Worst Characters in Honkai Star Rail

Nobody wants to waste resources on a character they are never going to use in the future. But how can you tell when you are first starting out in Honkai: Star Rail? Starter characters typically don't age well, so should you try to use others as soon as you pull for them? We understand your confusion, so these are the characters we think are the worst to use resources on in the early game of Honkai: Star Rail.

Which characters are not worth leveling up in Honkai Star Rail?

This article comes with a disclaimer: We are not from the Xianzhou Luofu's Divination Commission, and we can not predict the future. In the early days of Genshin Impact, Bennet was considered a "poor character," and look how well that aged.

Here's our best analysis of the characters you should avoid spending resources on.

1. Herta

While most of the free characters you receive at the beginning of the game are viable and worth building, Herta seems to be the character that ages the least gracefully. While she excels early in the game in the Simulated Universe due to her access to both the Freeze effect and follow-up attacks in her kit, her multipliers are poor.

Moreover, as an Erudition character, she specializes in AoE attacks and Mobs, which tend to make up the easiest content in Honkai: Star Rail. Right now, you can use her for efficient farming, but she won't be of much help tackling the most difficult bosses.

2. Hook

Over time, Hook may be seen as a more valuable character. She is a Destruction character who deals Fire damage and specializes in applying the Burn effect. At the moment, however, there is nothing Hook can do that Asta can't cover as well. Asta's kit comes with the added bonus of being a Harmony Character and boosting Speed teamwide.

In the future, Hook may be great when paired with Asta, as she boosts fire damage, but in the early game, we don't advise putting your resources in her just yet.

Related: All Honkai Star Rail 5 Stars

3. Arlan

Arlan is a Lightening Destruction character with a unique kit. It requires him to fight with lower HP to boost his overall damage. In beta tests, he actually did very respectable damage for a Four-Star unit, but his kit was nerfed between CBT 3 and the final game. Combine that with his requirement to be shielded over healed, and it makes him a tricky character to use early on. As more shielders and healers are introduced, Arlan may become more viable.

4. Dan Heng

If you're noticing a trend that the initial allies to the Nameless are some of the worst characters in the game, you'd be correct. Naturally, you might have to invest in Dan Heng to clear some of the early game content before nabbing some other characters. The issue with Dan Heng is that his damage just doesn't compare to the big damage carries that Honkai has released. It's fine to drop Dan Heng after getting some of the other damage carries like Sushang, Seele, or Dr. Ratio.

Related: Honkai Star Rail Best Healers

5. Yanqing

Yanqing can do plenty of damage if he gets his stacks up, but therein lies the issue: he can't get hit at all if he wants to keep his stacks. This means he automatically needs something like March 7th to constantly protect him to work at all. He simply requires too much babying to work on his own accord.

Need to build a team around Himeko? Or did you draw another Five-Star character in Honkai Star Rail? Either way, we've got you covered. Check out Honkai Star Rail Team Comps – Best teams to use for each Standard Five-Star character here at Pro Game Guides.