Why Honkai: Star Rail's Jade Could Disrupt Team Strategies

Honkai: Star Rail is known for its ever-evolving meta, with each new character addition reshaping the game in unique ways. One of the latest characters to join the roster, Jade, is already making waves, though not without controversy. Jade’s optimal team compositions heavily rely on strategies that are already dominant in the game, which could potentially marginalize other viable approaches that players have come to enjoy.

Follow-up attacks are a critical aspect of combat in Honkai: Star Rail, and many team strategies are built around maximizing this mechanic. Over time, these follow-up-focused teams have only grown in popularity, thanks to characters like Robin and Aventurine, who have significantly strengthened this strategy. However, with Jade's arrival, the gap between follow-up-centric teams and other strategies might widen even further.

Jade's Arrival in Honkai: Star Rail May Diminish the Relevance of Other Characters

Follow-Up Attacks Dominate Honkai: Star Rail's Meta. The allure of Honkai: Star Rail partly lies in players’ desire to collect and build teams around their favorite characters, but not all characters are equally effective in battle. While the game doesn’t feature competitive modes, its late-game challenges and various events demand meticulous team-building for success.

Follow-up attacks, which trigger under specific conditions unique to each character, are powerful tools that can extend a player’s turn to maximize damage output. Mastering this involves timing ultimates perfectly and exploiting enemy weaknesses to delay their actions. However, not all characters possess follow-up attacks, leading to their exclusion from some of the game’s most effective team compositions.

This emphasis on follow-up attacks has only intensified with the introduction of new characters. For instance, Robin excels by creating synergies with other follow-up attack characters, while Aventurine and Topaz bring even more firepower to these teams. As a result, characters without follow-up attacks are finding themselves increasingly sidelined.

New Characters May Struggle to Keep Up

Even established characters like Herta and Himeko continue to shine in Honkai: Star Rail's Pure Fiction mode. In contrast, other longstanding characters are gradually seeing less use, a natural consequence of power creep in live service games. However, the concern extends beyond older characters to newer ones who might quickly become obsolete.

Bronya is one of the few characters who has managed to stay relevant, thanks largely to the introduction of characters like Boothill, who pairs well with her abilities. Firefly is another recent addition who has made a significant impact. Yet, despite their strengths, both Boothill and Firefly may struggle to maintain their relevance due to Jade’s influence.

While Boothill and Firefly are formidable in their own right, their lack of follow-up attacks makes them less appealing for players looking to build the most powerful teams. Even players who favor characters like Robin might find themselves torn, as including her in a team with Firefly could feel counterproductive. Although every character in Honkai: Star Rail has a role to play, the options for viable team compositions are becoming increasingly limited.

The Future of Team Compositions in Honkai: Star Rail

It’s natural for certain characters and strategies to dominate in a game like Honkai: Star Rail, but the current focus on follow-up attack teams has left little room for other approaches. Jade’s abilities further enhance these already powerful teams and will likely continue to do so as new characters are introduced, suggesting that the game’s meta might not shift anytime soon.