Our first post-release Tier List update! - Prydwen Institute Blog (2024)

Tier List update

Since the moment Honkai: Star Rail officially released, we’ve been busy testing basically everything. Our release tier list was based mostly on simulations – as that was the only way to find out how the balance changes that happened on release impacted the characters – but simulations are just a part of the process and nothing replaces actually playing the game and testing the various mechanics.

With the help of Grimro and his theorycrafting Discord, we’ve managed to test every character available on release with their best and optimal builds available to us now. And the fruits of the testing resulted in the adjusted tier list!

Important! Keep in mind that the tier list was and still is based on the level 60 character cap – things may look totally different when we reach the level 70 or 80 cap, but when we do, we will adjust the tier list with our findings.

Furthermore, we also released a new guide for Memory of Chaos that contains data from players who already are pushing the stages there. We’ve gathered information about their teams and prepared charts that show the most popular characters in MoC:

New Tier List

To check the new Tier List, simply head to our tier list page – it’s already updated!

Changelog

This section will explain all the changes that happened in the tier list and why we did them. We hope that this will help you understand better our reasoning behind creating the tier list.

SS Tier

We’ve decided to introduce a new tier – SS tier. And only one character will belong to it now and you’ve probably already guessed who it will be.

Yes, it’s Seele. She’s not only much stronger than any damage dealer in the game but with the way her skill work and synergize with each other, nobody comes even close to the impact on the team she has.

Even in Forgotten Hall, you often just have to use her and some ‘stat sticks’ (buffers) to clear one of the sides in a ridiculous number of turns. And this gives you more leeway with the second side. Unless the boss you fight is resistant to Quantum, you can safely use Seele as she doesn’t really care about Weaknesses – yes, she’s that strong.

Other changes

Here’s a list of all changes that happened in the tier list.

Clara (S -> S+)

Clara’s AoE damage output is obnoxious and no other character in the game comes even close to her (well, besides Seele). Furthermore, it’s easy to create a team that makes use of her potential and she’s strong enough to work as the hypercarry.

Her only issue lies in her single target damage output, so she sometimes struggles when there’s just one enemy left on the field, but thankfully, most of the bosses constantly spawn new monsters so you can work around that.

Also, she’s strong enough to clear Simulated Universe World 6 just by herself without any other characters in your team.

Gepard (S -> S+)

Well, we really did underestimate Gepard a bit. When built right he can use his Ultimate every turn (or every other turn) which combined with the massive shields he can create on the whole team, means that you don’t even need to bring a Healer with you as it will take ages for the boss to go through the Shields (and even if he does, Gepard will just refresh them).

This makes him a key member of your Forgotten Hall squad, especially if you lack Bailu, and he’s just overpowered in Simulated Universe when you pair him with the Preservation Path Blessings.

Himeko (S -> A)

While Himeko shines in AoE scenarios, her single damage output is way below that of Clara. This forces you to pair her with a single-target-focused damage dealer which in turn means that your team will most likely have issues with Skill Points balance.

Honestly, we think that her issue lies in the fact that she’s way more gear (and trace) hungry compared to other damage dealers, and it’s hard to use her in the current place the majority of players reside (so level 50-60 level cap). This should most likely change once we move to the level 70 cap, and we will reevaluate Himeko again then.

Still, we can’t justify keeping her in the S tier in the current state of the meta.

Hook (A -> S)

Hook is among the top single-target-focused characters on our DPS Ranking, but she performs even better when you actually play her. This makes her the current go-to Fire character that outperforms Himeko in Forgotten Hall and Simulated Universe. Also, since she’s a promoted character on the current banner, it’s easy to get her dupes that make her even stronger.

Dan Heng (A -> S)

Dan Heng’s damage output is scary and since you obtain him for free, it’s easy to see it by yourself. While he shines against Wind weak enemies, the utility he provides makes him a good choice against other elements too.

Just keep in mind that you need to utilize his Talent and Ultimate synergy to reach his full potential.

Yanqing (A -> S)

Yanqing is another character besides Gepard that flew under our radar a bit, but that’s because to make him work you actually need to pair him with Gepard. While M7 can be used as a replacement for Gepard, she’s inferior to him – if you use all her Skills on YQ, then the rest of the team won’t be protected by her.

Sure, YQ still suffers from the lack of AoE, but he makes up for it with his damage output. Just keep in mind that if you let an enemy hit him, it’s over and your team’s DPS will plummet. This means that if you try to use him without Gepard or M7, he is still A-tier at most.

Natasha (A -> S)

Our initial rating of Natasha put her 2 tiers below Bailu mainly due to her much lower healing output. Still, the reality proved that the Cleanse she has makes her a must-use against many Bosses in Forgotten Hall and Simulated Universe.

Qingque (B -> A)

Well, the church of QQ is steadily growing. The changes that were applied to her on release made her actually a decent choice and if you lack Seele, she will be your Quantum element coverage. We will soon rewrite her review to include the new findings and tips on how to play her in an optimal way, so stay tuned!

Future updates

The tier list will be updated again when we reach the level 70 character cap and test how the characters perform there. This should happen within the next 2 weeks or so!