Best DPS in Honkai: Star Rail

One of the most important units in any solid Honkai: Star Rail team lineup is the damage dealer, and when you choose right this recruit should dish out immensely high damage within a short period of time to be an effective DPS.

With the focused turn-based combat system that is present in Honkai: Star Rail, it is crucial for players to choose the best DPS possible so they can effectively fight their way through any battle.

Who is the best DPS in Honkai: Star Rail?

Based on my experience with every recruit in Honkai: Star Rail the best DPS overall is Seele for single-target damage and Blade for multi-target damage and AoE.

Seele is the best single-target DPS and no one even comes close to her, but Blade has some steep competition as Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, Kafka, and Jing Yuan are all fairly close to his skillset and might be a better choice for you depending on whether or not you want to deal with Blade’s complex, health-draining skillset. I find that Blade is a better damage dealer than all three, but the others are much easier to manage if you don’t like Blade’s mechanics.

Best five-star damage dealers in Honkai: Star Rail

As is expected, all of the top-tier damage dealers are five-star units that possess powerful skillsets capable of brutally taking out foes. Obtaining featured five-star recruits is a laborious and luck-based process, but some of the current top-tier damage dealers can be claimed for free by all Honkai: Star Rail players upon reaching 300 pulls.

This means all players can guarantee themselves at least one excellent damage dealer by choosing Clara, Yanqing, or Himeko when they are presented with their reward. These characters will ensure players have a fairly solid damage dealer, but the overall best DPS units in Honkai: Star Rail are all exclusive limited-time recruits only obtainable through pulling on the Character Event Warp.

Here is a breakdown of the best DPS and general best damage dealers you can use in Honkai: Star Rail. As more recruits arrive, this list will be updated to reflect any new powerful additions and to move around the existing characters as needed.

1. Seele
   • Element: Quantum
   • Path: The Hunt
   • Damage type: Single-target
2. Blade
   • Element: Wind
   • Path: The Destruction
   • Damage type: Single-target, blast, and AoE
3. Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae
   • Element: Wind
   • Path: The Imaginary
   • Damage type: Single-target, blast, and AoE
4. Kafka
   • Element: Lightning
   • Path: The Nihility
   • Damage type: Single-target, blast, and AoE
5. Jing Yuan
   • Element: Lightning
   • Path: The Erudition
   • Damage type: Single-target and AoE
6. Silver Wolf
   • Element: Quantum
   • Path: The Nihility
   • Damage type: Single-target
7. Clara
   • Element: Physical
   • Path: The Destruction
   • Damage type: Single-target and AoE
8. Yanqing
   • Element: Ice
   • Path: The Hunt
   • Damage type: Single-target
9. Himeko
   • Element: Fire
   • Path: The Erudition
   • Damage type: Single-target, blast, and AoE

These characters all function in unique ways even though they all possess powerful damage-dealing capabilities. While some of them are better than others overall, understanding how their skillsets work is important as you may prefer one over the other depending on how they function in battle.

1) Seele

When it comes to dishing out the strongest single-target damage possible, Honkai: Star Rail’s debut featured five-star recruit Seele is the best DPS players can currently recruit.

Related: Best Light Cones for each character in Honkai: Star Rail

Seele can only inflict damage against singular targets which might make some Trailblazers worry that her skillset is limited, but her single-target damage is so quick and efficient that she’ll blow through enemy after enemy with ease. She is currently the most effective unit for dealing high damage within a short period of time as she moves incredibly fast, has an ability that allows her to launch an extra turn often, and inflicts mighty damage upon all who cross her path.

I’ve tested out every playable unit in Honkai: Star Rail and so far none of them come even close to the high damage numbers she can dish out against single targets and the immense speed at which she deals them. Her single-target damage has yet to be even slightly reached by other recruits, although it’s possible new characters that arrive in the future could rival her.

2) Blade

The five-star Wind Destruction character Blade is all about high risk, high reward, so when you play him right, his damage is truly devastating. For multi-target damage, Blade is your best bet overall as long as you’re able to properly manage his health-draining abilities.

3) Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae

Although his abilities have a steep learning curve, Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae is one of Honkai: Star Rail’s strongest damage-dealing forces. He is incredibly versatile and has powerful Imaginary and Destruction abilities that help him exact immense damage and last through all battles as a nearly unstoppable tank.

4) Kafka

Even though Kafka is a Nihility character, she is one of the best damage dealers in the game. Kafka has an extremely well-rounded skillset and is an immensely powerful recruit because of this. She can effectively attack a singular target, dish out brutal AoE damage, blast a few foes at once, and apply shock damage over time.

5) Jing Yuan

The five-star Lightning character possesses powerful Lightning abilities that are capable of dishing out strong damage against both singular targets and many at once through AoE damage. His Lightning-Lord follow-up attack is easily the best part of his skillset and is a great tool for vanquishing many enemies at once.

6) Silver Wolf

The Quantum character Silver Wolf is more focused on applying debuffs than dealing damage, so while she’s not a dedicated damage dealer, she is incredibly proficient at it. Her skillset focuses on singular targets and she deals impressive Quantum damage mingled with brutal debuffs against them.

7) Clara

If you’re looking for a powerful damage dealer who packs an absurd amount of health that will last through any battle you jump into, Clara is the recruit for you. She is very versatile and helpful no matter the team lineup you place her in, and her damage dealing is surprisingly quick and efficient considering the mechanics of her skillset.

8) Yanqing

Yanqing deals excellent single-target damage and also comes with buffs to his own critical rate and damage, which increases his effectiveness as a damage dealer even further. He moves at an extremely quick pace and will always feel effective when players utilize him in combat.

If you can’t get Seele or Silver Wolf but want a dedicated single-target damage dealer, Yanqing is currently the next best bet for this.

9) Himeko

For powerful AoE damage that will inflict heavy damage against many foes at once, Himeko is a solid DPS. Her Fire damage skillet is dependable and effective in any battle and she is also capable of dishing out damage against just one foe when needed.

Himeko is an solid recruit, but she is outperformed by most other five-star DPS units out there and will likely become even less impressive as more featured five-star recruits are released. Regardless, she will never be a bad force to have on your team and will likely stand the test of time just as many standard five-star recruits do in Genshin like the five-star Pyro Claymore character Diluc or the five-star Hydro Catalyst character Mona.

Best four-star damage dealers in Honkai: Star Rail

None of the four-star damage dealers come even close to the five-star ones, but if you are unable to obtain any of them and want to know which characters will function decently until you do, then you can try the following units.

1. Sushang
   • Element: Physical
   • Path: The Hunt
   • Damage type: Single-target
2. Dan Heng
   • Element: Wind
   • Path: The Hunt
   • Damage type: Single-target
3. Qingque
   • Element: Quantum
   • Path: The Erudition
   • Damage type: Single-target and AoE
4. Luka
   • Element: Physical
   • Path: The Nihility
   • Damage type: Single-target and AoE
5. Serval
   • Element: Lightning
   • Path: The Erudition
   • Damage type: Single-target and AoE
6. Hook
   • Element: Fire
   • Path: The Destruction
   • Damage type: Single-target
7. Arlan
   • Element: Lightning
   • Path: The Destruction
   • Damage type: Single-target and blast
8. Sampo
   • Element: Wind
   • Path: The Nihility
   • Damage type: Single-target
9. Trailblazer
   • Element: Adaptive
   • Path: Adaptive
   • Damage type: Single-target, blast, and AoE
10. Herta
    • Element: Ice
    • Path: The Erudition
    • Damage type: Single-target and AoE

These recruits aren’t as effective as those of a five-star rarity, but when built correctly they will still fulfill players’ basic damage-dealing needs until you’re able to obtain a five-star recruit. All of these recruits will be especially powerful when players successfully unlock their Eidolons since doing so grants them powerful new abilities and upgrades.

While all Honkai: Star Rail characters can somewhat be compared by their damage-dealing capabilities, it’s difficult to truly compare all of them at once since some are strong at single-target damage, some are effective with AoE damage against many foes, and some have a balance of both. Because of this, the best way to determine the strongest damage dealer is to analyze them from the perspective of what kind of DPS you want to have running your team.

It’s also generally a solid idea to have two DPS recruits, one who specializes in single-target damage and another who can dish out damage in a few ways, to ensure that your lineup is well-rounded. Two strong damage dealers plus two support units will make for an immensely effective team sure to aid you through any battle you tackle.