Honkai: Star Rail‘s release date is fast approaching, and players already know all characters who will be available on the mobile game at launch.
Nine of them will be free, while others will be obtainable via standard and limited banners. It means they’ll be the easiest characters to get, and players will likely build their teams with several of them when first discovering the game.
Players will be able to get free characters from every element except Imaginary, and from every subclass except Support’s Nihility. Here are all of the free characters available upon Honkai: Star Rail‘s upcoming release.
Players will start out with the Trailblazer, either male or female. They’ll obtain Serval if they preregistered to the game before its release, and will be able to get six more free characters along the way.
Related: This Honkai: Star Rail cheat sheet makes choosing your character super easy
All Honkai Star Rail free characters
There are nine free characters in Honkai: Star Rail. If you’re unsure which ones to go after first based on the teams you want to build, a fan-made cheat sheet showcasing each element and subclass of available characters in one image should help. We also have the full list of characters available.
Trailblazer
- Rarity: Five-star
- Path: The Preservation / The Destruction
- Combat Type: Physical (Destruction) / Fire (Preservation)
- Faction: Astral Express
The Trailblazer is the main character of Honkai: Star Rail, so the first ones players will test out, similar to Genshin Impact‘s Traveler. This time, however, the character’s gender choice will affect their gameplay, so you’ll have to choose wisely.
Asta
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Harmony
- Combat Type: Fire
- Faction: Herta Space Station
Asta is a support who wields a high-technology scepter that can deal AoE damage and buff her allies. She’ll likely be the target of Genshin Impact‘s Mona mains since they share many common points such as the English Voice Actor and Astrologist specialty. She’s the only free buffer available for free in Honkai. You’ll unlock her after completing the game’s tutorial.
Dan Heng
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Hunt
- Combat Type: Wind
- Faction: Astral Express
Dan Heng is a DPS who uses a spear to deal damage to opponents. The Hunt subclass means he’s essentially mono-target-focused. His Ethereal Dream ability allows him to deal massive damage to a single target using a sword. He’ll likely be popular because he’ll be both the only Wind and Hunt character available for free at launch.
Herta
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Erudition
- Combat Type: Ice
- Faction: Herta Space StShe’s
Herta belongs to several categories where players can find other free characters, so she might not offer the most unique strategy when starting out in Honkai. Still, she has her own strengths. The puppet master wields a hammer that can deal massive AoE damage to enemies, making her belong to the Erudition specialization.
March 7th
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Preservation
- Combat Type: Ice
- Faction: Astral Express
March 7th features a peculiar background, as shown by her both unique and non-distinctive name. The archer lost all her memories, including her name. In the game, she is a tank from the Preservation subclass, meaning she grants shields to allies. She can also freeze her enemies using the Ice element. She’s not the only one from her element and subclass available for free in the game, though.
Natasha
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Abundance
- Combat Type: Physical
- Faction: Wildfire
Natasha is a doctor and a healer, belonging to the Abundance subclass. She’s the only free character available in this subclass, as well as the only one using the Physical element. But don’t be mistaken: she can be aggressive, too.
Her weapon is a mono-target minigun. Her Ultimate animation is quite unique: she throws her teddy bear and shoots it to make all sorts of gifts fall from the sky and heal every ally on the field.
Qingque
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Erudition
- Combat Type: Quantum
- Faction: Xianzhou Luofu
Qingque is the only free character available from the Quantum element, as both others will only be featured in Limited Banners. It’ll make her highly valuable for strategies that involve this element. She is an AoE DPS (from the Erudition subclass) who makes the unique use of Mahjong tiles in an ability, dealing increased damage to Ice targets.
Serval
- Rarity: Four-star
- Path: The Erudition
- Combat Type: Lightning
- Faction: Belobog
Serval is the other Erudition character who uses Lightning as her main element. She will be free for players who are preregistered to Honkai. Here is a guide on how to do it. Players will have until the release date to complete that step and be granted Serval when starting out the game.
