Combat encounters in Honkai: Star Rail come in several varieties: an add wave, a single boss, or a boss and its add companions. Ideally, your team will have a way to deal with all three scenarios, but single-target damage can be almost as effective as multi-target if you can output enough to one-shot anything in front of you. Today, we’re talking about the best boss DPS teams, so single-target damage is our focus.
How to Build a Team for Single-Target Damage in Honkai: Star Rail
The first and most important aspect of a top-tier boss damage team is the DPS themselves. Right now, there are two you want to shoot for.
The Best DPS Characters in Honkai: Star Rail
Your starting Trailblazer can be an absolute Physical damage beast if you invest in their Relics, Traces, and especially in buying their Eidelons as those become available. Not only does the Destruction Trailblazer have the possibility for crazy DPS, but their Ultimate and Skill can also cover single and multi-target.
- The 5-star Seele is the top dog for damage, but as a limited banner, there are even fewer ways to ensure you end up with her on your team. However, if you manage to pull Seele, she’ll be helpful in almost any situation thanks to her Quantum damage type, ability to simply gain extra turns, and monstrous overall damage.
- The 5-star Yanqing is technically easier to come by than Seele, as there’s no limit to how many times you can attempt to add him to your team. He’s also Ice-element, which conflicts with other top options like Pela or Gepard if you want damage-type variety.
- The 4-star Sushang is easier to get than the two above, has top-tier damage output with minimal build crafting, and synchronizes well with most buffing characters. Sushang is a Physical-element character, and there are many of those in the game right now, so you’ll want to surround her with other damage types as you can.
Dan Heng, as your starting single-target damage dealer in Honkai: Star Rail, is serviceable but quickly outclassed once you get any other character of his class.
The Best Teams for Boss DPS in Honkai: Star Rail
Once you sort out your main damage dealer, it’s time to build a team around them. There are a few schools of thought here.
Max Out Damage
In this strategy, you eschew a traditional support in favor of buffing your DPS and debuffing enemies and bosses to such an extent that they don’t have time to do much damage.
Teams to Consider
- DPS: Seele, Sushang, Destruction Trailblazer
- Buffs: Bronya, Tingyun, Asta
- Supplement: Pela, Hook, Welt
Well-rounded approach
Here, you’ll pair your DPS with a buffer and a healer/support to both increase their damage while keeping everyone else topped up. Your fourth member will be someone who can handle mobs for the odd boss that summons them.
Teams to Consider
- DPS: Seele, Sushang, Destruction Trailblazer
- Buffs: Bronya, Tingyun
- Supplement: Serval, Bailu, Natasha, Pela
DoT Master
Never underestimate damage over time. With the right setup, you can destroy your enemies without lifting your finger more than once or twice, and they’ll die of their own accord. For these builds, your upfront damage won’t be as high, but whenever the boss’s turn comes around, you’ll get to enjoy watching their health bar disappear.
Teams to Consider
- DPS: Himeko, Fire Trailblazer, Dan Heng (in a pinch)
- Buffs: Tingyun, Bronya, Gepard
- Supplement: Bailu, Natasha, Serval
These three sets of options should give you a variety of gameplay styles and progression paths, but they are far from the only choices out there. Most of the better characters can be top-tier if you invest in their abilities and play to their strengths. Moreover, these teams might be completely obsolete in a few months time as more characters come out and Honkai: Star Rail continues to evolve.
In the meantime, there’s still plenty to enjoy in HSR, and we’ve covered a lot of it here. See our guides to the best PC graphics settings, the pity system explained, and all character damage types and enemy weaknesses. For more, head to our guides hub.
