Honkai: Star Rail has now reached Version 3.4, where many characters' stats have entered a new era. How are the standard 5-star characters performing in the current version, and which ones have higher priority? Today, we take a look at the current state of Star Rail's standard 5-star characters and analyze which ones are more worth pulling.

Honkai: Star Rail Standard Banner 5-Star Character Ranking

TOP 7: Yanqing

Yanqing has been a neglected main DPS since the game's launch. Frankly, Yanqing's numerical values are relatively decent, but his single-target focus makes him struggle even in Memory of Chaos, with extremely low clear efficiency—let alone in Pure Fiction, which favors multi-target scenarios.

Moreover, Yanqing's mechanics are weak: the [Soulsteel Sync] state disappears after taking damage, making him heavily reliant on shield supports. His Follow-up ATK after attacking has only a 60% trigger rate, resulting in poor practical performance. Thus, very few players still persist in using Yanqing.

TOP 6: Welt

Welt was considered an all-around main DPS during the game's launch, offering a complete package of damage output, debuffing, action delay (pushback), and other functionalities. His Eidolon upgrades are also among the highest tiers of standard 5-star characters. He shone brightly in the hands of many paying players at the time. However, with the release of subsequent limited 5-star main DPS characters, Welt's jack-of-all-trades nature has become mediocre, and he now sits on the bench.

TOP 5: Bailu

Bailu's healing mechanics are relatively conservative among all healers. Her healing provides no debuff cleansing or additional utility. While her focus on pure healing can sustain the team's HP, it fails to offer higher strategic flexibility. She is more suitable for players lacking survival-focused units, but if other limited 5-star survival characters are available, prioritizing them is recommended.

TOP 4: Gepard

Gepard's Ultimate's team-wide shield is highly practical, and when its uptime is maximized, it can easily secure the entire team's survivability. However, like Bailu, he provides no debuff cleansing or additional utility, making his performance in complex scenarios mediocre. When paired with the Light Cone "Trend of the Universal Market," his exceptionally high taunt value allows him to inflict negative effects on enemies, making him an excellent teammate for Acheron.

TOP 3: Clara

Clara now has Yunli as a superior alternative, leading to a significant drop in her popularity. Nevertheless, Clara's overall capabilities remain solid. Her counter mechanics perform even stronger in high-pressure situations, making her a versatile and stable main DPS. For new players lacking a second team, Clara is still a viable output character to invest in.

TOP 2: Bronya

Bronya was the most outstanding character at the game's launch. With her 100% action advance mechanism, Bronya once became synonymous with the highest potential. However, since Bronya consumes Skill Points (SP) every turn, players must make trade-offs when pairing her with main DPS characters who also consume high amounts of SP. Alternatively, pursuing higher Eidolons for Bronya can alleviate SP pressure, as her exclusive Light Cone and Eidolon 1 both reduce SP consumption, making her the standard 5-star character with the most significant improvements from exclusive Light Cones and Eidolons.

Although subsequent action advance supports like Sparkle and Sunday have been implemented, Bronya's buff values remain competitive. For players who haven't pulled or cannot deploy limited 5-star action advance supports, Bronya is still an excellent choice. Recently, with the increase in single-target attack DPS characters, Bronya has regained many opportunities to shine.

TOP 1: Himeko

During the launch phase, Himeko's weak single-target damage output limited even dedicated fans to using her only for daily quests. With the introduction of Pure Fiction, Himeko's viability expanded significantly. Initially, she dominated Pure Fiction alongside Herta in a dual-DPS team. Even in scenarios unsuited to her elemental weakness, Himeko can now carry other supports as a solo DPS.

Currently, in fire-weak and multi-target environments, no limited 5-star fire Erudition DPS has been released. Thus, Himeko remains one of the optimal choices and is highly popular. For most players, Himeko is currently the most worthwhile limited 5-star character to invest in, significantly enhancing the experience in Pure Fiction's multi-target scenarios.

Among the standard 5-star characters in Honkai: Star Rail, many still hold considerable strength. The top performers are Himeko and Bronya, who excel as a main DPS in multi-target scenarios and serve as a substitute for limited 5-star action advance supports, respectively. Clara and Gepard have superior alternatives but remain viable to invest in when Yunli or Aventurine are unavailable. 

Bailu is also a viable transitional option for players lacking survival-focused units. However, Welt and Yanqing, both popular at launch, are no longer recommended for investment due to their low cost-effectiveness.