more limited.
Where Kafka really shines is at the head of a DoT team. Her skill will trigger a DoT effect on any enemy it hits, and between her skill, follow-up attack, and ultimate, she inflicts plenty of shock herself. There's not a better DPS for the DoT department.
Kafka Strengths
- Skill triggers DoT effect
- Skill, follow-up attack, and ultimate inflict shock
- Her focus on DoT damage means you can safely ignore crit values when building
Choose Kafka if…
- You want to run a DoT team
- You need a lightning DPS
- You want an easy source of DoT damage in Simulated Universe: Nihility Path
8. Seele (Good)
Seele, like the other DPS characters in the "good" tier, is going to see differences in her utility based on her teammates and the weakness of the enemies. Despite being the first limited five star character released, her strength hasn't waned.
As one of the hardest hitting damage dealers in the game against single targets, Seele has the ability to take her turn after defeating an enemy. With weaker enemies, she could attack up to four times by defeating an enemy with her skill and another with her ultimate.
Seele Strengths
- Strongest Quantum Damage
- Resurgence lets her attack more often
- Can easily clear low level mobs
Choose Seele if…
- You want a Quantum DPS
- You like attacking repeatedly
- You want the ideal candidate for Simulated Universe: Hunt Path
7. Blade (Good)
Blade is a wind DPS that consumes his own HP in place of skill points, dealing impressive AoE damage. He just wants to die, but we're not going to let him.
As he needs to consume his HP, you have to make sure not to pair him with a shielder, but you'll find that's a non-issue when paired with a decent healer. Building up his max HP leads to amazing damage output for both his ultimate and his follow-up attack.
Blade Strengths
- Strongest AoE wind damage
- Easy on the skill points
- Scales on HP
- Gives better damage when taking damage
Choose Blade if…
- You need a wind DPS
- You have more healers than shielders
- You want to dominate Simulated Universe: Destruction Path
6. Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae (Good)
Dan Heng IL consumes skill points to enhance his basic attack, dealing massive single target and AoE imaginary damage. He's also the first of the four star starter characters to receive a massive glow-up.
A strong DPS option for an element currently lacking them, Dan Heng can pack quite the punch against enemies both weak to imaginary and not. Though his skill point consumption is quite heavy, careful pairing with supports ensures that he can enhance his basic attack nearly every turn.
Dan Heng IL Strengths
- Strongest imaginary DPS
- Enhanced basic attack
- The cooler Dan Heng
- Both AoE and single target damage
Choose Dan Heng IL if…
- You need a hard-hitting imaginary DPS
- You have supports that are easy on skill points
- You're ready to try the Propagation Path in Swarm Disaster
5. Jingliu (Good)
Jingliu consumes her teammates' HP to enter a state with enhanced crit rate and attack. Similar to Blade, she's easier on skill points than the typical DPS, but unlike Blade, she's in no hurry to die.
With a staggering 40% crit rate increase during her Spectral Transmigration state, it's fairly easy to stack enough crit damage on her to make her ice attacks crit often and hard.
Jingliu Strengths
- Great crit rate boost during special state
- Strongest ice DPS currently in the game
- Easy on skill points
- Best Eidolon is the first
Choose Jingliu if…
- You need an ice DPS
- You need strong ice AoE damage
4. Fu Xuan (Better)
Fu Xuan is the newest five star support, excelling in damage mitigation for your entire team. Her skill transfers a portion of the damage your team takes to her and raises your team's max HP and crit rate.
As a rare defensive unit that doesn't rely on shields to protect your party, Fu Xuan's utility is hard to rival. Her talent grants a self-heal that will keep her, and by extension your team, standing longer in battle.
Fu Xuan Strengths
- Damage mitigation for the entire team
- Boost max HP and crit rate when skill is active
- Self-heals improve survivability
Choose Fu Xuan if…
- You need teamwide protection but can't use a shielder
- You want more crit rate for your team
- You need a tankier team
3. Silver Wolf (More Better)
Silver Wolf boasts the unique ability to impart weaknesses to the enemies, making her one of the most useful supports in the game. All of her attacks debuff the enemy as well, further increasing her value as a support unit.
This life-hacker's true strength shines in enabling mono-element teams. Since her skill gives enemies a weakness to a random element present in your team, pairing Silver Wolf with three members of a single element means you don't have to worry about what element you're up against.
Silver Wolf Strengths
- Can impart weaknesses to enemies
- All attacks apply debuffs
- Ultimate further lowers defense of enemies
Choose Silver Wolf if…
- You want a team that capitalizes on debuffs
- You want to try a mono-element team (you should)
- You want the most flexibility when putting a team together
2. Luocha (Even More Better)
Luocha is a skill-point friendly healer that scales on attack and deals out serviceable imaginary damage. He certainly changed things up in the healing department of this game upon his release.
With passive heals that kick in when the health of any teammate drops below 50%, he's indispensable as a skill point friendly healer. Add in his ability to cleanse and his higher damage output thanks to his attack scaling and you have a unit that's tough to top.
Luocha Strengths
- Passive healing saves on skill points
- Skill removes debuffs from teammates
- Attack scaling means decent damage for a healer
- Ultimate removes buffs from enemies
Choose Luocha if…
- You need a great healer (you do)
- You want a team that's easy on skill points
- You need cleansing from debuffs on your team
- The enemy needs their buffs cleansed
- Simulated Universe: Abundance Path sounds like a fun time (it is, especially in Swarm Disaster)
1. Bronya (Best)
Okay, it took a lot of deliberation to delegate the top spot to Da Bronya. But Bronya is, hands down, the best unit you can pull for roster value. Unfortunately, unless you choose her for the five-star standard selection, pulling her is going to be completely by chance.
Bronya's kit gives a crazy crit damage and attack boost upon using her ultimate, and her skill allows an ally to take their turn immediately, blessed with increased damage and a cleanse. While some characters have a pale mimicry of Bronya's abilities baked into their kit, there's no replacing the real thing. If you have a Bronya of your own, make sure you treat her right.
Bronya Strengths
- Crit damage and attack boost with ultimate
- Skill grants damage boost, cleanse, and the ability for an ally to take action immediately
- Best utility and value in the game
Choose Bronya if…
- You need more attack
- You need more crit damage
- You need to cleanse an ally
- You want allies to have more turns
- You can, because she's not a guaranteed pull
Again, the utility of the characters listed here is going to vary based on your available roster and who you already have built. But the ten units listed here can provide unparalleled value to your account, and are worth saving (or hoping) for.
