# List of Honkai: Star Rail characters
The playable characters of *Honkai: Star Rail* are the obtainable combat units of HoYoverse's turn-based role-playing game, each defined by a rarity (4-star or 5-star), a combat element, a Path that determines its combat role, and a faction. The roster launched with version 1.0 on 26 April 2023 and has grown with every patch, reaching roughly 90 playable characters by mid-2026.[1](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline) • [2](https://d2ankz0m1a0dsp.cloudfront.net/star-rail/characters/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launch roster | Version 1.0 (26 April 2023) shipped 23 characters and 9 Light Cones[1](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline) |
| Roster size | Prydwen's character list shows 90 playable characters as of May 2026; Beebom counts 89 including all Trailblazer paths[2](https://d2ankz0m1a0dsp.cloudfront.net/star-rail/characters/) • [3](https://beebom.com/honkai-star-rail-characters-list/amp/) |
| Paths | 18 Paths exist in the game, of which 9 are playable: Destruction, The Hunt, Erudition, Harmony, Nihility, Preservation, Abundance, Remembrance, and Elation[4](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/guides/paths/) |
| Elements | Seven combat types: Physical, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Quantum, and Imaginary[5](https://www.icy-veins.com/honkai-star-rail/team-building) |
| Release cadence | Most versions add two or three new characters; version 1.0's 23-character launch remains the largest single batch[1](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline) |
| Collaboration characters | Four Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] units: Archer, Saber, Rin Tohsaka, and Gilgamesh[6](https://www.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/165197) |
| Trailblazer variants | The player character has playable forms on the Destruction, Preservation, Harmony, Remembrance, and Elation Paths[2](https://d2ankz0m1a0dsp.cloudfront.net/star-rail/characters/) |
## Paths and elements
Every character belongs to a Path, which works like a character class and indicates the role the unit fills in combat, as well as which Light Cones it can fully use.[4](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/guides/paths/) The seven launch Paths follow traditional RPG archetypes: The Hunt for single-target damage, Erudition for multi-target damage, Destruction for all-round damage, Harmony for team buffs, Nihility for debuffs and damage over time, Preservation for shields and defense, and Abundance for healing.[4](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/guides/paths/) • [5](https://www.icy-veins.com/honkai-star-rail/team-building) The two post-launch Paths work differently: [Remembrance](https://www.edgepedia.org/remembrance) characters summon companions that buff, debuff, or deal damage, and Elation characters use combo-based mechanics, so their combat roles vary with each kit.[4](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/guides/paths/)
Each character also carries one of seven elements, which matters because enemies have elemental weaknesses: attacking a weakness depletes the enemy's [Toughness](https://www.edgepedia.org/toughness) bar and triggers a Weakness Break, after which the team can deal much heavier damage.[5](https://www.icy-veins.com/honkai-star-rail/team-building)
In practice, Path and Element are starting points rather than fixed labels. The KeqingMains teambuilding guide notes that Seele is a Hunt character who often performs best in multi-target content, and that Natasha, an Abundance healer, also contributes Toughness damage and Skill Point generation, so it is more useful to sort characters into functional roles such as single-target damage dealer, multi-target damage dealer, buffer, debuffer, and sustain.[7](https://hsr.keqingmains.com/misc/teambuilding-guide/)
## Release history
The game launched on 26 April 2023 with 23 characters: the 5-star units Seele, Jing Yuan, Bailu, [Bronya](https://www.edgepedia.org/bronya), Clara, Gepard, Himeko, Welt, Yanqing, and the Trailblazer's Destruction and Preservation forms, plus the 4-star units Arlan, Asta, Dan Heng, Herta, Hook, [March 7th](https://www.edgepedia.org/march-7th-honkai-star-rail), Natasha, Pela, Qingque, Sampo, Serval, Sushang, and Tingyun.[1](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline) • [8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners) Serval is additionally obtainable through mail rewards for pre-registration and social media followers.[9](https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Character)
After launch, releases settled into a steady rhythm of two or three characters per six-week version, with occasional single-character patches such as 2.6 (Rappa) and 4.1 (Ashveil) and Light Cone-only versions such as 3.8 that added no character debuts.[1](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline) • [8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners) Notable batches include version 2.0 (Black Swan, [Sparkle](https://www.edgepedia.org/sparkle-honkai-star-rail), Misha), version 3.0, which opened the Amphoreus arc with Aglaea, The Herta, and the Trailblazer's Remembrance form, and version 3.4 (Phainon, Archer, Saber).[8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners)
**Collaboration characters.** The Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collaboration introduced four guest units from outside the game's universe, tagged with the "Another World" faction. Archer, a 5-star Quantum character on The Hunt, and Saber, a 5-star Wind character on Destruction, both debuted on 11 July 2025 in version 3.4.[8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners) The second phase brought Rin Tohsaka, a 5-star Quantum Erudition character who accumulates "Gem Energy" to deal repeated instances of damage, and Gilgamesh, a 5-star Lightning Destruction character whose Ultimate fires weapons from his treasury once accumulated "Interest" reaches its threshold; both became playable on 24 July 2026 in version 4.4.[6](https://www.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/165197) HoYoverse also let players claim [Gilgamesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/gilgamesh) or Archer as a free limited 5-star by logging in before version 4.6 ends.[6](https://www.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/165197)
## The Trailblazer
The player character, the Trailblazer, is not a warp character and has never had a banner; instead, new forms arrive through story progress.[8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners) Playable variants exist on five Paths: Destruction and Preservation from launch, Harmony from version 2.2, Remembrance from version 3.0, and Elation from version 4.2.[8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners) • [2](https://d2ankz0m1a0dsp.cloudfront.net/star-rail/characters/) Because each variant is a distinct combat kit, tier-list databases count them separately, which is one reason published roster counts differ slightly (89 to 93 characters depending on how variants are tallied).[3](https://beebom.com/honkai-star-rail-characters-list/amp/)
## Factions and acquisition
Characters are organized into factions such as the Astral Express, Herta Space Station, Jarilo-VI, the Xianzhou Luofu, the Stellaron Hunters, the Interastral Peace Corporation, Penacony, Amphoreus, and Another World, the last covering the Fate collaboration units.[10](https://wiki.hoyolab.com/m/hsr/aggregate/character/?lang=en-us) Most characters are acquired through the gacha's Character Event Warp, which has a published 0.6% base 5-star rate, a 90-warp hard pity, and a 50% chance that a pulled 5-star is the featured character, with a guaranteed featured unit on the next 5-star after a lost roll.[8](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners)
## References
1. [Honkai: Star Rail Patch Timeline, Prydwen.gg](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/patch-timeline)
2. [Honkai: Star Rail Characters List, Prydwen Institute](https://d2ankz0m1a0dsp.cloudfront.net/star-rail/characters/)
3. [All Honkai Star Rail Characters – Full List (July 2026), Beebom](https://beebom.com/honkai-star-rail-characters-list/amp/)
4. [Honkai: Star Rail Paths, Prydwen.gg](https://www.prydwen.gg/star-rail/guides/paths/)
5. [Team Building Guide for Honkai Star Rail, Icy Veins](https://www.icy-veins.com/honkai-star-rail/team-building)
6. [Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.4 "In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound" Arrives on July 15, HoYoverse](https://www.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/165197)
7. [Honkai: Star Rail Teambuilding Guide, KeqingMains](https://hsr.keqingmains.com/misc/teambuilding-guide/)
8. [Honkai: Star Rail banners with warp rates, pity and debut history, HSR Build](https://www.hsr-build.com/banners)
9. [Character page, Honkai: Star Rail Wiki (Fandom)](https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Character)
10. [Characters, HoYoWiki](https://wiki.hoyolab.com/m/hsr/aggregate/character/?lang=en-us)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Fictional worlds and series reference apparatus › Fictional universes, characters, and attribute reference › Cross-series character indexes and trait pages*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license