Honkai Star Rail Characters List

Wondering who you should be pulling? Want to know who's coming next? This is your one-stop shop for all Honkai Star Rail characters released and planned!

There are a lot of Honkai Star Rail characters to keep track of. So many different abilities and so much potential all across the field. So where and when do each of these characters fit into teams?

Honkai Star Rail Characters

Arlan

Arlan is a timid young man who leads the Herta Space Station Security Team. He's mostly used to build damage on throughout a battle. His ability that increases his damage output as his health gets lower allows him to become a late-game sweeper, one that can run through the last few enemies of a battle if supported correctly. Though outshined by both other Lightning characters and other Destruction characters, he is by no means useless and can be slotted into early-game teams or late-game secondary teams.
Element: Lightning
Path: Destruction
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Asta

Asta is the Lead Researcher of the Herta Space Station, a character you'll retrieve as you complete the first section of the game. Her good defense stat and ability to increase the speed of teammates make her a pretty reliable support for aggressive team compositions. Pairing her with hard hitters, or ATK boosters, and a single high-damage character will result in some quick wins against enemies that lack in the HP section.
Element: Fire
Path: Harmony
How to Obtain: Story/Warp
Released: 1.0

Bailu

One of the best, maybe even the overall best of the Honkai Star Rail characters right now. Bailu provides everything you could possibly need from healing, to shield break, to the best typing for a mono-element team. There is nothing Bailu doesn't deliver on. Having Bailu on your team increases your chances of success on absolutely every kind of mission and challenge by an exponential amount.
Element: Lightning
Path: Abundance
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Blade

As his bath suggests, Blade is a very well-rounded character. He uses his HP to increase damage output and draws from multiple stats for his biggest attacks. He even has the ability to perform follow-up attacks, handing out plenty of bang for his buck (the buck being his HP). Though his survivability heavily relies on teammates, his ability to draw from multiple stats from powerful attacks means he can be built in many different ways and even fill different roles on the teams.
Element: Wind
Path: Destruction
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.2

Bronya

The best support you could ask for when it comes to maximizing attacker efficiency. With the ability to not only raise a teammate's ATK and CRIT RATE but also move their action forward to be immediately following Bronya's, she really puts the attackers from and center where they belong. There's a reason anybody who has her pairs them with the strongest attacker on their main team.
Element: Wind
Path: Harmony
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Clara

Clara is a character that many players don't know the true potential of. While she may seem like just another Physical Destruction character like the Trailblazer, she's got one distinct difference. When Clara is attacked, Mr. Svarog retaliates with a follow-up attack back at the enemy who dealt damage to her. This is decent in regular play, but it becomes immensely useful in the Simulated Universe. By stacking a large number of bonuses you can receive that relate to follow-up attacks, Clara and Mr. Svarog can fulfill many purposes all while dishing out major damage.
Element: Physical
Path: Destruction
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Dan Heng

One of the two main companions in the story of Honkai Star Rail. He's a reserved young man who spends most of his time researching data in the archives of the Astral Express. He has ties to the Xianzhou Luofu and is quite proficient with his staff. As the first Hunt character you receive, he's great in the way of damage dealing for the early game, and great overall as the choice Wind Element damage dealer for any team.
Element: Wind
Path: Hunt
How to Obtain: Story/Warp
Released: 1.0

Gepard

While March 7th may last you a while through the game, Gepard is the real Ice Preservation character you want. He's a total damage magnet, having some of both the highest DEF and HP stats in the game, and having a passive that makes him much more likely to be attacked. Not to mention he has a self-revive passive as well. He can apply shields to his teammates with his Ultimate, and can even freeze enemies with his Skill. With Gepard on the team, the other members of your squad are safe and sound.
Element: Ice
Path: Preservation
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Herta

Herta is one of the more original Honkai Star Rail characters but is not known to be the best. She's mostly used to apply a freeze status to enemies or be used for follow-up attacks. You'd think the character the Herta Space Station was named after would be stronger, but alas, she isn't much to write home about. Still, she's one of the easier characters to get to Eidolon 6, so that's a bonus.
Element: Ice
Path: Erudition
How to Obtain: Simulated Universe/Warp
Released: 1.0

Himeko

Definitely a fan favorite in the story, and a pretty good character to have in battle as well. Himeko is a very strong multi-attacker and an ideal choice for the Fire attacker on a squad. In most situations, you will want to have her as a secondary attacker on a squad. She doesn't output the most damage in Honkai Star Rail, but with the ability to follow up attacks, and damage either one or multiple enemies at a time, her versatility is what makes her so useful.
Element: Himeko
Path: Erudition
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Hook

Though not known to be one of the frontrunners for teambuilding, Hook still provides some decent damage output for those who need a Fire damage dealer. As is common with the Destruction path Hook does damage to individual targets while also having the ability to damage multiple targets at once. Despite not being known as one of the strongest characters, Hook is one of the more interesting characters in the story, making unlocking her satisfying by way of unlocking her story pieces and voice lines.
Element: Fire
Path: Destruction
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Jing Yuan

Before even dropping the first major update after release, Jing Yuan was brought in the completely replace Serval. Both his element and path mirror Serval's yet his stats and abilities are far better, making him a complete replacement for her. He's one of the strongest damage dealers in the game and can help to knock out waves of enemies in as few turns as possible.
Element: Lightning
Path: Erudition
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Luocha

Luocha is one of the most mysterious Honkai Star Rail characters. His involvement in the story begins unclear, but his strength certainly doesn't. It's apparent right away that his ability to output a unique damage Element as well as create healing over time and direct healing are far too good a combination to ignore. Healers are few and far between, but Imaginary element healers just may be the rarest kind of character for a long time to come.
Element: Imaginary
Path: Abundance
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.1

March 7th

One of your two main companions on your journey as a Nameless. March 7th is a girl who lost her memory and was awoken after being recovered from a giant shard of ice in space. She loves taking pictures, and has a bubbly personality. In game you can expect her to help out your damage dealers by applying shield to protect them. For most, she's the go-to Preservation character for every team all the way through Jarilo-IV.
Element: Ice
Path: Preservation
How to Obtain: Story/Warp
Released: 1.0

Natasha

Because of her rare ability to heal, Natasha is actually one of the most valuable Honkai Star Rail characters you can obtain through the story. She'll be most players' primary healer unless they're lucky enough to pull Bailu or Luocha, and even then she'll be a second-team staple for sure. The fact that she'll be on at least one of your team lineups for the entire game makes her one of the lesser-realized best characters in the game.
Element: Physical
Path: Abundance
How to Obtain: Story/Warp
Released: 1.0

Pela

Conceptually, Pela is an interesting character to have on the team. Her ability to lower the DEF of enemies as well as debuff them makes them seem like a useful tool. Sadly, her usefulness seems too momentary to warrant using her over many other characters. In a battle, it takes multiple turns to actually fulfill her use in any battle, and she doesn't output nearly enough damage to be of any use during the rest of the turns.
Element: Ice
Path: Nhility
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Qingque

Qingque is a character you get as part of your adventure far before actually meeting her. You meet her late in the original launch content, but will likely unlock her before ever completing Jarilo-VI. Though she isn't placed too high on many tier lists, she is more reliable than many think. She works on a mechanic of luck that comes in the form of drawing matching tiles. Due to her ability to be able to replace tiles, along with her ultimate charging relatively easily and giving her a full set of matching tiles! Don't let Qingque go under your radar as a potential Quantum powerhouse!
Element: Quantum
Path: Erudition
How to Obtain: Complete Forgotten Hall Memory Stage 3/Warp
Released: 1.0

Sampo

Sampo has some fairly interesting uses, despite not being the easiest to fit into a team. He takes advantage of Damage over Time more than most other Honkai Star Rail characters. Though he isn't the most agreeable character in the world, there are situations where you'll be glad to have put his Damage over Time to use, chipping away at enemy health while using your hard hitters to do their thing without interruption.
Element: Wind
Path: Nhility
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Seele

The absolute best character to pull at launch. Not only does Seele thrive on her high ATK and high CRIT percentages, but on top of it all, it is possible for her to attack 4 times in a single turn! When paired with a character that can advance a teammate's turn speed (e.g. Bronya) she can attack a maximum of 6 times in a single turn. She runs through enemies, including the toughest of bosses. One of the absolute necessities when building one of your main teams.
Element: Quantum
Path: Hunt
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Serval

A very optional character when it comes to teambuilding. Though she's a simple damage output character with a stun effect, her damage output with the right build is enough to warrant using her just for her consistent spread damage. There are plenty of reasons to use other Erudition characters, but for a run in which the enemies are particularly weak to Lightning, Serval can end up making a really big impact on your battles.
Element: Lightning
Path: Erudition
How to Obtain: Free Gift/Warp
Released: 1.0

Silver Wolf

With the ability to add Element weaknesses to any enemy, Silver Wolf can be slotted into any team of Honkai Star Rail characters. She outputs decent damage of her own, which isn't always the case for support characters, and her typing matches up with some of the strongest attackers in the game. This gives the possibility of building a Quantum team and giving all enemies a weakness to the element, allowing your team to repeatedly break its defense and output heavy damage and Damage over Time.
Element: Quantum
Path: Nhility
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.1

Sushang

Though underestimated at the game's release, people began to see how strong Sushang could be before 1.1 was released. Being the most direct Physical damage dealer in the game, she's a great counter to some of the more niche and rarer enemies in the game. She's a real straightforward damage dealer similar to the likes of Dan Hang, outputting heavy damage all at once with few gimmicks to claim. She's a character you don't realize you wanted until you've got her.
Element: Physical
Path: Hunt
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Tingyun

Releasing in the second half of 1.0, Tingyun applied an ability we all knew we wanted. A direct, targeted ATK buff to teammates. Tingyun is one of those Honkai Star Rail characters that had to happen sooner rather than later. A staple on so many teams all across the board, Tingyun became a very early and recognizable favorite. Despite being a 4-star, she was one of the most frequently used characters upon release sometimes even replacing 5-star characters!
Element: Lightning
Path: Harmony
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Trailblazer

The main protagonist of Honkai Star Rail. The Trailblazer adorns whatever name you give them, and much more interestingly, whatever element you give them as well. The Trailblazer can be either Physical or Fire Element at the moment, with possibly more Elements to come in the future. Even their Path changes with their Element, making this a very versatile character.
Element: Physical/Fire
Path: Destruction/Preservation
How to Obtain: Story
Released: 1.0

Welt

Welt is sometimes forgotten to be the original Silver Wolf, meaning he enables himself to excel while assisting the team. He slows down enemies with his skill and ultimate, while his talent causes him to do extra damage to slowed targets. This gives his teammates plenty of time to sneak in some extra turns, while he heightens his damage potential with his rare Element. Certainly one of the most underrated launch-released characters.
Element: Imaginary
Path: Nihility
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Yanqing

With an element and path that many don't think of together, Yanqing is one of the Honkai Star Rail characters that passed people by a bit. His skill is a unique one that not only makes it less likely to be hit but also activates his skill up until he's hit. This means his CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG increase for what could be multiple turns, along with plenty of other stats to turn him into an attacking machine. Having an abysmal HP stat and low DEF makes this character completely hit or miss, really relying on not being targeted by the enemy. Certainly the glass canon of the game.
Element: Ice
Path: Hunt
How to Obtain: Warp
Released: 1.0

Yukong

Most players made it through 1.1 without an Imaginary element character. So to make it easier to round out all those teams, we received Yukong for free through the Forgotten Hall. Yukong is a great support, providing ATK bonuses for teammates as well as CRIT bonuses through her powerful ultimate. She's similar to Tingyun in many ways, with the bonus of being able to effect multiple teammates with her buffs.
Element: Imaginary
Path: Harmony
How to Obtain: Complete Forgotten Hall Memory of Xianzhou Stage 1/Warp
Released: 1.1