With Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.4 – “For the Sun is Set to Die”, we’ve entered one of the most exciting metas yet. New characters like Phainon, Saber (Artoria), and Archer (Emiya) from the Fate/stay night crossover shake things up, while reruns like Jingliu and Blade give returning players another shot at old favorites.
This tier list breaks down who to prioritize, why they matter, and which teams work best in the current MoC (Memory of Chaos), PF (Pure Fiction), and AS (Apocalyptic Shadow) content.
๐ Tier List Snapshot: July 2025 Meta
| Tier` | Character | Role | Strength Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS+ | Phainon | Solo Hypercarry | Coreflame form bursts, dominates solo content |
| SS+ | Archer | Free Single-Target DPS | Follow-up spam, high ceiling, great synergy |
| SS | Saber | AoE Resonance DPS | Scales with energy, PF queen |
| S | Jingliu (Rerun) | Ice DPS | Buffed, strong with the right supports |
| S | Blade (Rerun) | Wind DPS | Reliable but aging |
| A | Firefly (Rerun) | Break DPS | Niche; collector favorite |
⚔️ New Characters Breakdown
๐ฅ Phainon (Destruction/Physical)
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Why Pull? The 5★ Coreflame hypercarry. His Ultimate lets him transform, taking over the battle with eight self-contained turns of burst damage. He thrives in Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow where long fights and turn control matter.
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Weakness? Loses effectiveness in Pure Fiction where team-based quick rotations are favored.
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Best Team:
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Phainon / Sparkle / Silver Wolf / Huohuo
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Alt: Tingyun / Sunday / Asta
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๐น Archer (Hunt/Quantum)
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Why Pull? He’s FREE during the Fate crossover and is a fantastic F2P carry. Archer excels with multi-skill flexibility, follow-up attacks, and burst timing.
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Best In: Memory of Chaos, Apocalyptic Shadow
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Budget Build: Use Cruising in the Stellar Sea (Hunt LC)
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Best Team:
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Archer / Seele / Silver Wolf / Fu Xuan
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F2P alt: Archer / Yukong / Pela / Natasha
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๐จ Saber (Destruction/Wind)
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Why Pull? The queen of Core Resonance AoE. Saber is built for Pure Fiction and excels when you can feed her energy with SP-positive supports.
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Caveat: Slight learning curve around energy flow
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Best Team:
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Saber / Tingyun / Bronya / Luocha
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Alt: Saber / Sparkle / Gallagher / Asta
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๐ Rerun Banner Picks – Are They Worth It?
❄️ Jingliu (Destruction/Ice)
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Rerun Value: Buffed in 3.4 to deal better scaling damage. Still great in MoC but needs Bronya or Ruan Mei for consistency.
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Use If: You already have strong supports and enjoy flexible scaling DPS.
๐ Blade (Destruction/Wind)
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Pros: High sustain, scales off HP, easy to build
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Cons: Outpaced by newer Destruction units like Phainon
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Best Team: Blade / Bronya / Luocha / Asta
๐ฅ Firefly (Rerun)
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Niche Use: Still strong in Weakness Break teams, but powercreep makes her less universal
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Bonus Appeal: Her “Spring Missive” outfit is available for collectors
๐ง Best Team Comps in 3.4
| Role | Team |
|---|---|
| Phainon Hypercarry | Phainon / Sparkle / Huohuo / Silver Wolf |
| F2P Phainon Build | Phainon / Tingyun / Gallagher / Archer |
| Archer Mono-Quantum | Archer / Seele / Silver Wolf / Fu Xuan |
| Saber Resonance | Saber / Bronya / Tingyun / Luocha |
| Jingliu Freeze Team | Jingliu / Pela / Ruan Mei / Lynx |
| Blade HP Loop | Blade / Bronya / Luocha / Yukong |
๐งฎ Pull Recommendations by Player Type
| Player Type | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Meta Chasers | Phainon > Archer > Saber |
| F2P / New Players | Archer (free) > Sparkle (support) > Jingliu |
| Rerollers | Phainon + Sparkle (in Phase 1) |
| Collectors | Saber (Artoria design), Firefly (Spring Missive skin) |
๐ฃ Community Buzz
“Phainon is the closest we’ve had to Blade 2.0—solo DPS, transformation, and zero mercy.” – Reddit
“Archer’s a blessing for F2P. Don’t sleep on him just because he’s free.” – HoYoLab
“Saber feels amazing in PF. I just throw Bronya and let her spin.” – Game8 User
๐จ Hot Debate: Is Phainon Worth It?
Some players feel Phainon’s ally lockout is restrictive and makes him hard to slot into typical rotations. But if you build around him, the pay-off is among the highest DPS outputs in the game right now.
๐งพ Final Thoughts – Who Should You Pull?
⭐ Absolute Must-Pull:
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Phainon (if you love high-skill ceiling DPS and have SP-positive supports)
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Archer (amazing free value and endgame-ready)
⚠️ Conditional:
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Saber (great in AoE, PF, but energy-hungry)
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Jingliu (only if you missed her pre-buff and have team supports)
๐ฅ Optional Collector Picks:
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Saber (for Fate fans)
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Firefly (for Break enjoyers or skin collectors)
๐ Resources & Tools
Need help building one of these units? Check out our Phainon Build Guide or How to Get Saber & Free Archer next!
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