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Honkai: Star Rail has a lot of four-star and five-star character options that dish out large damage numbers, but supports are just as important for your team's longevity in this game. You might have the best damage dealers in the game, but they might be vulnerable to being knocked out in one turn.

Related: Honkai: Star Rail – Most Beautiful Character Designs

Those who got Gepard are lucky to have the game's best shielder. Although it's possible to build him for some damage, like some rare Gepard mains, he shines the most in a support role. He's ideal with teammates who are strong yet oftentimes vulnerable to stronger enemies.

6 Asta

Asta (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

Asta is great for giving out buffs, and she's great for inflicting weakness breaks from enemies who are vulnerable to fire damage. The only problem she has is that she can be easily taken down by enemies without a healer or shielder present in your team. Even if she does get a defense increase as a bonus ability, this can be negligible when you're fighting significantly stronger monsters.

You wouldn't want your speed buffer to die, especially if you have a damage dealer that's reliant on speed buffs. This is why Gepard is an ideal teammate for Asta since he can keep a team alive through his shielding. It's also great that they have different combat types since it makes your team's combat types diverse. Both Asta and Gepard can increase your team's quality of life and sustain good damage output.

5 Sanpo

Sanpo (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

Sampo is a good sub-damage dealer who also debuffs enemies since he's from the path of Nihility. If you're looking for a multi-target, wind combat-type character that can make enemies weaker for two turns, Sampo Koski is your guy. Despite how reliable he can be in combat—even if he flees from your team in your first encounter—he's not as sturdy as he looks.

Related: Honkai: Star Rail - The Best Ultimates, Ranked

If you have him on your team, you can always throw Gepard in with him so that he isn't easily killed by monsters. The best thing about Gepard's ultimate is that it shields every character in your team, so you wouldn't be limited in your shielding options compared to March 7th. So even if you're up against an enemy that can attack your whole team, Sanpo can still stay safe behind Gepard's wall of ice.

4 Serval

Serval (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

Serval and Gepard go hand-in-hand and are great in their own ways. In lore, Serval used to beat Gepard in training when they were children—and it's easy to see how, given that she's a great, multi-target damage dealer.

But she's not here just because Gepard carries her electric guitar case as a weapon or because they make a cool brother-and-sister duo. Serval will greatly benefit from shielding since she can be vulnerable against bosses and tankier enemies.

Serval excels at dealing lightning damage against hordes of enemies through her skill and inflicting shock against enemies for two turns through her ultimate. Although strong on her own, she'll still need somebody to watch her back.

3 Dan Heng

Dan Heng (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

Dan Heng is an amazing, free-to-play, single-target damage dealer that uses a wind combat type. He's great at taking bosses down, especially if they're vulnerable to wind-type combatants. Most of his traces are dedicated to increasing his damage, which is why he'll need healing or protection from another character. It's clear that his strength lies in combat, and that's his biggest contribution to your team.

Related: Honkai: Star Rail - Four Star Character Tier List

If he's your sole damage dealer, he must have either a healer or a shielder. While you can use March 7th to keep Dan Heng protected as a free-to-play option, Gepard is the better option if you want a stronger shielder who can revive himself after he dies for the first time.

2 Arlan

Arlan (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

There are some characters who get stronger at the cost of their health, and Arlan is no exemption in that category. You might be thinking, what is Arlan doing here if he's on the path of Destruction? And aren't Destruction characters durable and suitable for many combat scenarios? He's sturdy but not indestructible—although it's preferable for his HP to be low so that his damage is gradually increased, you should still be careful with his HP.

In Arlan's case, using a healer on him isn't the most ideal, which makes Gepard his better option. He won't receive healing from Gepard, but he wouldn't be vulnerable to constant enemy attacks. Overall, Arlan and Gepard have positive synergy, with Arlan benefitting the most so that he can deal additional damage.

1 Yanqing

Yanqing (Data Bank) from Honkai: Star Rail

if you have this five-star damage dealer, you'll know that Yanqing is best played with a shielder in order to proc his passive Soulsteel Sync. Soulsteel Sync increases Yanqing's crit rate and crit damage, and this passive also adds effect resistance when it's activated. You can activate this passive through his skill for one turn, and it can be shredded once Yanqing receives damage.

It's clear that healers are also out of the table for this character since he has to take little to no damage at all. This is why March 7th is a good free-to-play candidate for him so that he won't be receiving any sort of damage. But if you have Gepard, then it's mandatory for them to be on the same team.

Next: Honkai: Star Rail - Five Star Character Tier List