Top 5 Best DPS in Honkai: Star Rail (February 2026)

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Since its launch, the popular game Honkai: Star Rail has seen frequent changes to its strongest teams and strategies. This is largely due to HoYoverse regularly adding new, more powerful characters. The game is about to experience another shift with the release of Version 4.0, which introduces a brand new character type called ‘Elation’.

The game has received updates to balance older characters, making some of them significantly more powerful. As of February 2026 with Version 4.0, the top damage-dealing characters are capable of consistently high damage, benefit greatly from team support, and excel in all types of gameplay.

Best DPS Characters in Honkai: Star Rail (February 2026)

According to current player trends, these are the 5 strongest damage-dealing characters in Honkai: Star Rail. They’ve been consistently powerful for some time, but upcoming updates, specifically the new Elation path, could shift the rankings.

5 Phainon

  • Character Type: Physical
  • Character Path: Destruction

By February 2026, Phainon has proven to be a top-tier damage dealer in Honkai: Star Rail. His ultimate ability transforms him into a more durable state, allowing him to attack for multiple turns with incredibly high damage output.

With teammates like Sunday or Cerydra, Phainon is more than capable of completing all the challenging content currently available in the game. He’s particularly reliable because, unlike many damage-dealing characters who need specific enemy weaknesses to shine, Phainon performs consistently well against almost any opponent.

As a player, I’m really seeing how amazing he is right now! He just works so well with hypercarry teams, and since those are totally dominating the current meta – they’re the strongest way to build a team right now – he’s easily my pick for the best damage dealer in the game. It’s not even close!

Best Teams for Phainon

Premium Hypercarry Team

  • Phainon (Main DPS)
  • Sunday (Action advance, Crit DMG buff)
  • Cerydra or Tingyun (Damage buffs, energy regeneration)
  • Permansor Terrae or Huohuo (Sustain)

Alternative Team

  • Phainon
  • Robin
  • Sparkle
  • Aventurine

4 Castorice (Quantum DPS)

  • Character Type: Quantum
  • Character Path: Remembrance

Castorice is a powerful damage dealer currently considered one of the best characters in the game. Her special abilities allow her to consistently inflict high damage and weaken enemies by draining their health. She’s a Quantum Remembrance character who summons ‘memosprites’ to deal damage over time, making her particularly effective in team fights.

Castorice is unique because her special ability can bring teammates back to life during battle, even if she isn’t actively part of their team. When paired with popular characters like Evernight, Cyrene, and Hyacine, she transforms into a powerful and resilient damage dealer.

She’s really durable, gets stronger as the game goes on, and works incredibly well with the best support characters. Because of all this, we think she’s currently one of the strongest damage dealers in the game.

Best Teams for Castorice

Best Chrysos Heir Team

  • Castorice (Main DPS)
  • Evernight (Sub-DPS, synergy)
  • Cyrene or Tribbie (Buff support)
  • Hyacine or Gallagher (Sustain)

Alternative Team

  • Castorice
  • Mydei
  • Tribbie
  • Huohuo

3 The Herta (Physical DPS)

  • Character Type: Ice
  • Character Path: Erudition

Herta is currently the strongest damage dealer among characters who focus on Erudition. She excels at taking out groups of enemies. She builds up a ‘Interpretation’ effect on opponents using both her own attacks and those of her teammates, which greatly increases the power of her special abilities.

When her abilities are fully upgraded, she deals significant area-of-effect damage, making her a strong choice for modes like Pure Fiction that require taking out multiple enemies at once. She also pairs well with teams focused on Erudition and characters who excel at following up on attacks.

Best Teams for The Herta

Best Erudition Team

  • The Herta (Main DPS)
  • Anaxa (Weakness application, support)
  • Tribbie or Robin (Damage amplification)
  • Permansor Terrae or Lingsha (Sustain)

Alternative AoE Team

  • The Herta
  • Jade
  • Sunday
  • Huohuo

2 Feixiao

  • Character Type: Wind
  • Character Path: Hunt

Feixiao is currently the most powerful Follow-up Attack damage dealer in the game and is largely responsible for the current popular team compositions. Her abilities build up Follow-up triggers, which then unleash her Ultimate – a devastating attack that significantly lowers enemy defenses, even against types they’re normally strong against.

Many games let you take advantage of enemy weaknesses, and Honkai: Star Rail is no different. Feixiao excels in almost any battle situation because of this. When paired with characters like Cipher, Robin, and Aventurine, she can deal some of the highest damage in the game.

Best Teams for Feixiao

Best Follow-up Team

  • Feixiao (Main DPS)
  • Cipher (Sub-DPS, follow-up synergy)
  • Robin (Damage buffs, action advance)
  • Aventurine (Shield, sustain)

Alternative Team

  • Feixiao
  • March 7th (Hunt)
  • Sparkle
  • Huohuo

1 Evernight

  • Character Type: Ice
  • Character Path: Remembrance

Evernight is a top-performing damage dealer in Honkai: Star Rail, and is currently very popular, particularly when building teams around Chrysos Heir. Similar to Castorice, her strength lies in dealing damage using her unique memosprite ability.

Evernight’s greatest asset is her versatility. She can effectively function as either your primary or secondary damage dealer, adapting to what your team needs. When paired with Castorice, she becomes a top-tier damage dealer. Plus, she benefits greatly from the buffs provided by support characters like Tribbie and Cyrene, increasing her overall power.

Best Teams

Best Chrysos Heir Team

  • DPS: Castorice
  • Sub-DPS: Evernight
  • Support: Cyrene
  • Sustain: Hyacine

Hypercarry Evernight Team

  • DPS: Evernight
  • Support: Trailblazer (Ice)
  • Support: Cyrene
  • Sustain: Hyacine

Alternative Team

  • DPS: Evernight
  • Support: Tribbie
  • Support: Cyrene
  • Sustain: Permansor Terrae

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2026-02-17 18:25