Information
As you progress through the story in Honkai: Star Rail you will obtain quite a lot of free 4★ characters. This guide will list all the free characters and also let you know when you will be able to obtain them - so you can easier plan your early game progression team!
Also keep in mind that a lot of the 4★ characters are actually really strong and can be the backbone of your team for quite a long time.
Free characters
Trailblazer (Physical)
Obtainable from: Prologue
The first free character that you will obtain during the Prologue is the main character - Trailblazer. You will for sure him/her in your team for a long time as the Prologue and Jarilo-VI (first planet) are filled with enemies weak to the Physical element. Also, the Traiblazer is 5★ rarity which translates to higher stats, but also the ability to get free Eidolon to make her/him even stronger! Check our other guide to find out where to find the items needed to upgrade it:
And the best part is, once you finish the Jarilo-VI main story, you will unlock Fire specialization for your Trailblazer which is superior to his Physical one.
March 7th & Dan Heng
Obtainable from: Prologue main mission
Right after you obtain the Trailblazer character, you will meet March 7th and Dan Heng and they will join your team!
March 7th is a support character that can provide allies with Shields and freeze enemies. A bit good combo that makes March 7th great in a variety of content, especially Simulation. As for Dan Heng, he is an amazing damage dealer who specializes in murdering elite enemies and due to his speed debuff can be even used against enemies that aren't weak to his element - Wind.
Asta
Obtainable from: Warp
You will obtain Asta from the first ever Warp pull you will do in the Prologue. She's a support that can increase Speed and ATK of her allies but she's also a great Toughness breaker. You will use her a lot in the early game, especially against enemies weak to Fire.
Serval
Obtainable from: Pre-register reward
You will obtain Serval together with Asta - as the in-game mail unlocks together with the Warp System. Serval is a strong damage dealer who focuses on dealing AOE damage, but she still holds her ground against a single enemy.
Herta
Obtainable from: Simulated Universe
You can also get 3 Eidolon for Herta after clearing Simulated Universe World 2/4/6 for the first time. She's another AOE specialist similar to Serval, but sadly she's way worse - while her follow-up attacks are great for farming, she's too weak to be used in general content and straight up terrible on bosses.
Natasha
Obtainable from: Jarilo-VI main story (Lying in Rust)
I'm really glad that Natasha is obtainable for free as the game's difficulty picks up in the second half of Jarilo-VI storyline and without a healer you would really struggle there. If you don't have Bailu, you will use Natasha in most content and she will form the backbone of your team.
Qingque
Obtainable from: Forgotten Hall - Memory Stage 3
Qingque gives you access to the rare Quantum element, but sadly her performance is underwhelming - her kit is RNG-heavy and if you're unlucky, she will do terrible damage.
Trailblazer (Fire)
Obtainable from: Jarilo-VI Main story (TL 24)
This isn't really a new character, but an alternative version of the Physical Trailblazer you obtained at the start of the game. You can switch between them on the fly in the Character screen. Compared to the Physical Trailblazer, the Fire one is a Taunter/Shielder that focuses on protecting the team.