Summary
- In Pure Fiction mode, DPS characters with AOE attacks have an edge in killing enemies quickly.
- Certain characters excel in Pure Fiction mode regardless of buffs, based on their ability to keep allies alive and prevent CC.
- Characters like Jade are key for success in Pure Fiction mode, offering buffs that benefit the team when paired with AOE damage dealers.
Being an RPG that comparatively lies on the simpler side in terms of mechanics and the number of available actions players can perform, Honkai: Star Rail was left with the option to introduce new modes to take advantage of said limited mechanics. Pure Fiction is an endgame mode introduced in version 1.6, focusing on killing as many enemies as quickly as possible. While it's possible to clear this mode just fine using any character if paired with the right allies, DPS characters that have AOE attacks have the edge.
As with every other endgame mode in Honkai: Star Rail, Pure Fiction levels offer different buffs that change every 6 weeks when the levels reset. This causes certain characters to be better and others to be worse, depending on the buffs given. However, even without the buffs, certain characters will still naturally be better than others due to the general objective of this mode. With that said, this list will only rank characters (all E0S0 unless otherwise mentioned) based on how well they can contribute to that general objective, and no buffs will be considered (how these buffs benefit certain characters will be mentioned, but it won't affect the ranking).
10 Fu Xuan / Aventurine
Meat Shield / Gamble
- Guaranteed CC prevention / Higher Effect RES
- Absorbs damage for allies / strong stackable shield
It's almost impossible to say that one is better than the other, considering that either one could benefit players more depending on which kit they prefer. Although they do it in different ways, both are great at keeping their allies alive. The difference is how they handle CC prevention. Fu Xuan can guarantee that an ally will resist any CC every time she refreshes her skill (once per refresh), while Aventurine offers a 50% increase to allies' Effect RES when they're protected by a shield.
Getting CC'd in this mode could be the fatal flaw that causes players to not clear a level, as working against time is more important here than in the other endgame modes. Typically, it comes down to which element is needed more in a particular level that decides who to bring along. It's worth noting that Aventurine does perform better when there are follow-up buffs in play.
9 Huo Huo
A Reliable Cleanser
- Talent ability almost completely negates debuffs
- Energy regeneration and ATK buff for allies
What's better than CC prevention? Making them completely useless. Huo Huo's talent ability enables her to heal and cleanse debuffs from allies after using her skill. When allies' turns start or when using their ultimate, Huo Huo will heal and cleanse them at the same time. Though the cleanse can only occur 6 times per skill refresh, keeping the talent ability up is generally a good idea to ensure that allies stay alive.
The energy regeneration and ATK buff from her ultimate can enable allies to not only unleash more ultimates but deal more damage as well. Being able to one-shot enemies would greatly benefit players as it gives more time to reach the end and possibly kill the boss for a boost in the points earned for the level.
8 Kafka
Damage Over Time
- AOE ultimate
- Situational but great when paired with the right characters
The queen of DOT is somewhat of a situational pick for this mode. While she doesn't perform too well on her own, she excels when paired with other DOT characters. While there have been DOT buffs in Pure Fiction in the past (which she was excellent for), those aren't the only times she's viable. The main reason for this is purely due to Black Swan being a good character to pick, regardless of which buff is present at the time.
Kafka's value comes from her ultimate dealing AOE damage that can easily clean up every enemy on the screen, on top of having a relatively low energy requirement. DOT characters typically want to be built with a high SPD stat so they can apply more DOTs to the enemy (she could be even more speedy with her signature light cone). Having a high SPD stat, of course, lets players take action more often and get more energy for their ultimates.
7 Black Swan
A Safety Net
- Automatically applies a DOT debuff when enemies enter battle
- Skill reduces three enemies' DEF stat
If Kafka is the queen of DOT, one could argue that Black Swan is the throne she sits on. Her main uses in this mode come from her A4 trace and her skill. Her A4 trace will automatically apply a DOT debuff to every enemy that enters battle, ultimately acting as a safety net when an attack isn't quite enough to kill an enemy. Her skill can deal damage to three enemies, which then also reduces their DEF stat by a maximum of 20.8%, lasting for three turns. Reducing enemies' DEF is a reliable way to secure kills.
When paired with Kafka, she becomes more than just a safety net. They directly benefit from each other's kits, both dealing more damage the more the other character applies DOT debuffs. With at least 3 DOT stacks on an enemy, Black Swan's DOT attacks will also deal damage to adjacent enemies, which can easily take care of the smaller foes.
6 Sparkle
A Skill Spammer
- Provides extra skill points
- Massive damage buffs
Sparkle will often be the best support in hypercarry teams. She raises the skill point cap from 5 to 7 on top of recovering 4 skill points after using her ultimate, which also increases the damage done by all allies. This almost completely throws the concept of skill point management out the window, allowing the DPS character to use their skill every turn.
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Her skill advances forward a single ally's turn by 50% and increases their CRIT DMG until the start of their next turn. Although follow-up characters benefit more from this, almost every DPS character would benefit from having her on the team.
5 Argenti
The Ultimate Spammer
- AOE damage dealer
- Low cost ultimate
Argenti greatly benefits from how Pure Fiction works. The maximum number of enemies that can be on the field is 5, and there will be 5 enemies 99% of the time. Argenti can regenerate energy every time an enemy enters battle and when he hits an enemy with any attack. His skill and ultimate both hit every enemy on the field, so it's easy to see why he's good here.
Although there are two levels to his ultimate (costing 90 and 180 energy respectively), the 90 cost ultimate is more than enough when paired with someone like Sparkle. Not to mention, he regenerates energy after hitting enemies with the ultimate, which effectively makes it so that he can use it again almost every single turn.
4 Robin
Supporting Fire
- Teamwide damage buffs
- Teamwide 100% action advance
Robin is a support character who equally benefits every member of her team. In short, all her abilities provide damage buffs to all allies. Her ultimate is mostly where her value comes from. Upon unleashing the ultimate, Robin will enter the Concerto state and will be unable to take action until it ends. However, her action advances the entire team by 100%.
She's technically the most useful in follow-up teams due to her A4 trace, which increases CRIT DMG of follow-up attacks while she's in the Concerto state, and she regenerates energy every time an ally attacks. She's great in many teams and a fantastic choice for players struggling to get enough turns in before time runs out.
3 Ruan Mei
An Enabler
- Teamwide damage and SPD buffs
- Teamwide weakness break efficiency buff
In a similar fashion to Robin, Ruan Mei's value comes from the massive buffs she provides to her team. However, unlike Robin, Ruan Mei's buffs don't quite benefit the entire team as equally as Robin's, but that's not entirely a bad thing. All of her damage buffs depend on how much damage a character can already do, which means DPS characters will benefit the most.
Dual DPS teams are quite common in Pure Fiction, which is arguably her best team to be placed in. While Ruan Mei and Robin don't seem too different, the only reason she ranks higher is due to how she makes the top-tier DPS characters in this mode that much more broken.
2 Jade
Mutual Benefit
- Buffs a single ally's SPD by a maximum of 30
- Can additionally gain a maximum of 120% CRIT DMG and 25% ATK
Jade's skill not only buffs an ally's SPD, but she will also consume 2% of their max HP in return for dealing damage to every single enemy hit by that ally for 25% of her ATK every time they launch any attack. Jade will also launch an AOE follow-up attack once a certain number of enemies have been hit by either her or the ally.
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She's arguably the best character for this mode. She makes clearing this mode a breeze when paired with other AOE damage dealers (even better if they have follow-up attacks themselves). As for why she's not ranked 1st? Her success on the team depends on who she's paired up with, though she's still amazing when paired with any non-single target DPS. Fortunately, her best partner is entirely free and obtained in the Simulated Universe mode, including their Eidolons (up to E4).
1 Himeko / Herta
Opportunist / Time To Twirl
- Launches a follow-up attack when 3 enemies are weakness broken (immediately on elite enemies) / launches a follow-up attack when enemies fall to 50% HP (stackable)
- Perfect synergy between both
99% of the time, if Himeko is put on a team, then Herta will be there. If Herta is put on a team, then it's either Himeko or Jade accompanying her. While these two are decent characters on their own, they become two out of the three best characters in the game for this mode when paired together (with the third being Jade). It is a bit situational in the sense that they'll excel when there are enemies weak to both fire and ice, but if brought into those levels, they will clear them with no problems. If the enemies aren't weak to those elements, then Jade and Herta will more often be the better choice.
Herta deserves this spot, as she enables both Himeko and Jade to reach their full potential (and reach it herself), on top of being a free character. The only reason Himeko ranks higher is due to her being a standard banner character, so players are more likely to have her. In terms of power level, Himeko and Jade are on par with each other in this mode.
Honkai: Star Rail
- Released
- April 26, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC, Android, iOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Turn-Based RPG
