The thing about gacha game characters is that the ones who come out later almost always outstrip those that enter the fray closer to release. Honkai: Star Rail is no different, but there are some characters that defy the norm, getting better and more useful the longer the game goes.
The Honkai: Star Rail Characters That Defy Powercreep
We’re not going to be talking much about the top-tier supports like Sparkle and Robin here, as they’re not only too new (relative to the characters on this list) but also are so universally good that they don’t get better. They’re just really strong. The characters here were either relatively overlooked at their release or became exponentially more valuable as more characters were released. Let’s get into it.
#1. Topaz
I remember hearing about Topaz’s kit in the run-up to her release. The community’s sentiment was mixed. Few characters used follow-up attacks, and Topaz seemed inefficient enough that I — and many players I saw talking about her online — didn’t see a reason to pull.
Fast-forward several months, and now Topaz is an essential part of any follow-up attack team, with at least the same priority as a character like Robin. Topaz elevates any follow-up attack she’s in, in a way that wasn’t really matched until Aventurine released. Her Skill Point efficiency, solid damage, and general synergy with any team that uses follow-ups continue to be unmatched.
It was pretty clear that Topaz stocks would rise when Dr. Ratio was released, and they continued to grow with the coming of Aventurine and, eventually, Feixiao. Add the new Hunter version of March 7th to the mix, and follow-up enjoyers have been eating really well, even after the shift to the Super Break meta with Penacony and Firefly leading the charge.
#2. Dr. Ratio
Despite his poor performance in Pure Fiction, Dr. Ratio continues to outshine the competition for the same reason Topaz does. His kit, based almost entirely around follow-up attacks, had very few synergies at his release, obfuscating his value. Now, with characters like Robin, Aventurine, Topaz, and Hunt March 7th in the game, the good doctor has a whole party of teammates who either directly benefit him or he can work alongside with almost no additional effort.
Dr. Ratio has another thing going for him: his reliance on debuffs to maximize his damage. There were a few characters like Silver Wolf or Pela (when equipped with Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat) who could act as a solid debuff battery for him, but they took up a valuable slot another follow-up attack user could fill. And with Aventurine, Topaz, and Jade all providing easier access to debuffs with follow-up attacks in their kit as well, suddenly, Dr. Ratio was even more important than ever.
#3. Ruan Mei
Don’t get it twisted. Everyone knew Ruan Mei was strong when she released. Her buffs cover too much ground and provide too much value. It sometimes feels like the only thing she doesn’t do is action forward (and she doesn’t. At all.). What puts her on this list is the Break meta.
To say that Harmony Trailblazer’s kit shook the Star Rail community is, I think, an understatement. Super Break damage rewrote some team-building ideas completely, and the effects of HMC (Harmony Main Character) coming to the game are still being felt.
Then came Firefly, a character just this side of requiring not only HMC and Ruan Mei to be at her best. Hell, she’s been glued to my Firefly team and nowhere else since I put the Stellaron Hunter on my squad. But then came Hunt March 7th, and her ability to be played as both a Break and a Crit Damage setup, and Ruan Mei got even more powerful. That’s not even considering her classic teams with Dan Heng, Imbibitor Lunae, or as a support for Kafka/Black Swan.
Ruan Mei might have come out well before the 2.0 update for Honkai: Star Rail, but she gets more and more useful, and fits in to more and more teams with each patch.
#4. Herta
If you had told hardcore Honkai: Star Rail players that they should build Herta early in the game’s life, I don’t think you’d ever stop hearing laughter. She and Himeko, among others, had almost no place in a game that focused so heavily on single-target damage for its endgame, and while there were diehards who swore she had a use case, the vast majority of players saw no reason to build her. Myself included.
Enter Pure Fiction, a game mode literally built around defeating waves of five enemies at a time. Herta went from booed offstage to the top of an endgame activity overnight, a crown she has defended every time Pure Fiction gets an update. Let’s not forget that she gets immense value from other follow-up attack DPS units and any of the top-tier supports in the game. And while her value is still relatively low outside of Pure Fiction, I can still hear the knowing nods of Herta’s faithful as she looks at the time in her element and starts to twirl.
#5. Asta
Asta is far from being a meta pick, and was only approaching top tier in the early days of Honkai: Star Rail when there were few ways to increase a character’s speed in battle. That’s never changed, but what Asta has over almost any other 4-star on the roster is free-to-play value. Her kit, while simple in comparison to more recent supports, works as a solid stand-in, and the number of times I’ve seen Asta recommended in lieu of a Sparkle or Bronya is pretty high.
Like Herta, every player in Honkai: Star Rail has an Asta. You get her as part of the tutorial on Herta’s Space Station, and even if you never pull her again, you have access to a unit that still functions admirably despite being powercrept.
For players just entering the game after 2.0, or even more recently, when they have so few opportunities and resources to get the meta-breaking 5-star characters, Asta is there for them and has been from the start. She offers everything a support needs: extra speed, damage buffs, and good weakness coverage. She’s not the best at what she does, but she’s far from the worst.
Those are my five Honkai: Star Rail characters who’ve only gotten better as the game’s aged. I’ll be very curious to see if they continue on their path or if HoYoverse somehow powercreeps so hard that even Ruan Mei looks B-tier.
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Published: Aug 23, 2024 08:02 am