Honkai Star Rail Guide: Top Tier Characters, Relics & Teams (v1.4)
Key Takeaways
- Seele and Bronya remain S-tier for single-target and support. New additions like Jingliu and Fu Xuan now challenge the meta.
- Relic RNG is painful: plan for 20+ runs per piece. Prioritize main stats over set bonuses early on.
- Team synergy matters more than raw power. For Simulated Universe, always bring a sustain (healer/shielder) to survive late Elites.
- Don't waste resources on 4-star characters unless you have their Eidolons. Dan Heng and Pela are exceptions at E2+.
Honkai Star Rail Character Tier List (v1.4)
This list assumes E0 for 5-stars, E6 for 4-stars. I've been playing since launch, and here's what actually works:
S-Tier
- Seele – Best single-target DPS. Her Resurgence lets her chain kills. With 70% crit rate and 140% crit damage, she deletes bosses.
- Bronya – Only character with 100% action advance. Skill refunds SP, making her flexible in any team.
- Fu Xuan – Mitigates all incoming damage by 65% and heals party. Makes Simulated Universe World 7 a joke.
- Jingliu – Newest DPS. Her enhanced state ignores 20% DEF and does massive AoE. Pair her with Tingyun for energy.
A-Tier
- Silver Wolf – Weakness implant is broken for breaking shields. Use her with Seele to force Quantum weakness.
- Luocha – Heals 4k+ per turn with auto-cleansing. His field removes enemy buffs.
- Tingyun – 50 energy battery for any DPS. At C6, she gives 20% SPD too.
B-Tier (Good but Niche)
- Himeko – Only shines in Fire-weak content or Pure Fiction. Her talent needs break to trigger.
- Yanqing – Requires shields to maintain his crit buff. Fu Xuan makes him viable.
C-Tier (Avoid)
- Arlan – Self-damage mechanic is clunky. His damage caps at 30% HP, which is dangerous.
- Serval – Weak DoT damage. Kafka does this better.
Best Relic Builds for Top Characters
Relic farming is a marathon, not a sprint. Here are optimized sets:
| Character | Relic Set | Planar Set | Main Stats |
| ----------- | ----------- | ------------ | ------------ |
| Seele | Genius of Brilliant Stars (4) | Inert Salsotto | Crit Rate body, ATK boots, Quantum DMG orb, ATK rope |
| Bronya | Messenger Traversing Hackerspace (4) | Fleet of Ageless | HP/ATK body, SPD boots, ATK orb, ERR rope |
| Fu Xuan | Guard of Wuthering Snow (2) + Longevous Disciple (2) | Broken Keel | HP body, SPD boots, DEF orb, HP rope |
| Jingliu | Ice Champion vs. the World (4) | Rutilant Arena | Crit DMG body, SPD boots, Ice DMG orb, ATK rope |
Pro tip: For Seele, you want at least 134 SPD to hit the first speed breakpoint. That means speed boots and some substat rolls.
Team Compositions That Actually Work
Here are teams I've tested in Memory of Chaos floor 10:
Mono Quantum (S-Tier)
- Seele (DPS) + Silver Wolf (Debuffer) + Fu Xuan (Tank) + Lynx (Healer)
- Silver Wolf always implants Quantum weakness. Fu Xuan keeps everyone alive.
Hypercarry Jingliu
- Jingliu (DPS) + Bronya (Support) + Tingyun (Battery) + Luocha (Healer)
- Bronya gives Jingliu an extra turn. Tingyun keeps her ultimate up.
Free-to-Play Starter
- Dan Heng (DPS) + Pela (Debuffer) + Fire Trailblazer (Tank) + Natasha (Healer)
- Pela shreds DEF by 40% at max trace. Fire MC generates aggro.
Simulated Universe Tips for Easy Wins
I've cleared World 7 on Difficulty V with these strats:
- Always pick Abundance or Preservation path. Destruction works too, but sustain paths prevent one-shots.
- For Abundance: Take the Resonance that cleanses debuffs. It saves runs against Kafka's domination.
- For Preservation: Stack shield blessings. The one that adds 30% of DEF as damage is insane.
- Avoid Elites early. Focus on combat domains to get blessings fast.
- Save Fragment for 2nd boss. You want at least 200 to buy the best blessings from the merchant.
FAQ
Is Jingliu better than Seele?
It depends on content. Seele dominates single-target fights (like bosses). Jingliu excels at AoE (like Pure Fiction). For general use, Jingliu is slightly more versatile because her enhanced state ignores DEF.
How many relic runs should I do daily?
Don't burn all your fuel at once. Do 5-6 runs per day, then stop. The RNG is brutal—I've done 50 runs for a single SPD boot. Spread it out to avoid burnout.
Can I build Arlan?
Only if you have no other DPS. His self-damage mechanic makes him unreliable. Even at E6, he's outdamaged by E0 Seele. Save your resources for a better character.