As the Astral Express continues its journey through the Peacony, we’ve been introduced to a plethora of new characters. While these characters may be fan favorites, including Acheron and Aventurine, that doesn’t mean their kits are simple, as they introduce some unique mechanics and playstyles. Here are the breakdowns and builds for some of the newest characters in Patch 2.1 of Honkai: Star Rail, “Into the Yawning Chasm”. 

Acheron

The ‘Galaxy Ranger’ Acheron. Following the path of Nihility and the damage type of Lightning, Acheron serves as one of the best damaging units in the game. Staying true to her aesthetic within the story, Acheron plays in line with characters following the Path of The Hunt, all while benefiting from the themes of other Nihility units.

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One of the unique elements of Acheron’s kit is that she’s the first and only unit whose ultimate doesn’t require energy to cast. Instead, she relies on her teammates to apply debuffs. Each debuff applies a stack of Slashed Dream, totaling up to 9. Once fully stacked, she can consume them to unleash Slashed Dream Cries in Red.

Despite the unique properties around charging her ultimate, it is incredibly powerful. Dealing large amounts of Lightning DMG to an enemy as well as some to any other enemies on the field.

Acheron is also an excellent unit for clearing through the Simulated Universe or other events that have normal enemies, as her Technique will immediately defeat them and yield the rewards without engaging in combat, allowing Acheron players to blitz through potentially lengthy sequences with ease.

Build

Moving into Acheron’s preferred build, you’ll always want her to function as a high DPS unit centered around Critical hits.

It should also be no surprise that her personal Light Cone, Along the Passing Shore, is the ideal choice. It increases base Crit DMG and applies a unique debuff of its own, Empty Bubbles. Any target with said debuff will take increased damage from the wearer, which increases further if that damage comes from her ultimate. If you were unable to pull for this Light Cone, Incessant Rain, Patience Is All You Need, or Good Night and Sleep Well are some acceptable substitutes.

Acheron’s preferred Relic set is Pioneer Diver of Dead Water, which increases damage dealt to any debuffed enemies, increases Crit Rate slightly, and deals increased Crit DMG who have multiple debuffs (capped at 3). After Acheron inflicts a debuff of her own, that effect also increases by 100%.

Leveraging the fact that Energy Regeneration is a dead stat on Acheron due to her unique Ultimate, Acheron can index heavier into other offensive stats. Regarding the main stat of any adjustable relics, the ideal ones to hit are Crit Rate/DMG for Body, Atk% for Boots, Lightning DMG% for the Sphere and Atk% once more for the Rope. Her favorite sub-stats are Crit Rate and Crit DMG, followed by Atk% and SPD. If you managed to snag Along the Passing Shore, note that it does increase Crit DMG by at least 36%, meaning you may favor Crit Rate when you are deciding between relics with different substats.

Teammates

For Acheron’s teammates, it’s important to slot her in alongside other units that can apply debuffs to allow you to maximize her damage.

One of Acheron’s bonus effects is The Abyss, which gives Acheron a boost to any damage dealt by her Basic Attack, Skill, as well as her Ultimate, so long as there is another Nihility unit on your team. The buff is 115% for one Nihility character other than Acheron, and 160% for two.

Furthermore, for her to constantly be unleashing her ultimate, you need other characters who can constantly apply debuffs. Some good examples include Guinaifen or Pela, who inflict Burn and reduce enemy DEF respectively. Another strong option is Gallagher, who can reduce the enemy ATK, and will also be discussed later on.

Overall, Acheron deals an absurd level of DPS and can also be used against a wide range of enemies thanks to the nature of her ultimate. So long as you have the correct units to supplement her with debuffs, she can take over and demolish your foes with ease.

Aventurine

As one of the Ten Stonehearts and a member of the IPC, Aventurine lands in Peacony with plenty of flair. He is a Preservation unit dealing Imaginary damage. Much like his character, his gameplay centers around gambling. While being Preservation naturally lends him towards a sustain role, he has good damage output as well.

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Aventurine’s unique mechanic is Blind Bet, which is slightly complicated but essential to understand to make the most out of his kit. Blind Bet is a passive ability that can be stacked up to 10 times, with those stacks being achievable in various ways thanks to his kit. Upon reaching 7 points of Blind Bet, he consumes the stacks and unleashes a 7-hit follow-up attack, each dealing Imaginary damage to one enemy on the field. Once your Aventurine is ascension level 6, Aventurine can unlock the passive abilityBingo! which will also grant a stack when a follow-up attack is launched by an ally under the effect of Fortified Wager. (This can occur a maximum of 3 times, reset upon Aventurine’s turn beginning.)

His skill, Cornerstone Deluxe, provides all allies with a shield based on his DEF stat, lasting for three turns. The shield effect can stack up to 200% of the initial value. Also note that while the shield title given to allies will be a unique type of Fortified Wager, the effect is inherently the same, as it will provide one stack of Blind Bet when the ally in question is hit. The only different Fortified Wager is the one given to Aventurine, which will provide him with 2 stacks upon being hit. Additionally, while allies have this effect, they gain Effect RES, and Aventurine gains Crowd Control Resist. Due to the nature of this shielding effect, the best way to ensure that Aventurine is optimizing his Blind Bet stack generation is to always position him beside any one of your units with a taunting effect, as enemies that deal spread damage can also hit him. It’s a situational but relevant nuance to his positioning.

Aventurine’s ultimate is the most chaotic variable in his kit. Roulette Shark is a single target ultimate, first randomly giving him anywhere from 1 to 7 stacks of Blind Bet. He then inflicts unnerved onto the target, lasting for 3 turns. The enemy then takes Imaginary damage afterward. On top of this, whenever an ally deals damage to an unnerved enemy, Crit DMG dealt will have an increased modifier.

Build

It’s natural that Aventurine functions best with his Light Cone, Inherently Unjust Destiny. This Light Cone first increases the wearer's DEF by 40%. However, when the wearer provides a shield to allies, it will increase the Crit DMG of the wearer by 40% for 2 turns. Furthermore, when the user’s follow-up attack strikes any target, there is a 100% base chance to increase the damage taken by that enemy by 10%. All of these elements just complement Aventurine perfectly, he can take advantage of both the shielding effect as well as the follow-up attacks.

The best Relic set to slot in is Knight of Purity Palace, which amplifies his shielding and makes him significantly tankier. While some sets would allow him to function more like a DPS unit, it’s less advisable and doesn’t have the same general value that this set does. The best Ornaments for Aventurine is likely Broken Keel, which gives both Effect RES, which is nice, but more importantly, it provides Crit DMG for the whole team.

Aventurine’s best stat to invest in is almost certainly DEF%. You should at least aim for 4000 DEF, which will get the best value out of the rest of his kit. However, it’s also important to give Aventurine some investment in his SPD to ensure he can act multiple times within the same turn. Landing at the breakpoint of about 134 is advisable.

Thanks to some of the unique qualities of Aventurine compared to other Preservation units, you can index in his CRIT DMG% once you’ve hit these more essential stat breakpoints.

Teammates

Aventurine is not a particularly polarizing character as his utility can allow players to slot him into many different positions. However, in order to maximize the effects of his kit, any characters with a follow-up attack will stack Aventurine’s Blind Bet. Herta and Dr. Ratio are excellent reliable F2P options, which help him begin to get the ball rolling. Dr. Ratio in particular also functions perfectly as a primary DPS.

A unit like Clara also works particularly well, as she can increase the chances of her drawing aggro from enemies and also launching powerful follow-up attacks, allowing for insane Blind Bet stacking if you play your cards right and position well.

Aventurine functions well at keeping your team afloat but his damage output shouldn’t be underestimated. While he is serviceable in most spots as a general preservation unit, he can truly take the spotlight in the right conditions with some follow-up friends.

Gallagher 

The 4-star unit that enters the fray alongside the other 5 Stars during the 2.1 update is Gallagher, the bartender. Gallagher is an Abundance unit that deals Fire damage. Gallagher has excellent sustain and also applies debuffs to the enemy, allowing him to act as a flexible unit to help your carries thrive.

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While Gallagher’s Skill, Special Brew, provides single target sustain to one ally, he has a lot of other tricks up his sleeve in order to keep your allies alive. His ultimate, Champagne Etiquette, inflicts the Besotted status on enemies for two turns, all while dealing Fire damage and enhancing his next basic attack. While an enemy is Besotted, they will increase the Break DMG received, and whenever an ally attacks them, the ally will restore a portion of their HP. This allows your teams to take an offensive angle while still not sacrificing their health bars, although it does mean you'll have to wait for their turn to cash out on that sustain.

Gallagher’s enhanced Basic Atk will deal more damage, but also reduce that target's attack, allowing for him to single out a particularly strong enemy and lower their threat for a little while.

Build

Gallagher doesn’t have a custom light cone, unlike the other units featured in this article, which makes it less essential to hit a particular one to build him. Some recommended cones would be Night of Fright, What is Real, or Hey, Over Here. All of these help him do what he does best, but again, don’t feel pressured to pull for any of these just because of your Gallagher.

In order to maximize the Outgoing Healing Buff Gallagher receives as a part of one of his other abilities, you’ll want a set that can provide him with more Break Effect, the stat it scales off of. The best set, as a result, is Thief of Shooting Meteor. The best Ornaments are likely Talia: Kingdom of Banditry. Just by having these two in your relic set, you’ll be giving Gallagher 32%, all before the sub stats!

In regard to main and sub-stats, you’ll want to invest in Outgoing Healing for the body, as he is a healing unit, and SPD for the boots. For the Rope piece, you’ll want either Energy Regeneration, which is incredibly rare, or Break Effect. For his Sphere, HP% makes the most sense. His best sub-stat by far is Break Effect in order to hit that previously highlighted breakpoint, and after that HP% and SPD are probably the next best two to aim for. However, given that he’s not a rare unit or a particularly potent carry, it’s not the end of the world if you can’t roll for the best optimal sub-stats in every slot.

Teammates

It’s hard to complain about any sustain unit, as it’s always good to have at least one to defend your primary DPS units. However, any unit that can maximize the effectiveness of the qualities that separate Gallagher from other sustain units is highly recommended. Thanks to the debuffs he can apply, Acheron is a superb choice, allowing her to cast her ultimate more frequently. They also released around a similar time, meaning if you were actively pulling for Acheron, there’s a high chance you got Gallagher along the way as well!

Ruan Mei also acts as a secondary support who can increase Gallagher’s Break Effect and doesn’t even need to target him individually, meaning he won’t take away a Skill Point or any other attention from Ruan Mei’s ability to support her carries.

Gallagher is probably the most flexible unit with the least amount of precision when it comes to his build in Patch 2.1, meaning he can be a great unit to have without the high investment and teambuilding that comes with other units.

Overall, all of these characters are incredibly powerful and well-equipped for all sorts of game modes and challenges, even taking on the most difficult bosses. Even if you just pulled for these characters because of their aesthetic or story, it might be daunting due to all of the details in their kit. However, building them correctly doesn’t have to be difficult thanks to this guide!