Honkai Star Rail has many different types of characters. Each one has a role to play. Some are better at this role than others. There are many different damage dealing characters that have been introduced since the game first released. These characters follow different Paths in game, which influences the type of damage they deal are. Paths in Honkai Star Rail are what determines the roles in game, out of the paths there are four that tend to create damage dealing characters. These paths are the Hunt, Destruction, Erudition, and Nihility. The Hunt focuses on single target, Destruction deals major damage with some sort of sacrifice, Erudition focuses on multiple enemies, and Nihility tends to focus on Damage Over Time (DOT) and debuffing enemies.

Out of the top three damage dealing characters, two of them follow the Path of Destruction while the last follows Nihility.

3) Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae

Dan Heng is one of the first characters introduced to the player. Him and March 7th guide the player in the beginning and his four-star version is free. It isn’t until near the end of Xianzhou Luofu quest where players get introduced to Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, the five-star version of the character players grew to know and love. With Dan Heng’s new form, he also grew immensely in power. Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae follows the Path of Destruction, using Imaginary.

Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae has a skill that enhances his Basic Attack up to three different stages. The third stage is the most powerful, allowing for the attack of multiple enemies. As this attack consumes a lot of Skill Points, which is limited and can run out, he does not rank as high as some other damage dealers in game. However, his ultimate minimizes Skill Point usage as it obtains two Squama Sacrosancta and can store up to three. These can be used as a replacement to Skill Points when enhancing his basic attack.

If a player has Sparkle, Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae’s Skill Points consumption becomes a negligible concern. Sparkle’s ultimate can refresh Skill Points and also allows players to have up to seven Skill Points at a time. Sparkle is currently Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae’s best support in game.

2) Jingliu

Jingliu is a character introduced in the Xianzhou Luofu as part of the High Cloud Quintet. She’s the mentor of Jing Yuan, referred to by him as “Master.” Once the General of the Cloud Knights, she was corrupted by Mara and has become the Jingliu that players meet in game. Her character is complicated, as she is neither good nor evil. Her story is greatly intertwined with other major characters in the Xianzhou Luofu quest, including Blade and Dan Heng.

Jingliu is an Ice character that follows the Path of Destruction. The use of her skill gains a stack of Syzgy, once this Syzgy reaches two stacks she transforms. This transformation allows her to attack again in a follow-up attack. This changes her attacks to a skill called Moon on Glacial River that attacks multiple enemies at a time, consuming a Syzgy and HP of the other characters to create a powerful attack. The use of her ultimate gains another stack of Syzgy. The amount of Syzgy’s available to use is dependent upon her Eidolon level, as her 6th Eidolon allows for another stack of Syzgy.

Due to her minimal sacrifice for maximum damage, Jingliu is an extremely powerful character. She levels well and her relics don’t need to be perfect for her to hit high numbers

1) Acheron

Acheron was first introduced in Penacony. When players first meet her, she introduces herself as the Galaxy Ranger Acheron but keeps her true self a secret. It wasn’t until the 2.1 update of the game that she is revealed to be an Emanator of Nihility. Emanators are extremely powerful so it makes sense that the Emanator of Nihility would be at the top of this list.

Acheron follows the Path of Nihility, as an Emanator, and uses Lightning. Her ability is somewhat powerful, especially considering the energy drain that a lot of enemy characters have. Her ultimate is based upon how many Slashed Dreams she has, being able to be activated upon reaching Eight Slashed Dreams. Upon reaching that, she can unleash her ultimate. Her ultimate is her most powerful attack, hitting the target multiple times and ignoring the weakness type of an enemy. This allows her to hit incredibly high numbers.

The only downside of Acheron is that her Slashed Dreams are the only way to activate her ultimate. There is no energy regeneration related to it. Her Slashed Dreams are obtained by debuffing enemies that have Crimson Knot or by using her skill. In addition, her damage output is related to the amount of Nihility characters in game. Without her second Eidolon, she needs two Nihility characters to hit the highest amount of her damage. With her second Eidolon, it reduces this number to one and she also gains another Slashed Dream once her turn starts.

Do you agree with this list? Or do you think that there are better damage dealers in Honkai Star Rail? Let us know in the comments below or join the Boss Rush Discord to continue the conversation!

Featured Image: Hoyoverse

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast About Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of The Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts Corey Dirrig, Stephanie Klimov, LeRon Dawkins, and Pat Klein come together with their friends, colleagues, and fellow creators to talk about their week in video games, discuss industry topics, conduct interviews, answer listener questions, and more. New episodes every Monday. Get each episode one week early and more perks over on the Boss Rush Network Patreon page.

This feed also includes Boss Rush Spotlight podcasts and Boss Rush Video Game Book Club. Get both shows early on Patreon. 

Email the Show: podcast.bossrush@gmail.com

Listen to The Boss Rush Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anchor | YouTube

Follow and Connect:
X (Formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Threads | Facebook | LinkedIn

Join Our Community:
Discord | Facebook | LinkedIn