10 Best Sustain Characters In Honkai: Star Rail Going Into 3.0, Ranked

As Honkai: Star Rail moves into 3.0, having the proper sustain units to manage the new threats will be crucial. Honkai: Star Rail in 2025 is gearing up to be a huge year for one of the most popular gacha games on the market. Along with a new path in the Remembrance, focused around units that have a summon, the story travels to the planet of Amphoreus.

Sustainers come in the form of healers, Abundance, and shielders, Preservation. Each character that comes from these paths has their own way of keeping their team alive. Though they're not as immune to power creep as Support characters, the vast majority are still viable picks. The only downside to sustainers is that some extremely high-end content is starting to move towards sustain-less teams, though this is hard for the casual player to achieve.

10 Bailu Feels Weak Given Her Status

5-Star Lightning

Bailu is in a weird spot as an Abundance character given she is the only one capable of reviving a knocked-out teammate. However, her small usage is largely due to her healing ability being slightly underwhelming and partially random outside her ultimate. Also, where most other sustain characters grant some substantial buff, the only thing Bailu offers is 10% less damage to allies with her Invigoration stacks.

The other thing that has hurt Bailu is the strength of other sustain options. Though both paths don't have as many characters as the others, the top options are so strong and flexible that the more niche options fall out. Bailu can be used in any team with an Abundance character, but only if she is the only option available.

9 Natasha Is A Good Baseline Healer

4-Star Physical

Though Natasha is a single-target healer outside her ultimate, she is a solid unit for some situations. Her single target heals are strong, and they will leave a lingering effect that allows her to switch targets. The skill can also cleanse a debuff from her first Trace, and as Honkai has progressed, this ability has become crucial.

Natasha can be used in any composition but excels best in Break or Physical damage-focused teams. These teams usually need less healing since the enemy won't be able to attack as much, and this allows Natasha to chip in some damage. Overall, being a free unit given to players, she is a huge help for getting through the story but also falls off as better options appear.

8 Gepard Is A Slightly Selfish Shielder

5-Star Ice

Gepard is a good baseline for what a Preservation unit should be, but gets less use due to his selfish kit. His shields are strong, and his Trace increases the chances he can be targeted, which is all good for keeping the team alive. Gepard will also revive himself the first time he is knocked down in battle.

The thing that brings Gepard down when compared to other Sustain units is, again, the lack of team-wide buffs. The closest thing he has to this would be the chance to Freeze enemies, but that isn't consistent enough to warrant use. If available to new players, he can be a huge boon, but if better Preservation units are around, then he is best left on the sidelines.

7 Lynx Is On The Rise

4-Star Quantum

Lynx, for being a 4-Star unit, is surprisingly strong at max Eidolens. Her kit can heal and increase the maximum HP of her targets. This comes with an ultimate that dispels debuffs, and a passive talent that will continuously heal her targets for two turns. Even without team-wide buffs, which does lower her a bit, the all-around healing kit she has boosts her massively.

Lynx was strong in the beginning due to the popularity of Mono-Quantum. However, even though that team has fallen out of the meta, she still sees plenty of uses in any team that needs a healer. She is also a huge bonus for characters like Blade or Yunli, who want to be hit, as her talent makes characters from the Destruction path be targeted more often.

6 Luocha The Forgotten Healer

5-Star Imaginary

Luocha is a strong healer who only falters because his kit is too heal-focused. His skill alone provides good healing, coupled with the ability to trigger if an ally's health falls too low. His ultimate, while offensive, is a good boost for removing buffs from enemies. The true strength of Luocha's kit comes from his talent, which creates a field that allows his teammates to heal themselves when they attack.

Luocha is in an overall weird place, as he is the jack of all but the master of none healer. He can be used in any team and work well enough to beat anything in the game. However, most teams will have an option that is better for their desired archetype which has made Luocha one of the most forgotten 5-Star units.

5 Gallagher Is A Lite Version Of A 5-Star

4-Star Fire

Gallagher, especially with Eidolons, is unarguably the strongest 4-Star Sustain unit. His heals are strong, and can be raised easily by building Break Effect. Though he lacks everything else that a healer would ideally want, the heals and damage he provides rise above any flaws.

A large part of Gallagher's rise was due to the rise of Break teams. He excels here as he can chip in a fair bit of damage, especially with Firefly who remains one of the best DPS in Honkai: Star Rail. Even though the meta is likely to shift to the new Remembrance path, as Break teams are unlikely to fall out of usefulness, Gallagher remains a free-to-play-friendly top option.

4 Fu Xuan Remains A Strong Choice

5-Star Quantum

Despite being one of the older options, Fu Xuan has remained strong. Her Matrix of Prescience, which mitigates the damage and focuses it on her, is arguably the strongest defense in the game, and a properly built Fu Xuan can keep a team alive forever. She also comes with some very helpful team-wide buffs by increasing every member's HP and Critical Rate when under the influence of her Matrix.

Another boon to Fu Xuan is how flexible she is. At first, she was also a part of the strong Mono-Quantum teams. Whereas now, she is a crucial member of some of the strongest teams, like Feixiao and Acheron. Until another unit that brings the same buffs that Fu Xuan offers but better releases, she will remain a top option.

3 Huohuo Has Kept Herself Viable

5-Star Wind

Huohuo is arguably the best and most versatile Abundance character in the game. Her skill dispels a debuff on the target, along with healing both the target and adjacent teammates. This heal also has an effect similar to Lynx where Huohuo will have two stacks she can heal the next characters in the turn order with. Her ultimate, while not a healing ability, massively boosts the team's attack and gives everyone ultimate energy.

The only downside to Huohuo is that she is not a skill-point-positive character. At best, she can go neutral, but more often than not, she will be skilling every other turn if not constantly. Luckily, she is extremely flexible in the teams she can go into, with the only archetype that she doesn't fit into is Break.

2 Aventurine Is The Best Shielder

5-Star Imaginary

Though Aventurine has had some recent issues with his shields, he is still the best Preservation unit in the game currently. At its best, his shield is incredibly strong and can be refreshed easily by using his skill or from his talent. This is coupled with his technique, which can greatly increase the team's defense, and his ultimate, which increases the critical damage the target takes and has a chance to trigger his talent.

Aventurine can be used in any team given his strengths, but he excels in Follow-up Attacks (FUA). This is because FUA will also count towards his talent. The more times his talent is used, the more damage he will do and the more shields he can put on his team. These attacks are made even better by his signature Light Cone, which will inflict Vulnerability on enemies.

1 Lingsha Is The Most Dominant Force

5-Star Fire

Though Lingsha and her best builds are suited for Break teams, her heals and ability to work as a second DPS make her valuable. Her skill will heal while also summoning or advancing her summon, which will heal whenever it attacks. Lingsha also has an ability similar to Luocha, where she will automatically heal if an ally drops below 60% health. Her ultimate is purely for damage and can be a nice boon, especially in Break teams.

Lingsha can essentially fit into any team that isn't Yunli or DOT, as that is where Huohuo is better. She can easily be played skill point positive, which is a check for her that most other Abundance characters struggle with. As a final bonus, though more niche, she can take over the role of the main DPS in Pure Fiction or enemy-dense encounters where the targets are weak to Fire.

The sustain role on the team may have few options, but the vast majority of them are valuable picks. It will be interesting to see how the role grows, as they have semi-moved to providing Harmony-like buffs or being capable of dealing damage on their own. There is also the fact that with Remembrance coming out, sustainers may have some unique interactions with how summons work. Regardless, until new additions come out, these are the ten best sustainers in Honkai: Star Rail.

Source: Honkai: Star Rail/YouTube