Players should completely skip pulling for both Robin and Boothill in Honkai: Star Rail 2.2 and, instead, pull for some of the game’s older characters. Robin and Boothill are the new playable units arriving with the next patch. Both of them were confirmed by developer HoYoverse a while back, but the details about them and how they play have finally been revealed. Their kits had been abundantly described in the several Honkai: Star Rail 2.2 leaks and rumors and it is now confirmed that most of the information was true. Robin is a support unit, while Boothill is a DPS.
In battles, Robin assists her teammates by significantly improving their offensive capabilities – the singer from Penacony increases her allies’ ATK stats and forwards their actions. Additionally, when they land attacks, she regenerates Energy, which allows Robin to once again buff them. Boothill, on the other hand, specializes in dealing high single-target damage by initiating duels with opponents and, during these duels, they deal increased damage to one another. Both characters seem very good to have in team comps, but given limitations to free Stellar Jade in Honkai: Star Rail, players should actually skip these two characters in Version 2.2.
All the featured characters in banners in Version 2.2 have been revealed, including 5-star and 4-star units in Phase 1 and Phase 2. The information was revealed during the Version 2.2 livestream held on the official Honkai: Star Rail channel on YouTube. During Phase 1, Robin will make her debut in a dedicated banner, accompanied by a rerun of Topaz & Numby. In Phase 2, Boothill will make his first appearance as a playable character, while the secondary banner will be a rerun of Fu Xuan. Phase 1 starts on May 8, while Phase 2 initiates on May 29.
Strategically speaking, as much as Robin and Boothill sound like enticing new units, players should consider skipping them and saving their Stellar Jade for other characters. Topaz & Numby and Fu Xuan are significantly better options, as well as being established as cornerstones for some of the game’s most challenging endgame activities. While operating as more of a sub-DPS, Topaz excels with her follow-up attacks, a combat mechanic that has grown to become extremely popular and proven to be a powerful strategy in Honkai: Star Rail. When paired up with Dr. Ratio, Topaz & Numby become unstoppable in battles.
In fact, because both Topaz and Dr. Ratio possess follow-up attack mechanics, it is quite common for one to strike and automatically trigger continuous follow-up attacks that end up destroying opponents. This is not considering the possibility of having Aventurine in the very same team comp, who is a shielder capable of dealing immense damage through follow-up attacks. Stacking that type of damage upon foes can be devastating and, even if Topaz does not directly deal as much damage as Boothill, for instance, she can be a better option when integrated into a proper follow-up team comp.
Fu Xuan, on the other hand, is one of the strongest shielders in the game, especially for endgame content. The Master Diviner from the Xianzhou Luofu is so powerful that, in many cases, the team comp’s healer does not even need to be too strong, as her damage reduction is incredible – she works especially well against strong single-target foes. The way she is built allows players to continuously be offensive without having to spend too many Skill Points with restoration. If players were unable to obtain Aventurine in Honkai: Star Rail 2.1, they should consider pulling for Fu Xuan.
It is all too common for the hype to be concentrated around damage dealers rather than those who keep the team alive. Players looking to excel in harder challenges need to not only boost their offensive abilities but also look for ways of sustaining damage without putting themselves at risk too often. Shielders and reliable healers should not be overlooked, and Fu Xuan’s rerun is a great opportunity for this to occur. Support units, like Robin herself, are also crucial to team comps in Honkai: Star Rail, though her release is somewhat problematic and even Topaz’s damage-dealing capabilities are preferable.
Unless players are invested in Robin for her lore, design, or animation set, they really should skip her during the Version 2.2 banners. Robin should be a superb support unit in the game. Being capable of constantly buffing the entire team’s offensive capabilities while also forwarding their actions is not easily seen – normally, support characters do one or the other and, if they do both, one of the effects is secondary and less effective. The problem is that Robin is arriving at an unfortunate time among a pool of reliable supports in Honkai: Star Rail.
While the game already had a surplus of strong support characters, starting back with Bronya and Tingyun in Version 1.0, the number of units in this role grew significantly, and many of them are good. Over the past few months, the game received Ruan Mei and Sparkle, both of which are top-tier supports. Ruan Mei is a great break effect character that can boost teammates’ offensive and defensive capabilities while also extending the duration of an enemy’s Weakness Break state. Sparkle’s build in Honkai: Star Rail, alternatively, sees her buff allies, forward their actions, and increase the team’s Skill Points.
Robin does play a little bit differently, but for veteran players who already have an established roster of characters, the new 5-star support unit may not stand out enough – for some, she may not be enough to surpass the classic Version 1.0 Bronya. In addition to that, players are getting a free new 5-star support unit in Version 2.2, even if HoYoverse did not explicitly announce it. The leaked new Trailblazer form in Honkai: Star Rail 2.2 is expected to be a Harmony character, like Robin. Their specialty is rumored to be boosting allies’ attacks against Weakness Broken enemies.
They may not play much like Robin, specifically, but their role will be similar and there are even rumors the new Trailblazer may rival Ruan Mei’s potential. Of course, this remains to be seen with the character’s somewhat surprise release in Version 2.2. Even without them, there are still more reasons to pull for Topaz & Numby or Fu Xuan than Robin and Boothill, so players should consider how they spend their Stellar Jade in Honkai: Star Rail 2.2 very carefully.
Source: YouTube/Honkai: Star Rail