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Tier list

Honkai Star Rail Character Tier List (July 2026)

Last checked July 22, 2026

By the Claude Gaming team

This Honkai Star Rail character tier list covers where the version 4.4 meta actually stands: Evanescia leads the DPS pack, and the new Amphoreus era units have pushed several old favorites down a peg.

We ranked 30 notable characters by endgame performance across Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction and Apocalyptic Shadow, using the two most recently updated major sources and leaning on the fresher one when they disagreed.

If your favorite sits lower than you expected, remember that a C here still clears most story content without breaking a sweat.

S
Evanescia Evanescia
Mortenax Blade Mortenax Blade
Silver Wolf Lv.999 Silver Wolf Lv.999
Castorice Castorice
Sparxie Sparxie
Yao Guang Yao Guang
Ashveil Ashveil
Sunday Sunday
Tribbie Tribbie
Hyacine Hyacine
Huohuo Huohuo
Dan Heng Permansor Terrae Dan Heng Permansor Terrae
A
Phainon Phainon
Cyrene Cyrene
Evernight Evernight
The Herta The Herta
Robin Robin
Ruan Mei Ruan Mei
Acheron Acheron
Firefly Firefly
B
Aventurine Aventurine
Feixiao Feixiao
Kafka Kafka
Jingliu Jingliu
Blade Blade
C
Dr. Ratio Dr. Ratio
Himeko Himeko
D
Yanqing Yanqing
Hook Hook
Arlan Arlan
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Character icons from the Honkai Star Rail community wiki

How we rank

We rank by endgame clearing power in the three rotating modes, weighted toward the current 4.4 patch. Both of our sources were updated in July 2026, and where they split (Feixiao is the clearest case) we placed the character between the two verdicts rather than cherry picking the kinder one. Investment cost is not factored in, so a top tier here can still be a bad pull for your specific account.

Tier by tier

S Tier, the meta

  • Evanescia: Current apex DPS, headlines every 4.4 meta list
  • Mortenax Blade: Defense shred plus huge AoE, best generalist sub DPS
  • Silver Wolf Lv.999: Supercharged debuffer variant, instant meta staple
  • Castorice: HP drain team anchor that still clears everything
  • Sparxie: Elation era standout, top tier in both sources
  • Yao Guang: New 4.x powerhouse holding top marks everywhere
  • Ashveil: Recent arrival already sitting in the top bracket
  • Sunday: Premier summon and crit support, ages beautifully
  • Tribbie: Universal amplifier that slots into almost any team
  • Hyacine: Top healer whose healing feeds real damage
  • Huohuo: Cleanse plus energy battery, still elite sustain
  • Dan Heng Permansor Terrae: Top shield sustain with strong offensive utility

A Tier, excellent

  • Phainon: One man army DPS, slightly power crept at the top
  • Cyrene: Premium support from late 3.x, still worth building
  • Evernight: Remembrance DPS the fresher source still rates top tier
  • The Herta: Best in class AoE for Pure Fiction style waves
  • Robin: Follow up attack queen, elite in the right team
  • Ruan Mei: Break support standard that survives every patch
  • Acheron: Nihility hypercarry, still strong with debuff teams
  • Firefly: Break meta icon, needs her dedicated super break core

B Tier, solid

  • Aventurine: Great shielder, edged out by newer sustains
  • Feixiao: Hunt hypercarry our two sources genuinely disagree on
  • Kafka: DoT anchor waiting on her next detonation partner
  • Jingliu: Former queen, power crept but fine with investment
  • Blade: Classic HP scaler, superseded by his Mortenax version

C Tier, situational

  • Dr. Ratio: Budget follow up DPS if you lack better options
  • Himeko: Break and AoE niche, fine early, replaced later

D Tier, skip

  • Yanqing: Fragile crit gimmick that endgame content punishes
  • Hook: Outclassed by nearly every other fire option
  • Arlan: Bottom of every list, avoid investing

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Honkai Star Rail tier list FAQ

Who is the best character in Honkai Star Rail right now?

Evanescia is the consensus best DPS in version 4.4, with Mortenax Blade right behind her as the best generalist sub DPS thanks to his defense shred and AoE damage. On the support side, Sunday and Tribbie remain the safest premium pulls.

Is Firefly still good in 2026?

Yes, but she is no longer top of the mountain. Both of our sources now rate her one bracket below the newest DPS units. Her super break team still clears endgame comfortably, it just needs her dedicated supports to do it.

Why is Feixiao only B tier here?

Because our two sources genuinely disagree: the July 2 list still rates her top tier, while the more recent July 15 list drops her a bracket. We split the difference rather than pick the kinder verdict. With a built follow up team she still performs well above this row.

Should new players pull based on this list?

Use it as a guide, not a rulebook. A strong sustain (Hyacine, Huohuo or Dan Heng Permansor Terrae) plus one S tier DPS will carry you further than three half built top tiers. And characters ranked C still handle all story content fine.