Ah, yes, Honkai: Star Rail, the game I invested in since day one of its release. Have you ever wondered which are the best AoE characters to throw your painstakingly gathered resources at? To help with that, I've got a list of the top five AoE characters from good to best that I'd love to share with you. Let's dive in!
First, let's quickly go over the team roles in Honkai: Star Rail. Characters are categorized into single-target DPS, AoE DPS, offensive supports, and defensive supports. Technically, supports could be AoE characters as well. They are very useful for boosting your team. God forbid I fail to acknowledge that.
I believe that every character deserves their moment to shine, but today I'll be focusing only on AoE DPS characters. Don't worry, though, we may get the chance to catch up on the others later.
Let's first understand what AoE DPS means in Honkai: Star Rail. In that regard, let me tell you about something interesting - a special attack type called "bounce". It's a hybrid of AoE and single-target attacks that jumps between enemies. Sometimes it hits multiple targets, while other times it hits only one. Cool, right?
In the game, there are some characters like Dan Heng Inhibitor Lunae and Jingliu who have "blast" attacks which cause damage to both a single enemy and the adjacent enemies. This can make things a bit complicated. However, I believe that bouncers and blasters should have their lists to showcase their strengths.
To avoid confusion, we will only consider characters as AoE DPS if they are capable of hitting all enemies on the field at a relatively equal rate with at least one of their attacks, such as their basic attack, skill, talent, or ultimate ability. It means that if there are five enemies on the field, the character must be able to hit all five, not only one and its adjacent enemies. This is why blasters are not part of this list.
This choice does restrict our poll of choices significantly. But does that make it any less fun? I’d say “Heck no!”, but it’s actually up to you to decide that for yourself.
5. Himeko
Himeko is the beautiful and adventurous scientist of the crew. She ventures across the universe with the Astral Express as its navigator. She is one of the first characters the Trailblazer meets as well as a trustworthy companion.
Her kit is best used when farming, and this is one of the reasons she is the fifth character on the list. If you ever need these juicy experience materials, she is the one to call for. When against stronger enemies such as elites and bosses, her abilities can fall a bit short.
Himeko’s basic attack inflicts fire damage on a single target, which is not particularly remarkable. However, her true strength lies in her skill, ultimate, and talent. Her skill can deal damage to both a single foe and those adjacent to it, which is pretty sweet.
Her ultimate is a spectacular blast from the heavens that deals damage to all enemies and regenerates five energy for every enemy defeated. This is part of why the scarlet-haired lady is useful, along with her majestic talent. Why majestic you ask? When an enemy is hit with a weakness break and Himeko has fully charged her power (earning three points of charge from multiple breaks and/or at the start of the battle), she launches a follow-up attack against all enemies at the moment when her allies attack.
Himeko’s AoE Strengths:
- Her ultimate's passive allows for more frequent use, leading to faster defeat of multiple enemies. Great follow-up attack that deals AoE damage and can wipe mobs easily. Thanks to this she is very useful for farming;
- If she has over 80% health, one of her traces increases the chance of dealing critical hits. The benefits of this are self-explanatory - higher damage, resulting in more enemies defeated with ease;
- Her attack also has a chance of dealing “burning” damage over time. This is especially useful as a passive;
- Pairs well with other fire characters such as Asta or Hook. Asta increases Himeko’s fire damage output while Hook inflicts the Burning status. This particular build destroys enemies with a vulnerability to fire.
Choose Himeko if:
- You need to farm experience materials quickly - or farm in general;
- You have many enemies to beat at once - that preferably have a fire weakness;
- You lose 50/50 - a very valid reason since it’s highly probable to happen unless you are fortunate;
- You enjoy using Asta and/or Hook, as well as fire-based characters in general;
- You want a pretty fire character(totally unbiased opinion).
4. Clara
Clara is a shy young girl who was orphaned at an early age. She is accompanied by an ancient mech named Svarog. He acts as a sort of guardian figure/family, or as a “Stand”(is that a Jojo reference?!) who attacks in her stead during combat.
As yet another one of the standard warp banner characters, Clara is a pretty versatile character. She can act as both a tank and a DPS, although she still requires a shielder to help her maintain her strong status quo. Generally, she is best used with March 7th, who can assist Clara in attracting more aggro, thus possibly using her abilities to full capacity.
Clara's kit is quite impressive, with her skill dealing significant AoE damage. Her basic attack is simple and deals 50% of her attack power to a single enemy. Her Ultimate is particularly interesting as it raises the likelihood of Clara, the adorable "Stand" user, being attacked. This leads to an increased counter possibility, which in turn results in more opportunities to inflict damage upon the enemies.
Let us ponder this for a moment: counter plus skill equals profit. Why? Damage, baby. I can almost hear Svarog going “Ora ora ora”. If you don’t understand the reference, then please do me and yourself a favor and search Jojo on Google - I believe you won’t regret it.
Clara’s AoE Strengths:
- A balanced mix of single target and AoE damage options. Her counters deal heavy single-target damage, while the Aoe skill combined with her enhanced counters deal wide-range damage. Profit indeed;
- She is quite tanky, which influences her strength in that she can deal both single and multi-target damage without having to worry about HP too much;
- Thanks to her attracting aggro the squishier units get to survive longer as they won’t be a focus of the big hits - she not only attacks but also protects;
Choose Clara if:
- You want a balanced and versatile unit;
- You have squishy units that need protection;
- You need a reliable tank and damage dealer;
- You love Jojo(come on, am I the only one who does?).
3. Kafka
Kafka is a member of the Stellaron Hunters who is calm, collected, as well as beautiful. She may be on the wanted list, but she is so mysterious that it only lists her name and hobby. People have always imagined her to be elegant, respectable, and in pursuit of things of beauty even in combat.
Here starts our list of limited-time event warp characters. Kafka may not be the first place on our list, but she can deal a lot of delicious damage, especially of the DoT kind. If you’d like some “shocking” developments, she’s the one to call for.
Her base attack deals lightning damage equal to 50% of her attack. Not bad, but it’s just the usual. The great part comes from Kafka’s skill, ultimate, talent, and even technique.
Her skill deals regular damage as well as DoT damage, which is pretty great. Kafka’s talent also helps her comrades, especially those who can apply damage over time like her. The best part is her ultimate, though, especially from an AoE perspective: it deals damage to all enemies *and* instantly applies shock on them.
Kafka’s AoE Strengths:
- She is versatile since she can apply strong single-target damage as well as AoE damage. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be;
- She has consistent damage output, which makes her pretty reliable;
- She doesn’t care about critical stats. Instead, her sweet spot is attack and speed. Hopefully, RNGesus will be kind to you;
- She applies DoT quite easily, and to multiple enemies at that;
- Pairs well with Sampo and Luka. The former is also a pretty good AoE damage dealer.
Choose Kafka if:
- You are tired of all units needing critical stats and want someone different;
- You love shocking enemies. No, really. It’s pretty cool to deal lots of damage over time;
- You want a balanced unit;
- You like using Sampo and/or Luka and want a unit that can pair up well with them;
- You simply like beauties, which I can perfectly understand.
2. Jing Yuan
Jing Yuan is a member of the Cloud Knights as well as one of the seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance. He is an important resident of the Xianzhou Luofu, serving as one of the Six Charioteers. Despite his seemingly lazy demeanor, Jing Yuan has been a general in the Luofu for centuries, a period surpassing most of his peers.
It may surprise you that I did not choose Jing Yuan as the first spot since he is the character in the headline, but that is just because he is my personal favorite AoE character since I have used his abilities in countless battles. He is a unit I hold close to my heart. His base attack is the same as all other characters, so how about we talk about the juicy stuff instead?
The best part, in my opinion, is Jing Yuan’s talent, which is a sort of passive attack that stacks up depending on the actions taken by the character himself. The more we use Jing Yuan’s skill, the more stacks we gather for the talent, thus dealing a lot of hits and damage. His ultimate isn’t too bad either since it deals damage equal to 120% of Jing Yuan’s attack *and* adds three hits per action/stacks for the Lighting Lord talent.
So then, what are Jing Yuan’s strengths? Hoo boy, am I glad you asked!
Jing Yuan’s AoE strengths:
- Great AoE damage combined with decent single-target damage;
- Great at breaking the enemies’ toughness as each Lighting Lord is treated as a separate damage instance;
- He is easy to use and to reach AoE potential. He can use both epic and rare light cones, so he is FTP-friendly;
- He has the highest skill multipliers in the game which of course will lead to high damage in turn;
- He has a “Stand”. You thought I’d miss a chance to make a Jojo reference?
Choose Jing Yuan if:
- You want a character that is easy to build and FTP-friendly;
- You love high-damage multipliers;
- You appreciate his beauty;
- You aren’t tired of my Jojo jokes.
1. Blade
Blade is a member of the Stellaron Hunters, known for abandoning his body to become a sword. He pledges loyalty to Elio, also known as "Destiny's Slave," and has a formidable self-healing ability. He’s also a bit of a meme, and I affectionately refer to him as “Bladie”.
Blade is a strong unit, and his abilities are very interesting to analyze and behold. His base attack may deal 50% of Blade’s attack, as per usual, but it also has other interesting effects, such as consuming his HP as well as dealing additional wind damage. The best part is that it also deals damage to adjacent targets.
His other abilities don’t fall short either. His skill sharpens his blade - if you know what I mean - consumes his HP, and increases his damage by 12%. His Ultimate is also neat as it is of the blast type and attacks multiple enemies. He may lose HP in the process, but he deals a lot of that delicious damage we all want.
Let’s not forget his talent, which is, in my opinion, the cherry on top. When the unit gains five stacks thanks to Blade sustaining damage or consuming his HP, he does a follow-up AoE attack that destroys enemies on the field. What more could you want, right?
Blade’s AoE Strengths:
- Amazing DPS can outclass Seele and Jing Yuan in some scenarios. This is the primary reason why he is the first on the list;
- Works well in both single-target and AoE contexts;
- He has incredible self-sustain and outstanding HP scaling;
- He doesn’t require many skill points to function well;
- He is easier to build because his traces contain a 12% critical rate;
- He doesn’t rely on his ultimate to deal damage;
- He doesn’t require a signature light cone to work well.
Choose Blade if:
- You want a unique character;
- You want a strong character who doesn’t rely on signature light cones and has a high critical rate;
- You want a character that is easy to build;
- You would like to pair him with a character who is more skill-point-hungry.
