Honkai: Star Rail is a game with many challenging end-game content. There’s also a sea of endgame content to choose from right now with the latest update and addition to Simulated Universe. HSR is turn-based, which means there’s a degree of strategy involved; first, in planning a team, then in building the team, and then in actually using it. If you want to be consistently 36 starring MoC, you’ll need to make use of the best support characters.
Robin (5 Star, Support Rating: 10/10)
Robin is, for very good reasons, one of the best support units in the entire game. She’s right up there with Ruan Mei. If units like Feixiao and Firefly are among the best damage dealers, then Robin and Ruan Mei are the respective queens of support. They leave little room for competition.
What Robin Is Good At
- Universal application. Robin is among the few support characters you can slot into anything, at any point, without needing to worry about nuances or whether or not she’s a niche pick only for certain teams. The reason she’s so good is because of her universal applicability; she slots into any, and indeed, every, team.
- Insane buffs. Robin increases the damage dealt by all allies by 50% at skill level 10. It lasts for 3 turns, each turn decreases the stack by one. Not only that, when she ults, all allies immediately take action and she increases their attack by hers. She increases the crit damage of all allies, too, and regenerates her energy after they attack.
- Follow-up attacks & ATK scaling. Because Robin’s buff scales off her attack, she deals a surprising amount of damage. At the end of her ult, she does a follow-up attack. This means she fits into teams with Feixiao surprisingly well.
Build
Robin Best Support Build
Light Cone: Flowing Nightglow/Poised to Bloom
Relics: Musketeer of Wild Wheat 2pc + Prisoner in Deep Confinement 2pc
Ornaments: Fleet of the Ageless
Best Stats:
Body: ATK%
Feet: ATK%
Sphere: ATK%
Rope: ENERGY REGEN RATE
Substats:
ATK%: ★★★
SPD: ★★
HP%: ★
PRIORITY = ATK% >= SPD > HP%
Robin Stats To Aim For:
HP: 3000+
ATK: 3000-4400+
ATK: 2700-3200
SPD: 120+ (Enough for Robin to act first, ideally)
Ruan Mei (5 Star, Support Rating: 10/10)
Ruan Mei does it all. She not only buffs your team and weakness breaks the enemy–she delays their action, too. You get an incredible buffer with this unit and a quasi-sustain who helps your team weakness break and slow the enemies so they’ll never get a turn. In the right teams, you might as well discard a sustainer. It’s not like they’ll be getting a turn anyway.
What Ruan Mei Is Good At
- Weakness breaking enemies. Ruan Mei fits into every break team. Like, ever. She has high break effect herself and is, alongside Harmony Trailblazer and Lingsha, the best support to fit into break-centric team comps.
- Delaying actions. Part of her unique effect involving Thanatoplum Rebloom makes it so that, after ulting, enemies attempting to recover from weakness break will have their actions delayed as well as their break duration extended.
- Buffing teammate’s damage. Her skill buffs all ally's damage by an absurd 32% and, on top of that, a 50% increase to break effect.
- Buffing break efficiency & giving res pen. Ruan Mei’s skill gives break efficiency, her ult offers res penetration. It’s not just any res pen, either, it's an all-type res pen. When ulting, debuffed enemies that come out of their weakness break trigger her unique effect, Thanatoplum Rebloom, and this extends their break duration.
Build
Ruan Mei Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Past Self in Mirror/Memories of the Past
- Relics: Watchmaker, Master of Dream machinations
- Ornaments: Fleet of the Ageless
Best Stats:
- Body: HP%
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: HP%
- Rope: Energy Regen Rate
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- BREAK EFF: ★★★
- HP% ★
- PRIORITY = Break Effect (Until 180%) > SPD (Until Breakpoint) > HP%
Ruan Mei Stats To Aim For:
- HP: 3000-5000
- SPD: 109/121/134
- BREAK EFF: ~180%, more or less, with A2
- ENERGY REGEN RATE: 119.4%+
Lingsha (5 Star, Rating: 9/10)
Ever wanted a dragon lady, one of the Vidyadhara, but pray every time you’re on 50/50 you don’t get Bailu? Well, this dragon lady, the new Cauldron Master of the Luofu, is here to present players with an awesome opportunity: A dragon lady with elf ears who happens to summon a bunny. Yeah, you heard that right. She’s everything Gallagher was but, er, 5 star, which equates to her being better than Gallagher in Hoyo's terms.
Sorry, Gally.
What Lingsha Is Good At
- Big, big, big break damage. Because of her scalings, and because of how you’ll be using her most often (alongside another break effect character, ie someone like the latest addition, Rappa, or Firefly, perhaps), you’ll be dealing an utterly enormous amount of damage. Like, potentially into the millions with Superbreak. Run her alongside Ruan Mei and Harmony Trailblazer and you don’t even need a DPS anymore.
- AoE damage and increased break damage. She deals quite a bit of AoE damage and increases the break damage enemies take with her ult.
- Follow-up attacks and healing. She has FUA and healing! Yippie! Her healing scales with ATK, which is another reason she’s so powerful as a semi-DPS healer buffer hybrid.
Build
Lingsha Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Scent Alone Stays True/Quid Pro Quo
- Relics: Passerby of Wandering Cloud
- Ornaments: Forge of the Kalpagni Lantern
Best Stats:
- Body: Outgoing Healing
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: ATK%
- Rope: Energy Regen Rate = Break Effect
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- BREAK EFF: ★★
- ATK% ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (until the desired breakpoint) > Break Effect >= ATK%
Lingsha Stats To Aim For:
- HP: 3000-4000
- SPD: 134
- BREAK EFF: 150-250%
Sparkle (5 Star, Rating: 9/10)
Sparkle is an incredible support. She gives lots of crit and such a speed boost that it might as well be giving her turn to someone else, plus buffing their damage tremendously. She also enables you to have more skill points (SP), making her work incredibly well with units like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae.
What Sparkle Is Good At
Buffing the team and restoring SP. With her ult, Sparkle restores 4 skill points and grants all allies Cipher, which offers a superb damage boost to everyone on the team.
Increasing SP limit. Sparkle increases the maximum skill points you can have from the usual 5 to 7.
Crit DMG buffs, plus additional buffs for stacking alongside Quantum units. That’s right; Sparkle provides ATK and Crit DMG buffs, and when there are 1/2/3 Quantum-Type allies in the team, additionally increases Quantum-Type allies' ATK by 5%/15%/30%.
Build
Sparkle Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Earthly Escapade
- Relics: Messenger Traversing Hackerspace
- Ornaments: Broken Keel
Best Stats:
- Body: Crit Dmg
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: HP%
- Rope: Energy Regen
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- CRIT DMG: ★★★
- HP%: ★
- DEF%: ★
- EFF RES%: ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (Until breakpoint OR as much as possible) > CRIT DMG% > HP = DEF = EFF RES% (30% if using Broken Keel)
Sparkle Stats To Aim For:
- CRIT DMG: 175 - 210%+
- Energy Regen: 19.44%+
- SPD: 160+ if Hyperspeed Sparkle OR 1-2 less speed than main dps if doing negative speed Sparkle
Bronya (5 Star, Rating: 7/10)
Bronya is among the most FTP-friendly supports in HSR. She’s good at what she does and, despite being released at launch and being over a year old now, she’s still every bit as good as she was at launch. So let’s talk about the old gal, the original best buffer in HSR.
What They’re Good At
- Debuff cleanse. With Bronya’s skill, you can cleanse a debuff from the unit you’re about to use it on. This comes in handy against certain enemies, in particular enemies of endgame content with debuffs you might have a hard time managing (for example, the simulated universe Kafka’s domination).
- Speed buffs/turn trading. Again, this comes from her E, which allows her to buff a unit’s speed so much that it’s almost like she gives them her turn (immediately grants them an action). On top of that, she buffs their damage.
- Damage buffs. With her ult, she increases the ATK of all allies and (at level 10) increases their CRIT DMG equal to 16% of Bronya's CRIT DMG plus 20% for 2 turn(s).
Build
Bronya Best Support Build
- Light Cone: But the Battle Isn’t Over/Past and Future
- Relics: Sarcedos’ Relived Ordeal
- Ornaments: Broken Keel
Best Stats:
- Body: Crit Dmg
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: HP%
- Rope: Energy Regen
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- CRIT DMG: ★★★
- HP%: ★★
- DEF%: ★★
- EFF RES%: ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (Until breakpoint) > CRIT DMG > HP = DEF > Effect RES% (30%)
Bronya Stats To Aim For:
- CRIT DMG: 175 - 210%+
- Energy Regen: 19.44%+
- SPD: 1-2 SPD slower than carry OR 160 (0 spd carry)
Huohuo (5 Star, Rating: 8/10)
Huohuo is everyone’s favorite foxian scaredy-cat. She’s a superb support unit and incredibly versatile, offering energy regen with her ult, similar to Tingyun.
What They’re Good At
Energy regen and an attack boost. Huohuo’s ultimate regenerates all allies' energy (excluding her own) by an amount equal to 20% of their respective max energy (or however much energy it takes for them to ult).
Debuff cleanse. Huohuo’s skill, or her E, has a built-in-debuff cleanse.
Healing. Huohuo provides a lot of healing in her kit. This makes her a unique half-and-half between harmony and abundance, which is one of the countless ways she serves to make the game easier.
Build
Huohuo Best Support Build
Light Cone: Night of Fright
Relics: Passerby of Wandering Clouds
Ornaments: Fleet of the Ageless
Best Stats:
Body: Outgoing Healing
Feet: SPD
Sphere: HP%
Rope: Energy Regen Rate
Substats:
SPD: ★★★
HP%: ★★
EFF RES%: ★
PRIORITY = SPD (breakpoint) > HP% > EFF RES%
Huohuo Stats To Aim For:
HP: 5500-6500
Energy Regen: 19.44%+
SPD: 134/143
Fu Xuan (5 Star, Rating: 8/10)
Ever wanted a preservation unit that, while not offering shields, can tank the majority of the damage dealt to your team, sustain herself and her allies, and also provide debuff prevention (not cleanse)? Well, here’s the unit for you.
What They’re Good At
- Sustain/healing and SP positive. She can heal with her ult. She also only has to use her E once in a while, giving you the opportunity to more than make up the lost SP.
- Solid crit improvements and damage mitigation. Her E increases everyone’s max HP by 6% of Fu Xuans and distributes 65% of the damage taken to herself. When affected by the buff of her E, allies have their crit rate increased by 12%.
- Surprisingly high damage value. Given that she scales with so much HP, and you’ll be building primarily HP on her, her ult can deal up to 30k damage and is completely AOE. Now, that might not sound like a lot (and it isn’t, compared to DPS characters), but the fact that she can store two procs of her talent (which flips her HP once it gets below a certain threshold) means you can go a little crazy with her ults.
Build
Fu Xuan Best Support Build
- Light Cone: She Already Shut Her Eyes
- Relics: Longevous Disciple
- Ornaments: Fleet of the Ageless
Best Stats:
- Body: HP%
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: HP%
- Rope: Energy Regen
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- HP%: ★★★
- DEF%: ★★
- EFF RES%: ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (breakpoint) = HP% >= DEF% > EFF RES%
Fu Xuan Stats To Aim For:
- HP: 6500 - 8000
- Energy Regen: 19.44%+
- SPD: 134/143/160
Aventurine (5 Star, Rating: 8/10)
Ever thought HSR didn’t have enough gambling? Well, first of all, you’re crazy. Secondly, here’s Aventurine for you: a gambler who gives you more shields than you could ever possibly know what to do with. I mean, really. Run this guy in any endgame content, especially the simulated universe, and get a few preservation upgrades–you’ll be dealing more damage with simply shielding than should be allowed. Quake is a funny thing, eh?
What’s Aventurine Good At?
- Shields, shields, shields! Can’t get enough of ‘em. Shields, shields, shields. Shields on everything. You can gamble before entering combat with your technique, too. So, yeah–gamble away.
- FUA. Yeah. Aventurine, for whatever reason, does a follow-up attack once he reaches maximum stacks of Blind Bet. You’ll need to use his skill, Cornerstone Deluxe, to give them Fortified Wager, which enables Aventurine to gain stacks of Blind Bet once they attack.
- Surprising damage value and crit stats. Aventurine needs defense. That’s no surprise. But what if I told you he’s rewarded for building defense with crit rate? For every 100 of Aventurine's DEF that exceeds 1600, he increases his own CRIT Rate by 2%, up to a maximum increase of 48%
Build
Aventurine Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Inherently Unjust Destiny/Concert for Two
- Relics: Knight of Purity Palace
- Ornaments: Broken Keel
Best Stats:
- Body: DEF%
- Feet: SPD >= DEF%
- Sphere: DEF% = Imaginary DMG
- Rope: DEF%
Substats:
- DEF: ★★★
- SPD: ★★★
- CRIT DMG: ★★
- CRIT RATE%: ★
- PRIORITY = DEF% (4k) >= SPD > CRIT DMG > CRIT Rate
Aventurine Stats To Aim For:
- DEF: 4000+
- CRIT RATE: 60-90% (Including Trace)
- CRIT DMG: 100-170%+
- SPD: 106/134
Gallagher (4 Star, Rating: 7/10)
Gallagher reveals the truth
Every player in HSR needs a good healer. And, well, with so many cool characters, sometimes we just don’t manage to grab any. Gallagher, however, is a unit that everyone should seek to have even just one copy of. He’s a stellar healer and a wonderful addition to every break-effect team comp.
What’s the Bloodhound Good At?
- Weakness breaking. Gallagher scales quite well with break effect, which means you’ll get a lot of value from not just investing into Effect Res, but also Break Effect (and especially up to a certain %).
- Consistent turns and heals. With his ultimate, Gallagher gets an immediate turn. If you run a lightcone like Quid Pro Quo, you’ll be consistently regenerating energy for allies.
- Buffing break. Once in the besotted state (which his ultimate inflicts), enemies take more break damage.
Build
Gallagher Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Quid Pro Quo
- Relics: Messenger Traversing Hackerspace 2pc + Thief of Shooting Meteor
- Ornaments: Forge of the Kalpagni Lantern
Best Stats:
- Body: Outgoing Healing
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: HP%
- Rope: Energy Regen
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- BREAK EFFECT: ★★★
- EFF RES%: ★★
- HP%: ★
- DEF%: ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (as much as possible) > Break Effect % (up to 150%) > Effect RES% > HP% = DEF%
Gallagher Stats To Aim For:
- HP: 4000+
- DEF: 800
- SPD: 134/143/160
- BREAK EFFECT: 60% (no more than 150%)
Tingyun (4 Star, Rating: 6/10)
She’s a fan-favorite. She has been one of the most superb units since launch. Her E, while not as good a buff as what some other units provide, is still secondary to her ult, which provides, at E6, an incredible 60 flat energy for an ally.
What Tingyun Is Good At
- Giving energy. Again, E6 tingyun can provide 60 energy or 50 at base eidolons.
- Buffing allies. Her ult increases an ally’s damage by 50% for 2 turns, and her E increases ATK by 50%, up to 25% of Tingyun's current ATK.
- Versatility of lightcones. Because she’s a harmony 4 star, and because she doesn’t necessarily need absurdly powerful lightcones to work, you can slot her with a myriad of lightcones and explore how to build her so that she fits into your team specifically. Maybe you’re running a Yunli comp with Bronya, or perhaps you’re running Himeko in Pure Fiction. What you need determines how you optimize her build.
Build
Tingyun Best Support Build
- Light Cone: Dance! Dance! Dance! (4 star)
- Relics: Messenger Traversing Hackerspace
- Ornaments: Broken Keel
Best Stats:
- Body: ATK%
- Feet: SPD
- Sphere: ATK%
- Rope: Energy Regen Rate
Substats:
- SPD: ★★★
- ATK%: ★★★
- HP%: ★
- PRIORITY = SPD (Until Breakpoint) = ATK% (Until Recommended) > HP
Tingyun Stats To Aim For:
- ATK: 2500
- Energy Regen: 19.44%+
- SPD: 134/143/160
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