As Honkai: Star Rail embarks on its 3.0 update, having effective sustain units is essential for navigating the impending challenges. The year 2025 is shaping up to be monumental for this highly acclaimed gacha game, introducing the Remembrance path, which centers around summoning characters while taking players to the newly unveiled planet, Amphoreus.
Sustain characters can be categorized into healers (Abundance) and shielders (Preservation). Each unit boasts unique skills designed to enhance team survival rates. While these sustainers lack immunity to power creep—much like Support characters—they largely remain viable options. However, it is noteworthy that the highest tiers of gameplay are increasingly favoring teams that do not rely on sustain, posing challenges for casual players.
10 Bailu: A Disappointing Abundance Character
5-Star Lightning
Bailu finds herself in a difficult position as the sole Abundance character capable of reviving fallen teammates. Despite this unique trait, her application is limited due to underwhelming healing output and random effectiveness outside her ultimate. Unlike other sustain units that typically provide significant buffs, Bailu merely reduces incoming damage for allies by 10% through her Invigoration stacks.
Moreover, Bailu’s effectiveness is diminished when compared to stronger sustain options. The few characters in her category may not stack up against the formidable flexibility offered by other paths. She remains usable in compositions focusing on Abundance, but only when no better choices are available.
9 Natasha: A Reliable Healer
4-Star Physical
Natasha serves as a competent single-target healer outside her ultimate, delivering impactful healing, and her ability allows for healing to carry over between targets. Additionally, her first Trace can cleanse debuffs, a critical feature as the game’s difficulty ramps up.
While Natasha fits well into any team, her effectiveness is maximized in Physical damage-focused compositions. These setups generally require less healing, enabling her to contribute significantly to damage output. Although she is an excellent free unit for players progressing through the game’s narrative, newer options may eventually overshadow her utility.
8 Gepard: A Self-Serving Shielder
5-Star Ice
Gepard exemplifies a decent Preservation unit, yet his self-centered abilities limit his overall utility. His robust shields are complemented by a Trace that increases the likelihood of him being targeted, enhancing his role as a protective unit. Notably, he also has the ability to revive himself after being knocked down once during battle.
However, Gepard lacks team-wide buffs that might elevate his standing among other sustain units. His potential to freeze enemies is inconsistent, making him less attractive if seasoned Preservation options are available. While he can be a valuable asset for newcomers, those with access to superior units may find him underwhelming.
7 Lynx: Rising Starter Healer
4-Star Quantum
Lynx, particularly at higher Eidolens, proves to be a surprisingly formidable 4-Star unit. Her toolkit includes healing and the ability to enhance a target’s maximum HP, in addition to her ultimate that can dispel debuffs. Furthermore, her passive talent continuously heals targets for two turns.
Initially popular due to the prevalence of Mono-Quantum teams, Lynx remains relevant across various configurations requiring healing. She excels with Destruction characters like Blade or Yunli, whose gameplay benefits from being targeted more frequently, thanks to her skills.
6 Luocha: The Overlooked Healer
5-Star Imaginary
Luocha serves as a strong healer whose primary limitation is an overemphasis on healing. His skills provide substantial healing, especially if a teammate’s health drops critically low. Furthermore, while his ultimate may facilitate damage, it is adept at removing buffs from adversaries.
Luocha occupies a unique niche as a versatile healer; he can contribute effectively to nearly any team composition. Nonetheless, many teams often possess options that better align with specific archetypes, relegating Luocha to the sidelines.
5 Gallagher: A Strong 4-Star Option
4-Star Fire
Gallagher stands out as the most potent 4-Star sustain option, especially when bolstered by Eidolons. His healing output is commendable, easily enhanced through a Break Effect build. Despite lacking comprehensive abilities typical of high-quality healers, the effectiveness of his healing and damage capabilities compensates for these shortcomings.
Gallagher’s prowess rose with the popularity of Break teams; here, he significantly contributes to total damage output, particularly alongside Firefly, known for being a top-tier DPS in Honkai: Star Rail. With the upcoming shift in the meta towards the Remembrance path, Gallagher continues to be a free-to-play-friendly powerhouse.
4 Fu Xuan: A Time-Tested Healer
5-Star Quantum
Fu Xuan, an older character, continues to showcase her strength within the game. Her Matrix of Prescience provides unmatched damage mitigation, making her arguably the most effective defensive option available. With the ability to enhance her teammates’ HP and Critical Rate while under her Matrix’s influence, Fu Xuan becomes a valuable asset in any team composition.
Moreover, her flexibility extends beyond the Mono-Quantum teams of the past; she is now a core contributor to some of the strongest setups alongside Feixiao and Acheron. Until another unit emerges boasting her specific blend of buffs with better stats, Fu Xuan’s position at the top tier remains secure.
3 Huohuo: Sustaining Versatility
5-Star Wind
Huohuo stands out as one of the most effective and adaptable Abundance characters available. Her skill not only dispels debuffs but also provides healing to both the target and adjacent teammates. Additionally, similar to Lynx, her ability to stack two heal effects ensures that her allies remain protected. While her ultimate boosts team attack and generates ultimate energy, Huohuo’s one limitation is her skill-point efficiency.
Despite this shortcoming, Huohuo excels in versatile team compositions, only falling short in Break archetypes. Her adaptability makes her a prime candidate for various team configurations.
2 Aventurine: The Premier Shielder
5-Star Imaginary
Aventurine may have recently faced some challenges regarding his shielding abilities, but he remains the pinnacle of Preservation units in the game. His shields are robust and can be easily refreshed using either his skill or his talent. Additionally, his ultimate bolsters team defense while simultaneously improving critical damage taken by foes.
His versatility allows him to adapt to any team, yet he excels in setups featuring Follow-up Attacks (FUA). As his talent activates with each of these attacks, he can amplify both damage dealt and the number of shields distributed among teammates. His unique abilities are further enhanced by a signature Light Cone that inflicts Vulnerability on the enemy.
1 Lingsha: The Apex Sustainer
5-Star Fire
Lingsha excels in the sustain role, particularly within Break teams, offering both healing and DPS capabilities. Her skill not only heals but also summons companions that provide additional healing upon attacking. mirroring Luocha’s healing ability, Lingsha has a capacity to automatically heal allies when their health drops below 60%. Furthermore, her ultimate serves a purely offensive purpose, significantly benefitting Break team strategies.
Although the options for sustain in a team are few, most are exceptionally valuable. Lingsha’s adaptability allows her to fit into nearly any composition—except those focused on Yunli or damage-over-time strategies, where Huohuo outshines. Moreover, she can efficiently manage skill points, a tough hurdle for many other Abundance characters. In specific high enemy-density scenarios, she can even take on the primary DPS role, especially when exploiting enemy vulnerabilities to Fire.
As the sustain role within Honkai: Star Rail evolves, it will be intriguing to see how characters adapt, especially with the introduction of Harmony-like buffs and unique interactions with summons in the Remembrance path. Until new units are introduced, this list highlights the ten top sustainers worth strategizing around.
Source: Honkai: Star Rail/YouTube
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