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In Honkai: Star Rail, Arlan is part of the Destruction Path, which means he specialises in single-target damage. He deals lightning damage, and his Skill costs HP instead of a Skill Point, making him excellent for balancing the Skill Point economy of your party.

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The best thing to know when using Arlan is that he needs party members who can take the attention away from him and keep him shielded in case he's low on HP after an attack. Since you're sacrificing Arlan's HP to deal more damage – and you want him to be at low HP to do even more damage – maintaining a sweet spot of near-death is best for him.

7 Welt

Welt Yang looming over March 7th in Honkai: Star Rail

One way to help out Arlan is to basically not give the enemies a turn. Welt is a powerful debuffer and he can manipulate the turn order with his abilities. He can consistently do this with his Skill and Ultimate by delaying enemy turns and slowing them down to the point where your characters can jump up through the turn order. The result is you will have more turns before the enemy gets to act.

Using Welt with Arlan won't keep him safe from damage, per se, but he will do an excellent job at delaying turns, so they won't be able to act. You should always have a shield character to hand because all it takes is one enemy to bump into Arlan and kill him while he's weak.

6 March 7th

March 7th aims her arrow at the enemy field in Honkai: Star Rail.

As mentioned, a shielder is almost necessary to get the most out of Arlan's DPS. This is where March 7th comes in since she can give a sturdy shield to one character using her Skill. The shield she generates is based on her Defence, which means the more you increase it, the more powerful her barriers will be.

Arlan will still damage his HP when using his Skill, but the shield from March – or any other shielder – will be there to absorb any errant attacks that come Arlan's way. This is one of the best ways to capitalise on Arlan's damaging Skill – the use of which won't ever take him below 1HP – since he will be fully protected as long as the shield lasts. As a bonus, March will counter any attacks on shielded characters with her Girl Power Talent.

5 Bronya

Honkai Star Rail Bronya Closeup

One of Arlan's biggest problems is his speed. He will typically have the last go in your team, or several enemies will jump in front of him in the order. Using Bronya will help alleviate some of these woes thanks to her astonishingly powerful Skill, Combat Redeployment. Using this Skill will buff a character's attack and move their turn up in the order so they act next.

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If you use Arlan to attack with his Skill, use Bronya's Skill on him to buff him and give him another turn, then unleash another attack, you'll soon rack up impressive damage with Arlan. Aside from fixing his speed, Bronya is generally incredibly good as a party-wide support character. Her Ultimate will further increase your attack, letting Arlan do even more.

4 Gepard

Honkai Star Rail Gepard Splash and Menu

Gepard is a tank, which makes him perfect in a team with Arlan. Other than the party-wide shield he can summon with his Ultimate, Gepard also has a bonus ability in his Traces that naturally increases his threat towards enemies. Unlocking this ability means Gepard will have a higher chance than any other party member of being attacked.

With enemies distracted by Gepard, Arlan can bleed himself dry for the cause. The shield from Gepard's Ultimate will go a long way in keeping Arlan and the entire party alive. The lower Arlan is on HP, the more damage he does, and if he doesn't need to worry about being hit, he has free reign.

3 Clara

Honkai: Star Rail - Clara prepares to use her ultimate attack

Clara is great with Arlan for many of the same reasons Gepard is. Namely, Clara can take away aggro from him to give him room to do his thing. Depending on your needs for the team, Clara might be a better option for you with Arlan if you want to stack as much damage as possible.

Clara has high damage, and her counterattack hits incredibly hard by default. Better yet, it is then further enhanced when she uses her Ultimate. This will also increase her chances of being attacked, but she can't offer any protection other than that. If Gepard is a defensive tank, Clara is an offensive one. Arlan might still get hit, but Clara will make them pay for it.

2 Tingyun

Tingyun performing her Soothing Melody Skill with her Bells and Tie Shan in Honkai: Star Rail

Generally speaking, using two of the same element in the same party isn't especially helpful in several scenarios. Tingyun and Arlan are both Electric, but they both serve different purposes in each team. Tingyun is brilliant for buffs, meaning you won't use her to attack. Due to this, Tingyun is only here to enhance the attack of others.

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Arlan will cover all your Electric weakness needs, while Tingyun will ensure his attacks can dish out even more hurt than they typically would. Using Tingyun with Arlan will make it tough to slot a healer into the group, leaving only Natasha as a viable option. Due to this, you should consider a shielder with these two to help keep everyone alive.

1 Pela

Honkai Star Rail Pela Splash and Menu

Pela is another wonderful support character in Honkai: Star Rail. Generally speaking, you will rely on Pela a lot since she can remove enemy buffs, stripping them of any enhancements. While this is the best part of her kit overall, her Ultimate pairs well with Arlan.

Using Pela's Ultimate has a fixed chance to weaken every enemy it hits, lowering their defence for a few turns. With this, Arlan will damage them even more than usual. If you can keep Arlan at a low HP without being killed, a rotation of Pela's Ultimate, Bronya's Skill on Arlan, and using Arlan's Skill to attack will net you some big numbers.

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