Honkai: Star Rail MoC 1.3 Tier list

Criteria:

• Manual play,
• Using optimal team composition/support characters,
• Character level 80,
• All Major Traces unlocked and skills upgraded to level 8,
• Character equipped with level 80 Light Cone (4★ and 5★, but only those available to F2P players),
• 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 6 for 4★ characters,
• Support characters while receiving ratings in all 3 categories (Single target, Blast, AoE) are rated according to how much they help the team and they receive one unified rating.

23.09.2023

• [Herta] D C (Blast) - the current MoC phase buffs with the respawning Trotters actually allows Herta to shine - she can proc her talent much easier and much more often, which increases her overall damage,
• [Herta] C B (AoE) - same as above.

20.09.2023

• We added [Fu Xuan] and [Lynx] to the tier list,
• [Yanqing] A B (Single target) - YQ aged badly. He struggles in the current MoC phase due to the addition of the trotters that keep respawning and this affects his overall damage output and performance compared to other characters.
• [Yanqing] B C (Blast) - Same as above.
• [Natasha] A B (everything) - pushed down by Lynx at E0; it's not even a contest between those two and Lynx is a straight upgrade.

11.09.2023

• We added a toggle that allows you to either display the 4★ characters at their E0 or E6 power level,
• We are still tinkering with the E0 ratings by doing testing on a fresh account so expect a lot of changes to happen there in the coming weeks.
• [Clara] received the 'gamba' designation on the tier list. While Qingque performing well depends on your luck, Clara's performance depends on the enemies and how many times she will get attacked every turn. This can drastically affect her damage output.
• [Qingque E6] A S (all scenarios) - after further testing, we decided to increase QQ base rating to S tier. The changes made to the 1.3 phase (reduced number of waves) + the special trotter mechanic turn her into a monster that can even rival Imbibitor Lunae when the luck favors you.

06.09.2023

• 4★ characters are rated according to their E6 state now,
• [Welt] has been moved to Debuffer/Offensive Support category. With the release of Imbibitor Lunae and the E6 upgrade for 4★ characters, we would have to drop Welt again in the DPS Category (to B tier). Still, he can played too as the debuffer/sub-dps in a lot of teams so we decided instead to move him,
• [Qingque] received a special designation on the tier list. Her rating is averaged between her at good rng and bad rng - landing her in A overall, but she can easily perform at S or S+ levels if you're lucky, and at B/C level when you aren't.
• [Asta] S A (all scenarios) - despite E6 Asta being a powerhouse who shines when paired together with Jing Yuan or Kafka, E6 Tingyun is simply a monster who pushed a lot of characters down - the additional energy can fix a lot of issues with characters and their rotations (Imbibitor Lunae being one example),
• [Pela] S A (all scenarios) - Pela is one of the characters that doesn't really need Eidolons past her E1, so she can't keep up with the power increase other 4★ supports get,
• [Seele] S+ S (in Single target scenario) - Imbibitor Lunae is simply much stronger than any damage dealer in the game when it comes to Single Target damage output, so it makes no sense to keep anyone in the same tier as him,
• [Blade] S+ S (in Blast scenario) - Imbibitor Lunae is simply much stronger than any damage dealer in the game when it comes to Blast damage output, so it makes no sense to keep anyone in the same tier as him,
• [Jing Yuan] S A (in Blast scenario) - another victim of Imbibitor Lunae who simply is too strong compared to the older damage dealers,
• [Clara] S A (in Blast scenario) - another victim of Imbibitor Lunae who simply is too strong compared to the older damage dealers.

30.08.2023

• [Imbibitor Lunae] was added to the tier list,
• The categories by which we rate characters has been reworked. Instead of Generic, Single target, 3 targets, we've introduced Single target, Blast and AoE Ratings categories. We feel that the new split will make it easier to rate characters (especially damage dealers) to showcase their strengths and also it matches the MoC enemy setup much closer.

13.08.2023

• [Luka] was added to the tier list,
• [Seele] S+ S (in AoE scenario) - with the release of Kafka and Blade (and also partially because of Jing Yuan), it's finally time for Seele to lose her S+ rating in AoE. While she is still great at dealing with trash, the new additions to the game can simply do it better.

09.08.2023

• [Kafka] was added to the tier list.

19.07.2023

• [Blade] was added to the tier list at S tier, but he has the potential to be raised to S+ tier - he suffers quite a bit due to limited team options for him (you need to run 2 limited units with him to unleash his full potential) and this might change in the future. Check his review and should you pull guide for more information about his rating,
• Because Blade outperforms most of the DPS characters in the game, we decided to move every character from the S tier down to A tier to make place for him there. This also means that A tier characters were moved down to B (but there's one exception who stayed there),
• We changed the rating criteria for the 4★ characters to rate them based on their performance at Eidolon 4,
• [Gepard] S+ S - while we initially thought he would be able to compete with Luocha, but sadly that's not the case as Luocha is simply in another league compared to any other defensive character.

02.07.2023

• [Yukong] was added to the tier list. Her initial rating has been set at A tier, but that's mainly because the current tier list limits 4* characters at their E2. With more Eidolons, she can perform at S tier (especially if you have her at E6).
• [Welt] has been moved to the Damage Dealer category. The recent Effect RES changes allow you to heavily invest into the DPS stats for him, while still landing the debuffs most of the time. In the last MoC he was mostly played as DPS or sub-DPS and not pure debuffer.
• [Clara] has been moved back to the Damage Dealer category. With the release of Luocha, it's much easier to keep her alive and you can easily form a Clara hypercarry team now that deals tons of damage and is near immortal.
• [Clara] S S+ - her AoE rating has been increased as she can easily compete with Jing Yuan and often surpass him.
• [Arlan] C B - Arlan is used more often now either as the main carry or sub-dps which is easy to do thanks to his Skill not using SP.
• [Herta] D C - she actually can be used in MoC in some stages so it doesn't make sense to keep her in the D tier by herself.
• [Bailu] S+ S - with the release of the Luocha, sadly we have to drop Bailu a tier down. Luocha does nearly double the amount of healing than Bailu while at the same time making the team nearly immortal while his field is active - on top of that he can cleanse and dispel. Bailu can't compete with that.
• [Natasha] S A - the reasoning for the drop is the same as for Bailu.
• [Trailblazer (Fire)] S A - current seasonal buff, the level 80 cap and the release of Luocha switched the meta from double defensive supports to single defensive support. And sadly, Fire MC isn't strong enough to be the solo defensive support character - his shields are too weak to sustain the team. Still, Fire Trailblazer is also played as a Bruiser/Breaker and we are looking into that build currently!

28.06.2023

• [Luocha] was added to the tier list.

14.06.2023

• [Pela] A S - with the release of the F2P Silver Wolf Light Cone, Pela's much stronger now. Not only she cycles faster thus keeping the enemies debuffed all the time, but the current MoC tribulation fits her really well. If you don't have SW, you're basically forced to run Pela on some stages,
• [Himeko] B A - Himeko is slowly climbing the ranking with each tier list update and it's deserved. She performs really in the current MoC and more of those who pulled her are using her now - though she still requires quite a bit of investment to work as the main carry,
• [Qingque] B A - well, she's a similar case to Himeko - there has been a big spike in her usage rate and a warranted one. She's a great partner to Silver Wolf if you lack Seele and the only thing stopping her from sitting in S tier is the fact that the tier list still rates her at her E2 - if you have her at E4 or E6, she can compete with the best,

Also, [Clara] has been moved from the DPS column to Defensive Support column. While her damage output is still great, a lot of players use her as dedicated tank in their Yanqing teams (instead Gepard) - and since YQ teams revolve around Freeze, her damage falls off there as most of it comes from Counters.

09.06.2023

• [Silver Wolf] S S+ - we honestly underestimated her impact and even at E0 (since the tier list only looks at 5* character at E0) she makes clearing MoC a lot easier and enables tons of new teams and clear setups. Even faux-fire teams (Himeko, Asta, Fire MC and SW) appeared out of nowhere and are able to clear some stages with ease.

07.06.2023

• [Silver Wolf] was added to the tier list.

17.05.2023

• [Jing Yuan] was added to the tier list.
• Initially his general rating was set at S+, but that was a mistake on our part. The rating been fixed within an hour of releasing the update and we are sorry for the issue (and the person responsible will have to do 50 additional SU runs as penalty).

10.05.2023

• We removed the SS tier and pushed everyone down a tier - we admit we overdid it with the SSSSSS and decided to tone it down,
• We changed the tier list criteria to focus more on MoC as the rest of the game is much easier compared to that, so you don't really need a tier list - check our recent blog post for more details,
• [Bronya] S S+ - her buffs and additional turn mechanic are simply too strong and without her clearing MoC 10 in the current phase is basically impossible,
• [Bailu] S S+ - an invested Bailu is scary. Not only her pure healing output is twice as big as the one of Natasha, but her Invigoration mechanic makes SU and MoC much easier as her allies heal back right after receiving damage allowing you to avoid some combos that would normally kill one of your characters.
• [Gepard] S S+ - Gepard can make your team shrug off the incoming damage as his shields can basically double their EHP. He is so strong that sometimes you don't need to pair him with a Healer as there won't be anything to heal. Also, he enables YQ to become second best DPS in the game,
• [Yanqing] A S - currently, he is the second best DPS in the game, right behind Seele, but you need to pair him with either Gepard (massive shields + Taunt from Cone) or Fire MC/Clara (so they can Taunt and keep him safe) - but Gepard pairing is much much stronger. YQ needs to be protected, because if you let him get hit, his damage output will plummet and you can drop him a tier down the list. Also, in MoC there are a lot of Ice-weak enemies that he can easily deal with,
• [Welt] A S - yeap, finally his rating has been increased! Welt utility is unmatched and his damage output is also decent which allows him to fulfill two roles in the team,
• [Natasha] A S - while her healing output is below Bailu's, her Cleanse often makes her a better choice against some bosses in MoC/SU,
• [Serval] B A - After the testing we've done since the release, we can safely say that Serval is the best F2P DPS character in MoC. She shines in AoE scenarios, and while her single target damage is a bit underwhelming she is a great decent DPS there. She's even used by some whales there as she gives them the crucial Lightning coverage. Still, keep in mind that Jing Yuan is around the corner and they share the element, but she will still be a great alternative to him.
• [Asta] B A - while not as good as Bronya and Tingyun when it comes to buffs department, Asta offers great Breaking abilities that make her a viable asset against Fire-weak enemies.

Our ratings explained:

• S+ - a God. The character is simply overpowered and dominates in their role,
• S - a great and versatile character that has barely any flaws,
• A - a good character that has a few little flaws,
• B - a decent character that has a few big flaws holding them back,
• C - underwhelming character,
• D - please buff me.