Is Ruan Mei A MUST PULL? Or Overrated? - Gameplay/Ability Analysis | Honkai: Star Rail 

Ruan mei's distinguishin mechanic is the ablility to extend break state and gives weakness break efficiency.

Insta pulled for her, seeing the flower deal like 18k damage post weakness break is wack. She seems fun in Topaz Ratio comps.

She makes your team do crazy amounts of damage in the simulated universe. I had the entire enemy team explode and instantly be defeated a few times just from the weakness break entering the battle.

2:16 a buff lasting 3 seconds lol

In my other gacha game that sadly will have to come to a close in by the end of February, we would call units that basically helps the team just by existing as aurabots and essentially that's what Ruan Mei is she's an aurabot and an amazing on at that, definitely must pull.

Shes absolutely a must pull for beginners. She automatically fill one of your support roles.

8:51 The only thing she doesn't do is heal. Otherwise it will make her the most broken character in the game. That's basically Furina C6 😂

I'm starting to think that every character in this game is good. Because all of them in launch are good and keep being good long after.

I can't wait to see his reaction to sparkle's kit

Star Rail's Merlin can't wait for the equivalent of Koyanskaya and Oberon down the line

Isn't sparkle gonna be even better tho? her leaked kit gives you more skill points either 2 at base or 3 E4. Gives a bunch of buffs and can boost crit damage and turn progression by 50% (I still haven't been able to get Bryona). I'm just not sure who will be better cause this is a luck game and I doubt I will be able to pull both of them

Don't forget March and Gepard being preservation and a little nihility, with the first one shielding 1 person and freezing everyone while the other freezes one person and shields everyone

I believe that she will be incredibly important as a character in a lot of teams. On the other hand, you said waifu over meta and that's a hard pass. She stabbed us in the back twice in one mission, that's plenty for me.

the beatiful thing about pen buffs, it works on DOTS, meaning nihility just got even more broken

I tried to MOC full clear before pulling for her and did it with ease. Bronya still serving and my jades still safe.

Ruan Mei (and also Xueyi) were introduced mainly to address a certain specific problem. To put it in the words of this channel: Why NO ONE Plays: Break Effect. The Break Effect stat only factors into breaking the enemy's toughness bar, something which Xueyi might still do, but Ruan Mei sure as hell isn't going to be doing. In fact Ruan Mei's Ice element is generally agreed to be the worst element type for Break Effect. So Mihoyo does what Mihoyo does, i.e. take an underwhelming/underutilized stat, and make a character that highly scales off that stat for offensive capability and now players have to burn trailblaze power to farm talia and thief sets. I can only imagine if Ruan Mei scaled off ATK instead, like with Tingyun/Luocha, or even HP like Fu Xuan/Blade, she'd be way less troublesome to invest in. I guess at least the buffs she provides are universal, unlike Genshin's recent supports which have all sorts of annoyingly hyper-focused niches like buffing only normal attacks, or buffing only Ice DMG, etc. Heck one of these days they're gonna do something dumb again like a buffer specifically for only plunge attack DMG......

Ruan Mei was my first won 50/50. Then I went for her LC and this was my first ever 5* LC which, of course I lost to Clara's LC. 😣😣 At the end of the day I burned 120 (all my saved tickets) to get her e0 s1. 0 regrets. My Jingliu with clara LC is hitting double of what she used to now lol

I think I will pull her in her rerun cuz rn it's a bad time for me since I don't have much resources and I'm saving for black swan who will probably buff my dot teams

Worst thing about her is her animations, theyre nice but extremely lackluster and bland. Especially compared to sparkle…

That moment when you arrive just a tad bit late to the game and miss the most broken character in the game 💀

She is like when Luocha was released, he was superior to every other sustain option but with time there will be equally good options to suit ones teams and preferences. I will simply say if you like the character and is fun to play, then go for it.

At this point we should expect that almost every version will have a character that elevates the powercreep even further, which is to be expected from a turn-based combat gacha.

She's quite powerful, and I agree with the assessment of pull value/account value for her being up there with Fu Xuan. Luocha is the other character holding up a top spot for me

Me causally skipping because I'm F2P and want Sparkle

SPOILERS/LEAKS: ( Don't read unless you wanna know about the 2.0 characters) This is just out there in case you feel like pulling for both 2.0 characters and are not sure if you wanna get RM or these 2 ( Mr. Vars, you can delete this comment if you don't want leaks in your comment section ^^) Sparkle/Hanabi is a pretty good support, who provides a crit dmg buff to an ally for one turn and advances forward their action by 50% with her skill. Her ultimate refreshes 4 skill points and increases the dmg buff from her talent by a certain amount. Her talent makes your party have a permanent +2 skill points (7 in total), and when an ally consumes skill points, their dmg is buffed by a certain amount for each skill point consumed (max 3 stacks) Black Swan's main gimmick is her talent, which can be applied by her abilities. It deals wind DoT damage at the start of each turn, and can apply the same effect to adjacent enemies or ignore def depending on the number of stacks of the effect(max 99 stacks). Her basic may apply 1 stack and may apply 2 stacks if the enemy is under any DoT. Her skill applies 1 stack and reduces def of enemies. Her ultimate makes enemies take more damage and turn the talent effect into the fire/lightning/physical/wind DoTs. They both have amazing animations ( especially black swan), so you don't need to be worried about that if that's your concern

Well, after one day with her, I can say she's extremely broken for Kafka teams. Making the enemy spend a turn doing nothing but take DoT damage is so good, and Kafka's teams might be some of the rare ones that run double DPS, making the team buff a lot better. Kafka can also take advantage of Weakness Break a lot more than other teams. On top of that, it helps with the survivability a lot, which feels good since I currently use her with Huo Huo who now barely needs to use her skill at all. And with her light cone, the extra energy for the whole team having Huo Huo who can convert it on more energy for the whole team... it's all just crazy lol I'm surprised how much better my teams got just from swapping Asta with Ruan Mei.

you forgot about yukong in intro 😥

I was saving since Fu Xuan and got E1 and her LC.

See I would pull for her… if I wasn’t saving for sparkle

Sparkle says hi

Im not super keen on total dmg increase for all allies dont get me wrong its a good buff but most teams really only have 1 maybe 2 big damage dealers so will not be fully utilized in alot of teams thou her increased break efficiency and other break synergies are a diff story. Even thou it was first touted as the defining mechaninc of honkais combat system as it was the only thing effected by a character element in the entire and its only unique feature on the surface that separated itself from other turn base combat games. Thou they decided to focus more on other gameplay mechanics like speed manipulation dot and follow up/ counter attacks im hlad they are going back to this mechanic

Im at a point i have too many supports but god rheyre so pretty. My kafka just keeps getting bufed and will even get more buffed when black swan comes out Currently rocking huo huo, ruan mei, kafka, sampo

I shouldn't be watching these Ruan Mei videos when I lost the 50/50

BY THE WAY VARS Ruan Mei's Break Damage WILL steal kills from Seele (And will prevent Seele from getting resurgence.) so uh ya be careful with that.

Ruan Mei + Xueyi in SU makes the bosses disappear

I like that she's so powerful, but I can also see the writing on the wall, I've been seeing it since Dan Heng IL and Fu Xuan came out. The power creep of this game is uncontrollable at this point. Its just like you said, it came to the point where characters have powers of TWO paths at the same time! It wont be long until it becomes three, or four, until the very concept of Paths lose their meaning whatsoever. I wonder if its even worth it building Ruan Mei, because if the power creep continues like this, it wont be long until it renders her irrelevant. Who know, next time we'll get an Preservation character who gives better buffs than Harmony, and deals more AOE than Erudition, and has more single target than Hunt.

Honestly i feel like she enables dual dps comps so well. As someone who's been on that DOT train, its so nice having that bonus break efficiency and effect, and being able to buff my DOTs along side my houhou.

Honestly ive been losing interest in HSR for the past few months so i did the same thing ive done for other games ive lost interest with in the past. I made sure to have enough currency to get to pity but i still had to win a 50/50 for Ruan Mei. So if i lost I planned to at least take a long break from the game and if i won then id stick with it and see if i could re-ignite my interest in the game. Ofc I lost my 50/50 to my 3rd Welt so Im now on an extended break (ill open HSR 1 more time when Dr. Ratio is given out just because it would be dumb to miss out on a free 5 star jic i want to play again) but im hoping some time off will let me find the fun again. I just have a real love/hate relationship with turn based games. Theres a few that do a great job making the slow paced combat feel rewarding and skill based but overall most turn based games become too slow and boring to keep my interest. I really hope the HSR devs add some more complexity to the combat system because atm only having 3 options for each character is way too simplistic for what is otherwise a great game. The story, setting, characters etc are all top notch but for me its the gameplay and combat that keeps my interest long term and, at least for me, HSR just isnt there (yet hopefully). Anyways i hope everyone else had GL and got Ruan Mei

I was gonna pull for her since i knew she was gonna be playable, didnt even know her kit, now i have her and need a LC or use Cogs

Ruan Mei is the Kazuha of Star Rail. Scales off Break effect, shreds the enemy and gives dmg bonus.

Thankfully I got her in 30 pulls, Sparkle here I go!

Pulled her for one sole purpose, to be dedicated support for Himeko. Even if it's not that good as i thought it would be

I'm super happy, that I got her at 14 pity after getting SW last patch. Ruan Mei is and will be an amazing character...

Ruan Mei is about the Ruin My Wallet 🗿

For as much as Ruan Mei'd do for my account, especially since I'm and F2P, I go by the memo "I want, I pull". Do I need another imaginary DPS just because they're men? No. Do I want them? Yes, hence I pull. Should I be spending my jades on a no guarantee 4 star? No. Do I want them quickly? Yes. I would probably pull for her when she gets her rerun but for now, eh. Like I don't see her "appeal", I think she's pretty but she just doesn't hit the right spot to me, like she's kind of "meh" for my taste. There's no doubt that she's an SSS tier support, but I don't really care. Wish the best luck for anyone who is and will pull for her! ^^

After witnessing in Simulation Universe in both her parts how much insane rewards she gives... I already had the prediction she would be the most cracked 5* as well and god I was right! >_< I finished chaos at 36* just because of her! Absolutely love her!

Ruan Mei is like the Kazuha of Star Rail- Stupidly good.

So, anyone else lost their 50/50?

I got Ruan Mei as a newbie & she's carrying me 😅 Definitely glad I started playing Honki when her banner came

overrated tbh, she has a really interesting niche but other than that i wouldn't say she's a must pull as some survivability characters that would really help your playthrough out. Other supports can do just fine. Seems like future harmony are gonna be more condensed versions of previously existing ones with added niches so i'd probably wait for a few more harmony chars in the future before i can say if she's a must in the harmony category or no

Most people consider Hanya to be a mix of harmony and nihility

I was trying to pull Blade since I don’t have any wind dps but after watching this I might just pull for her

I want Swan Sparkle HuoHuo and now Ruan Mei sounds amazing 😔 dang

Idk, I feel her defining trait is her habit of making horrors beyond human comprehension :v

The power creep in this game is really frustrating, tbh.

Damn bro didn't even mention Yukong when talking about 4 star harmony units RIP

i lost 50/50 to yanqing on ruan mei's banner and now i want to die cus this happened right after pulling clara's LC on standard banner

I got her by accident at 21 pity and a 50/50 couldn't be happier

Why everyone plays Ruan Mei

Your videos butter My biscuits thank you

I wasn't going to pull for her since I'm a Ratio simp, but when the devs announced that he will be free I've started to save for her since I pulled in Argenti's banner but I lose the 50/50 with Bailu and I've grown a little of pity for her, luckily enough she came in a 10 pull in pity 35 and now I'm having the time of my life with her!!!

I don't like such extremely OP characters, and after the story I don't like her either. But playing without them? Hmm. In the future, players will probably just say: the game is boring, so content has to be made more difficult. The usual procedure.

I went all out for her (Thank the Aeons she came out just after Christmas) simply because she’s extremely attractive (I want her to experiment on me😘 what? She’s a biologist) and her light cone simply because I don’t have any spare harmony light cones. Throw in the fact that the 4 stars on both banners are in high demand for me, and it was a serious win. I got both 5 stars super early too. I think I was 40 pity (though I should mention that my last 5 star was E1 Bronya, so she was guaranteed, but still). Very happy. Now I know just how worth it that was. Thanks Vars. good to know she beaks the weaknesses of her enemies as well as those of her simps like me.

furina and nahida and maybe even raiden and maybe zhongli ,do stuff for being alive after 4.2 updates. hsr, i have a furina while i just came out :D

Hanya feels like a nihility harmony unit aswell imo

Watching this during rerun is funny

I just pulled for her and got Honkai Childe QQ

Will Ruan Mei work well with Clara teams? Weakness break delays the enemies turns, making it so that they won’t hit Clara and trigger Svarog’s counter attack. Since Ruan Mei buffs weakness break that means overall less damage for Clara. Or will the buffs provided to Clara be enough to carry anyway? Edit: I forgot that Ruan Mei also gives speed, which is not desired for Clara.

2:16 BEHOLD MY ULTIMATE POW... and now I am back to normal.

I’ll get her… or so I thought. EXCEPT, I GOT A BAILU WHICH I DIDN’T NEED BECAUSE I HAD 2 HEALERS ALREADY. WTF HOYO?

She's overrated for sure. Doesn't mean she is not good, but her value only truly shines in dot and double dps comps, while hypercarries get alot more mileage from Bronya / Tingyun / Sparkle.

I'm saving for black swan 😢😢

I got her E1 trying to get my Ting yun to max (only got one copy of her for e4) 😭 Im happy tho it would be insane not to be, its just that im sure i will not get my Kafka now, and i spent 120 wishes on her first banner…

Is she worth it if I already built supports like Pela, Bronya, Tingyun, SW, etc?

i love her i want her, but black swan, im just more dedicated towards her yk?!

Do you think Mei will be worth using on a Xueyi team considering Xueyi's kit working off of toughness damage? or are 5* damage dealers the better choice overall

Her LC is fine but honestly not worth going for since Memories of the Past exists. That LC enables her to keep 100% ult uptime which her signature does not

why do i feel like hoyo SWAP ruan mei with black swan. you would think ruan mei is a wind character and black swan as ice character.

I'm new to this game should I pull for her? I got a guranteed after randomly pulling and got yanqing(my best current DPS) I fear that later on after playing a while she might be a must have in each teams. Like the kazuha incident 💀 My pity is like 70 And my current team is bronya, lynx, tingyun and yanqing.

I want Blade so much, but I need supports. I'm torn

you forgot to mentioned how she has the only weakness break efficiency buff in the game. Also, what is break efficiency vs break effect lol

Ronald May is sooooooo full on DoT teams

The sad thing is: she is the most boring looking character so far. Barely above some random NPC in the world. What were the designers thinking on this one?

guys im at 63 pity, pls pray for me to win my 50/50

Nice. I knew it but on the verge of the 5 star I failed 50/50 to a 3rd Bailu. Meh.

should I get ruan mei or blade as a f2p. I only have clara and geoard

Ryan Mei Or Tingyun?

i am thinking of using my 116 warps on ruan mei even tho i was saving for kafka T T

got her e2 in just 40 pulls. my f2p ass is still in shock 😭

After failing the 50/50 I decided that I'll skip her because my teams rn are Kafka DoT, Clara/Topaz, and QQ hyper carry. I think the upcoming characters will improve my account more than her

shes a must not pull for me, that quest with her and the basement... bruh, what a pos

Unfortunately not a must pull for me personally, she won't work with my quantum team and she's not a dot character either for me kafka soo I'm saving for Sparkle, and Black swan!

I would be interested but her animations are so meh and her outfit is literally the same as the rest of the loufu girls

can u axeplain break effect

KAFKA MAINS WIN AGAIN LMAO

She isn't fox though

i knew ruan mei was gonna be a hard power creep unit the moment she gave my ADD brain the biggest headache trying to understand her properly that ive ever had across both genshin and star rail

sadly i have to skip since i want black swan and maybe sparkle for my IL danheng:(

Is she good with Himeko??

Yeah but I'm skipping cause I have e4 Hanya and Bronya so I'm doing decent. I would rather save for 2.0