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For some players, pulling new characters is one of the biggest appeals of gacha games likeHonkai: Star Rail. The biggest reason is that the latest releases are often the strongest in their respective classes. For example, DPS characters Acheron and Firefly consistently dealt 100,000+ damage with the right build and team comp, which is something that previous 5-Stars in the same class find difficult to achieve. Endgame enemies inHSRseem to be getting stronger with each new version of the game, so having units that can keep up with them can make for an easier experience. A whole host of new and rerun banners are coming to theHonkai: Star Railin Version 2.4 and beyond, so players need to know which units are worth pulling for their current team compositions.
Honkai: Star Rail’s turn-based gameplay makes good team-building a must if a player wants to conquer the game’s endgame modes. One can’t just pull up tobosses like Cocolia, Phantylia, or Sunday with four characters with the same role and expect to win. They need to create a squad with damage, support, and sustain units that synergize with each other. The official marketing materials and leaksHonkai: Star RailVersion 2.4 and beyond show a diverse cast of new and rerun characters that fill different niches.
Some character kits mentioned are based on leaked information, so players should expect possible changes once the units debut.
S-Tier Banners in Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.4 and Beyond
Sparkle
TheMasked Fool Sparkleis rerunning in parallel with Jiaoqiu’s banner. She’s an excellent limited 5-star Harmony support that can fit different teams, as she can provide extra skill points using her ultimate and advance ally actions using her skill. She’s perfect for teams with skill-point-hungry damage dealers like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, Qingque, and even Acheron.
Lingsha
According to leaks,Lingsha can inflict Befog, which is a debuff that can increase the break damage taken by enemies. She can also consistently heal using her skill, and her summon does follow-up damage while also healing and cleansing allies. She could be the premium sustain for break teams and an alternative to Aventurine for follow-up comps.
Feixiao
Feixiao, the general of the Xianzhou Yaoqing, is a Hunt character that follows up on ally attacks and has action advance built onto her kit. According to leaks, her ult can deal a huge percentage of her ATK while also reducing the opponent’s toughness regardless of element. She’s another great FUA unit that can synergize well with Topaz, Dr. Ratio, Robin, Aventurine, March 7th (The Hunt), and of course, Lingsha.
Robin
This powerful Harmony support is rumored to be part of athree-unit rerun with Kafka and Black SwaninHonkai: Star Railversion 2.5. She specializes in providing constant damage boosts to all allies and advancing their actions forward by 100% with big damage and crit rate buffs using her ultimate. These traits make her the best-in-slot support for follow-up teams who want to take their turns as frequently as possible. However, her versatile buffs also make her great for other comps like DOT and traditional hypercarry.
Dr. Ratio
This Hunt unit is rumored to be part of the 2.5 reruns, but he might be replaced by Topaz and Numby, according to updated leaks from other sources. He has up to a 40% chance of hurling his chalk at an enemy after he does an attack, dealing up to 270% of his ATK.Dr. Ratioalso has a chance of dishing out his follow-ups to debuffed opponents. He’s the perfect main DPS for those looking to create a follow-up team, as he can synergize with units that can debuff and attack often.
A-Tier Banners in Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.4 and Beyond
Kafka
This unit wasreleased way back inHonkai: Star RailVersion 1.2, but she remains as one of the most powerful damage dealers in the game due to her ability to front-load damage over time (DOT) ticks into one painful instance using her skill. Her talent makes her deal extra damage by following up on allies' basic attacks and inflicting the Shock DOT on top of that. Kafka stays on top as the premier DOT DPS, especially when paired with Black Swan.
Black Swan
This Memokeeper is Kafka’s best sub-DPS unit because she can consistently stack Arcana, her signature DOT, using her basic attack and skill. This deals up to 240% of her ATK at the start of the enemy’s turn and increases DOT damage to them. Arcana can also spread to adjacent opponents. This makes Kafka’s job of dealing big damage by triggering DOTs much easier. Black Swan can work without Kafka, but players will miss out on the front-loaded DOT nukes that the pair is known for.
Topaz and Numby
This high-ranking IPC officer is rumored to make another rerun inHonkai: Star RailVersion 2.5, and she’s an excellent addition to it.Topaz’s skill marks enemies with “Proof of Debt"and causes her summon, Numby, to do a follow-up attack that deals 150% of her ATK. When allies hit these marked enemies, Numby’s next action advances forward by upwards of 50%. While she has tremendous potential in follow-up comps, she’s a less-than-ideal support pick outside of them. Thankfully, there’s been a surge of 5-star and 4-star follow-up units that can complement Topaz’s kit.
B-Tier Banners in Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.4 and Beyond
Jiaoqiu
TheFoxian healer Jiaoqiuis Acheron’s best-in-slot support, as he can consistently apply his Ashen Roast debuff on his turn, leading the latter to get her ultimate up more often. Ashen Roast also increases the damage dealt to enemies, making the Emanator of Nihility even more lethal. This unit can also fit into DOT teams, but other than that, he’s not as versatile as other supports.
C-Tier Banners in Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.4 and Beyond
Stellar Warp
The Standard Banner does have some decent characters for new players, likeBronya, Clara, and Himeko. However, it’s not worth investing any Stellar Jades in. It’s a banner for multiple characters, so the odds of getting the specific unit that the player wants are low, even with a guaranteed 5-star pull. Players are better off only using the free Standard Star Rail passes from events and the battle pass so they can get to the 300-Warp 5-star selector and choose the unit they want to add to their roster.
