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Honkai Star Rail and similar titles tend to power creep and abandon older units. Although the game is currently on its sixth patch (version 1.5), players tend to steer clear of particular characters due to their overall makeup. With every patch, the game has received units that are more powerful than many previous ones, both in terms of damage and efficiency.
While this is relatively common, watching some of your favorite characters abandoned in favor of a superior one is still upsetting. While Hoyoverse tries to indirectly provide buffs to these units, some need a direct increase to their damage multipliers or straight-up rework for their kit.
This list will cover five such characters who deserve another chance to be back at Honkai Star Rail's meta.
Note: This list is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.
Units that deserve some adjustment to their kit in Honkai Star Rail
1) Yanqing
Yanqing has become one of the most popular memes in the Honkai Star Rail community. The devs made him the punching bag in many of the game's questlines, where he is constantly defeated by other characters. His low damage output compared to other characters on the Hunt path also doesn't help his case.
Yanqing was doomed from the start, as many players opted to obtain Seele, the game's first limited 5-star with strong Single Target damage. The community also liked Pela as their go-to Ice character because her kit lets her shred enemy defenses, remove buffs, and deal damage.
As of patch 1.5, Yanqing is entirely outclassed as an Ice DPS by the Destruction unit Jingliu. Although unlikely, he may obtain a relic set that complements his kit and allows him to deal substantially greater damage.
2) Jing Yuan
Unlike his ward, Yanqing, Jing Yuan was considered one of the best characters in Honkai Star Rail because of his gigantic follow-up attack. But as time passed, he had to give up his throne to someone new. Surprisingly, it was none other than Kafka and only a patch after Jing Yuan's debut.
In most cases, Kafka outperforms Jing Yuan. Her kit, which relies on activating the Damage over Time or DoT debuffs, enables her to inflict additional damage alongside the standard lightning damage. She is also easier to equip than Jing Yuan. Another reason he feels clumsy to utilize is that once Jing Yuan is stunned, his follow-up attacks are affected and get delayed.
Even if a new planar set and Topaz exist in the game to enhance follow-ups, this does not resolve the problem of Jing Yuan's delayed follow-up.
3) Bailu
Bailu is a good character and a fantastic unit for novices who want to save their Stellar Jades. Her heal is highly potent, and she has the extra benefit of resurrecting a party member who has been knocked down. She was regarded as one of the top 5-stars at the time of Honkai Star Rail's release.
The release of Luocha, however, hindered her influence. He brought some of the best utilities to the table, delivering continual healing and being skill-point-positive. His healing let him eliminate party members' debuffs, while his ultimate removed opponent buffs. Later, Abundance units, Lynx (4-star), and the new addition to the lineup, Huohuo, gradually shared this power to clear debuffs.
Bailu offers no additional utility other than healing, and she can only be redeemed if Hoyoverse adds a cleanse debuff ability to her kit. If you have Stellar Jades to spare, Huohuo is a better choice, as she also functions as a Harmony character with her kit.
4) Himeko
Himeko is a popular character in Honkai Star Rail. She is a Fire damage dealer on the path of Erudition, although she has struggled to shine since the game's release. Like Yanqing's, her damage multipliers are low compared to other characters, and her follow-up attack holds her back.
Himeko's ability, like many others with follow-up in their arsenal, requires a specific condition to activate. Her follow-up attack is only triggered when she has three stacks, which can be obtained when the team exploits an enemy's weakness. This conditional follow-up rendered her vulnerable to bosses and elite adversaries.
Himeko's damage has been augmented thanks to the new relic set that boosts follow-up attacks. However, she will only see more playtime in Honkai Star Rail if Hoyoverse modifies the prerequisites for this attack.
5) Asta
Asta is a free Harmony character that comes as part of the Warp instruction during the prologue of Honkai Star Rail. If constructed correctly, she is a solid character who not only delivers benefits to your squad but can also deal Fire damage. She pales in comparison to the other units in Harmony's route.
Other Harmony characters in Honkai Star Rail, such as Yukong, Bronya, and Tingyun, outperform Asta. All three of these provide greater damage boosts than Asta. Yukong and Bronya also boost the party's crit values, and Tingyun delivers energy to a squad member. Asta's impact is also greatly reliant on her Eidolons.
Sadly, she can only benefit from changes to her Eidolons or a completely new relic set that focuses on her niche of buffing party members' speed.
While it is unlikely that Hoyoverse will buff these characters, many in the community are hoping they will get their chance to shine once more in Honkai Star Rail.
