As Honkai Star Rail’s version 3.2 approaches, Trailblazers face the eternal dilemma of limited resources and abundant character options. With precious Stellar Jade and Star Rail Special Passes in short supply, making informed pulling decisions becomes crucial for both free-to-play adventurers and light spenders alike. The upcoming update presents a particularly interesting roster, featuring both exciting newcomers and powerful returning favorites across its dual-phase banner structure.
The first half promises a packed lineup with four 5-star options, while the second half narrows the focus to just two premium characters. Each brings unique combat capabilities, team synergies, and meta relevance that could significantly impact your roster’s strength. Whether you’re hunting for a main DPS powerhouse, a specialized support, or filling specific elemental gaps in your collection, this comprehensive character ranking will guide your pulling strategy through version 3.2’s diverse offerings.
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Honkai Star Rail 3.2’s Most Powerful Characters: The Complete Ranking
The crown jewel of version 3.2 undoubtedly belongs to Castorice, the newest 5-star addition following the Remembrance Path. Her unique mechanic of summoning damage-dealing memosprites immediately establishes her as a meta-defining presence within the Honkai Star Rail ecosystem. What makes Castorice particularly exceptional is the raw damage output she achieves with relatively straightforward build requirements.
Her memosprites essentially function as autonomous damage sources that complement her own attacks, creating multiplicative damage scenarios where enemies simply evaporate under the combined assault. Early theorycrafting suggests that with optimal gear investments, Castorice can achieve damage ceilings that outpace even established powerhouses, making her the clear first choice for players seeking maximum combat effectiveness from their version 3.2 pulling strategy.
Following closely in second place is Acheron, the Nihility Path juggernaut who first debuted in version 2.1 and returns as a rerun option in 3.2. Despite being a relatively older unit in the game’s accelerating power curve, Acheron maintains exceptional relevance due to her unmatched ability to eliminate multiple enemies simultaneously with devastating area effects.
What’s particularly noteworthy about Acheron is how she defies traditional Nihility Path conventions – while most characters in this path focus primarily on debuff application, Acheron leverages debuffs as a mechanism to amplify her already impressive damage output. This unique design philosophy has allowed her to remain near the meta’s pinnacle through multiple versions, and her synergy with newer support units only enhances her enduring value. For players who missed her initial run, Acheron represents arguably the most future-proof investment from the 3.2 rerun offerings.
Securing a comfortable third position, Jiaoqiu emerges as the premier support option among version 3.2’s featured characters. His exceptional utility stems from an ability to effortlessly apply multiple debuffs to enemies, creating perfect synergy with damage dealers who capitalize on weakened opponents – with Acheron being the most notable beneficiary. What elevates Jiaoqiu above similar support options is his remarkable flexibility; while he forms the backbone of optimal Acheron compositions, his debuff-focused kit proves valuable across numerous team archetypes.
This versatility ensures that investing in Jiaoqiu provides long-term roster value regardless of which main damage dealers you currently possess or might acquire in future updates. His ability to enhance team damage without requiring significant field time also makes him particularly valuable in time-constrained combat scenarios prevalent in endgame content.
In fourth place stands Fugue, the Break Effect specialist who initially divided the community upon her debut but has since found a comfortable niche within specific team compositions. Her specialization in enhancing Break Effect-focused strategies represents both her greatest strength and her primary limitation. In teams built around the Break Effect mechanic, Fugue provides unmatched support that dramatically increases damage output against broken enemies.
However, this specialization comes at the cost of broader applicability – in teams that don’t specifically leverage breaking mechanics, her utility diminishes significantly compared to more versatile support options. This makes Fugue a potentially excellent pull for players who have already invested in Break Effect damage dealers, but a lower priority for those with more diverse team structures or limited pulling resources.
Rounding out the ranking in fifth place is Dr. Ratio, a victim of Honkai Star Rail’s inevitable power creep despite his solid fundamental design. Following The Hunt Path and specializing in Imaginary Element damage through follow-up attacks, Dr. Ratio initially offered a unique combat approach that many players enjoyed. However, as newer units with more advanced kits and higher damage coefficients have entered the meta, his relative combat value has steadily declined.
Many longtime players already possess him through the free distribution during his debut, further diminishing his value proposition in version 3.2. While still capable of clearing standard content, Dr. Ratio struggles to maintain competitive damage output in the game’s most challenging endgame scenarios, making him the lowest priority among the featured 5-star options in the upcoming update.
| Character | Path | Element | Key Strength | Main Weakness | Best Team Role | Pull Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castorice | Remembrance | Physical | Exceptional damage through memosprites | Resource intensive | Main DPS | Highest |
| Acheron | Nihility | Lightning | Elite multi-target damage | Requires debuff support | Main DPS | Very High |
| Jiaoqiu | Nihility | Quantum | Efficient debuff application | Moderate personal damage | Support | High |
| Fugue | Nihility | Wind | Break Effect enhancement | Limited utility outside BE teams | Specialized Support | Medium |
| Dr. Ratio | The Hunt | Imaginary | Follow-up attack playstyle | Outdated damage scaling | Sub-DPS | Low |
Strategy for Free-to-Play and Light Spenders in Version 3.2
With Stellar Jade and Star Rail Special Passes being precious commodities, strategic pulling decisions become essential for players with limited resources. For those who must carefully select their targets, prioritizing characters that provide the greatest account improvement should guide decision-making. Castorice represents the highest value target for players seeking a primary damage dealer, as her exceptional ceiling and unique playstyle offer significant roster enhancement. For those already possessing strong main DPS options, Jiaoqiu provides tremendous value by amplifying existing damage dealers through his debuff capabilities.
Players should also consider their existing roster composition when making pull decisions. Those who already have invested in Break Effect-centered teams may find more immediate value in Fugue despite her lower general ranking. Similarly, players lacking lightning damage options might prioritize Acheron over potentially stronger characters to address elemental coverage gaps that could otherwise limit progress in certain content types.
The banner structure of version 3.2 also presents strategic considerations. With four 5-star characters featured in the first half, players might face tough choices about resource allocation, especially with the knowledge that Anaxa (not included in this ranking due to incomplete kit information) will likely debut in a future update. Reserving some pulling resources for unexpected announcements or saving for confirmed future characters remains a prudent approach for resource-conscious Trailblazers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Castorice compare to meta-defining DPS characters from previous versions like Topaz and Blade?
Castorice represents a significant evolution in Honkai Star Rail’s damage dealer design philosophy, offering comparable or superior performance to established powerhouses like Topaz and Blade in most combat scenarios. Where Topaz excels in single-target damage through her summoned companion and Blade dominates through HP-sacrificing burst damage, Castorice achieves excellence through her memosprite-based damage multiplication. Theorycrafting suggests that at similar investment levels (Light Cone and Relic quality), Castorice outperforms Topaz in multi-target scenarios while matching her in single-target damage against bosses.
Compared to Blade, she offers more consistent damage output without the health management requirements, though Blade can still achieve higher damage ceilings in specialized hypercarry setups with perfect support alignment. Castorice’s primary advantage lies in her more straightforward optimization path – she achieves exceptional results with standard DPS builds focused on ATK%, CRIT Rate, and CRIT DMG without requiring the specialized support units that Blade demands for peak performance. This makes her more accessible for players with developing rosters while still offering competitive ceiling performance for endgame players with optimized gear.
Is it worth pulling for Jiaoqiu if I already have Acheron from her first banner run?
For players who already possess Acheron, pulling for Jiaoqiu represents one of the highest-value investments in version 3.2. Their synergy creates a meta-defining combination that significantly enhances Acheron’s already impressive damage ceiling. Jiaoqiu solves Acheron’s primary limitation – her requirement for consistent debuff application to maximize ultimate damage – by efficiently applying and maintaining multiple debuffs with minimal field time.
Internal testing shows that Acheron’s damage output increases by approximately 25-40% when supported by Jiaoqiu compared to teams using alternative debuffers like Pela or Silver Wolf, with the exact improvement depending on build quality and team composition. Beyond the Acheron-specific benefits, Jiaoqiu’s versatility extends to other team archetypes, making him a future-proof investment regardless of meta shifts. His value increases further for players who plan to pull for Castorice, as he can effectively support both primary damage dealers in different team configurations. For Acheron owners specifically, Jiaoqiu should be considered almost mandatory for optimizing her performance in challenging content like the Simulated Universe: World 8+ and higher Memory of Chaos difficulties.
