Honkai: Star Rail – All 5-Star Characters, Ranked

Highlights

• Building a strategically synergistic team is crucial in Honkai Star Rail, as it requires careful selection and understanding of each character’s role and abilities.
• 5-star characters are highly sought after, but players should not overlook the power of some powerful 4-star options in maximizing their potential.
• Different characters excel in different situations, so players need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each character when deciding which ones to invest in.

Honkai Star Rail is a turn-based game that requires players to set up a strategically synergistic team in order to succeed. The game features a variety of characters with different abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, and players must carefully select and build their team to achieve maximum efficiency. One important aspect of team building in Honkai Star Rail is understanding the various characters’ roles and abilities. Some characters are primarily focused on dealing damage, while others are more supportive, providing buffs or debuffs to their allies or enemies. Additionally, characters are classified into different categories, such as Damage Dealers, Healers, and Shielders and other supports, each with their own unique abilities and strengths.

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In order to build a successful team, players must carefully consider the synergies between their chosen characters. For example, some characters may have abilities that complement each other like giving an elemental boost. Additionally, players must also consider the elemental affinities of their characters, as enemies are weak to different elements, and breaking their toughness can benefit the team greatly in difficult fights. With the focus on creating a powerful team, players often seek out the strongest characters to include in their roster. 5-star characters are highly sought after due to their rarity, and players may believe they are stronger than their 4-star counterparts. However, it’s important to note that there are many powerful 4-star options available that can outperform certain 5-stars. Therefore, players may be wondering which 5-star characters in Honkai Star Rail are worth investing in to maximize their potential. Considering their different roles however, comparing each character can be rather difficult.

Updated on November 21, 2023, by Elara Leclair: As of the start of the version 1.5 update in Honkai: Star Rail, every version update has expanded the game with new areas, storylines, engaging gaming content, as well as additions to the playable character roster and more. With that, the number of 5-star characters has increased to 20, with further expansion planned for the future. Undoubtedly, with so many options, players will need to decide which characters to invest in, and some characters may perform better than others in different instances. While it may be challenging to compare DPS characters to supports, some characters simply shine more than others, while some may fall out of favor with the addition of new options.

20 Trailblazer (Physical)

• Element: Physical
• Path: The Destruction

Trailblazer is a unique character in Honkai Star Rail, similar to the Traveler in Genshin Impact. As the main character of the game, players have the freedom to name them and select their gender. Moreover, players can access different elements and paths for Trailblazer, making them adaptable to various situations. At the beginning of the game, players are introduced to Physical Trailblazer, who follows The Destruction path.

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Although players may find this character versatile and useful in the beginning, as they collect more characters of both 4-star and 5-star rarities, they will realize that there are better options available than Physical Trailblazer. This is because their damage output will not be as impressive compared to other 5-star options for both single target and AoE attacks, and they have limited support abilities.

19 Yanqing

• Element: Ice
• Path: The Hunt

Compared to other 5-star characters, Yanqing is not a popular option among players. This is due to him also following The Hunt path, which puts him at a disadvantage compared to characters like Seele and Dan Heng. While Yanqing has the potential to deal high single-target damage due to his scaling, he may not be as flexible in team compositions as he requires frequent shielding and is not as easy to play. However, as an Ice character, Yanqing can easily freeze many opponents, giving the team a significant advantage in terms of damage and turns.

18 Himeko

• Element: Fire
• Path: Erudition

Himeko is a unique character in Honkai Star Rail, being the only 5-star character with the Erudition path until the release of Jing Yuan. As such, Himeko remains a popular returning character due to her versatility and ability to deal substantial AoE damage with decent single-target potential. In particular, her follow-up attack can activate and annihilate enemies, making her great for farming and auto-battle. With the proper build and support, Himeko can even become a hyper carry, benefiting from characters like Asta who boost Fire damage. This makes her particularly useful in early game.

17 Trailblazer (Fire)

• Element: Fire
• Path: Preservation

In contrast to the Physical Trailblazer, the Fire Trailblazer is a surprisingly versatile support character that excels at both dealing damage and providing shields. One of Trailblazer’s unique abilities is to taunt all enemies, drawing their attacks away from other team members and reducing overall damage taken.

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Additionally, Trailblazer can recover skill points when attacked or using skills, making him an excellent choice for dealing more damage. Many characters rely heavily on their skills for damage or utility, so having a character like Trailblazer on the team can greatly enhance their overall effectiveness. Nevertheless, with the addition of other characters like Fu Xuan, Trailblazer has become less priority to focus on.

16 Bailu

• Element: Lightning
• Path: Abundance

Bailu is a valuable asset to any team due to her healing abilities, which can be crucial in the early stages of the game when players have limited access to healers. With her ability to heal the entire team and revive a fallen ally once per battle, Bailu can turn the tide of a tough fight. However, she lacks significant offensive power or other utilities, in comparison to other healers like Luocha, Huohuo or Lynx, making her not as sought after as before.

15 Gepard

• Element: Ice
• Path: Preservation

Gepard is a character in Honkai Star Rail who specializes in defense and is particularly good at absorbing damage. His unique ability to draw enemies towards him makes him an ideal choice for distracting and drawing enemy attacks away from more vulnerable teammates. Additionally, Gepard has a powerful Ultimate Skill that can create a shield to protect his allies from incoming damage.

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As an ice character, Gepard is also able to freeze enemies, which can give his team the opportunity to attack and potentially win battles early on. However, while characters who can generate a shield are important early in the game, especially before players can access healer characters that are currently lacking in power, there are other characters like March 7 who also possess preservation abilities and are ice characters, making Gepard less unique in comparison to some others on the list.

14 Clara

• Element: Physical
• Path: Destruction

Clara, much like Trailblazer, is a Physical damage dealer who follows The Destruction path. Despite being in the middle of this list, Clara boasts exceptional damage potential with a single attack, making her particularly effective in battles with multiple enemies due to her AoE attacks. However, her reliance on her Ultimate can hinder her performance with her other skills, meaning that she requires a more specific team composition to unleash her full potential, such as pairing her with a character that can provide her with energy for her ultimate, like Tingyun. It’s important not to underestimate Clara’s capabilities, as she has the potential to be a valuable addition to any team with the right setup.

13 Topaz

Topaz brings a unique combination of being a Hunt character, typically associated with DPS, and having support abilities. Her follow-up attack orientation allows for seamless pairing with other DPS characters, boosting their follow-up damage. This versatility enables players to choose between using Topaz as a support or as a hyper-carry on her own. However, it’s worth noting that Topaz’s performance relies heavily on the synergy with other characters to achieve high damage numbers.

Despite her distinctive qualities, Topaz faces the challenge of Fire not being a particularly favored element in the current stage of the game. Players may find more utility in other DPS characters, and Topaz’s effectiveness could be overshadowed by alternatives. Ultimately, her viability will depend on individual play styles and team compositions.

12 Seele

• Element: Quantum
• Path: Hunt

Seele, a beloved character in the Honkai franchise, has captured the hearts of many fans with her unique personality and impressive abilities. As the first limited-character to be released, she is highly sought after by players. Fortunately, Seele lives up to the hype, with a focus on single-target damage through her Hunt path, while also being able to excel against multiple enemies. Her unique ability to attack in sequence after defeating an enemy makes her a formidable force, especially since she has the potential for the highest single-target damage output. Additionally, as a Quantum element character, Seele can delay enemy actions, providing her and the team with a crucial turn advantage. Unfortunately, however, while she remains the only 5-star Quantum damage dealer while also having access to mono-teams, her DPS output is not as high as some of the new characters that are released after her.

11 Kafka

• Element: Lightning
• Path: Nihility

Kafka, a highly anticipated character among many fans, makes her debut in the Honkai: Star Rail roster as a Nihility character with a unique focus on DoT application. Unlike other characters like Sampo who could apply DoT, Kafka takes this mechanic to new heights, heavily relying on it to enhance her DPS potential. Surprisingly, even though she’s a Nihility character, Kafka tends to play more like a DPS character rather than an offensive support aimed at boosting the damage output of a primary DPS character. This unique playstyle can be an excellent choice for players seeking something different.

However, Kafka does come with some limitations that might hinder her viability compared to other DPS characters. Her major drawback lies in her strong reliance on teaming up with other characters like Sampo or Luka to maximize DoT damage, leaving little room for additional support characters. If players aren’t particularly interested in building these specific characters, Kafka’s performance in battle may not be as optimal, making her gameplay less effective.

10 Jing Yuan

• Element: Lightning
• Path: Erudition

In addition to his incredible might and progress through the Trailblazer’s journey, Jing Yuan proves to be a formidable DPS character with a focus on Lightning damage, excelling at consistent AoE damage output. His standout strength lies in his Lightning Lord ability, a follow-up attack that accumulates damage based on Jing Yuan’s skill and Ultimate usage. As a result, he becomes an excellent choice for players aiming to exploit the weaknesses of multiple enemies or efficiently farm materials.

However, when it comes to more challenging content, some aspects of Jing Yuan’s kit may hold him back compared to other newly introduced 5-star characters. His heavy reliance on maximizing Lightning Lord leaves him vulnerable DPS loss since crowd control effects not only can interrupt his actions, setting him back in the action order, but also of Lightning Lord’s. Furthermore, while many encounters involve multiple enemies, Jing Yuan’s performance tends to dip against single or dual boss enemies, making him less sought after in these scenarios despite his considerable potential when effectively built. Regardless, with the new relic set being introduced in version 1.5 update, Jing Yuan’s DPS capabilities have seen a considerable spike, making him quite a useful character especially in content such as the Forgotten Hall when the enemies have Lightning weakness.

9 Bronya

• Element: Wind
• Path: Harmony

Bronya’s true utility may not be apparent in the early stages of the game, especially when players are more focused on defensive support characters. However, once players start building their teams with preferred DPS characters, they will come to appreciate the extent of her utility. Bronya is a versatile character that can speed up the team’s turn progression while also providing valuable buffs such as ATK and Crit. As such, she is currently one of the most desirable standard banner 5-star characters available.

8 Welt

• Element: Imaginary
• Path: Nihility

Welt’s rarity as an Imaginary Element character makes him highly desirable and unique in Honkai Star Rail. As a character who follows the Nihility path, Welt can fulfill several roles, including that of a sub-DPS character and enemy debuffer. His ability to slow down enemies can be extremely useful in challenging combat situations. Furthermore, Welt is versatile and can be utilized in different scenarios thanks to his ability to deal both AoE and single-target damage. One of the most important utility of Welt is the fact that he can Imprison enemies with his Ultimate, which is what makes Welt very unique as a support.

7 Fu Xuan

• Element: Quantum
• Path: Preservation

Fu Xuan, the most recent addition to the Honkai: Star Rail roster in the second phase of version 1.3, is a unique Preservation character. Unlike her Preservation counterparts, Fu Xuan doesn’t generate a shield but provides damage reduction. Additionally, she scales primarily with HP instead of the DEF stat, offering players a different approach to defensive support.

What sets Fu Xuan apart is her ability to fulfill various roles beyond simply soaking up damage. She can heal allies, albeit to a limited extent, and increase their Crit Rate. Her versatility shines even more when considering her eidolons, especially her first one, which allows her to boost the team’s Crit Damage alongside Crit Rate. This makes Fu Xuan an excellent choice for players seeking a character capable of providing defense without sacrificing too much in terms of buffing the team’s damage output. She excels in endgame content like Simulated Universe Swarm Disaster and Memory of Chaos, making her a valuable addition to any team composition.

6 Blade

• Element: Wind
• Path: Destruction

Blade is a unique DPS-oriented character in Honkai: Star Rail. Unlike many other characters who scale their damage output with ATK, Blade scales his damage with HP. What sets Blade apart is his ability to reduce his HP intentionally in order to increase his damage output. Paradoxically, as he loses more HP, he becomes stronger. To balance this mechanic, Blade has the capacity to recover some of his HP and becomes much more resilient as his HP decreases. Additionally, Blade is highly skill point-neutral; he doesn’t consume any skill points, although he doesn’t generate any either.

This makes Blade a versatile character who can fit well into many team compositions, particularly those with characters like Bronya, who benefit from using their skills every turn and can effectively buff Blade. However, one minor drawback to playing Blade is that he relies more on having a well-invested healer character. While Luocha is an ideal choice, players who don’t have access to him may find it challenging to keep up with Blade’s HP loss using other healers even though he is generally very F2P friendly.

5 Jingliu

• Element: Ice
• Path: Destruction

In terms of damage output, Jingliu and Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae are quite comparable, especially when facing opponents weak to their respective elements. The superiority of one over the other depends largely on the specific content at hand. Jingliu’s main advantage lies in her ability to buff herself significantly while draining HP from her other allies. This allows her to synergize well with characters like Blade but might also make her more reliant on healer support. Additionally, although she is powerful on her own, Jingliu currently lacks access to mono-teams, unlike Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, as the supports for her element are not designed for a mono-Ice composition yet.

Another noteworthy aspect of Jingliu’s kit is that, unlike other Destruction characters, her single-target multipliers are much higher. This makes her versatile across various types of content, whether it involves a solo boss or enemies that summon adds. With this flexibility, Jingliu is expected to remain relevant for a long time, especially with the release of more fitting support characters for her.

4 Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae

• Element: Imaginary
• Path: Destruction

Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae is a unique character in Honkai: Star Rail, representing the first direct evolution of another character in the game, Dan Heng. With this transformation, Imbibitor Lunae undergoes a change in element and path, becoming a Destruction character. He also holds the distinction of being the first DPS-focused Imaginary character in the game. This transformation allows players to build a mono-Imaginary team, which can be remarkably powerful against enemies weak to this element.

Imbibitor Lunae, similar to Blade, relies on enhanced Basic attacks, which he can empower up to three times by using skill points. While this makes him dependent on other characters who don’t consume as many skill points, Imbibitor also has his own stacks that can be gained by using his Technique or Ultimate, which can be consumed instead of skill points. When used effectively, Imbibitor Lunae becomes one of the strongest DPS characters in the game, capable of dealing extreme AoE damage and making challenging content appear much easier.

3 Huohuo

• Element: Wind
• Path: Abundance

Being the second limited Abundance character to be released, Huohuo joins the roster as an excellent option, especially for players who don’t have access to characters like Luocha or Fu Xuan. She significantly increases the survivability of the team with her high-scale healing through her skill and passive healing with her talent. In addition to her healing capabilities, Huohuo brings valuable utility to the team, reminiscent of some Harmony characters.

Her skill not only dispels debuffs from all allies but also increases their ATK, and her Ultimate provides energy to allies. This makes her a versatile option, potentially taking the place of a Harmony character like Tingyun, particularly in teams that heavily rely on utilizing Ultimates. While Huohuo can surpass Luocha as the best healer in teams that prioritize consistent healing and skill point efficiency, some players may still prefer Luocha for those specific qualities.

2 Silver Wolf

• Element: Quantum
• Path: Nihility

Silver Wolf is considered one of the top-tier support characters in Honkai: Star Rail, primarily because of her incredible versatility and ability to fit into any team composition. Instead of simply increasing the stats of characters, she focuses on reducing the opponent’s DEF, effectively allowing the entire team to deal more damage. This utility can be more valuable than stat increases, especially in scenarios where enemies have high defense.

However, Silver Wolf’s real strength lies in her ability to apply a weakness to the selected enemy. This unique skill allows her to make various team compositions viable in content even when they are not initially strong against specific elements. This makes Silver Wolf an invaluable, free-to-play-friendly character who doesn’t rely on specific teammates or even Gacha light cones. She remains relevant and future-proof unless another character with a similar weakness-imposing ability is introduced to the game.

1 Luocha

• Element: Imaginary
• Path: Abundance

Luocha currently holds the position of the best 5-star character in Honkai: Star Rail, primarily due to his exceptional healing abilities. This mysterious character has a unique mechanic that makes his healing consistent and effortless, setting him apart from others in the game. Luocha’s Skill and Ultimate both allow him to accumulate Abyss Flower stacks. These stacks create a healing field that restores the health of all characters when they attack an enemy when the field is active.

Furthermore, Luocha’s Skill can remove debuffs from a targeted team member. This ability to cleanse debuffs is invaluable in challenging content where negative status effects can be debilitating. Luocha also has an automatic skill usage feature, activating his Skill when a team member’s health drops below 50%. This feature aids in skill point management, allowing players to focus on other characters’ skills instead. Additionally, Luocha’s Ultimate dispels buffs from enemies in AoE. With all these aspects combined, Luocha is expected to remain relevant even as new healer characters are introduced in future patches.

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