Coming from Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse and equipped with a turn-based combat system and party mechanics, Honkai: Star Rail feels like a throwback to the JRPGs of yore, and a part of that is character classes. In Honkai: Star Rail, these take the form of combat paths that each character adheres to, so to help you understand what’s what, we’ve broken down all the paths in the game.
All the Combat Paths of Honkai: Star Rail and Their Play Styles
The game features seven combat paths. To find out which character follows which path, you simply need to navigate to the character menu (either through the pause or the icon in the top-right corner of the screen when on PC), then select the relevant character. Their path is displayed both immediately below their name and in the upper-left corner of the screen.
The next step is knowing how to take advantage of those combat paths, so here’s what each is good for in Honkai: Star Rail:
Destruction
The main character follows the Destruction path. It’s a build that means high damage and high health, so it’s great for straightforward damage-dealing.
Preservation
Preservation means a more defensive skill set. These characters can still deal damage, but their skills enable them to create shields and reduce damage to other party members. March 7th is a Preservation-class character.
The Hunt
In Honkai: Star Rail, The Hunt is the typical fighter type among the various combat paths. Those who follow it, like Dan Heng, excel at dealing high damage to single foes, so it’s best to focus their attacks on your strongest enemies.
Erudition
Erudition is in opposition to The Hunt. These characters are more about crowd control, dealing consistent damage to groups of enemies.
Harmony
With the Harmony path, we veer into typical mage territory. It’s one of your support classes, enabling you to buff your party members in various ways.
Nihility
Nihility characters are the flip side to Harmony characters, with their focus being on debuffing enemies, softening them up for your damage dealers to make short work of them.
Abundance
Finally, Abundance characters are the ever essential medics. While you can heal the party between battles with the Star Anchors dotted around the place, these characters are there to keep you going when things get dicey in combat.
Can You Change a Character’s Path in Honkai: Star Rail?
It’s a good question, but the answer is no. Honkai: Star Rail has limited character customization options, and that extends to the combat paths.
While you can level them up and tailor their skills somewhat, you can’t change a character’s path. To mitigate the impact of that, you can slot additional characters into your party as you unlock them, enabling you to mix and match to find the right combination for encounters.
Now that you know what all of the combat paths in Honkai: Star Rail are for, you should be equipped to wade in with steady feet. However, there are plenty of other modifiers and tweaks to keep in mind, so make sure to check out our full range of Honkai guides for more tips.
