Honkai Star Rail Best Characters (Pros, Cons, Skills)

Honkai Star Rail has recently created a roster of 7 elemental characters that all follow their own amongst 7 paths. With version 1.0 just being out, it begs the question of which of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters players should adapt into their team comps. As of now, 12 characters can be considered some of the best performing in combat, so a bit of detailing is in order. 

• As of version 1.0, there are currently 11 characters that work incredibly well, that includes Bronya, Bailu, Clara, Gepard, Seele, Welt, Yanqing, Pela, Tingyun, Himeko, Jing Yuan, Himeko, and Jing Yuan. 

Honkai Star Rail Characters Comparison

Characters	HP	DEF	ATK	SPD	Taunt
Bronya	1241	533	582	99	100
Bailu	1319	485	562	98	100
Clara	1241	485	737	90	125
Gepard	1397	654	543	92	150
Seele	931	363	640	115	75
Welt	1125	509	620	102	100
Yanqing	892	679	679	109	75
Pela	987	463	546	110	75
Tingyun	846	396	529	112	100
Himeko	1047	436	756	96	75
Jing Yuan	1164	485	562	98	100

Bronya 

Stats	Stat Value
HP	846
ATK	529
DEF	396
SPD	112
Taunt	100

First things first, Bronya is a five-star Wind girl that happens to be the commander of the Silvermane Guards and the Heir to Belobog’s Supreme Guardian. 

Bronya happens to be one of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters. Belonging to The Harmony path, she can provide buffs to her allies as well as cooperate with allies to increase the overall performance of her team. 

Pros	Cons
Excellent supporting character	She is not able to crowd-control enemies well.
She makes use of her ultimate ability to provide speed enhancement to her teammates	Lacking DPS abilities
All-rounder character	–
Attacking buffing abilities	–

Traces

Moving on, let’s look at her skills (all based on base level 1). 

• Windrider Bullet: Bronya can deal with Wing DMG, equivalent to 50% of her base attack to a single enemy. 
• Leading The Way (Talent): After using her basic attack, her next action gets advanced by 15%. 
• Combat Redeployment (Skill): She is able to dispel a debuff from one teammate, allowing them to immediately take action, and also enhances their damage by 33% for 1 turn.  
• The Belobog March (Ultimate): Increases the attack of all her allies by 33% and enhances their crit damage, equivalent to 12.0% of Bronya’s crit damage and 12.0% for 2 turns. 
• Banner Of Command (Technique): After using her technique, at the start of the next battle, every ally’s attack is enhanced by 15% for 2 turns. 

Bronya Team Comps 

Let’s see a few team comps for Bronya in Honkai Star Rail that players might want to test out. 

Team Comp
1	Jing Yuan	Bronya	Pela	Bailu
2	Dan Heng	Tingyun	Bronya	Natasha
3	Seele	Tingyun	Bronya	Bailu
4	Yanqing	Tingyun	Bronya	Gepard
5	Arlan	Tingyun	Bronya	March 7th

Bailu

Stats	Stat Value
HP	1319
ATK	562
DEF	485
SPD	98
Taunt	100

Moving on, the next character on our list is Bailu, a five-star Abundance Path character considered the High Elder of Vidyadhara and also known as the “Healer Lady” on the Luofu. 

As part of the Abundance path, she can heal her allies as well as provide restoration of HP for the team, which makes her an excellent healer and very sought after. She is also lightning and one of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters As Healers. 

Pros	Cons
Excellent healing abilities	She can only revive one teammate per battle
Provides the invigoration buff to her teammates	–
Decreases the damage taken for characters that are Invigorated	–
Can bring back a dead teammate	–

Traces 

When it comes to her traces, they are as follows. 

• Diagnostic Kick (Basic Attack): Can deal lightning damage equivalent to 50% of Bailu’s basic attack to a single opponent. 
• Gourdful Of Elixir (Talent): After a teammate with invigoration is attacked, she can restore the Ho for that teammate for 3.6% of her Max HP plus 36 extra and be triggered twice. 
• Singing Among Clouds (Skill): She can heal a single teammate for 7.8% of her max HP plus 78 extra. She is also able to recover two random teammates 2 times. 
• Felicitous Thunderleap (Ultimate): Can heal all fellow teammates for 9.0% of her max HP plus 90 and applies invigoration to her teammates who have not been invigorated. 
• Saunter In The Rain (Technique): After using technique, at the start of next battle, all teammates are granted Invigoration for 2 turns. 

Team Comps 

Another thing that begs to be questioned is the possible team comps that can be made with Bailu in mind. Bailu is a healer, so she can find her way into any team comp possible, but the best ones are listed below. 

Team Comp
1	Seele	Bronya	Asta	Bailu
2	Himeko	Welt	Asta	Bailu
3	Serval	Sampo	Hook	Bailu
4	Dan Heng	Serval	Asta	Bailu
5	Jing Yuan	Bronya	Pela	Bailu

Clara 

Pros	Cons
Excellent survivability during combat	Not really a versatile unit.
Damage reduction capabilities	The high energy cost for the ultimate ability
Can get rid of debuffs if attacked	Clara is pretty vulnerable to getting CC debuffs.
Can use Svarog’s Mark of Counter to counterattack	–

Moving on, the next of the Physical Honkai Star Rail Best Characters is Clara, who is a vagrant girl that lives with robots and is introverted but extremely gentle and kind-hearted. 

Clara belongs to the Destruction path, which grants her the ability to deal insane amounts of damage, and she is also able to survive for longer during combat. She is incredibly suitable during combat scenarios. 

Stats	Stat Value
HP	1241
ATK	737
DEF	485
SPD	90
Taunt	125

Traces 

When it comes to her traces, they are listed as follows. 

• I Want To Help (Basic Attack): She can deal physical damage equivalent to 50% of her basic attack to a single opponent. 
• Because We’re Family (Talent): While being under the protection of Svarog, any damage that is taken by Clara when enemy attacks hit her is decreased by 10%. Svarog will also end up marking enemies attacking Clara using his Mark of Counter. 
• Svarog Watches Over You (Skill): Her character can deal physical damage that is equivalent to 60% of her base attack to all opponents and is also able to deal physical damage that is equivalent to 60% of Clara’s Attack to opponents that Svarog’s Mark of Counter has marked. 
• Promise, Not Command (Ultimate): After Clara activates it, the damage dealt to her is decreased by an extra 15%, but she gets attacked by enemies for 2 turns. 
• A Small Price For Victory (Technique): Instantly attacks the opponent, and upon entering combat, the chances that she gets attacked by an opponent increases for 2 turns. 

Team Comps 

Lastly, one of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters that belong to the Destruction path will also require a few solid team comps, and here are the ones that might work well with her abilities. 

Team Comp
1	Clara	Jing Yuan	Asta	March 7th
2	Clara	Tingyun	Asta	March 7th
3	Clara	Pela	Asta	March 7th

Gepard 

Stats	Stat Value
HP	1397
ATK	543
DEF	654
SPD	92
Taunt	150

Next up, we have Gepard, a five-star Ice character who is a captain in the Silvermane guards and an excellent warrior of Belobog. He is incredibly witty and quick-minded, and stays vigilant, and never betrays his principles. 

As he is one of the Best Ice Characters In Honkai Star Rail , he belongs to the Preservation path, through which he can provide insane amounts of defensive abilities through which he can protect his fellow teammates excellently. 

Pros	Cons
Perfect tanking abilities	Can’t provide DPS capabilities
Ice damage output to opponents is pretty good	Effect resistance for teammates is locked behind Eidolon.
Hones insanely high base Defense to protect allies	Slow speed
Can provide a shield for his allies	–

Traces 

For his traces, they are listed below as: 

• Fist Of Conviction (Basic Attack): He can deal ice damage equivalent to 50% of Gepard’s Attack to a single opponent. 
• Unyielding Will (Talent): Anytime he is struck by an opponent with a deadly attack, he can restore 25% of his max HP. 
• Enduring Bulwark (Ultimate): Can provide a shield for all allies and can absorb damage that is equivalent to 30% of his overall base Defense plus 150 extra for 3 turns. 
• Daunting Smite (Skill): He can deal ice damage equal to 100% of his base attack to one enemy while having a 65% base chance to freeze the opponent for one turn. 
• Comradery (Technique): After Gepard can his technique and the subsequent battle begins, all allies will gain a shield, absorbing damage based on 24% of his base Defense and 150 extra for two turns. 

Team Comps 

Since Gepard is one of the Best Tanks In Honkai Star Rail , he can provide excellent defensive abilities to his teammates and maintain his ground. Therefore, the mentioned team comps below might work well with him. 

Team Comp
1	Yanqing	Tingyun	Bronya	Gepard
2	Seele	Welt	Asta	Gepard
3	Seele	Pela	Tingyun	Gepard
4	Arlan	Tingyun	Bronya	Gepard
5	Dan Heng	Serval	Asta	Gepard

Seele 

Stats	Stat Value
HP	931
ATK	640
DEF	363
SPD	115
Taunt	75

As far as the next of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters are concerned, we have Seele, who is a five-star and is also a resident of the Underworld and goes by the nickname “Babochka.” She is highly frank and blunt and can come off as intimidating but is incredibly loving and emotional. 

As she belongs to The Hunt Path, she is a quantum character, and she can do extraordinarily high single-target damage. She works insanely well against elite enemies. 

Pros	Cons
Works insanely well against elite opponents	Can’t do AoE damage well
Impressive single-target damage	Not really all that versatile.
Her stealth ability allows her to slip by enemies without being noticed.	Can’t do crowd control well
Gains energy restoration upon killing an enemy.	–

Traces 

When it comes to her traces, players can read them as follows. 

• Thwack (Basic Attack): She can deal Quantum damage equal to 50% of her base attack to one opponent. 
• Resurgence (Talent): She enters the buffed state upon murdering an opponent with a basic attack, ultimate, or her skill and gains an extra turn. While she has been buffed, her damage increased by 40% for one turn. 
• Sheathed Blade (Skill): Overall speed is increased by 25% for 2 turns, and she can also deal Quantum damage equal to 110% of Seele’s attack to one enemy. 
• Butterfly Flurry (Ultimate): She enters the buffed state and deals Quantum damage that equates to 255% of her attack to one enemy. 
• Phantom Illusion (Technique): After using her technique, she gains Stealth for 20 seconds, and while her strength if active, she can’t be noticed by enemies. 

Team Comps 

Seele is one of the most broken Single-target damage dealers in Honkai Star Rail, and with her quantum abilities, the team comps below can work for her. 

Team Comp
1	Seele	Bronya	Tingyun	Bailu
2	Seele	Welt	Asta	Luocha
3	Seele	Bronya	Tingyun	Natasha
4	Seele	Welt	Asta	Natasha

Welt 

Stats	Value
HP	1125
ATK	620
DEF	509
SPD	102
Taunt	100

Moving on, a rather interesting character that has been morphed in Honkai Star Rail from the Honkai Impact 3rd universe is Welt, who also happens to be a five-star Imaginary unit that belongs to the Express Crew. He also has his passion buried in his heart as he wants to go on any new adventure he encounters. 

As part of the Nihility path, he can apply great debuffs to opponents in front of him, which allows him to make them weaker, and the opponents get reduced combat abilities. 

Pros	Cons
Can dish out Imaginary damage using his skills	Ultimate needs a higher energy cost
Can decrease the opponent’s speed with his skill.	Not DPS-worthy
Welt can apply insane debuffs to enemies.
Crowd control abilities are pretty good

Traces 

Next, let’s look at some of his traces and how they can help him in combat. 

• Gravity Suppression (Basic Attack): He can deal with Imaginary DMG equal to 50% of his base attack to a single opponent. 
• Time Distortion (Talent): Whenever he hits an enemy that has already been slowed, he can deal extra Imaginary DMG equal to 30% of his attack to the enemy. 
• Edge Of The Void (Skill): He can deal Imaginary damage that will be equal to 36% of his base attack to a single enemy and can also deal further damage 2 times, and each time it deals imaginary damage that is equal to 36% of Welt’s Attack to a random enemy. 
• Synthetic Black Hole (Ultimate): It can deal with Imaginary DMG equal to 90% of Welt’s attack to all opponents, with a 100% base chance for all opponents that get hit by this ability to get Imprisoned for one turn. 
• Gravitational Imprisonment (Technique): Welt’s Technique can create a dimension that will last for 15 seconds. Enemies in this dimension have their movement speed decreased by 50%. 

Team Comps 

Lastly, let’s take a look at a few team compositions that can be tested in combat. Based on his path, he should be put in a team prioritizing his debuffing abilities. 

Team Comp
1	Seele	Welt	Asta	Bailu
2	Dan Heng	Welt	Asta	Natasha
3	Seele	Welt	Asta	Natasha
4	Dan Heng	Welt	Serval	Natasha

Yanqing 

Stats	Value
HP	892
ATK	679
DEF	412
SPD	109
Taunt	75

With that out of the way, let’s look at some of the Ice Honkai Star Rail Best Characters including that of Yanqing. He is a five-star Ice character who is General Jing Yuan’s (my beloved, I can’t wait for your release) retainer. He is extremely good at swordsmanship, especially considering how young he is. 

Being from The Hunt path, he can deal excellent single-target damage and be mighty whenever we deal with Elite opponents. 

Pros	Cons
Excellent single-target damage.	It needs specific team comps to work well.
Gains extra crit damage and crit rate
It can also freeze enemies
Works excellently against enemies that are weaker than Ice

Traces 

There are 5 traces for Yanqing, which are as follows. 

• Frost Thorn (Basic Attack): He can deal ice damage based on 50% of his base attack to one enemy. 
• One With The Sword (Talent): Anytime Soulsteel Sync is active, he is less likely to get attacked by opponents, and his crit rate and crit damage increase by 15%. 
• Darting Ironthorn (Skill): He can deal Ice damage that is equal to 110% of his base attack to one enemy and it activates Soulsteel Sync for one turn. 
• Amidst The Raining Bliss (Ultimate): Enhances Yanqing’s overall crit rate by 60%, and anytime Soulsteel Sync is active, it increases his crit damage by an extra 30%, and it lasts for one turn. 
• The One True Sword (Technique): After using his technique, at the start of the next combat, he will deal 30% extra damage for 2 turns to opponents who have HP above 50%. 

Team Comps 

When it comes to his team comps, he should be placed in teams that will further improve his damage output and enhance it even further. 

Team Comp
1	Yanqing	Tingyun	Bronya	Gepard
2	Yanqing	Bronya	Fire MC	Natasha
3	Yanqing	Dan Heng	Asta	March 7th
4	Yanqing	Serval	Asta	March 7th

Pela 

Stats	Value
HP	987
ATK	546
DEF	463
SPD	105
Taunt	100

The next character on our Honkai Star Rail Characters list is Pela, a four-star Ice character, a Secretarial officer who works for the Silvermane Guards. She is earnest about her work life and doesn’t slack off. 

As for her path, she belongs to The Nihility, which makes her an extraordinary debuff. She can help massively in many teams by applying debuffs to make the enemy practically vulnerable to allow a DPS to take over and eradicate them. 

Pros	Cons
Perfect for applying debuffs to enemies.	Not really DPS potential.
Can work pretty well with other characters	Needs specific team comps to work.
She regenerates energy whenever she attacks debuffed opponents.
Enhances teammate’s overall Effect Hit Rate

Traces 

Next, let’s see the five different Traces she has, as they are all centric toward her combat abilities. 

• Frost Shot (Basic Attack): She can deal Ice damage equal to 60% of her base attack to any enemy. 
• Data Collecting (Talent): If the enemy gets rebuffed after Pela’s attack, then she will restore 5 extra energy, and this effect can only be triggered one time per attack. 
• Frostbite (Skill): It can remove one buff and deal with Ice damage equivalent to 126% of Pela’s attack to one enemy. 
• Zone Suppression (Ultimate): She can deal ice damage that is equivalent to 60% of her base attack to all enemies, and she gains a 100% base chance to inflict Exposed on all opponents, and whenever they are exposed, the overall enemy Defense will be reduced by 30% for 2 turns. 
• Preemptive Strike (Technique): She instantly attacks the enemy, and whenever heading into battle, she can deal Ice damage that is equal to 80% of her base attack to one random enemy, with a 100% base chance of decreasing the overall Defense of all enemies by 20% for 2 turns. 

Team Comps 

As for her team compositions are listed as follows, which will be based on her Debuffing abilities.

Team Comp
1	Seele	Pela	Tingyun	Bailu
2	Jing Yuan	Pela	Asta	Bailu
3	Himeko	Pela	Asta	Natasha
4	Hook	Pela	Asta	Natasha

Tingyun

Pros	Cons
Excellent support unit.	Not worthy of being a DPS
She can apply buffs to her fellow allies.	Can’t crowd control all that well
She can also grant a speed boost to her fellow teammates with her Ultimate ability
She can also regenerate energy for one ally.

Transitioning very smoothly into Tingyun is a four-star Lightning character who is also the Amicassador of the Sky-Faring Commission, belonging to the Xianzhou Luofu. She can travel with essential business delegates and is an expert at forming trade relationships. 

As she belongs to the Harmony path, she can apply buffs to her fellow allies, with which her teammates can enhance their overall combat abilities. 

Stats	Value
HP	846
ATK	529
DEF	396
SPD	112
Taunt	100

Traces 

Moving on, her Traces can be seen next, centered around her buffing abilities. 

• Dislodged (Basic Attack): She can deal Lightning Damage equal to 50% of her base attack to one enemy. 
• Violet Sparknado (Talent): Whenever she attacks an enemy, the teammate with Benediction can deal Lightning damage to the opponent equal to 30% of the ally’s base attack to the same opponent. 
• Soothing Melody (Skill): She can grant one teammate with Benediction to enhance their overall attack by 25%, up to 15% of her current attack. 
• Amidst The Rejoicing Clouds (Ultimate): She can regenerate 50 energy for a single ally and enhance their damage by 20% for 2 turns. 
• Gentle Breeze (Technique): She can instantly regenerate 50 energy using her technique. 

Team Comps 

Next up, her team comps in Honkai Star Rail will be centric around her buffing abilities, and she will be put in teams that can further buff a main DPS. 

Team Comp
1	Arlan	Tingyun	Asta	March 7th
2	Jing Yuan	Tingyun	Bronya	Bailu
3	Seele	Tingyun	Bronya	Bailu
4	Dan Heng	Tingyun	Asta	Natasha
5	Qingque	Tingyun	Pela	Natasha

Himeko 

Stats	Value
HP	1047
ATK	756
DEF	436
SPD	96
Taunt	75

As far as the next character is concerned, she happens to be Himeko (I cri all day erryday), a five-star Fire character who fixed the Astral Express. To witness the starry spacy sky, she decided to brave the setbacks to board the Astral Express and explore universes with her crew. 

She is a character that belongs to the Erudition path, with which she can dish out immense amounts of damage to enemies daring to face her, and she can target large groups of enemies exceptionally well. 

Pros	Cons
Excellent fire damage dealt to opponents	Needs specific team comps to work properly
Broken DPS	Energy cost issues for a few skills
Insanely good crowd controlling abilities
Can break weakness bars

Traces 

There are 5 traces for Himeko, and they are all based on her Fire abilities, with which she can dish out even more damage. 

• Sawblade Tuning (Basic Attack): She can deal Fire Damage equal to 50% of her base attack to one enemy. 
• Victory Rush (Talent): Whenever an enemy gets inflicted with a Weakness break, she can gain one point of charge, and if she is fully charged whenever a teammate performs an attack, she can perform one follow-up attack and carry out Fire damage that will be equal to 70% of her base attack to all opponents. 
• Molten Detonation (Skill): She can deal Fire damage equal to 100% of her attack to one opponent and Fire damage equal to 40% of her attack to enemies adjacent to it. 
• Heavenly Flare (Ultimate): She can deal fire damage equaling 138% of her attack to all opponents. 
• Incomplete Combustion (Technique): Her technique can create a dimension lasting for 15 seconds. 

Team Comps 

Quite a few team compositions can benefit Himeko and buff up her attack and make her even more of a broken DPS. 

Team Comp
1	Himeko	Hook	Pela	Natasha
2	Himeko	Bronya	Pela	Bailu
3	Himeko	Tingyun	Bronya	Bailu
4	Himeko	Hook	Asta	Fire MC
5	Himeko	Serval	Asta	Natasha

Jing Yuan 

Stats	Value
HP	1164
ATK	698
DEF	485
SPD	99
Taunt	75

Last but not least, we have Jing Yuan, who is yet to be released and is just 18 days from release as of 29th April 2023. He is a five-star Lightning character and the General of the Xianzhou Alliance’s Cloud Knights. 

As he belongs to the Erudition, he can dish out excellent multitarget and AoE damage and is one of the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters. 

Pros	Cons
Excellent main DPS potential	Can’t do single-target damage all that well.
Perfect AoE damage dealer	Needs specific team comps.
Can multi-target enemies flawlessly
Works against enemies that are weaker than Lightning

Team Comps 

Lastly, let’s see which teams he can best fit into. 

Team Comp
1	Jing Yuan	Bronya	Pela	Bailu
2	Jing Yuan	Bronya	Pela	Natasha
3	Jing Yuan	Tingyun	Bronya	Bailu

Summary 

And there we have it! All that players need to know about the Honkai Star Rail Best Characters, and with that, we will wrap up our guide! While you’re here, why not check out our Honkai Star Rail Warp Trotter guide which goes into detail about all of it’s locations. Apart from this, you can also skim through our Honkai Star Rail Memory Bubble guide, which will go through what it is, and how it works. 

Apart from this, read our Honkai Star Rail Gift Code guide will display all codes that are currently active and up for grabs! 

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