With Honkai Star Rail’s Playstation release, many new players are attempting to level their accounts fast. While it may be tempted to pour all your resources into damage dealers and healers, investing in the right support units will go a long way in helping you get the most out of your team.
Through extensive theory crafting and testing by various players on prydwen.gg and the Chinese community, these characters have emerged as the best supports in the game. Their buffing and debuffing capabilities can even be game breaking, so you’ll definitely want to save your wishes for a few.
All calculations were done with 4-star characters at E6, and 5-stars at E0.
9 Sampo
The charming con-artist of Belobog, Sampo is a Wind Type character who follows the Path of Nihility. His kit focuses on stacking Wind Shear DOTs on enemies through his Skill, Basic Attack and Ultimate, dealing extensive damage over the course of the fight.
Sampo is a 4-star unit who works well as a sub damage dealer through his DOT application. He pairs well with Kafka, since she can constantly trigger the DOTs he applies on multiple enemies. He is also good for Weakness Breaking enemies who are weak to Wind damage, since his Skill hits multiple times.
8 Luka
A hot-blooded fighter with a mechanical arm, Luka is a Physical Type character who follows the Path of Nihility. Like Sampo, his primary mechanic is applying DOTs on an enemy. Unlike Sampo, however, Luka applies the Bleed DOT to a singe target, that deals damage that scales off of the enemy’s Max HP.
Luka is a 4-star unit who excels in boss fights. Since Bleed does damage based on the enemy’s Max HP, Luka can take significant chunks off their health with his DOTs. His Ultimate and Talent also make the enemy take more damage, which makes him a good debuffer to have. He also pairs well with Kafka, since she can trigger his Bleed DOT with her ability.
7 Yukong
The head of the Sky-Faring Commission and an ex-deadshot, Yukong is an Imaginary Type character who follows the Path of Harmony. She has extremely powerful buffs, and the rare Imaginary type, making her a valuable of your team.
Yukong is a 4-star character who can single-handedly buff your teammates Attack, Crit Rate and Crit Damage. However, it can be a little difficult to manage these buffs since they apply only to the next 2 teammates taking their turn. With both enemy and ally abilities affecting the Speed and Turn Order of characters, it can become hard to ensure these buffs land on your damage dealers, so speed-tuning her is essential.
6 Welt
A senior member of the Astral Express, and hero of Earth, Welt is an Imaginary Type character who follows the Path of Nihility. He acts as both a sub-damage dealer and debuffer, imprisoning enemies with his Skill and Ultimate, and delaying their turn.
Welt is a 5-star character available on the Regular Warp banner and the 5-star selector. Since his Skill does multiple instances of damage, he can be especially powerful in single-target scenarios where all that damage is concentrated on one target. His talent also allows him to deal increased damage against slowed enemies, and he can even be the sole hypercarry in certain situations.
5 Asta
The inquisitive and considerate lead researcher of the Herta Space Station, Asta is a Fire Type character who follows the Path of Harmony. Her kit focuses on increasing your teammates’ Attack by gaining Charging stacks using her Skill, and boosting their Speed using her Ultimate.
Asta is a 4-star character you obtain for free by playing through the story. Her Skill’s multiple instances of Fire damage is great for Weakness Breaking enemies, while her Ultimate is used to increase your team’s Speed and run circles around them. She is, however, very Skill Point hungry, since her Charging stacks expire with every turn she takes.
4 Tingyun
A silver-tongued Foxian, and head of the Whistling Flames merchant guild, Tingyun is a Lightning Type character who follows the Path of Harmony. She is an invaluable unit, that can Bless an ally with her Skill, essentially buffing their damage, and further buff them along with giving them Energy with her Ultimate.
Despite being a 4-star, Tingyun is one of the most broken characters in the game. She is the only unit able to give Energy, which both damage dealers and healers will appreciate. Add to this the fact that she is a Skill Point-positive character, only needing to buff a teammate every 3 turns they take, making her a must-have for every account.
3 Bronya
Daughter of the Supreme Guardian of Belobog, and the commander of the Silvermane Guards, Bronya is a Wind Type character who follows the Path of Harmony. Her kit revolves around Advancing an ally’s turn, and buffing their Attack and Crit Damage.
Bronya is easily the most sought-after 5-star character available on the Regular Warp banner. Her ability to let an ally immediately take their turn is game-breaking, letting your DPS unit deal over twice the damage in a single cycle, or letting your healer provide some emergency healing. Her Skill also has the ability to Cleanse an ally of any inflicted status, which can be crucial against certain bosses.
2 Silver Wolf
A genius hacker and member of the infamous Stelleron Hunters, Silver Wolf is a Quantum-type character who follows the Path of Nihility. Her kit focuses on stacking debuffs on a single enemy, and adding a Weakness based on your on-field characters’ type.
Silver Wolf is a limited 5-star unit available only on Character Event banners. If Bronya isn’t the most broken character in the game, Silver Wolf certainly is. Her ability to add a Weakness aligned with your characters’ type can turn any fight advantageous. She is also net Skill Point positive, and with Eidolons, can dish out damage comparable with the top DPS characters as well.
1 Pela
The diligent and meticulous Intelligence Officer of the Silvermane Guards, Pela, is an Ice Type character who follows the Path of Nihility. Her Skill targets a single enemy and removes any buffs they have on them, while her Ultimate applies an AOE debuff to all enemies on the field.
It’s downright mind-boggling how Pela, as a 4-star unit, can be more valuable than characters like Silver Wolf in certain situations. A big reason for this is her ability to apply debuffs to multiple enemies, which tends to be the trend in difficult content like Memory of Chaos. And since debuffs apply to an enemy’s Turn Count, they can be more valuable for fast DPS characters who want to take their turn frequently. Also, with her E4 Eidolon, Pela decreases the Ice resistance of enemies, making her synergize well with characters like Jingliu.