Why NO ONE Plays: Himeko | Honkai: Star Rail 

Himeko: Casually drops an airstrike The Ice Bug with 1% HP: My time has come

Well good news guys, Herta and Himeko are insane in Pure Fiction.

I main Himeko and I love playing her. Sometimes a few battles it gets hard when she can't weakness break etc. but her dmg is honestly decent when you build her with the grand duke build. Everyone just remember to play whats most fun for you, meta or not ^^

I’m hoping Ruan Mei can truly bring Himeko into some sort of spotlight, her increased break effect synergies perfectly with Himeko’s talent, but Himeko just doesn’t deal enough damage because she is focused on AoE, here’s to hoping for a support which condenses damage into blast or single target 😁

This video did not age well...

as someone who plays genshin, hsr and hi3rd, I can confidently say that hi3rd has insane powercreep. occasionally a unit will stay relevant for a long time (herrscher of sentience for example) but older units are practically useless in new competitive content. it’s hard to keep up but they do give decent rewards and free units quite often.

3:20 lmao bronya tried to shoot the skill capsule and ended up shooting the enemy

If you have Himeko, remember to bring her to any IPC Senior Staff Team Leader fight. The guy loves spending turns summoning more grunts for Himeko and Pela to weakness break, which gives them free marks for more damage and just makes the fight overall easier. This is currently the only fight I find Himeko to be the most ideal pick for, assuming equal investment amongst units. Hopefully Pure Fiction gives her another avenue to be viable in.

I've been a Himeko stan since day 1 and always tried making her work and so far the new Erudition path in Sim Universe has been insanely good with her to the point I think she's pretty much top tier in Simu world rn so I'm hoping Pure Fiction will give her her long awaited spotlight

man this came out at the worst time huh

I would argue that Himeko became at least a little bit more viable when the IPC enemies dropped. They're all weak to fire, and the big robot manager dude in particular is constantly summoning in more to fill the enemy party gaps, meaning that Himeko is constantly being supplied with mooks to proc her LC buff and victory rush follow-up off of. Admittedly they're not so plentiful outside of the short story moment where they're the main antagonistic faction, but they do still appear and Himeko is probably one of the best units for dealing with them... though admittedly this is just theory crafting because so far the game hasn't deigned to give me a Himeko to play with - it seems to think I need her LC and an E3 Welt more. Also, another cool thing about 1.6 is that it's added the Erudition path and blessings to Simulated Universe, which should act as incentive to use Himeko and other erudition units in the mode.

Why No One Plays Himeko: Pure Fiction just didn't come out yet-

Well, well, well. How the tables have turned

Thid video: a glass of milk left on the table Pure fiction: a warm room, just perfect to spoil milk in Now, it should be recoqnised that this is 90% on purpose. The title and the timing are perfect for ragebaiting. If that wasn't the case, Vars here could have waited less than two weeks to see how PF changed the situation before releasing a more up-to-date assesment. This video is a smart, although somewhat distasteful move from him.

Time to make the switch up with "Why EVERYONE plays Himiko" now that Pure Fiction dropped lol

Next vidéo: Why everyone play himeko. Pure fictions is so fun

Would love to see a video on Qingque (fittingly another Erudition). Originally, it seemed like everyone thought she was garbage because of her rng kit, but recently she's been considered one of the best 4star dps thanks to her Blast damage and the ability to play around her rng.

I've an E3 Himeko (+ her signature lightcone) and I play her with my E6 Asta. Let's just say...not a lot of enemies can survive these two. 😊

Himeko is fine unit, she can do decent damage, especially against groups or fire weak enemies. She also has potential to get stronger with future supports. And she's fun to play. Yanqing on the other hand? He's much worse. Himeko didn't deserves the title of worst 5*

All depends on your account. With Ruan Mei or Asta and Topaz, she feels very good to play.

honestly she is still one of the best characters for calyx farming

I expected this kind of video because I remember the early days when Himeko was labeled as the “worst 5 star in the game”. She's come a long way since then with her being a support for Topaz in follow-up attacks, the Grand Duke set, and Ruan Mei's potential in a “Break Effect Himeko” build. Himeko may not be shining but she's keeps improving bit by bit and this is coming from someone who mains her since Day 1.

damn u brought your curse from league to star rail bro😂

Himeko could become better in 1.6, as she focuses or breaking weaknesses for her follow-up attacks, and considering that’s what Ruan Mei buffs, she should be pretty good. And we also have the AoE focused endgame coming out as well, so she could be good there too. Yes, I am on copium.

I haven't stopped using Himeko even after getting characters like Kafka or Argenti, mainly because I love that her playstyle is one which rewards careful planning. If paired with characters like Silver Wolf or Xueyi, the toughness break becomes pretty consistent, and the fights become a constant evaluation of how many charges you can get for her talent, sometimes even rewarding you for letting an enemy regenerate its toughness for extra damage with the talent. Of course, she isn't the strongest, but her playstile is one that is very interesting and fun, and is still viable once you build her and a team that allows her to shine.

I think if they made character who could make break bars replenish immediately after breaking them but made the bar easier to break would make Himiko a very desired character because she would work so well with that.

Maybe an update video with the release of pure fiction?

When I saw Erudition path in SU I screamed. I started finally building my E1 Himeko from level 50 to 70 and leveled up those fire relics that I misfortunately got (thanks for making a better set for her AFTER I got all four pieces with double crit, it was so nice of you)... And then Jingliu was still a better Erudition path unit and the path itself is just a "Make your dps Ult into Argenti"s"

If HSR intends to directly buff older characters in the future, I hope they lower the requirement for her follow up attack to 1 break instead of 3, and increase the damage multiplier

Well didn't this video just get dated real fast with the release of Pure Fiction

Her usability (or lack of) is circumstantial since a lot of the more recent enemies don't have Fire weakness that Himeko can break on her own such as the annoying Swarm Stings. Here's hoping she does get a second wind and renewed purpose. Also I find that Himeko works well against the enemy boss "Senior Staff - Team Leader" since it has Fire weakness and also summons Grunts that also have Fire weakness, giving Himeko plenty of opportunities to proc her follow-up attacks and Ult on them.

I’m a Himeko main in Star Rail. She’s my favorite character overall my best Fire DPS

I really want you to make a follow up video for pure fiction just for fun

I honestly love playing Himeko. I use her every time there's a fire weak stage in MoC because it feels like her gameplay is like a puzzle with the break mechanic

I love how Pure Fiction made characters like Himeko, Serval and Herta go from bottom tier to must build for the game mode. Hopefully, HSR keeps making new game modes that retroactively buff characters like Arlan, Sushang and Yanqing too

If I had her, I'd play her all the time against Fire chambers. Especially now with Ruan Mei

9 days old and this video already outdated

As someone who got so excited that their first 5 star was Himeko, I'm so ready for pure fiction.

this video did not age well 😂

Can you imagine a character who creates totems or something on the enemies side that are easily destroyed? Maybe they create debuff or something when broken? Himeko could be interesting and all erudition in general. Idk if it would work but just an interesting idea I think :3

It’s great to see some love for Himeko. Great video. I really started enjoying her in Swam Disaster once I had Topaz & Numby. Now, with the path of Erudition in the Sim. U., she is so much fun (with the right combo of blessings).

I have an E1 Himeko, I would LOVE for her to be good and for me to have an excuse to build her. She had an event mission a while back where you could use her and Herta to do wave clears and it was a lot of fun. Hopefully the new mode has the same feeling as the event one.

I’m glad this video didn’t age well (not hating on VARS, just a simple HI3 Himiko enjoyer)

With Ruan Mei’s release I’ve been having fun running himeko with Topaz. The breaking is fantastic

Vars i love you but this video aged in less than a month😭

As a huge fan of Himeko, I'm super happy to see 1.6 introduce more content geared towards Himeko and other Erudition units, it's a welcome sight! Hope more content like this comes out :D

I make a point in these kinds of games of trying to use the plot-relevant characters whenever I can, even if they aren't "meta" at the time. Seeing as she's seemingly going to be heavily involved in Penacony, I've been trying to build her lately. Knowing that the new mode just added is one that actually favors her makes me VERY hopeful that they are planning to buff Erudition in general. It also helps that I already had Jing Yuan built and they can use pretty much the exact same equipment.

I mean theoretically you could also make her viable by introducing harmony/nihility characters that increase Break Efficiency on Hime- Wait is that Ruan Mei calling? Anyway, as I was saying: Or introduce a relic set that focuses on Break Efficiency so she can break elite enemies in like 3 hits.

Well, this video aged poorly

well with pure fiction out now everyone plays her 😂

Personally, like you said, she is the embodiment of Erudition. However, BECAUSE of that, she suffer because early Erudition isn't that good. New Erudition like Argenti combines elements of Hunt (a better path), sparing them of that.

Been building Himeko for the past month, with recent detours to focus on Huohuo and continue with Fu Xuan. I favor heavy defense to start with and have no problems letting Erudition be my primary attack path. And since I got Welt Yang very early on, right before reaching the Luofu where it seemed thematically appropriate to be using him, and I then got Himeko right as the story's heading towards a spot where she seems to become similarly plot-relevant, it was an obvious choice even when I'm suddenly receiving more Fire characters who might be more immediately useful.

ah the irony

I always have Himeko on my team when fighting enemies weak to fire and when the opponents keeps summoning minions.

I have her at E1 and even got her signature LC. I love using her in a dual DPS set up with Blade in Simulated Universe in Elation Path 😊

Recently, I've become interested in characters whose basic attacks have added effects (like Preservation Trailblazer), because you can get more out of using them to generate skill points. Currently, I think Himeko is the only character that can apply Burn with her basic attack, due to Starfire. Sampo also has this ability, but for Wind Shear. I'm interested to see if Himeko will make anything out of this in the future.

I will say that I am hopeful for the future of Erudition units, based on the design for Argenti and Erudition path in the Simulated Universe. I think leaning into Ultimate damage in addition to AoE damage is a good choice. If I understood the Erudition Resonance correctly, it deals additional damage to the healthiest marked target, meaning units that hit AoE like Erudition characters can get a form of pseudo-damage consolidation or at least a damage amp against Elites. Hopefully more Erudition characters can make use of this kind of dynamic outside the SU and we get more supports that can enable them.

Ironically i Iiterally just used her on new Gold and Gears stage in SU right before this video lol and she cleared it with ease with my ruan mei and the new erudition path, for me personally she's quite fun and her follow up attack is satisfying.

Couldn't find a source for a better motivation than this [BTW got my first copy of Himeko] from permanent banner yesterday at 64 pity ,the timing couldn't be more perfect

im new to this game and i luckily (?) got himeko 2 times in the beginner banner.. is it worth to play around her up until the end game?

I just got her a couple of weeks ago in a double pull with argenti (boy did i at first think i got e1 argenti) and i love her since HI3rd but its so sad that especially now with argenti on my roster i probably will never really get to use her alot since i dont have topaz either

Out of all possible days Vars could post this, it had to be on the same day I beat chapter 9 in HI3RD😭

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I shall now build my himeko and use her

While I may not use her a lot, I will say that when she’s useful, she’s ‘really’ useful. I’ll often import her into SU runs where I get the curio that adds one party weakness to all enemies at battle start, since from that position she and Topaz can murder most waves between boss floors… especially the swarms that like to constants fill the screen.

She doesn’t get very much stats from traces unlike other characters, this is somewhat made up for by her have the highest base attack in the game, meaning she scales well off of attack%. Her Element also complements her play style of breaking and clearing, (fire as a big break damage multiplier) So she does have stuff going for her. Not a lot though. 😂

Yu kong also increases imaginary damage for allies somewhere in her kit ( i forget where though🥴)

as someone who's first five star was himeko...this was kinda the final nail in the coffin. seeing this kinda...felt good, but also hurt lol

I recently reached the 300 non promotional pulls, but i have only obtained 4 of the 7 five stars units (first one i got being Gepard, then Yanqin, then Welt, and finally Bailu which one refused to let me get another character so she gave me her Fisrt Eilodon). And for like two weeks i've been wondering who to choose between Himeko (cause i wanted a fire DPS since neither Topaz nor Guina came, and at leats Guina was an AOE DoT unit) and Bronya (cause her action advancing and critic DMG increment) or even waiting for both to come out eventually to get Bronyas first Eilodon, unfortunatelly Clara isn't an option now cause i got argenti to cover Physical DPS (and i´m free to play so what i got in my account it's thanks to my luck). But now knowing that the principal mechanic of the incoming gamemode it's ideal for her and Herta, i finally decided to bring first Himeko to complete astral Express members so i can buff her both with Hu Huo and Ruan Mei if i am lucky enought to get her.

Im extremely surprised to see the "why no one plays series" feature himeko waayy too early. She might not have been the best or considered as "meta" Character right now but she is currently my main fire dps and she carries me across game vs fire weak even if she isn't fully build yet. Though admittedly i knew one day, she will definitely fall off in the future due to how bad she scales with Eidolons vs new upcoming characters. 😢 She is still queen of calyxes and perhaps a solid unit for pure fiction in the future. I was actually expecting (tho i really love these characters) Natasha or Yanqing be featured 1st. Keep this content coming!! Love this series!

ruan mei + the harmony tb leak will make himeko op because her kit strongly relies on triggering breaks and burning enemies. The constant toughness refresh from harmony tb and the extra long weakness broken state from ruan mei + the increased toughness dmg from both of these units will allow himeko to spam multiple follow up attacks after every single skill and ult much faster than she usually does, and the burn from breaking will increase her skill dmg by an extra 20%.

Himeko is always getting the short end of the stick. In HI3 she was killed by Fua Ha in the old Era, and then by Kiana in the New Era, which only happened cause Welt had to kill her father. Which is why he in Star Rail, to protect this universes version of himeko.

I'm hoping that we get a destruction or hunt path version of Himeko in the future. I mean, it's highly unlikely, but it is possible a dan heng situation could happen. I know it was 4* to 5*, but HI3 has different versions, and I think that we should have a sick dps version of her for the game :D. Alas, it's only a wish.

Well this aged well.

Who deals more dmg? lady with big satellite nuke cannon or a celestial jade player goblin?

Besides Asta, Yukong also buffs a specific DMG type (Imaginary) and soon Sparkle will be released, who so far has a Quantum DMG Bonus buff.

I wish most of her kit actually tries to help with gaining stacks, maybe after 2 cycles 1 charge (it’s bad but at least helps in proc-ing her follow up), the ult can also gain 1 charge, after killing gain 1 charge. Idk her kit is very weird since I think it would be really fitting if her kit revolved around her follow-up but she is a standard character so what did we really expect

I think Topaz was a pretty nice boost for Himeko, at least against fire weak enemies. Topaz is able to break fire weak bosses pretty quickly to proc himeko's talent which helps clear the trash mobs that Topaz isn't attacking. I dont think she stands up well as a main hypercarry dps, but I've had a lot of success with her as a sub dps/2nd dps.

Himeko in Pure Fiction is crazy.

Didnt age well lmfao

This video couldn't be outdated any quicker

I think one of the problem is that she is weakness break focus. If the targets are not weak to the elements of the team then she basically cant use one her most important kit. Even if the characters are weak to lets say one of ur supports, then also thee supports usually struggle to frequently break the toughness of enemy. Only some supports like asta are good in breaking

vars : listing reasons why people don't play himeko me : i would have main himeko... if i have her

Videos like this make me feel Jet Li in the movie "The One" (2001)

Himeko was my favorite character upon release of the game outside of the unreleased Kafka and this whole time (before taking a 2 month break) I only invested heavily in Kafka and Himeko. I’m so happy it paid off. Like when I invested in Kokomi day 1 payed off with dendro.

I dunno, I use her a lot, her follow up attacks and giving her a Break Effect set of relics I clean up esp when she is paired with Kafka or Serval. And she works well with Nihility characters like sampo since she really does seem to apply fire damage really well. Those follow up attacks actually do a lot of damage over a long battle.

As someone who got himeko and didn't build her at all, I don't want to feel the same pain again.

And as of yesterday, with Pure Fiction finally available, Himeko is now meta :) Time to finally build her!

I was just thinking when we would get this video lmao

I use her when farming level up materials because her follow up attack can be really good against the enemies in that calyx

I stopped playing this after a few months. Right after getting Blade. But I always wanted Himeko and her trailer is so soothing and serene. It's one of my favorites to rewatch.❤ This is from someone who has never got in to Honkai Impact. So without any bias or nostalgia, it was THAT good to make me like her.

Shes meta in pure fiction :)

Casually sits back in their chair drinking coffee while launching a satellite cannon air strike and she still is looked down upon!

Inaccurate video. Himeko is super popular rn.

Hello Vars! Will we get a "why everyone plays series" For HSR soon? 🎉 love your content

This aged poorly.

I wonder if himeko is a canidate for the imbibitor lunae treatment. I think most people are expecting march to get a bankai. Its probably not nearly as likely as march but himeko and welt might also get a second form somewhere down the line.

She was my first 5 star and got her e1 last night. I use her all the time.

Hello? Yes, excuse me, I've been playing star rail since day 1, I am semi free to play...i do get the monthly pass and basic battle pass...so guess I'm more of a tuna? But on to the question. How exactly do you stop farming Calyx? I can never get enough character EXP and money once I start leveling traces, they get expensive after a while...

Pretty much the reason why I ended up not using HImeko despite having up to E2 boils down to how her kit needs a lot to happen before it really shines compared to what I have now (Seele and Jingliu). I doubt Pure Fiction would end up changing that, especially when Dr. Ratio is also being given for free in a few weeks. Sure it can help to have more DPS units that can break different elements but if there's anything Jingliu (or any 5* Destruction unit for that matter) has shown, you can still clear content without weakness breaks and you'll generally be fine. That or if you have Silver Wolf, but then why bother with the RNG in the first place, hence why Mono Quantum with SW became a thing (just get rid of the RNG). Maybe it might convince newer players or those that were on the fence in building her, but it probably won't change much if you're someone that already has established DPS units built into existing teams, which I'm guessing a lot of people already have given the big 3 Destruction units we got one after another. Basically status quo is better kind of stuff.

I do wish they allowed her to gain stacks upon takedowns to further encourage her wave clearing play style. That way it also doesn’t feel like total ass when you miss out on stacks and potential damage because you killed a unit instead of breaking but you were close to breaking.