Honkai: Star Rail's version 1.4 update introduces two new 5-star playable characters: Jingliu and, Topaz and Numby, giving players the opportunity to expand their character roster with fresh playstyles. This update also welcomes a new 4-star character, Guinaifen, into the game. Additionally, it marks the return of an existing character, Seele. As a result, players have a multitude of options to consider when deciding where to invest their resources, which can be a challenging choice given the plethora of choices in upcoming patches.
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In this particular patch, players might find it somewhat less daunting to choose between the 5-star characters since their roles are quite similar. Nevertheless, subtle nuances set them apart, adding complexity to the decision-making process. In general, all these characters hold excellent potential as Main DPS, although their playstyles differ significantly. Given that Seele is already an existing character, this guide primarily concentrates on Jingliu and, Topaz and Numby, outlining the factors players should consider when deciding to pull for either of them. This can help players save their valuable resources in Honkai: Star Rail and make a more informed choice.
Jingliu Or Topaz and Numby In Honkai: Star Rail
Jingliu enters the game as an Ice Destruction character, while Topaz and Numby follow the Hunt path and wield the Fire element. Both of these paths are oriented towards DPS roles, so the choice between these two characters ultimately hinges on personal playstyle preferences, the existing characters players have invested in, and their elemental preferences.
It's worth noting that the game has introduced a significant number of DPS characters in previous patches, with fewer support-oriented characters. This factor could influence players' decisions not to pull for either of these characters. While both characters have their merits when considered individually and worth pulling overall, there are specific advantages and drawbacks associated with each of them. Players can examine these factors before making a decision to determine if a character aligns with their preferences and playstyle.
Roles
As a Destruction-type character, Jingliu shares some similarities with Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae and Blade, primarily due to her capacity for dealing AoE damage. However, her gameplay distinguishes her from them in several ways. Jingliu boosts her attack power while draining HP from her allies (not herself, unlike Blade), creating interesting synergy opportunities, especially with characters that can benefit from this mechanic. This allows her to be paired even with Blade if players wish to do so. Moreover, despite her AoE potential, Jingliu leans significantly more towards being single-target DPS-oriented compared to other Destruction characters. Another notable distinction is that her primary source of damage comes from her Skill rather than her Basic ATK. Nevertheless, she is generally skill-point efficient, as she can accumulate stacks through her Skill and Ultimate to enter an enhanced state that augments her Skill. This enhanced state bolsters her Crit Rate and ATK, making her particularly potent when active.
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In contrast, Topaz and Numby are a pair of characters that operate as a unit, following the Hunt path, and are exclusively focused on single-target ATK. The majority of their damage potential comes from Numby, which functions similarly to Jing Yuan's Lightning Lord as a follow-up ATK. However, Numby possesses its own turn order and has a different base speed than Topaz. Unlike Jing Yuan's Lightning Lord, Numby can move forward and deal damage multiple times in a turn if played strategically.
Additionally, Topaz's skill offers benefits for using follow-up attacks in general, benefiting all team members and not just Topaz herself. This aspect allows her to synergize effectively with other characters oriented toward follow-up attacks, enhancing their overall synergy within the team.
Both of these characters possess substantial damage-dealing capabilities individually and can fit into versatile team compositions. However, like many other characters in Honkai: Star Rail, their potential can be significantly enhanced by including specific supporting characters in their team compositions. Therefore, players should carefully consider whether they have suitable support characters that fit the above descriptions available for these characters' team compositions before deciding to pull for them.
Builds
In terms of their builds, both characters are somewhat limited in terms of their optimal relics, which is typically the case for most DPS-oriented characters. Unlike support characters, DPS characters rely more heavily on maximizing specific stats like Crit DMG, Crit Rate, Speed, or ATK. Fortunately, Jingliu naturally offers a high Crit Rate increase, while Topaz and Numby provide a Crit DMG increase buff, which can allow players to focus on other stats more easily.
For Jingliu, the most optimal relic set is the "Hunter of Glacial Forest" on the 4-piece set, which increases her Ice DMG and boosts her Crit DMG further after using her Ultimate. This set complements her kit effectively, especially since the 4-piece effect can apply to her Skill for 2 turns, which matches well with her enhanced skill duration. With her ability to increase her Crit Rate and Crit DMG through her Tree Traces, players can achieve high values of these stats, even if they haven't been lucky with obtaining optimal relic stats. Regarding her planar ornaments, players will need to farm the "Rutilant Arena" set. This set not only boosts her Crit Rate but also grants a damage increase to her Skill when her Crit Rate reaches 70%. Achieving this threshold shouldn't be too challenging, especially given that Jingliu has a self Crit Rate buff. She can reach it even for players who may not have the best luck with their relic stats when the damage modifier is most crucial.
It's worth mentioning that Jingliu has access to a wide range of F2P and Gacha light cone options. Her signature light cone is an excellent choice, not only for herself but also for many other Destruction characters. It provides long-term value due to its useful effects, which can be easily obtained by other characters as well, making it a worthwhile option to consider.
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For Topaz and Numby, the most optimal relic set is the 4-piece "Firesmith of Lava-Forging." Unlike Jingliu's "Hunter of Glacial Forest" set, the 4-piece effect of this set doesn't entirely synergize with Topaz and Numby, and it's generally weaker, mainly increasing Fire DMG for the next attack. Due to this, there's a higher likelihood that players may need to refarm better relics for her in the future when potentially better-suited relic sets are introduced in upcoming patches. However, players who have already been farming the other available set for Imaginary characters like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae or Welt might already have quite optimal pieces from this set, which can make it easier to build Topaz. As for the planar ornament, players will need to use the "Inert Salsatto" set to further increase the damage of her follow-up attacks. The Crit Rate requirement for this set is much lower at 50%, compared to the 70% required by Rutilant Arena, making it easier for players to reach the threshold. Topaz naturally gains a decent amount of Crit Rate from this relic set and her trace tree, making it quite attainable.
Furthermore, Topaz's signature light cone can significantly boost her Crit rate and damage output while also increasing follow-up attack DMG. However, unlike Jingliu's light cone, Topaz's is specifically designed for her, and other Hunt characters cannot benefit as much from it. As a result, players may want to consider other light cone options, whether they are 4-star or 5-star, to save resources, especially if they are thinking about long-term value.
Strengths and Weaknesses
While both Jingliu and Topaz & Numby offer engaging gameplay and strong abilities, players should also be aware of the weaknesses of these characters to have realistic expectations when using them.
Jingliu's Strengths and Weaknesses:
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Topaz's Strengths and Weaknesses:
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Verdict: Pulling Jingliu vs Topaz and Numby
Both Jingliu and Topaz & Numby are DPS characters, and while they have their strengths, they are not necessarily must-pull characters for players looking to conserve resources. Since they don't bring entirely unique abilities to the game and there are already existing options for their respective elements, they can be easily replaced in the short term when new DPS characters are introduced.
However, if players are drawn to their character design, lore, or find their gameplay mechanics enjoyable, they are still worth considering for pulling. There are other factors players may want to take into account when making their decision:
Players should pull for Jingliu if:
- They are interested in a versatile Ice DPS character that primarily deals Single Target with access to AoE capabilities.
- Have not pulled or Blade or Imbibitor Lunae, or don't have many DPS characters that they are interested in building.
- Have access to a well-invested healer like Luocha, who can upkeep the HP drain caused by Jingliu
- Are looking for a skill-point neutral character since they have heavy skill point reliant characters (like Bronya) for their team composition.
Players should pull for Topaz and Numby if:
- If they particularly enjoy follow-up attack playstyle.
- If they have readily built follow-up-oriented characters, or can easily build them on short term.
- Don't require AoE capabilities for their next DPS character.
- Not entirely interested in Mono-Fire team compositions.
Honkai: Star Rail is now available on Android, iOS, and PC. A PlayStation version is in development.