Best Early Game Team Comps in Honkai: Star Rail

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Penned by Brittany Alva

Brittany is our resident Palia and Honkai: Star Rail specialist.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu

One of the best things about Honkai: Star Rail is the free characters the game gives you in the beginning are all fully capable units that can form strong team comps. There are several excellent teams that can be built that all have slightly different purposes and are equally good in the right situations. 

Here are the best early-game team comps in Honkai: Star Rail and how you can optimize your team no matter what characters you’ve pulled.

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What’s Considered Early Game in Honkai: Star Rail

It’s a bit hard to definitively say what counts as early game and what doesn’t, but we’ve come up with a few rules for this list. 

Considering the Herta Space Station is more of a tutorial world, all of its content is considered early game. Similarly, since Jarilo-IV doesn’t take long to get to, part of it is also considered early game.  However, the later half of Jarilo-IV definitely ramps up in difficulty and requires more planning. At that point, the game is no longer holding your hand.

For the purpose of these teams, early game will include content up until you unlock Natasha but before you unlock Fire Trailblazer. The following teams will work great for most of that content.

Luckily, these teams don’t stop being good once you get Fire Trailblazer. That being said though, Fire Trailblazer is much better than Physical Trailblazer, so the teams could be improved by switching your Trailblazer’s Path. But even if you choose not to, you’ll be fine and fully capable of getting through story content. 

Building Early Team Comps in Honkai: Star Rail

When it comes to early team comps in Honkai: Star Rail, it’s important to make sure that they synergize well. You’ll have to make sure you’re playing them correctly and optimizing what you do every turn, which can be a bit harder than setting P2P teams on auto-battle.

Fortunately, the one thing you don’t have to worry about with early game team comps is how well-built they are. You won’t have to go farming for the best relics or upgrade every Trace for every character as soon as possible. Just relax and use the Relics and Light Cones that you get naturally by playing, and these teams will take you pretty far.

Additionally, these characters are also pretty easy to get Eidolons for. The Trailblazer will get Eidolons by going through the story and natural world progression, and Herta gets Eidolons through the Simulated Universe, which is a great place to explore when it’s unlocked. Additionally, because there aren’t a ton of four-star options to choose from, most banners will have at least one of these characters featured on them. 

With that in mind, you can also focus on pouring most of your resources into a character or two that you know you’ll probably use over time. Natasha is a great example, since she’s a vital part of many teams throughout the game. 

You can focus on actually building the teams as little or as much as you like.

Best Early Game Team Comps in Honkai: Star Rail

There’s an early game team comp for every situation, and the great news is that you can use whichever one you need at any time! All of these characters are free to get, and they’re all available in the early parts of Honkai: Star Rail. 

The Original Four

• Physical Trailblazer
• Dan Heng
• Asta
• March 7th

The first four characters you get are all given to you very quickly in the beginning of Honkai: Star Rail, and they make for a great team together.

Physical Trailblazer deals AoE damage when needed and single-target damage to pesky enemies. while Asta helps shred them all down with her AoE attacks, which works particularly well against shields. Meanwhile, Dan Heng is able to focus on being a single-target shredder, taking down enemies with his massive damage.

March 7th does great at providing a shield, which also triggers her counterattacks. Even more support comes from Asta, who can both speed up her teammates and boost their damage based on how many enemies she hits with her Skill. 

This team covers a bit of everything Element-wise, and there’s not much you’ll encounter in the early game that isn’t weak to someone in this team. This team continues to be a solid pick later in the game, and it’s very easy to sub in better units or ones that are better suited to certain situations — the versatility makes this team stand out and stay good. 

Sustainability

• Physical Trailblazer
• Natasha
• Dan Heng
• Asta

Once you have Natasha, she can replace March 7th for a team that’s suited for long battles. March 7th’s shields can be nice, but they’re never that tanky. Instead, Natasha can just heal teammates who need it.

Everything works about the same way as the team above. Dan Heng is a consistent glass cannon, Physical Trailblazer whittles all the enemies down at once, and Astra takes out enemy shields while buffing everyone else. 

The only downside with this team is that it only covers three Elemental weaknesses. However, the damage from everyone combined with Natasha’s healing makes it so that you’re not really missing that advantage. Some fights may take a bit longer because of it, but you don’t have to worry about that since you have Natasha. 

If you use this team, then make sure to dump your resources into leveling Natasha. She’s incredibly useful in almost every combat scenario. Plus, she heals significantly more when you invest in her. 

Mob Focused

• Physical Trailblazer
• Herta
• Asta
• Flex pick (using Natasha in this case)

Luckily, Honkai: Star Rail gives you a nice little team to use against mobs of enemies. It revolves around Herta, Physical Trailblazer, Asta, and a flex pick. 

Herta deals follow-up AoE damage based on attacks, which makes her a powerhouse in mob fights. Combined with the AoE damage from Asta and Physical Trailblazer, there’s a lot of damage being thrown at enemies. 

Natasha’s job is to keep everyone alive so that they can keep dealing AoE damage. There are easy substitutes here, and even March 7th can be a better choice at times and depending on how built your characters are. Depending on when you created your account, you may also have Serval. She’s a powerful option that also deals a lot of AoE damage (and can proc Herta’s AoE follow-up attacks).

This team can easily grow with you as well, and it’s good for auto-battling. Despite not covering four weaknesses, Asta’s great shield shredding helps in most situations. 

Substitutes for Early Team Comps in Honkai: Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail gives players not only free characters, but plenty of free wishes as well. Most players will quickly get a five-star character, and the differences between five-star characters and most four-star characters is generally great enough to center a team around them.

With that in mind, you should know how to best utilize every five-star character in an early game team comp. Here’s how you can do that:

• Gepard: Gepard is a massive tank that sustains a team, so he can replace Natasha or March 7th.
• Bronya: Bronya’s goal is to support her teammates, so she can replace March 7th or Natasha in some comps.
• Himeko: Himeko focuses on AoE damage, so she’s a good replacement for Physical Trailblazer or even Asta.
• Welt: Welt’s kit focuses on debuffing, which makes him a bit more unique than any of the other free units. In this teams, he can take the place of March 7th or Asta. He also does a considerable amount of AoE damage, so he can replace Physical Trailblazer as well.
• Bailu: Bailu’s a healer, so she takes the place of Natasha or March 7th.
• Yanqing: Yanqing solely focuses on damage, so you’ll replace Dan Heng with him nine times out of ten. 
• Clara: Clara’s a good support/tank character, and she can replace units like March 7th or even Physical Trailblazer.

There are even some four-star characters that can outshine the early game team comps if you happen to have them. Here’s how you can utilize each four-star character:

• Arlan: Arlan is a single-target damage dealer, but he needs considerable support to shine. Replace Dan Heng with him, but make sure you have a protective unit like March 7th or Natasha on the team as well. 
• Serval: Serval is another AoE powerhouse like Herta, and she can replace Physical Trailblazer or Herta well. She can also be added to mob teams instead of running a supporting character like Natasha.
• Pela: Pela, like Welt, focuses on debuffing enemies. She’s a good replacement for March 7th, and she can be more useful than Phsycial Trailblazer in some boss fights. 
• Sampo: Sampo is an AoE damage dealer, so he’s a good replacement for characters like Physical Trailblazer or Herta.
• Hook: The leader of The Moles, Hook, specializes in AoE damage, and she’s a great option instead of Physical Trailblazer or Asta. 
• Sushang: Sushang can deal a lot of single-target damage, making her a solid replacement for Dan Heng. 
• Qingque: Qingque is a special character. Her kit works in inconsistent ways, so she’s best paired with another damage dealer. She can take the place of Physical Trailblazer well. 
• Tingyun: Tingyun’s specialty is buffing teammates, so she best takes the place of Asta or even Natasha. 
• Yukong: Yukong is another great support character, and she takes the place of Asta or Natasha well. 

A Note on Substituting Characters

When it comes to changing characters out in early team comps, there are a few things to think about. The first is Elemental weaknesses. Make sure you’ve got at least three different Elements on your teams in the early game. This helps make up for the fact that your characters aren’t the strongest. 

It’s also important to think about what each character needs. For example, Arlan needs backup in order to succeed 90% of the time. If someone on your team isn’t performing well, don’t be afraid to change your team comp up. 

Join the High Ground!

That’s everything you need to know about the best early game team comps in Honkai: Star Rail. The game gives you everything you need to succeed in the early game, and there are several great teams you can build.

Was there a specific team that carried you through the beginning of the game? Let us know in the comments below! For more gaming and Honkai: Star Rail content, don’t forget to subscribe below. 

Happy gaming!