Best Support Characters In Honkai: Star Rail

Summary

  • Support characters in Honkai: Star Rail are crucial for buffing, debuffing, healing, and shielding in battles.
  • Their abilities vary based on their elements, paths, and unique skills, enhancing team strategy and gameplay.
  • Characters like Ruan Mei, Sparkle, and Silver Wolf stand out for their unique support abilities and contribution to team success.

Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based game that combines role-playing and strategy elements. The game features an intricate storyline and a diverse cast of characters, each with unique abilities and strengths. Among the characters, the support characters play a crucial role in battles. While they may not have the same level of firepower as some of the offensive characters, their abilities to buff, debuff, heal, and shield their team members can turn the tide of a battle.

Related

Honkai Star Rail: How To Get The Secret Ending

It’s possible to finish Honkai: Star Rail and receive a secret ending quite early on in the game.

Support characters in Honkai: Star Rail are divided into four categories: The Harmony characters, The Nihility characters, The Preservation characters, and The Abundance characters. Each path has a specific focus, making it important for players to choose the right support character for their team’s strategy. For instance, The Harmony characters focus on buffing the team’s abilities, while The Nihility characters specialize in debuffing enemies. The Preservation characters provide defensive support with shield abilities, and The Abundance characters heal their teammates. It is important to note that different support characters excel in different situations. As such, players need to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each character and choose the ones that complement their playstyle. In this regard, some units simply shine in combat in comparison to others, making it difficult to compare them to one another.

Updated on January 27, 2025, By C.M Edwards: Honkai Star Rail is an ever-expanding roster of powerful characters scattered across the universe as the trailblazers go where they are needed. As one of the top-performing “gacha” games on the market, having been active for nearly five years, Honkai Star Rail has created a roster filled with unique and interesting characters of various utilities. Team turn-based combat is the focus of the game, and to succeed at challenging combat, players will need to construct their teams tactically, finding the best composition among the damaged and supported characters. Support characters are some of the most vital characters in the game, ensuring top-tier damage numbers or maintaining survivability in a tight spot. Here are more of the best support characters in Honka Star Rail.

27

Natasha

The Healer That Saves The Day

Honkai Star Rail_ Natasha

  • Element: Physical
  • Path: Abundance

At present, the pool of healer characters, also known as The Abundance path characters, is quite limited in Honkai: Star Rail. During the story, Natasha is the only free healer unit that players can acquire.

This makes her an excellent pick for players who prefer to have a dedicated healer on their team, who are playing the game without spending any money, or who haven’t gotten lucky with their Warps. Since healing is a crucial aspect of keeping team members alive in challenging content, Natasha is a viable option, even though she may be overshadowed as more Abundance characters are added to the game in the future.

26

Trailblazer (Fire)

A Great Tank And Taunter

Fire Trailblazer intro cinematic in Honkai Star Rail

  • Element: Fire
  • Path: Preservation

Compared to the Physical Trailblazer, the Fire Trailblazer is a defensive-oriented support unit that excels in providing shields to all allies while also dealing significant damage, making them particularly useful in breaking enemy toughness. Trailblazer’s damage output primarily comes from their normal attack and ultimate, making him an ideal character for conserving skill points.

Moreover, they are the only character in the game with a full taunt ability, which means that when they use the skill, they become the primary target for enemies, making them an excellent defensive option, especially considering that their skills scale with DEF.

Related

Honkai Star Rail: How Many Trash Cans Are in Belobog? (Trash Can Questions)

Here are the correct answers to the Belobog Trash Cans Quest in Honkai Star Rail.

Additionally, March 7’s ultimate skill is not only useful for its DPS properties but also for defensive purposes. It can freeze multiple enemies, giving the team turn priority. Against enemies with an ice weakness, March is particularly effective as her Ultimate AoE can quickly break it, and her follow-up skill after a shielded character is attacked can also help reduce their toughness meter.

25

Bailu

Free To Play Friendly Healer

bailu in honkai star rail

  • Element: Lightning
  • Path: Abundance

Bailu surpasses Natasha as a healer due to her ability to provide strong AoE healing effortlessly. Her standout feature, however, is her capacity to save a team member from being knocked down once per battle, which can potentially turn the tide of a fight.

However, she doesn’t provide any other buffs or utilities, which may render her less future-proof and replaceable by other healers in the future. This being the case, unfortunately, she falls behind Luocha or even added 4-star characters like Lynx, as well as Huohuo.

24

March 7th

Perfect For Specific Play Styles

Honkai Star Rail's March 7th taking a selfie

  • Element: Ice
  • Path: Preservation

Although March 7th may be overlooked by some players, she is a great support character who can be particularly useful in the early stages of the game despite being low on the list. Notably, she is given to players for free during the game’s story progression and even serves as the game’s mascot.

As a defensive support character, March 7 can provide a long-lasting shield to a team member, making them less susceptible to enemy attacks. In addition, March 7 has the ability to remove harmful status effects from her teammates and redirect the enemy’s attention toward the shielded character, effectively absorbing the incoming damage for the rest of the team, which also activates her follow-up attack.

23

Yukong

A Strong Harmony Unit, When Built Correctly

Honkai Star Rail - Yukong Splash Art

  • Element: Imaginary
  • Path: Harmony

Yukong joins the Honkai: Star Rail roster as a Harmony character, specializing in increasing the ATK, Crit Rate, and Crit Damage of her allies. Her abilities make her a valuable addition to various teams. However, there are certain drawbacks to consider. One limitation is her action order management; she can only buff the next two allies with her elemental skill. This means players must pay close attention to her and her teammates’ speed values to maximize the effectiveness of her buffs.

Additionally, Yukong is most effective in mono-Imaginary teams since she boosts Imaginary Damage, similar to how Asta enhances Fire Damage. Nevertheless, while characters like Bronya and Fu Xuan offer Crit Rate and Crit Damage buffs, Yukong serves as a solid 4-star alternative for teams in need of her specific support capabilities.

22

Asta

A Solid Pick For Several Teams With Attack And Speed Boost

Honkai Star Rail_ Asta

  • Element: Fire
  • Path: Harmony

Asta can be a valuable addition to teams that focus on Fire DPS characters, particularly Himeko, as she can boost the Fire damage of characters when on the field. As a Harmony character, she can also increase the speed of team members, providing them with priority turns against formidable enemies.

In addition to her support abilities, Asta can deal Fire damage on many different occasions, making her a great utility character against enemies with fire weakness and a potential Sub-DPS character when built correctly. However, her use case may be more limited or simply not as unique, so she may not be as highly regarded as other support units on the list. However, in F2P teams, she still finds a good purpose, especially for characters that require some boost on ATK or Speed.

21

Gepard

A great Preservation Unit For Free To Play Users

Honkai Star Rail_ Gepard

  • Element: Ice
  • Path: Preservation

Similar to March 7th, Gepard is an ice-element defensive support character who can shield the entire team, making him a valuable asset when confronting enemies with strong AOE attacks.

In addition to his shielding ability, his skills have a high chance of freezing enemies, enabling them to take damage over time-based on Gepard’s ATK, thus making him an effective combination of both defensive and offensive capabilities. Furthermore, Gepard possesses exceptional talent scaling, adding to his overall value as a team member.

20

Hanya

A Number Of Solid Benefits For A Four Star Support

Hanya casting her ultimate in Honkai: Star Rail

  • Element: Physical
  • Path: Harmony

Like Asta, Hanya is another character that can increase the speed and ATK of allies, albeit this time in a more single-player style through her Ultimate. Additionally, she can implement Burden on enemies, which will increase their DMG taken, making her a good support character.

Furthermore, considering that Hanya is not skill-point-heavy due to her Skill not being a priority in her kit, she can work well with skill-point-heavy characters like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae. Otherwise, pairing her up with Physical DPS characters can also be a good option since she can make good use of the Penacony, Land of Dreams Planar Ornament set.

19

Pela

Perfect Defense Shread For Hyper Carry Teams

Honkai Star Rail_ Pela

  • Element: Ice
  • Path: Nihility

Pela is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to reducing the DEF of all enemies, which makes them more susceptible to attacks. Her Technique and Ultimate skills both excel in this aspect, making her a valuable asset to have on the team.

Additionally, her traceability can provide allies with a 10% increase in effect hit rate when she is ascended, adding another layer of support to her kit. In particular with characters like Acheron, Pela’s utility has increased even further, considering that Acheron does benefit significantly from characters that are able to apply different debuffs to the enemies.

18

Welt

Heavily Punishes Enemy Speed Capabilities

Honkai Star Rail_ Welt

  • Element: Imaginary
  • Path: Nihility

Welt’s strength lies in his ability to slow down enemies, a crucial tactic in battles where bosses can deal massive damage if left uninterrupted. As a Nihility character, he excels in this regard. In addition, as he is one of the few Imaginary characters currently available, he has a unique role in breaking the weakness of certain enemies while also being an integral part of the mono-Imaginary teams.

With his skills and ultimate, he can both debuff enemies (slow or imprison) and deal significant damage or break their toughness, making him a valuable sub-DPS option. Nevertheless, with the addition of more support characters to the list, there has been a significant drop in Welt’s popularity, especially with content like MoC or Pure Fiction, which require characters to go multiple turns with high speed rather than the opponents dropping in the speed order.

17

Lynx

A Unique And Versatile Kit

honkai star rail lynx explained.jpeg

  • Element: Quantum
  • Path: Abundance

Lynx, as an Abundance character, offers players the opportunity to tackle challenging content like Forgotten Hall with dual healers if they haven’t been fortunate enough to obtain 5-star characters like Bailu or Luocha. However, Lynx brings more to the table than just healing capabilities, making her a versatile addition to various team compositions. One of Lynx’s standout abilities is her Ultimate, which can dispel a debuff from all allies while simultaneously healing them. This is a unique feature, as most other debuff-dispelling characters in the game can only target a single character. Additionally, Lynx’s Skill not only provides healing but also increases the aggro of Destruction and Preservation characters while boosting their HP. This makes her an ideal healer for teams that utilize Blade or Fu Xuan in particular.

Furthermore, Lynx proves to be skill point positive, meaning she doesn’t need to rely heavily on her skill and can contribute slightly to DPS with her Basic ATK, which scales with HP, just like her other abilities. This makes her a well-rounded character with both healing and support capabilities. As of now, Lynx is still the best healer option when it comes to 4-star, as well as F2P options.

16

Tingyun

Great For Hyper Carry Teams

Honkai Star Rail_ Tingyun

  • Element: Lightning
  • Path: Harmony

Tingyun is considered by many to be the top offensive support character among the 4-star units available in Honkai: Star Rail. Her Skill enables her to boost an ally’s attack by a percentage based on her own attack, while her Ultimate further enhances the damage output of the targeted ally and grants them 50 energy to unleash their own Ultimate.

Related

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

5-Star Characters in Honkai: Star Rail are in high demand due to their unique abilities, but some are stronger and more versatile than others.

Obtaining her Eidolons is relatively easier, as she is a 4-star unit, which can further amplify her already formidable buffs. These Eidolons provide additional benefits, such as speed boosts, increased DMG multiplier to blessed allies, and more energy generation, making Tingyun an excellent choice for players who prioritize offense. Surprisingly, while she is only a 4-star character, she finds purpose in challenging content even more than some 5-star support characters up to date, making her not only one of the best support characters but also the best 4-star support character.

But what sets Pela apart from most other support characters is her ability to remove a buff from an enemy, which can prove invaluable in challenging boss fights. Pela’s versatility in debuffing enemies and allowing the team to deal more damage makes her a strong addition to any team composition.

15

Gallagher

A Great And Versatile Four Star Healer

Honkai: Star Rail Leak Four-Star Character Selector

  • Element: Fire
  • Path: Abundance

Gallagher enters the roster as a free-to-play friendly 4-star sustain unit, specializing in healing allies while also applying debuffs to enemies. His healing effectiveness relies on allies attacking the debuffed enemies, making him particularly effective in team compositions focused on dealing damage across multiple characters. However, in compositions where most actions target allies, Gallagher’s potential may not be fully realized. Nevertheless, Gallagher shines in teams where the main DPS benefits from applied debuffs, such as Acheron or Dr. Ratio, who can capitalize on the Besotted stack Gallagher provides to gain additional stacks. Additionally, although currently niche, Gallagher proves to be an ideal sustain support for DPS characters focused on Break Effect, like Firefly, as he scales with the break effect himself and can create unique synergies with characters like Ruan Mei.

Despite being a 4-star character, Gallagher surpasses many other 4-star and even some 5-star units within his niche. However, characters like Lynx may still be preferred in certain instances, such as mono-Quantum teams.

14

Harmony (Imaginary) Trailblazer

Boosting Break Effect To Insane Heights

Imaginary Trailblazer in the White Night music video for Honkai: Star Rail

  • Element: Imaginary
  • Path: Harmony

Obtained at the end of the Trailblazer Mission in Penacony’s story conclusion, the Harmony Imaginary variant of Trailblazer presents a truly unique option, distinct not only from other Trailblazer variants but also from other Harmony units. Harmony Trailblazer’s primary strength lies in its Ultimate ability, which significantly boosts the Break Effect of all allies. Moreover, when the enemy is Weakness Broken, this Ultimate enables allies to unleash devastating damage with Super Break Effect.

Players considering building teams focused on maximizing weakness-breaking will find Trailblazer immensely beneficial. Moreover, since players have access to eidolons for free, investing in Trailblazer requires minimal resources yet yields significant power. Furthermore, in team synergy, Trailblazer pairs exceptionally well with units like Ruan Mei, enhancing Break Effect Efficiency and prolonging the enemies’ weakness break state, thereby amplifying the effectiveness of Super Break Effect triggers.

13

Black Swan

Damage Over Time Queen

Black Swan featured in her Lullaby trailer for Honkai Star Rail

  • Element: Wind
  • Path: Nihility

DoT-focused characters typically do not make it to the support list, since they are sub-DPS oriented rather than supporting the team, but in Black Swan’s case, she gets an exception considering how much she can boost DoT-oriented teams, especially alongside characters like Kafka. This is because not only can she stack Arcana to deal significant DoT damage to enemies, but she can also allow the team to ignore DEF on enemies with enough Arcana stacks.

Furthermore, like some other Nihility characters such as Pela or Silver Wolf, she can reduce enemies’ DEF through her Skill, while she can enable increased DoT damage with her Ultimate. Overall, Black Swan combines the best of both worlds by having a DoT-oriented playstyle as well as debuffing enemies.

12

Bronya

A Veteran Unit Available To FTP Players

Honkai Star Rail_ Bronya

  • Element: Wind
  • Path: Harmony

Bronya is a beloved and versatile returning character from Honkai Impact 3rd, offering unique and powerful buffs that make her a difficult unit to replace. Her skills include an ATK% boost for the entire team after using her technique, a Skill that grants a turn and DMG increase while also removing negative effects from allies, and an Ultimate that increases ATK, Crit Rate, and Crit DMG.

Bronya’s skillset makes her an exceptional pick for an offensive team that aims to boost their damage output. However, she lacks significant damage utility on her own, and players may find it challenging to manage her skill points while also focusing on other characters, especially if they don’t have access to her Eidolons.

11

Silver Wolf

One Of The Best Weakness Exploiters

honkai-star-rail-silver-wolf-honkai-impact-3rd

  • Element: Quantum
  • Path: Nihility

Silver Wolf, a Nihility character in Honkai: Star Rail, shares a trait with Pela by reducing the defense of enemies. However, what truly sets her apart and makes her one of the best support characters is her unique ability to impose a weakness on the enemy. This figuratively empowers any elemental team composition, allowing them to excel against any kind of opponent.

Her capability is especially advantageous for mono-Quantum teams, but she can extend her support to other elements as well. This means that players don’t necessarily need to invest in building a DPS character from each element, offering flexibility for those who may have limited resources or characters. Especially with Sparkle being added to the playable roster, allowing for an optimized mono-Quantum team, players are highly recommended to experience the synergy between these two characters, if they have access to them.

10

Jiaoqui

A Perfect Teammate To Take Advantage Of Debuffing Enemies

Honkai: Star Rail Jiaoqiu splash art with Nihility and Fire symbol

  • Element: Fire
  • Path: Nihility

Jiaoqui is a nihility character released during update version 2.4. Being introduced as a close ally to Feixao, who healed her after a grave injury, Jiaoqui is a cunning, smooth talker with a wit to keep him on his toes while on the battlefield. Jiaoqui’s gameplay revolves around placing debilitating effects on enemies while including fire damage over time on targets.

2:29

Related

Elden Ring: The Best Quality Weapons, Ranked

When looking to wield the best Quality weapons in Elden Ring, players can’t go wrong with these choices.

Upon release, he was seen to have fantastic chemistry with Acheron, being able to stack her ultimate ability quickly. Mainly, Jiaoqui places the ashen roast debuff on targets, which amplifies the damage enemies receive from ultimates, making him great for heavy hitters like Acheron, Kafka, and even Black Swan, thanks to his lightcone. While Jiaoqui’s versatility is not massive, he is still a high-use unit at Honkai Star Rail.

9

Fu Xuan

Quantum Defender With A Crit Buff

honkai-star-rail-announces-boosted-drop-rates-for-fu-xuan-and-her-light-cone

  • Element: Quantum
  • Path: Preservation

Fu Xuan, the latest addition to the Honkai: Star Rail roster, brings unique support abilities as a Preservation character. Unlike other Preservation characters who can generate shields, Fu Xuan, unless equipped with specific light cones like the Texture of Memories, specializes in mitigating and distributing damage among the team. Additionally, when her HP drops below 50%, she can heal herself, adding to her overall durability and reducing the need for dedicated healers in some situations.

One of her standout features is her ability to boost the entire team’s Crit Rate for up to three turns with her skill. This not only makes her skill point-efficient but also versatile, combining aspects of both Abundance and Harmony characters. While Fu Xuan is effective on her own, her support capabilities significantly improve with her early eidolons. Her first eidolon allows her to increase the team’s Crit Damage, while her second one prevents allies from being knocked down once per battle, providing extra utility and survivability to the team. Fu Xuan is an excellent choice for tackling challenging content, offering both protection and increased damage output.

8

Aventurine

An Iron Fortress Great For Several Teams

honkai star rail aventurine tattoo explained

  • Element: Imaginary
  • Path: Preservation

When it comes to sustaining units like Aventurine, their value and ranking often depend on personal preference and team composition. However, in general, Aventurine ranks quite high thanks to his versatility as both a strong shielder and a DPS hybrid unit. His team-wide shields are a standout feature of his kit, as they can stack, allowing him to maintain a powerful shield for the entire party indefinitely, as long as the team is not suffering from skill-point management.

Moreover, Aventurine gains stacks for his own follow-up attacks as other characters perform theirs, making him a solid choice alongside characters like Herta, Topaz, Jing Yuan, and Dr. Ratio. Additionally, his ability to apply debuffs to enemies adds further synergy, particularly with characters like Dr. Ratio and Acheron, who benefit from multiple debuffs applied quickly.

Related

Honkai: Star Rail – Speed Breakpoints, Explained

Confused at how Speed Breakpoints work in Honkai: Star Rail? This guide will break it down for you.

Overall, for players who prefer a shield sustainer over a healer, Aventurine may be considered the best defensive support option. However, players interested in healing may find characters like Luocha or Huohuo more suitable for their needs.

Leave a Comment