The standard 5-star characters in Honkai: Star Rail may not be as powerful as they once were at launch, but they can still greatly enhance your gameplay. With the Express Gift event, you have the chance to choose one of these characters for free. Your selection will depend on what you need for your account, and some characters are particularly noteworthy.
There are also certain characters in the Express Gift 5-star selection that you should avoid due to significant power shifts and reduced usefulness in the current game environment. We’ll break down everything you need to know right here.
The Top Choice for Express Gift: Bronya
Some 5-star characters from the standard banner have remained relevant since the release of Honkai: Star Rail, while others have become less useful over time. Nonetheless, Bronya stands out as the best pick from the Express Gift. Here are the key reasons why:
- Bronya’s Skill enables any character to act immediately, regardless of their turn order.
- Her Skill also removes one debuff from the chosen character, ensuring they can act faster and with fewer negative effects.
- Bronya’s Ultimate provides a team-wide Crit damage boost, which is incredibly valuable and easy to activate.
- She can be integrated into nearly any team composition, with a few exceptions for very niche characters.
- Bronya is hard to surpass in terms of power. Even though others, like Sunday, perform similar roles slightly better, she remains an invaluable asset as a secondary support character.
Additionally, Bronya’s abilities make her useful across all game modes, as her buffs are applicable to various damage types, and her ability to grant immediate action is extremely potent.
Another Worthy Option for Express Gift: Himeko
If you already have Bronya, another solid choice from the selection is Himeko. While not as versatile as Bronya, she excels in the Pure Fiction game mode, especially when teamed with Herta.
Himeko also works well in Break and Follow-up Attack teams, as her skills rely on these mechanics to function optimally. Here are some additional reasons to consider adding Himeko to your roster:
- She will become increasingly valuable with new Erudition characters like Herta, enhancing her already fantastic capabilities in Pure Fiction.
- Her Break-focused abilities are effective in the Apocalyptic Shadow game mode.
- Characters like Fugue will improve Himeko’s Break damage potential, making her even more useful.
Building for Pure Fiction can be challenging if you lack characters specializing in area-of-effect (AoE) damage, but adding Himeko dramatically changes your options.
The Remaining Express Gift Characters
The other characters available through the Express Gift have generally fallen behind, as newer limited 5-star options have surpassed them in many aspects. If you’re a newer player fortunate enough to already have Bronya and Himeko, selecting any of the following characters could still be beneficial.
|
Character |
Path |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Clara |
Destruction |
Clara is arguably the best alternative from the Express Gift. Her counter-attacking kit remains effective since Star Rail updated her mechanics alongside Yunli. She’s a reliable choice for all endgame modes, especially in Pure Fiction where she can continuously act if enemies take their turn. |
|
Gepard |
Preservation |
Gepard does have some flaws, like his shields being dependent on his Ultimate and the existence of Aventurine. However, if you haven’t acquired Aventurine, Gepard can still serve as a decent sustain option, although he feels somewhat clunky when compared to more recent characters. |
|
Welt |
Nihility |
Welt found himself in a peculiar position soon after his release. While his skill to delay enemies is useful, it doesn’t compare to providing more actions for your team like Bronya does. Adding Welt to your lineup is more about personal choice than a strategic decision at this point. |
|
Bailu |
Abundance |
Bailu has also seen her worth diminish over time as Honkai: Star Rail has progressed. While her ability to revive fallen characters is strong, her healing has become inconsistent, lacks a reliable debuff clearance ability, and is outclassed by many newer healers. |
|
Yanqing |
Hunt |
Yanqing has often struggled to be a top DPS choice, even during the launch when Seele was dominating. His damage is adequate but fails to stand up to newer powerful damage dealers introduced shortly after. Additionally, he tends to be somewhat fragile, limiting his viability even with supports like Aventurine. |
If you have all the 5-star characters available in Honkai: Star Rail, the Express Gift lets you obtain one of their Eidolons for free. For optimal choices, consider between Bronya, Himeko, and possibly Clara’s Eidolons:
- Bronya’s E1 and E2 significantly enhance her effectiveness. E1 improves her Skill Point economy with a 50 percent chance to regain points spent on her Skill. E2 boosts the Speed of the character affected by her Skill by 30 percent for one turn, which can be extremely powerful.
- Himeko’s E1 grants a 20 percent Speed increase after any Victory Rush, and her E2 enhances her damage against enemies at half health or lower by 15 percent.
- Clara’s E1 allows her to use her Skill without consuming a Mark of Counter, and her E2 adds a flat 30 percent damage boost to her Ultimate for two turns.
One last thought: if picking Eidolons or chasing meta options isn’t what you’re after, and there’s a character you prefer or are missing, don’t hesitate to select based solely on your interests. You might not have the best endgame team as a result, but you should always feel free to add a character that resonates with you.
Acquiring a character you lack has its advantages too. Should you pull them later from the standard banner or miss out on a limited banner by losing a 50/50, having that character already unlocked earns you Undying Starlight, which you can use for future pulls.
