Honkai: Star Rail starts the player with enough characters to cover almost every Element and Path in its complex combat system.
Elements, like in Pokémon, have type weaknesses that players should take advantage of to deplete health and break armor. Paths are more like specific roles that characters play, like damage dealers, shielders, and healers. Honkai: Star Rail further challenges the players to experiment with specific abilities and Light Cones for each character once they get comfortable enough with combat multipliers, but that’s for later. It gives the player just about everything they need for free before they choose to pull for more powerful characters later in the game.
HoYoverse eventually added Collei to the list of free characters it offered for Genshin Impact, so it’s possible that Honkai: Star Rail will add more later on. However, it’s offered more than enough at launch — here’s everything you need to know about the eight free characters available so far.
The Trailblazer is your character. Unlike the others, they learn to control multiple elements throughout the story and can switch between them whenever you like. They can deal plenty of damage early in the game as a Physical DPS, and their power only grows from there.
March 7th is the first one to join your party early in the game. Her defensive skill helps you survive early-game encounters until you get a reliable healer, and her ability to freeze opponents comes in handy. It doesn’t hurt that her energetic personality adds to the game’s overall charm!
Dan Heng joins soon after March 7th as you progress through the prologue. He excels at single-target attacks and energy recharge, especially with his fast-charging ultimate.
Asta isn’t technically “free” because you need to use a Star Rail Pass to get her, but it’s a required part of the game’s gacha-pulling tutorial. She’s a guaranteed first pull from the Beginner banner. Her buffs and firepower are helpful support early in the game.
Herta, the intelligent but particular owner of the Space Station, joins your party after your first run through the Simulated Universe. Like March 7th, she specializes in Ice, but her kit varies greatly because of its focus on multi-target attacks instead of defenses.
Natasha is another character you can get while progressing through the story, but only after you reach the Underworld in Jarilo VI. She’s one of the only healers in the game. Thankfully, she fits into many teams as a flexible unit.
Many teams benefit from healer unless they focus on defensive characters like March 7th. Even then, there’s no harm with extra healing.
Qingque is the last free character that you can get in the game so far. After you reach Trailblazer Level 21, you can complete Forgotten Hall – Memory Stage 3 to claim her.
She’s one of the only characters with the Quantum Element, which makes her a valuable counter for some enemies that have it as a weakness. There’s no point in investing in her if you have Seele, but she guarantees that you will have a Quantum character no matter what.
Serval is HoYoverse’s thank-you gift for reaching a high enough number of pre-registrations for Honkai: Star Rail. You can claim her from your in-game mail. She’s the only Electric party member you get for free, which will be especially helpful for Jarilo VI’s robotic enemies.
Honkai: Star Rail is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android.
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