Honkai: Star Rail Tier list (January 2026)

Categories

• DPS - Characters that mainly focus on dealing damage and being the main source of it in the team they are placed in,
• Support DPS - Characters that fall within this category are very rarely played as the primary or sole damage dealer of the team and instead almost always play alongside another character that fills that role instead. Support DPS are still built with the intention to deal damage themselves but also have a kit containing buffs/debuffs to bolster their team's performance and/or have abilities that are directly dependent on others in order to function.
• Amplifier - Characters that do not focus on dealing damage but instead amplify the damage other teammates deal by granting allies buffs or debuffing enemies,
• Sustain - Characters who are capable of keeping the team alive with their abilities.

Special tags

Tags are split into 3 categories: Pros, Cons and Archetype which represent the most defining features of a character's kit and the current meta archetypes they fit into. Archetype tags indicate a connection between characters with that tag e.g. Acheron requires debuffs to work and Silver Wolf applies them. Here is a full list of all current tags and what they mean:

• Break - the character belongs to the Break archetype focusing on Break Effect and Break Efficiency,
• Debuff - the character belongs to the Debuff archetype applying one or many debuffs or has a kit that directly relies on them to function,
• DoT - the character belongs to the Damage-over-Time archetype specializing in applying and/or amplifying DoT effects,
• Advance - the character can manipulate the turn order by either action advancing their allies or themselves,
• Buff - the character can apply various Buffs to help their teammates,
• Delay - the character can delay enemies and hinder their actions in battle,
• Energy - the character can recover the teammates energy,
• SP-Friendly - the character is substantially more skill point friendly than other characters in their role.
• SP-Unfriendly - the character is substantially more skill point un-friendly than other characters in their role.
• Partner - character relies on being partnered with a small set of specific characters to demonstrate their full potential at their tier list ranking. When played without these characters, this character's ranking will be 1-2 tiers lower.

Meta Lines

Meta Lines categorize each section of the tier list into a power bracket. Here are the four brackets:

• Apex Characters (T0 & T0.5) - characters in this bracket are the cream of the crop. They can do outrageous amount of damage, provide massive buffs (or debuffs) or keep the team alive no matter what the enemy throws at them. They simply can achieve the best, most consistent and accessible results in their best teams, allowing you to easily clear the content,
• Meta Characters (T1, T1.5, T2) - characters in this bracket make clearing the content a breeze, but compared to the Apex characters they require more work from your side. Either their team options are more restrictive, they require bigger Relic investment or they possess a notable weakness or downside. Still, they are all great and won't disappoint you if you give them what they need to shine,
• Off-meta Characters (T3 & T4) - characters in this bracket are lacking in one or many fields of their role. These characters still possess the ability to clear all content with the right build, endgame blessing, team or enemy line-up but have much lower play rates and success rates than Meta and Apex characters,
• The Forgotten Ones (T5) - characters in this bracket struggle. A lot. Either their kits simply don't work in the mode or they require a ton of investment and love to be able to work. Just avoid them unless your husbando or waifu landed here and you believe in the power of love.

Half tiers

To further define the tier list and correctly represent the power level of each character in relation to each other we have added half tiers to the higher tier brackets. Under our previous system a tier rating jump of 1 tier rating made it difficult to position characters accurately, often leading to multiple characters ending up in the same tier despite a clear power and utility difference.

Criteria

• Manual play,
• Using optimal team composition/support characters,
• Character level 80,
• All Major Traces unlocked and skills upgraded to level 10,
• Character equipped with level 80 best in slot 4★ or 5★ Light Cone (including limited Light Cones, but at S1),
• Character equipped with 5★ upgraded gear with optimal Main Stats and Sub Stats (with 24 desired sub stats out of a possible 54),
• Eidolon level 0 for 5★ characters,
• Eidolon level 0/6 for 4★ characters.

Roles

We compare characters within their role - so DPS are compared to other DPS and the ratings are adjusted based on their performance within the role. Don't try to compare characters between roles (for example an Amplifier with a DPS), because their ratings mean different things.

• DPS - Rating is heavily influenced based on the characters ability to deal enough damage to achieve the 3-star objective, the easier and more quickly achieved the higher the rating,
• Support DPS - Rating is heavily influenced based on the damage they provide, the buffs and debuffs or efficiency boost these characters create or the utility they provide against certain encounters,
• Amplifier - Rating is influenced based on the damage amplification abilities of the character and the utility they provide to the team,
• Sustain - Rating is influenced based on the characters ability to keep the team alive and the utility they provide. The more utility and higher the safety, the higher the rating.

Other criteria affecting the ratings

Each tier list rates characters based on their average value in the specific game mode it represents. The higher a character is rated on the tier list the greater their power and more widely they can be used effectively in the mode, helping the players in getting all rewards every cycle. We aren't looking at 0-cycle potential. We consider:

• Flexibility - how the characters kit functions against various enemy types, amounts of enemies and their ability to perform when not fighting against enemies vulnerable to their element,
• Investment - some characters require specific limited 5★ units, heavy investment in certain relic sets or an abundance of sub-stats in order to function at the highest level. Each of these points impacts the rating in a negative way. - the more the character requires to perform well, the bigger the impact,
• Utility - recently released characters possess abilities that lie beyond their defined role, for example Amplifiers/Sustains that can deal decent damage. The more a character helps the team outside of their role, the bigger positive impact on their rating it has.

Partners Pairings

• 
  The Dahlia → Super Break DPS - The Dahlia is the backbone of modern Super Break teams and a requirement for their meta relevance, without her every break damage dealer performs multiple tiers worse. All high rated Super Break characters rely on her for their placement, because of this each of them also has the partner tag.
• Support DPS Erudition →
  
  The Herta - The characters below have their Support DPS category rating solely determined based on their ability to serve as the secondary Erudition The Herta needs to activate her bonuses. Without this synergy they would either be rated exclusively on the DPS tier list or moved there. This reasoning applies to the following:
• 
  Anaxa
• 
  Argenti
• 
  Serval
• 
  Archer →
  
  Sparkle - Archer requires Sparkle’s additional SP cap as well as SP generation in order to function at the highest level and without this performs notably worse.
• 
  Hysilens &
  
  Kafka → DoT - For the DoT archetype to perform at their listed tier list ranking both Hysilens and Kafka are required. Hysilens is the primary source of damage of the team but without Kafka she fails to deliver it effectively. Black Swan, while viable, requires both in order to achieve her current ranking. Kafka needs Hysilens - Hysilens needs Kafka and Black Swan needs both. Therefore The DoT Partner tag applies to:
• 
  Kafka
• 
  Hysilens
• 
  Black Swan
• 
  Aglaea &
  
  Jing Yuan →
  
  Sunday - Both Aglaea & Jing Yuan gain substantial mechanical advantages from Sunday’s ability to advance their summons, accelerating the amount of actions they and those summons perform in a fight. Without this advantage their placement on the tier list suffers.
• 
  March 7th • Evernight (Support DPS) &
  
  Blade (Support DPS) →
  
  Castorice - Both Evernight’s and Blade’s Support DPS rankings are based solely on their potential as Sub DPS with Castorice. Without this pairing both characters would only exist within the DPS category.
• 
  Rappa →
  
  Tingyun • Fugue - Rappa needs Fugue’s double break ability in order to fuel her energy and charge generation - without it she performs notably worse across the board.
• 
  Cerydra →
  
  Phainon
  
  Anaxa
  
  Mydei
  
  Archer - Cerydra has enough teammates to avoid the Partner tag in theory. But unlike other characters she's close to non-functional outside of these characters, justifying the tag even though she doesn’t specifically fit within its definition. Phainon and Anaxa are the most common beneficiaries of Cerydra’s double skill capabilities, but Archer can also make use of her specifically when aiming at sustainless 3 support compositions. Finally Mydei, post Cyrene, also appreciates Cerydra but only when Cyrene is present. Outside of these scenarios Cerydra’s tier list rating falls dramatically.
• 
  Cyrene → Chrysos Heir - Like Cerydra, Cyrene technically works with a wide range of characters (all the Chrysos Heirs from 3.x) but outside of these she’s completely useless, justifying the Partner tag. In addition to this, for Cyrene to perform she needs to be paired with not just one, but multiple Heirs or her energy generation will suffer, impacting her performance and therefore tier list rating.

06/01/2026

Outside of Break, this MoC phase hasn’t seen too much need for adjustments of the tier list, because of this we’re leaving it as is for now.

Apocalyptic Shadow on the other hand has enough movement that we’ll be going through with some non-break changes.

• 
  March 7th • Evernight (DPS) T0.5 T0: Evernight continues to overperform compared to her current T0.5 placement as a solo DPS, so we're raising her ranking to T0 as she’s simply too consistently strong every phase.
• 
  Archer T0 T0.5: Archer had a rough time in 3.7 and has once again struggled in 3.8 as well. T0 requires consistency, and Archer currently isn’t displaying that. We’re moving him to T0.5 until he bounces back and is able to put up convincing clears even when enemies, buffs and weaknesses don’t favor him.
• 
  Saber &
  
  Feixiao - Saber and Feixiao both had a very tough time this AS phase, with the lack of Wind weakness, containing AoE mechanics and Saber specifically being dragged down on side 2 due to energy draining enemies. This patch is possibly just a 'black swan' event so we’ll be watchlisting them for now, but if they falter again we’ll have to consider adjusting their placement next time.
• 
  Himeko T4 T2: Although we’re not making large changes to Break this update, Himeko in AS is an exception as she now has proven results with the Dahlia showing she is at a minimum stronger than her previous rank of T4. Even if her results falter after the break shilling stops, we're confident she's worthy of at least placing her in T2 post The Dahlia’s release.
• 
  March 7th • The Hunt - March 7th Swordmaster is another beneficiary of The Dahlia releasing and is now being played in a new way as a main DPS. We’re not making adjustments to her this time, but are considering splitting her scores into main and support damage and double ranking her in future updates if she continues to see use in other modes and after the shilling stops.
• 
  Topaz & Numby T1 T1.5: Topaz’s previous niche alongside Feixiao has been eroded over time with many Feixiao players opting to play alongside double Harmony or bring one of the newer Follow-Up attackers who provide additional benefit like Tribbie or Cipher. Because of this, Topaz’s use cases have become far fewer resulting in her meta relevance diminishing. Based on this, her recent scores and play rate, we’re adjusting her rating.
• 
  Robin T0 T0.5: Robin, while still strong, is a far more situational support than the majority of top rated amplifiers currently residing in T0 - she has fewer top tier teams she’s best within and her play rate and scores reflect that. We don’t believe Robin has gotten much weaker, but the best DPS no longer consider her their top choice with specialized options like Cyrene and Cerydra taking up the spot Robin used to sit securely within instead.
• 
  Sparkle T0.5 T1: In the current meta Sparkle is primarily used alongside Archer or as a very lower priority pick for Phainon if you don’t have any of his better options. With her main niche being alongside Archer, who has been struggling and is moving down a tier this patch, we’re also adjusting Sparkle’s rating for now as well.

16/12/2025

This time, we’ll be updating the Pure Fiction tier list based on latest performance as well as adding

For quite a while now the Break archetype has been suffering, leading to all characters within it falling steadily down the tier list in a fashion similar to DoT. Thankfully, also like DoT, Hoyo has deemed it's time to finally give them some new and proper support which is The Dahlia.

• 
  Firefly
• 
  Rappa
• 
  Boothill
• 
  Tingyun • Fugue
• 
  Trailblazer • Harmony

We’re confident the meta relevance of all these characters is guaranteed to improve with the Dahlia’s release, but as always are still ranking them conservatively until we have more data. All damage dealers we’re moving up the tier list are also getting the partner tag (if they don’t have it already), as their boost is entirely dependent on The Dahlia.

There are of course more Break characters than those listed above, however these characters are far more niche. To avoid incorrect moves we’ll be watching characters like this for now and if any make headway in the meta as a result of The Dahlia’s release we’ll update their ratings accordingly.

Ruin Mei VS The Dahlia: While the Dahlia and Ruan Mei share quite a few similarities both characters are also different. Ruan is applicable to a wider range of teams, thanks to her generic buffs and the Dahlia is a more potent specialist often being the strongest pick for dedicated break teams. This difference is why The Dahlia isn’t immediately knocking Ruan down the tier list and in the case of AS not immediately starting on the same tier as Ruan Mei who is a universal support you can slot effectively into any team for damage increases and break efficiency. Expect further adjustments to the ordering of both supports as more data becomes available.

Pure Fiction changes:

• 
  Mydei T1 T0.5: Mydei has seen massive gains in PF thanks to the release of Cyrene who allows him to access the 'AoE' portion of his kit far more frequently. The result of this is far greater potential in PF which is clearly reflected in his scores. Based on this we’re moving him up.
• 
  The Herta T0 T0.5: One of the requirements of T0 is consistent domination of the mode regardless of buffs and enemy type. Currently The Herta is not living up to that mantle in Pure Fiction like she has in the past. She’s had multiple rough phases recently, so for now we’re having to move her out of T0.
• 
  Aglaea T1.5 T1: Aglaea consistently moves between T1.5 and T1 in Pure Fiction depending on the buffs available and the enemies on offer. This set of phases continues that pattern, but Aglaea now also benefits from Cyrene as well, making this move perhaps a little more of a permanent one.
• 
  Blade &
  
  Saber T1 T1.5: Both Blade and Saber aren’t performing well enough in the most recent batch of phases to hang onto their position in T1 compared to the current standard being set. We’re moving them both down to T1.5 alongside characters who are closer to their current performance.
• 
  Jade T0 T0.5: Jade has stood at the Apex of Pure Fiction since its very first phase but now with The Herta making her way down to T0.5 for now, and Powercreep giving other characters far more tools to dish out huge consistent AoE damage themselves, Jade doesn’t quite have the same impact she used to. We currently don’t think Jade is on the same power level as Evernight and Kafka so we’re moving her down for now.
• 
  Sparkle &
  
  Tingyun T1 T1.5: In PF, Sparkle and Tingyun primarily gained ground thanks to their ability to be played with Phainon. They still have this niche, but with the release of Cyrene and her power in Phainon teams, it’s weaker than before.

18/11/2025

In this update we’re tackling both our usual MoC and AS update at once to address the meta shifts that have emerged throughout 3.6 and 3.7.

Memory of Chaos:

• 
  Archer T0 T0.5: Archer always hung around the tail end of T0 but was close enough, that he was able to justify keeping his position. This phase Archer has seen a significant hit to his performance, pushing him from holding on at the bottom of T0 to being closer in average performance to his peers in T0.5.
• Super Break: Following in the footsteps of DoT, Super Break continues to underperform compared to their placement on the tier list. Based on this, we’re forced to move them down until they see a new support to bring them back up within the meta. This time
  
  Rappa
  
  Firefly
  
  Tingyun • Fugue and
  
  Trailblazer • Harmony are being adjusted.
• 
  Blade &
  
  Jingliu: Main DPS Blade and Jingliu saw momentum post buff, but are now seeing less success and less play as the phases continue. After Evernight’s release many also filled their HP damage niche with her instead, further pushing them out of the meta - this is especially relevant for Support Damage Blade who previously had a place alongside Castorice which has been solidly taken over by Evernight for those that have her.
• 
  Topaz & Numby: Topaz is primarily used alongside Feixiao, who is now often running without a dedicated follow-up attack damage dealing partner or with Cipher who can fill the role of stack generation, while also amplifying Feixiao’s damage. This isn’t a new trend, but it’s progressed far enough that we’re moving Topaz down a tier.

Apocalyptic Shadow:

• Super Break: As is the case in MoC, Super Break is also having a tough time in AS on average. We acknowledge in certain phases playing Super Break sustainable can see success, but for most players the characters within the archetype aren’t performing at a high enough level to justify their current placement on the tier list. As a result, we’re also making adjustments to placements here as well. The affected characters are
  
  Boothill
  
  Firefly
  
  Tingyun • Fugue and
  
  Trailblazer • Harmony.
• 
  March 7th • Evernight: The combo of Evernight and Castorice has proven itself over multiple phases to be incredibly potent, so we’re raising Evernight to T0 in Support Damage. Also while not a high play rate pick, main DPS Evernight is also producing impressive results in AS. We’re following through on her previous watch list to raise her up and watchlisting her again to potentially move to T0.

In addition to all the changes above for both MoC and AS, we’ve adjusted the rating of a number of characters to better reflect the meta line divide listed between tiers. If a character isn’t being actively played and doesn’t have a niche within teams and therefore aren’t meta their rating should fall within the off meta tiers not the meta ones.

10/11/2025

Now that more players have had a chance to play with Cyrene and we have our first round of data, we’re immediately executing on Cyrene’s watch ist as her performance on live (for the most part) is matching our early access testing we mentioned in our launch change log. While we’re moving Cyrene now, it’s not the full extent of the tier list changes planned - you can expect our full and usual update in the coming days.

• 
  Cyrene T0.5 T0 (all modes): We placed Cyrene conservatively due to how divisive her pre-release cycle was among the community. Now that players have had a chance to play with her and we have our first round of data, it’s clear that for well invested Chrysos Heirs teams, she is a notable performance upgrade when built around correctly.

05/11/2025

In this update we’re adding

The Partner tag is currently confusing and doesn’t offer any information about which characters are needed for those labelled with it. To eliminate this confusion and simplify things we’re consolidating Partner++ into the standard Partner tag and adding a Partner section to the tier list criteria. Within this section we’ll list all of the required partners as well as any other considerations for these characters such as cases of extreme reliance.

14/10/2025

This update contains the addition of

Dan Heng Permansor Terrae

PF is a little more challenging though, as while DHPT is powerful, Hyacine in PF is on a completely different level, making sitting alongside her a challenge. On the other end of the spectrum DHPT is definitely stronger than the existing sustain cast in most scenarios. Whether it’s enough to push the entire sustain category down below him, making him the sole T0.5 character is another story, and a move we’re not committed to making until we see how he performs in the hands of a large amount of players. In PF, DHPT will be sitting alongside Huohuo, Aventurine and Lingsha for now - although all three of them have been watchlisted to potentially move down pending his performance.

• Pure Fiction: T0.5
• Apocalyptic Shadow: T0
• Memory of Chaos: T0

Apocalyptic Shadow Updates

• 
  Hysilens T1 T0.5 - We’ve been keeping Hysilens rated conservatively for quite a while now, waiting until she finally had a chance to showcase her kit in an AS that wasn’t entirely shilled in her and DoTs favor. As of this Phase that time has finally come and DoT has undeniably taken a massive hit to its performance compared to the past two phases. With that said, despite the fact DoT has limited toughness damage compared to some other archetypes they’re still performing surprisingly well - well enough in fact that they are able to compete with characters residing in the apex tier. Based on this non-shilled performance we’re raising Hysilens and DoT for now.
• 
  Kafka &
  
  Black Swan- As mentioned in Hysilens changelog, DoT has performed above expectations after their shilling has ended. Kafka and Black Swan being large parts of some of the highest scoring DoT compositions of the mode similarly are getting a placement increase as well.
• 
  March 7th • Evernight [Watchlist UP] - Evernight has produced some strong scores solo and alongside others at the time of her release but similar to Hysilens and DoT had a strong amount of shilling boosting her performance. We expect Evernight to move up next update, but are taking one more phase to gather more data.
• 
  Boothill &
  
  Firefly [Watchlist DOWN] - Firefly and Boothill suffered from a mediocre run last phase and things have not gotten better this phase. Break is struggling across the board and that is now starting to show itself more prominently in AS as well. We’re giving Boothill and Firefly one more phase to bounce back to their usual performance before making any hard decisions. Both are being watchlisted based on their recent slump in performance.

24/09/2025

In this update we’re adding

Tribbie

Still, the biggest change we’re making in this update is a swap from a strictly no Signature tier list to one including them. Previously characters were assessed with (and limited) to Standard S1 5★ Light Cones, any S5 4★ Light Cone and Herta’s S5 5★ Light Cones. Under the new criteria, characters will still have access to the previously listed Light Cones, but also any Limited S1 5★ Light Cone as well. Here are the reasons why we’re making this change:

• Nowadays, characters are designed with their Signature Light Cone as a core component of their kit with the expectation they are played with it equipped. This is especially true for damage-based characters, with many having no or incredibly limited alternatives.
• We’ve received feedback on (and agree) that many players evaluate characters' power level and the meta with Signatures in mind - partly because of point 1, but also because more players own the Signatures compared to playing the characters at E0S0 (based on our data).
• The difficulty of the game continues to increase, favoring vertical investment compared to horizontal. Many players are moving firmly towards selecting their favorite characters and investing heavily into them longer compared to limiting them to E0S0.

With all of that said, we’re not making this change lightly - we first investigated multiple solutions:

• We considered splitting the tier lists and having a Sig and non-Sig version (6 total), but after actually making a draft, majority of the tier list looked exactly the same - while the floor and the ceiling of the character power did change with Signatures added, the 'order' within remained mostly the same with very small number of shifts,
• We also experimented with implementing a Signature tag for characters with overly impactful Signatures, but found where to draw the line to be too subjective - with either not enough characters having the tag or far too many.

Ultimately our final decision, one that has been forced upon us by the state of the game, is to make the full swap to Signatures - or rather their best Light Cones, as some characters don't use a Signature Light Cone as their best in slot. As always we’ll be listening closely to your feedback, so send it our way!

As mentioned, also in this update we moved

Now let's move to

We also want to make a special mention for DoT in Apocalyptic Shadow as the 'shilling 'of free DoT break in the mode is now coming to an end with this upcoming phase. We’re maintaining

We’ll be watching closely how these changes play out, and will make adjustments where needed based on feedback in our next update.

10/09/2025

As usual we’re proceeding with our routine post phase update - this time based on 3.5 Pure Fiction:

• 
  Hysilens T0.5 T0: Hysilens continues to perform well despite the fact that the “hard” DoT shilling has mostly passed. Based on this, we’re following through on her watch list and moving her to Tier 0.
• 
  Kafka &
  
  Black Swan - Despite Hysilens moving up, we’re putting a pause on raising Kafka and Black Swan a step higher for now. Hysilens is penalized by the Partner++ tag while Kafka and Black Swan are not. We’ll revisit DoT again in the next update (we’re aware specifically Black Swan is punching well above Tier 1 this phase).
• 
  Mydei T1.5 T1: We’re moving Mydei alongside Blade in T1, partly because of his fantastic synergy with the HP stacking mafia but also because he has proven quite capable in PF alone as well. Mydei can put up convincing scores in duo or solo, for that he’s getting a raise.
• 
  Argenti T0.5 T1: Argenti played solo, is capable of scoring 40,000 convincingly in some phases, but struggles noticeably in others. This inconsistency in the face of Phainon and Anaxa is why we’re lowering his rating for now.
• 
  Jing Yuan T1 T1.5: Jing Yuan has struggled to clear comfortably the past three phases compared to others in T1 even when paired with the great equalizer Tribbie. We’re moving him to T1.5 for now.
• 
  Rappa,
  
  Trailblazer • Harmony &
  
  Tingyun • Fugue - Super Break is not doing well in Pure Fiction, following the trend of experiencing a drop off in all three competitive endgame modes. Rappa isn’t where we expect a T1 DPS to be at the moment, so she’s moving down. With Rappa moving down, so are the archetype supports Fugue and Harmony Trailblazer. We hope Super Break gets some love soon.
• 
  Serval T1 T1.5: Black Swan and Blade are both outstanding partners within their designated Niche while Serval is a 3rd or 4th choice at best. We’re correcting Serval’s tier to better communicate the power of Blade and Black Swan.
• 
  Silver Wolf T1.5 T1: Silver Wolf isn’t smashing PF out of the park, but she’s also not doing poorly. We’re raising her rating to T1 to reflect her flexible position in the meta and her ability to slot into multiple teams.
• Support Damage Dealers: We have multiple characters currently we feel are candidates for T0 status such as Support Anaxa, with others sitting in the wings in T1, limited by the power houses in T0.5. The reason so many characters are “capped at 0.5” is Tribbie. Tribbie is so universal, so powerful and so overwhelming that placing characters alongside her is a tall order, even the character alongside her in PF right now, Jade, could be argued against. For this reason we’re discussing moving Tribbie to the Amplifier category where she can more appropriately battle it out with equally universal characters like Sunday and Remembrance Trailblazer.