Honkai: Star Rail Tier List revamp! - Prydwen Institute Blog (2024)

The time has come to fully revamp our Honkai: Star Rail tier list to fix all the issues with the previous iteration and fully embrace the changes that happened to the game! Check the details of the changes below.

Tier list format

The first major change to the tier list abandons the Single/Blast/AoE split for the Memory of Chaos in favor of a singular Memory of Chaos tier list and the addition of a totally new Pure Fiction tier list.

The Single/Blast/AoE had a lot of issues because the Memory of Chaos mode evolved over time and the scenarios didn’t make sense anymore with how the mode looks now – favoring Blast damage above else with some niche uses of Single and AoE damage type depending on the boss. And that’s the idea behind the new Memory of Chaos tier list – we combined the three damage into one and took into account the most common enemy setups while rating the characters.

Same thing with the new Pure Fiction tier list, but here AoE damage is king followed by Blast with Single target damage dealers struggling.

Character categories

After receiving a lot of feedback, we have decided to adjust the four categories of the characters.

The first change we made here is combining Buffer and Debuffer into the Amplifier category – the characters fight for the same spot in the team anyway, so it didn’t make sense to keep them split.

Next, we created a new category – Specialists. Those are characters that excel under specific circ*mstances, carrying a unique role that often requires a different and divergent playstyle. For example, Breakers can deal monstrous burst damage or crippling crowd control and Synergists introduce entirely new team archetypes.

The Damage Dealer and Sustain categories remained the same.

Character tags

We have also made some changes to existing tags and introduced a new one. Here’s the list of the current tags you can find on the tier list:

• RNG machine. A character who is very RNG-based and depending on your luck (or the enemies you face) can perform better or worse than the rating indicates:
  • Qingque is the only character with this tag.
• Breaker. A character who specializes in dealing Break damage against enemies of a corresponding elemental vulnerability. When not against enemies vulnerable to them their rating can be decreased by a single tier:
  • Xueyi,
  • Luka,
  • Sushang,
  • Fire Trailblazer – the fire MC isn’t strong enough to act as a Sustain anymore, but when you build him (or her) as a Breaker, you can get way more usage out of them. We will soon update their build on our site to reflect the change.
• Synergist. A character whose power drastically increases when one or more specific character(s) accompanies them on their team. These characters are often the focal point of the compositions they are a part of and open up new archetype of gameplay:
  • Topaz (Follow-up Archetype enabler),
  • Kafka (DoT Archetype enabler),
  • Sampo (DoT specialist),
  • Welt (Slow specialist – especially when paired with Ruan Mei).

Tier list criteria

Another very important change to our tier list revolves around the current turbulences – so the special buffs. While previously we took them into account while rating the characters, we decided to abandon the idea in favor of a more generic approach.

The new tier lists rate characters based on their average performance in bothMemory of Chaos and Pure Fiction regardless of turbulence, whimsicality, and cacophony. Characters rated higher will perform well without the need to rely on these and will only benefit more from receiving them. As new mechanics, characters, and challenges are introduced each tier list will be updated.

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 0/6 for 4★ characters.

What affects our 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. We consider:

• Flexibility – How the character’s 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-star 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 impact character ratings,
• Damage Dealer: Rating is heavily influenced based on the character’s ability to deal enough damage to achieve the 3-star objective, the easier and more quickly achieved the higher the rating,
• Specialist: Rating is heavily influenced based on the damage, defense or efficiency boost created by the unique teams 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 character’s ability to keep the team alive and the utility they provide. The more utility and higher the safety the higher the rating.

Pure Fiction Analytics

Today we have also released a new section on the website – Pure Fiction Analytics.

Similar to the MoC Analytics, you can find there statistics for characters showing their usage rate and average score and teams who performed best in the new mode.

Meta snapshot

In a few days, we will also release a new set of guides that will aim to help the players who struggle with 3-staring all stages in MoC and PF. Those guides will explore the current buffs, stages, enemies, and weaknesses and give tips on how to efficiently tackle the stages.

The meta snapshot guides will be updated whenever a new cycle of MoC or PF is released.

Feedback

We’re looking for feedback on the new tier list – you can leave it here in the comments or join our Discord! Without the community, the tier list would not exist and we’re thankful for all the support, feedback, and questions thrown our way – it enables us to make the tier list as accurate as possible.

Thank you!