Honkai Star Rail | DPS Tier List 2.1

Tier S

Acheron

• Explosive Single-Target Damage: Acheron delivers punishing single-target burst damage with his skills and Ultimate. This makes him exceptional at taking down high-priority enemies or bosses.
• Debuff Application: He applies the unique "Void" debuff to targets, increasing the damage they take.
• Self-Sufficient: Acheron can generate energy quickly and buff his own attack, making for a self-contained damage-dealing powerhouse.

Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae

• King of Sustained AoE: Dan Heng excels in dishing out consistent AoE (area of effect) damage. He's perfect for clearing out groups of enemies quickly.
• Strong Scaling: His damage potential scales incredibly well as you invest in him, making him a reliable carry for later stages of the game.
• Critical Strike Focus: Dan Heng's kit naturally emphasizes critical hit chance, leading to massive damage spikes when you build him correctly.

Jingliu

• Flexible DPS: Jingliu can function effectively as both a single-target and AoE damage dealer, making her adaptable to various situations.
• Chain Reactions: Her skill triggers chain lightning that bounces between enemies, spreading damage and potentially creating elemental reactions for even more output.
• Utility with Damage: Jingliu also provides some team support by lowering enemy defense, further amplifying her and her allies' damage potential.

Kafka

• Debuff Specialist: Kafka's focus is on applying powerful debuffs that weaken enemies. This significantly boosts the damage output of your entire team (including herself).
• Consistent DPS: Kafka can deal consistent damage while stacking debuffs to enable massive damage spikes from other members of your team.
• Combo Enabler: Her debuffs can set up devastating elemental reactions and combos with the right team composition.

Tier A

Dr. Ratio

• Delayed Damage Specialist: Dr. Ratio's unique mechanic involves setting up "Calculations" on the battlefield that explode after a certain time, dealing delayed but potent AoE damage.
• Setup and Strategy: Her playstyle is more strategic; success relies on the correct positioning of her Calculations for maximum effect.
• DoT Potential: Dr. Ratio can apply a bleed DoT (Damage over Time) effect, supplementing her burst damage with sustained output.

Jing Yuan

• Sniper DPS: Jing Yuan excels at delivering high single-target damage from a distance. This makes him exceptional for eliminating specific threats.
• Critical Focus: His kit revolves around increasing his critical hit chance and damage. A well-built Jing Yuan can deliver truly devastating strikes.
• Vulnerability Exploit: Jing Yuan can inflict a debuff on enemies that significantly increases the damage he deals to them.

Qingque

• AoE Specialist: Qingque boasts strong AoE damage potential, making her ideal for clearing swarms of weaker enemies.
• Energy Support: Her skill generates energy for the entire team, contributing to faster Ultimates for everyone and increasing overall damage across the board.
• Self-Healing: Qingque possesses some self-healing capabilities, enhancing her survivability in longer battles.

Seele

• Switch Stance DPS: Seele's unique dual-form mechanic allows her to switch between single-target and AoE focused attacks. This provides flexibility.
• Hybrid Support: In her AoE form, Seele provides some team-wide attack buffs, making her a semi-support DPS.
• Combo Potential: Seele's ability to switch forms and apply different elements can open up possibilities for elemental reaction combos.

Black Swan

• Sustained DoT Master: Black Swan specializes in applying stacking DoT effects that shred enemy health over time. She excels in prolonged fights.
• Debuffer: Black Swan can decrease enemy defense, synergizing with her DoT focus to amplify her damage and that of her allies.
• Self-Sustain: She has some self-healing and shield capabilities, increasing her longevity on the battlefield.

Topaz & Numby

• Unique Mechanic: Topaz & Numby functions as a single unit, where Topaz focuses on dealing damage and Numby acts as a shield/support.
• Consistent AoE: Topaz can offer a consistent stream of AoE damage, useful for clearing out waves of enemies.
• Defensive Power: Numby's shields and ability to increase(Defense) add a layer of survivability to the team.

Tier B

• Argenti
• Blade
• Clara
• Luka
• Sampo
• Xueyi
• Dan Heng

• Less Explosive Power: Compared to Tier S heavy hitters, these units generally don't deal the same high levels of immediate damage.
• Situational Use: Many of them shine in very specific scenarios (shield breaking, against multiple enemies etc.) rather than being universally strong.
• Team-Reliant Some of these characters rely heavily on the rest of your team to maximize their DPS potential.

Tier C

• Herta
• Himeko
• Serval
• Guinaifen
• Welt

• Lower Damage Potential: Compared to S and A tier DPS characters, these units simply deal less overall damage in most scenarios.
• Situational Strengths: Their damage output often relies on specific team setups or conditions, making them less universally powerful and consistent.
• Specialized Roles: Some of these characters are actually better suited for support or utility roles rather than pure damage dealing.

Tier D

• Hook
• Misha
• Sushang
• Trailblazer
• Yanqing
• Arlan