Swarm Disaster is the latest addition to the Honkai: Star Rail Simulated Universe mode. With many labeling it as the toughest content to date, we are here to help you craft the best team to beat the bugs.
Ultimately, team compositions will differ depending on your personal path preference. Not to mention elemental advantages earned could further influence the direction of your roster. What we hope to share through this list are some of the best choices from four-star friends to banner exclusives.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
The nine best characters to beat Swarm Disaster in Honkai: Star Rail
1) March 7th
Widely recognized as one of the best free characters available to players at the time of writing, March 7th should be at the forefront of your mind for Swarm Disaster. Her skillset offers so much against regular enemies yet works wonders against the new Sting group as well. Her effectiveness will only be enhanced should you specialize in the paths of Preservation and Remembrance.
March might not enter Swarm Disaster with an elemental advantage initially, but this is not why you would consider taking her.
The frustrating tactics behind Stings are their ability to duplicate, attacking multiple targets swiftly all while boasting a disgustingly high defense. Shields are meta against this type of enemy and while March can’t cover everyone through The Power of Cuteness, she doesn’t need to if your damage carry and healer work as intended.
Her Ultimate, Glacial Cascade, is the second key skill to utilize. Though not providing a 100 percent base chance, freezing with this ability could prove the difference between clearing a stage or watching on helplessly as another bug arrives on the scene. Not to mention, thanks to Girl Power, March’s Ultimate can become one of the fastest to charge.
2) Trailblazer
Your free alternative to March 7th, the Trailblazer’s Preservation guise does a different job while filling the same protective role. You get a character that holds superior stats in everything but speed, losing the ability to freeze targets yet gaining a passive which delivers small shields to everyone in the party via every action they take.
The Trailblazer’s biggest attraction will be their capacity to taunt through Ever-Burning Amber. Although this works nicely against the Juvenile and Lesser Stings, it won’t deny the True Sting its destructive AOE attacks.
To make the most out of this situation, we’d highly recommend Preservation or Destruction for the earlier levels. Propagation could also be considered once unlocked.
Let’s not forget that one of the coolest aspects of the Trailblazer is their ability to switch elements and paths. It is not an unreasonable idea to utilize the devastating Destruction form as your damage carry.
3) Natasha
Here more out of necessity than any other reason, Natasha remains a mainstay on most teams thanks to her outstanding healing capacity and easy acquisition through playing the story. It is incredibly unlikely that you’ll be able to complete any tier without restoring health mid-battle; hence, for now, the good doctor is essential.
If resources are limited and you are looking into Natasha investment for the first time, we’d recommend hitting all three major traces as soon as possible. Soothe removes debuffs, Healer increases outgoing healing by 10 percent, and Recuperation extends Love, Heal, and Choose’s continuous healing for one further turn.
As should be evident, the path of Abundance is especially potent if Natasha is to be your leading lady.
4) Qingque
From the left field comes Qingque as your free Quantum damage dealer.
Hitting those Weakness Breaks can prove even more vital against the Swarm and the great news about Qingque is she can hit more than one of them. The rather hefty caveat is that her impact runs down to how much time has been poured into her build and every gacha game player’s worst nightmare—luck.
A fully kitted-out Qingque will reward you handsomely. Healthy use of her technique, Game Solitaire, should mitigate early battle strife. If you haven’t already, it’s time to invest in the trace Tile Battle, which restores a skill point the first time you activate A Scoop of Moon during combat.
Qingque’s best path to follow will be Propagation, although this is not accessible at first. Instead, Destruction will likely be your best bet for stacking damage. Elation might also be of interest should you have attained her fourth Eidolen level.
5) Yukong
Our final free-to-play offering, Yukong laughs in the face of high defenses. Though able to chip away towards Weakness Breaks, her primary function is through buffing teammates with Roaring Bowstrings. Should this perk be active during the use of her Ultimate, Diving Kestrel, all allies gain a boost to CRIT Rate and CRIT Damage on top of the base Attack boost.
If I were to choose between Qingque and Yukong, I’d personally sway towards the latter as you hold more control over proceedings. Not to mention she works with most of the paths.
6) Gepard
Remember when I said shields are meta? If you’ve got Gepard, you’ll want to use him.
There is simply no replacing his shield coverage in the face of AOE moves and that covers many of the bosses you will encounter. The trace Integrity naturally transforms Gepard into a homing beacon for attacks, aiding the recharge of Enduring Bulwark to no end. Plus, as if he wasn’t good enough already, Intimidating Strike offers up a decent chance of freezing targets even at base Eidolon level.
Although the path of Remembrance might be tempting, trust us: Preservation is going to carry you through the first three tiers in no time. With enough blessings and with the right build, those bugs won’t be able to scratch your health bars.
7) Seele or Imbibitor Lunae
Look no further for your damage carries. It should come as no surprise to Seele and Imbibitor Lunae owners that their characters can run riot in Swarm Disaster.
Imbibitor shades things for us based on his ruthless numbers output. That said, he’s a hungry boy and those skill points will disappear quickly. Cautious team management becomes vital, limiting who you can fit around him on a roster. If you are fortunate enough to own him and you’re just getting started with this content, following his path of Destruction will give you plenty of good results.
Seele can also run skill points down quickly if Resurgence finds itself activated plenty. If you are an owner of Star Rail’s first banner character, it’s very likely that you’ve already built her successfully to take on a behemoth such as True Sting. Utilizing The Hunt will only serve to make your life easier; every Trotter defeated in battle increases CRIT Damage by 30 percent.
8) Luocha
An instant replacement for Natasha, Luocha not only fits the Elemental bill better but also offers excellent healing tools on the battlefield. Prayer of Abyss Flower extends a priceless helping hand to characters knocked below 50 percent health while Cycle of Life is undoubtedly one of the best Talents the game has to offer.
Not much more to say on this one. Abundance is Luocha’s obvious path of choice but, truth be told, he’s so good at his job he doesn’t need it.
9) Welt or Silver Wolf
Our last two suggestions fall under a role not covered thus far, that of the Debuffer. While Pela ultimately missed out on a recommendation, we’d be remiss not to offer Welt and Silver Wolf up for consideration.
Obtainable through the standard banner, Welt’s all about slowing opponents down which comes in very handy against the swarm. Edge of the Void is particularly helpful as a move that can clobber multiple targets at once. Silver Wolf, on the other hand, settles nicely into a support niche. With Allow Changes? she can add Weakness Types to enemies, which is perfect if you want to run with characters outside of the recommended Elemental matchups. Her Talent is also very nifty, reducing Attack, Defense, or Speed with every attack, albeit at random.
Neither should be held in higher esteem since both do very different things. Either or could be the perfect cherry on top of that delicious composition that will finally secure you victory.
