The Top 10 Best Characters for New Players in Honkai Star Rail! 

Let me know which characters you guys recommend! Also, please be respectful to everyone's opinions and let's have a good time discussing characters in Honkai Star Rail! :) Side note: I am working on an end-game version of this sort of video for my overall best character recommendations! (If you don’t see one of your top favorites they’re most likely in that list :] )

When ur a new player , always first focus on a harmony and a sustain character then choose your favourite dps u want. This way your account becomes more future proof

Kafka, easy to build not needing crit and teams are versatile.

"Trailblazers, Assemble!" Very well done video. In a creator space where many CCs go for the easy drama farming, all of your collaboration is greatly appreciated.

Liked your performance in the tournament Great work

YES, Serval especially higher eidolons is still very usable even on moc12 She still can 2-cycle clear (the Yanqing boss) with my Acheron relics and s5 breakfast

Thank you for making this! I feel like I’ve missed some vital information since I started playing and this is very helpful.

These collab was great, really cool seeing everyones perspective and fun seeing yalls humor as well 😂

Fire mc is an amazing sustain and has helped me a lot, and I have e2 fu Xuan and huohuo.

Awesome video 🔥🔥

Note on Acheron, if you are not up to the Trailblaze Continuance for Ruan Mei as a new new player you will want to do that as soon as possible. Without the nihility buff from her major trace her damage falls off drastically. Shes still ok but not a powerhouse. Still like the recommendation as oneshotting mobs is based and once you have the trace shes good

Good video! I’m glad to see collabs amongst the CCs 🎉 I agree with most of the list, probably only would add Fire trailblazer somewhere but don’t know who I would remove so he might be #11. Also the criteria is perfect for a new player. Some of these characters others are mentioning like Jing Liu, Ruan Mei, Sparkle, Huo Huo, etc are not beginner necessary and is more end game. The first two 5 star characters I got was Huo Huo and Ruan Mei because everyone was talking about how good they were and honestly, completely no need for a new player. Yes they are super powerful and definitely help in end game but no need to use them for story fights, which is what some one TL 1-35 is focusing on. Also much easier to build and understand how to use a lot of these characters (especially 4 star) than these premium 5 star characters

It was all about the sustains early game to turtle though content, Luocha and Aventurine are the top two options available or about to be available right now. New players should try to get one or both if they can. The most difficult thing about early and mid game was staying alive.

Serval seriously carried me through early game, i loved her so much that i ended up pulling JY’s lc for her, i dont use her as much now but she still is a character i recommend investing in

Anyone having issue with ratio early game you can build him for break and atack until you have good relic substats. Your usually matchung elements early game anyway and his breaks can also help sustain. You'll eventually get cruising in the steallar sea whuch will help fix your crit status.

My boy Luocha got some recognition! Let’s gooo

I watched the stream where everyone talked about ranks of units that you even voiced your opinion in a few days ago. Just gotta say I am so glad you all put some respect on Blade. People wanna talk so much about how you need hyper carrys to get you through the MoC or pure fiction but when i tell you i have beat most the content of simulated universe using Blade as my carry, thats a lot of stellar jades and materials to help you get stronger and give you lasting fun for future characters. My Blade and Luocha combo have put in the time and i love them. AND I used Blade and Acheron to full clear the new pure fiction hardest difficulty. 40k points with a character who "under performs", miss me with that.

My personal list for long term investment characters for anyone to prioritize getting would be 1)Acheron 2)Fuxuan 3)huo huo 4)Ruan mei 5)Bronya/sparkle or both if u r lucky 6)Black swan 7)Kafka 8)Pela(E6) 9)Tingyun(E6) 10) Another nihility unit like guinaifen(or silverwolf if u already have her preferred better but not mandatory) who has debuffs in her kit and its good with acheron too if u dont have E2 Acheron/ If u do have E2 Acheron then go for any character may like to build since we can just run 1 nihility 1 support with her in e2 This unit r everything u need for Moc and Pf hardest mode max score clear regardless of the buffs or weakness type First would be Hypercarry Acheron nuclear dps oriented team consists of Acheron + pela + (nihility+1 if u dont have e2 acheron)/ bronya or sparkle (preferred better) only if u got e2 acheron + sustain like fu xuan Second team is super convenient to build and fast as well for ppl who hate crit farming since this is DOT based Kafka + black swan + ruan mei + huo huo Thats all u r done with ur endgame team building and this two teams r so busted they will always guarantee u 100% clear on moc and pure fiction Ik this list has a lot of 5 stars almost 80% but this is an endgame goal for u to prioritize pulling So before that u can switch any unit with a 4 star that does similar stuff for example if u don't have huo huo use lynx and if u dont have fu xuan u can use gepard or even get aventurine instead of waiting for fu xuan Do not bother getting luocha coz even gallagher is a better utility than luocha in some cases especially with Acheron. Again this is based on current game timeline and meta, so always be on the lookout for newer characters that can replace the ones above

I love this community also I started a week ago and im happy to know Pela is powerful i wasn't wrong in building her

For new players I highly recommend ruan mei, her res pen allows your any dps to deal good amount of damage regardless of enemy weakness type and she is very versatile as you can use her in dot teams and your hyper carry dps team

The video was very entertaining! The one thing I found a BIITT worrysome is the new players not understanding the terms we use like cleanse or despelling buffs /etc.

This is such a great idea for a video, thank you for making it for the newer platers! As a day 1 player it's not meant for me but it's still fun to watch. If I were to add some more context to these recommendations, one thing about Gallagher that makes him a great early game unit is that his heals don't require strong relic investment, all you need to do is level his talents to the maximum that you can. Any break effect substats you get do help but his base healing multipliers are quite strong. Gepard is great, absolutely, but I do think he struggles a little bit in the early game due to needing a certain amount of investment to pop off. He was my first 5* so I do remember him not having the best ult uptime and somewhat middling shielding capacity. If you do get him from a lost 50/50 or the standard banner, absolutely build him though! Once you get gold energy ropes and speed boots with decent DEF stats you'll really be able to rely on him! I do feel like suggesting Luocha might be a little misleading, or poor advice. He's a great healer no doubt but he is a limited 5* unit and I don't think that he's really deserving of the kind of currency investment that it takes to get him. Blade is kind of in a similar situation where he might not be the very best long term investment on an account. That said if you're getting Jingliu they do pair well together and he could find a place even in your built out endgame account. That's not to say that he can't be your main DPS even in the endgame, he is strong enough that he can hold that role but there are now many other 5* DPS that just outscale him.

For any new players my important advise would be Pls do not waste ur resources on every character u have. U do not need more than 4 characters until late midgame and so save the resources for the other 4 u will build later to get ur 2nd team Watch a guide channel like this or a verified tier list or ask ur veteran trusted frnd to select ur first team aka 4 chars depends on ur gacha luck I bet u all got acheron since most of u all joined for her and bcoz its anniv u got so much rewards and resources to get a head start than players who start new on a random patch If ur team is acheron and u just start U can get acheron + pela + guinaifen + sustain like gallagher or gepard if u got him Its also very worth it to get aventurine if u like him so u can use him instead of fu xuan and so u got two strong future proof units That acheron focused team will literally help u breeze through early to endgame By the time u reach late mid game i suggest start building a second team slowly but surely while min maxing ur first team coz acheron will always get more points and score in any side of fight u put her in so the other team can even perform subpar and u will still get max rewards My recommendation for second team would be Dot focused team instead of a hyper carry team that has dan heng IL, ratio or jingliu or even blade Bcoz a dot team is easy to build and dont need to crit farm. It will make ur life super easy and comfy building a dot team for second team which i didnt and i regret it till this day as a day 1 player Thats all my tips

i love you got the whole gang together 😭❤️

I agree that Acheron looks cool and literally recommended my friend who's new to the game to pull her (she has a lot of QoL). I'm just sad that Trailblazer didn't make this list at all 😅

March7th would also be a good addition for newer players that don't have gepard or isn't used to Fire TrailBlazer. She would make a good addition for freeze teams in Simulated Universe. Started on a fresh account without gepard and she does relatively well in stalling the enemies turn. ( Asta can be an alternative to Ting yun if they haven't pulled for her yet )

Fu Xuan #1. She was my second limited 5 star and after getting her I never missed out on any MoC rewards again. She hard carried me through Swarm Disaster too, she is the GOAT.

I loved this collab!

Banger Video Moon YAAY

This was so cute seeing everyone sell their characters XD Me, if not Acheron then Id recommend Kafka. She can be hypercarry or she can use Sampo, Lil Gui, Luka or Black Swan as teammates and doesnt need to build crit, which is difficult sometimes even late game. Her value has only gone up since release and any future dot characters will add to it

Definitely agree with Blade, I had many dps but he was the most comfy and had great damage with investment, I started playing day 1 had Seele, Jingyuan, kafka and him ofc but he definitely carried me through most content early to mid game until I got Jingliu and now Acheron. Even then he’s great with jingliu and very versatile as a sub dps that tanks your teams hits, I also think he has everything in his kit except dot and harmony features

serval is such a boon for me early game. i got her e6 pretty early and been using her with bronya ever since for lighting weak enemies. its kinda nuts how i can clear the current moc 12 with serval(e6,himeko LC 66cr, 178cd) under the same cycle as using my dhil(e0s0 so 70cr, 140cd) so she definitely is a great pickup.

Among the free 4 stars, the Passkey E2 Serval 2 turn Ultimate cheese carried me through early to mid game until I got Jing Yuan and now Acheron. Adding the character development arc in Belobog, I just love her. Now, she's stuck in lvl 60 and unused but she'll always have a special place in my roster. If I have extra mats, I'll build her. 😁

I totally agree with Acheron choise, at first a lot of people complain about her limited Lc choise, but the important thing is that is so easy to build around her, two of her best team mates are already in the banner (Pela and Gallagher) and the Nihility limitations made her more easy to build her, Guinafein is also free, for the Lc we have to consider that her banner give to us a solid alternative, don't sleep on good night sleep well XD What else I can say? Power creep is real in every game, even if your Acheron doesn't have the best build, she does more damage then previous dps with same investment I guess, she is one of favorite Mihoyo character, she have an alterego in every game, and her attack outside the battle make the simulated universe and exploration more easy

Great theme. Plus working in co-op feels wholesome :) As a day 1 player there’s some nostalgia to think about the early days. Things would be different if starting the game now. You all had good picks. My vote is for Luocha, the perfect babysitter as a newbie but still very useful. I would add Ruan Mei as the 11th. She’s super simple to use, can be slotted in pretty much any team. Training wheels harmony unit that also has longevity (just skip the immoral mad scientist parts)😁

My recommendation on the 4 star Harmony unit (apart from Tingyun) is Hanya if she's built right. She can be a pseudo Sparkle where you don't have to run a SPD boots on your DPS cuz she can provide the SPD with her ult if played right she can have 99% uptime on this buff apart from the SP she can provide. I just experience her recently really insane that a 4* unit can do that.

Bladie DEFINITELY deserves his spot at #2 the only big issue for newer players is his lack of supports bc not many easily obtainable supports can buff his hp scaling damage overall, really solid list and i can agree with every single ranking

The character i would reccoment not to sleep on in beggining is Gepard for sure if anyone get him on begginer banner. He was my first 5* and my carry until now. The fact i was using and building him since the very beggining made him even more valuable in the later game since i have pretty much forever amazing sustain i can count on in MoC or other endgame content. (And i also recently got his E2... So I'll be preparing the scariest freeze team for simulated universe i guess)

Love the pokemon mystery dungeon music for the background. so soothing to hear

The crossover we didn't expect

I'd absolutely recommend early on trying to get a good sustain character. I neglected this and only having fire MC is painful in later content 😅. I'm waiting patiently to do 150 pulls on aventurine next patch 😋

ty i just started this game yesterday! i have most of the characters on this list! 😁

No Fu Xuan or dot? Anyway its a nice list. Kinda random though lol

The video was overall wholesome

Hey moon, good video. I wouldn’t say I’m a experienced player (maybe but idk), nor a new player. I am TBL 65, and I am having a hard time between luocha and aventurine. Aventurine would be for my dhil team, taking the place of gepard and lynx and allowing me to slot in a flex with my sparkle as well. Luocha would be for my blade team as he probably has my highest investment with almost 8k hp and 70/124 CV. The problem with his team is since my dhil team uses sparkle I have to run pela and tingyun. It works, but they don’t have high hp and def which I work on towards getting, but Gallagher can’t heal all of them safely without making sure blade stays comfy. Gepard and lynx do the sustain job very well, but sometimes gepard a shields aren’t enough and lynx is there for backup just in case (those 2 carried me through Aventurine boss). So my choice is pull luocha and have a comfy sustain for my squishier units and Gallagher can go into my dhil team and retire my lynx, or I can wait for aventurine (neither are guaranteed) and replace lynx and gepard, and still retire lynx as her heals aren’t enough to sustain my other team. What should I do?

wow awesome collab!

Why's fu xuan not here? Is she not a early game sustainer? (I dont have fu xuan but some people recommending using her)

Moon's #1 introducing HSR's #1 is poetic 🤌🏽🔥 Tips for new players: 1 sustain, 1 harmony makes your 1st team a lot smoother. Other alternative easy build characters: March (Default), Asta (Default), any limited sustain character, any limited Damage Over Time (DoT) character. Sustains mainly focus on HP%, Def% as main relic stats with Eff. Res% substat. After that, look at the sustain's core kit to see what other substats they prefer. DoT characters mainly focus on Atk%, Eff. Hit%, and Speed. Just look into the character's kit to see which of the 3 they want the most. TLDR: You have 2 good default characters, then do limited summon sustain/DoT (Then ball out)

Did y’all make it to the top 3? 👀

The best characters are always going to be the supports. Dps units come and go but no matter what happens, supports can pull through any dps. My number 1 recommendation is Tingyun since she works with so many characters and early players need versatility in their teams.

I remember this experience I got Blade immediately as a noob.. It was so hard to find the perfect Balance of stats (HP, Crit Rate, Crit Dmg, Speed) for him. Had to get his light cone so i could build him better on his rerun lol It was great though cuz i learned to weight relics without a calculator. And found out much later that almost all his Relics are S or stronger xD (aside from his boots. Honestly he is my most well built character)

I'm kinda surprised that aventurine isn't mention here. Especially when he is the best sustainer for Dr ratio (which every new player joining now would get) And also he would be able to carry you through end game content with a breeze and being on par with the best sustainers currently in the game On top of that aventurine and ratio also would introduce to the new players the subclasses of teams that you can build as HSR is slowly moving into the era having specific team comps. It would be nice for them to learn that there are more than just hypercarry teams out there and there's already one that they can build with just ratio and aventurine

Ayy Clara Day1 gang here. Got her as my first guaranteed 5 star in the beginner banner and I still rock her today!

Back when i was in the early game I basically brute force through belobog and part of the Xianzhou content with a not so optimal team nowadays however i do use a sort of optimal team

Personally id recommend Imbibitor lunae or qq to teach them about one of the most important things in combat, skill point management they are a bit expensive to build but most characters that are best paired with them is already said in the vid, only two missing is sparkle and fu xuan, and in the late game the player would have a very consistent damage dealer

Moon i know this isnt honkai related but will you potential do video of reveese 1999? Patch 1.5 came with video and i love to know your thought's on it personally. I got into game became your firsr video showcase your enthusiasm for it. Love content!

This video feels like a mix of Characters building Character use How to grow using some characters

In my opinion, jingliu should have been on the list somewhere since her enhanced attacks receive massive amount of crit rate due to her passive, but the down side is her health drain.

Amazing Video, seeing so many awesome CCs i watch and subscribe and iike as well 😊 That being said, Kafka is also is another great choice in this list, Great Team Synergies, Great DoT DMG and amazing with 4 or 5 star Signature LC (Plus she goes well with both Acheron and Black Swan) 🥰

insane vid

Very surprised she wasn’t on the list but I’d recommend Jingliu to everyone. I had her since day one and she’s never left my team. Anyone in need of an ice element, she’s by far the best ice dps in the game. Super easy to build as well which is great for new players

I just gotta say, you using the Pokémon mystery dungeon ost is so based 🙏 it gives me hella nostalgia.

I would recommend Asta which is also free because you can build her as a break sub dps while still being able to support the team with her Attack and Speed Buff.

Jingliu was my very first dps bec i got lucky on her banner early. She's great and all since I always used her regardless of the content/ enemy but I agree that Acheron is much easier to use and very convenient in farming overworld early game bec of her technique. And you bet your a** she can save you a lot of stellar jades to save up for future harmony and utility support units. You won't have to consider pulling for any dps in the near future unless you're having problems with ratio or getting bored with him 'cause yea he's single target and takes a lot of time clearing mobs.

I’m a day one player but I love this format of having other content creators give their choice(s) in the vid too 🥹 ur solo vids are great too 🙏

So I know this team has no Harmony in it... but I'm thinking that maybe a Clara, Aventurine, March 7th, and Topaz will be effective. March puts shield on Clara increasing her likelihood to be attacked. Aventurine provides hefty shields as well. Clara gets hit, giving 1 stack to Aventurine, Clara counters, giving one stack to Aventurine, March counters giving one stack to Aventurine. Every time Clara gets hit(up to 2-3 times per turn), Aventurine gets 3/7 stacks for his follow-up. On top of that, every time a counter happens Numby is advanced forward as well. It won't be god tier damage but it'll be pretty consistent and comfortable.

I do feel like when aventurine is out he should replace luocha or that slot should just be a limited sustainer in general.

Love the Adventurine outfit.

Might be worth mentioning that Ratio is only free for about another month after this was uploaded. He goes away with the release of 2.2.

Thanks for the good videos! Will you continue on WuWa

I like the blade team, even though you won't use him for the fastest clears, he is the most comfy character

Did you delete the dudes comment about ccs turning their backs on jing liu when acheron came out? I didnt have a chance to read the replies and was planning on coming back to it lol

No Jingliu is a crime here 😂 aside from that, a good video.

personally i think huohuo is one of the best sustainers, she doesnt require too much (at least i havent put a lot of effort into her and she performs fine) , just stack hp and she heals like crazy, shes also got nice cleanses and her heal is more than one character at a time, and on top of that, her ult gives energy and attack bonuses

clara is my first 5s and she really helps me by A LOT😂

Surprised no one put Asta on the list. She’s an amazing free amplifier early game with Atk and Spd buffs for the whole party! And I know Silver Wolf has gotten a lot of hate in the past but she is one of my most used units especially with the Arrival of Acheron.

I get why people recommend Dr. Ratio but I don't agree with him early game. However that brings up a question what do you consider early game? If early game is belobog then you don't get ascension materials until the luofu. I only have this take because I started a new f2p account and see his early game limitations.

Gepard really carried me for almost the whole content until the "immortal deer boss" in Xianzhou Luofu.

Surprised to not see Jingliu & Fu xuan on this list

For new players, I think the 2 best characters are actually Herta and Himeko. I got Himeko as my first 5* and they carried me so hard earlier on. Now, with PF, they even became a good long term investment.

Where's jingliu, i don't know if im pulling for jingliu anymore is she worth for beginners??,and btw i get bronya in beginner banner is bronya good in beggingning?

am i apart of the new players if i just started a week ago and finished the main story?

I got sparkle last patch and build e6 qq I'm fairly new with the game tl 54 now. I'll pull jl next for bronya and saved for fu xuan and silverwolf. In my opinion acheron is really op but that doesn't matter if you don't like the character. just pull and build the character you like, everything will work well in the end.

If i have jing yuan , and c6 qq , should i pull for acheron ?

Whats better for Ratio, the old follow up relic set or the new red one that came out with Acheron?

As a high AR player with just one harmony 5 stars thats bronya, and my teams are mostly debuff dependant like topaz + ratio team and acheron team and kafka DoT team...should i even get any other harmony for future characters and if yea do i get ruan mei or like wait and see how robin works

I’m a returning player, haven’t seen anything about the selector?

Watching this is like seeing and listening to the Avengers Top 10 Hokai Star Rail list

I'm surprised that Fu Xuan is not no. 1 and not even on the list. Clearing content becomes significantly easier after I got Fu Xuan. For context, I started playing at the end of 1.2 (Kafka's banner), so I'm fairly new when I got Fu Xuan on (ver. 1.3). What most people tend to forget is how Fu Xuan affects the relic farming of your other characters, with Fu Xuan your DPS can focus on the offensive stats without worrying about having any defensive stats that would make them prone to getting one-shot. I also have E2S2 Gepard but I still prefer Fu Xuan because of flexible speed tuning, with Fu Xuan I don't have to worry if the shield is going to expire sooner if my dps is going too fast or having more turns because of Bronya.

I recommend Acheron, Kafka, Black Swan, and Ruan Mei. 😬👌🏽

100% agree on Acheron. Top dps, can make use of a lot of units. But what I think you missed for new players: she makes farming fast and easy with her ability to one shot mobs. That makes a lot of things so much more enjoyable. Also while I agree that Luocha is a good pickup as healer for his ease of use, I think Aventurine is the better call. He felt also very easy to use (in the campaign) and brings a bit more to the table than Luocha.

Should I pull for jingling or aventurine I dint rlly need a sustain but he seems decent but a ice dis is also nit necessary so I'm kinda stuck

I have an anti-recommendation, or rather a "this character is incredibly good but only in end-game so know what you're getting into when you pull." And that character is Fu Xuan. I'm not saying this because I think Fu Xuan isn't the best sustain in the game; she absolutely is. The problem is she needs heavy investment to function properly or she'll drop super fast. I know this because my sister got Fu Xuan but stopped using her because she was something like trailblaze 30 and didn't have the proper investment. So Fu Xuan absorbed all the damage but didn't have the means to stay alive herself. My general rule of thumb is try to get Fu Xuan's HP to be around twice whatever your party's average is. I'm mostly leaving this comment as a warning for newer players because when Fu Xuan's rerun comes around I'm 100% sure everyone will call her a must pull and talk about how broken she is, but I'm afraid all of us at high trailblaze and deep in the meta weeds will overlook the investment needed to make Fu Xuan as broken as she is, and newer players will get confused and angry when it isn't working for them

Huh... I didn't realize how lucky i was to Pull Acheron.

with Blade for new players i think one of the single best things about him is that he works reguardless of what characters you have on your account No Pela? he works, no Tingyun? he works and so on, Blade just does what Blade does without needing other characters which for a new player is a big plus when they are starting with the freebies and whatever the gacha rng gives them

Clara helped me clear adventurine 😁

I thought that Doggos person was Iyo doing a bit 😅

Pls make a ftp version and tell us what we can do with those!

Bro a video for HEX

Dont forget blade gets a free %36 CR between his set bonuses and traces.