Honkai Star Rail Acheron vs Aventurine – Who should you pick?

Honkai Star Rail Version 2.1 “Into the Yawning Chasm” has a ton of content to look forward to, but as is the case with most gacha updates, the new 5-Star characters are what really matter. Acheron and Aventurine make their debut in this Honkai Star Rail update, but which one of them is better?

Because Stellar Jades are so expensive, it takes a long time to build pity, and the 50/50 system constantly looms over you, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get even one of these characters, let alone both. A single unit can make or break your Honkai Star Rail team, though, so frugal players want to play their cards right and pull for the best of the best. If you’re struggling to decide between Acheron and Aventurine, here’s a breakdown of their kits and uses.

Acheron’s Kit Explained

Acheron is a 5-star Lighting character of the Nihility Path, making her a natural fit for debuff and DoT teams. While Acheron doesn’t inflict DoTs or debuffs to enemies directly, her attacks directly benefit from her allies applying them to foes.

Acheron’s main gimmick is that she doesn’t earn Ultimate Energy charge. Instead, she gains stacks of Slashed Dream when she uses her skill or an ally inflicts a debuff on an enemy. When Acheron reaches nine stacks of Slashed Dream, she can use her Ultimate.

Acheron’s skill (and ally debuffs) inflict enemies with Crimson Knots, which are removed whenever she uses her Ultimate. When Acheron uses her Ultimate, she casts Rainblade three times, attacking a single target and removing up to three of their Crimson Knots, increasing her damage multiplier for her Ultimate by 36% for each one. Removing a Crimson Knot during this process also causes slight damage to all enemies. Finally, Acheron uses Stygian Resurge to cap off her Ultimate, dealing a ton of damage to all enemies and resetting their Crimson Knot count to zero.

Aventurine’s Kit Explained

Aventurine is a 5-Star Imaginary character of the Preservation Path, so he’s a great support unit and tank. He scales off DEF and provides shields to your team, building toward a big attack every time someone takes damage.

Aventurine’s main gimmick is Blind Bet. His Skill gives shields to your entire team. Every time a shielded ally is attacked, Aventurine gains a stack of Blind Bet. When Blind Bet reaches seven stacks (it caps at 10), he consumes seven stacks to unlock a seven-hit follow-up attack.

Aventurine’s Ultimate deals massive Imaginary damage to a single target and inflicts them with a debuff called Unnerved. When an ally attacks an Unnerved enemy, their attacks will have slightly higher CRIT DMG. Aventurine’s Ultimate ability also gives him anywhere from one to seven stacks of Blind Bet at random, bringing him closer to his follow-up attack.

Should You Pull for Acheron or Aventurine in Honkai Star Rail?

Ultimately, the decision between Acheron and Aventurine comes down to the units you already have. If you’re really in need of an Imaginary character or a Preservation character, you should pull for Aventurine. F2P players are stuck with March 7th and the Trailblazer for Preservation characters, so unless you pulled Fu Xuan or Gepard, you should try to get Aventurine.

Imaginary units are also quite rare at the moment with only one 4-Star option (Yukong), so Aventurine can fill a pretty big hole in your elemental lineup. Dr. Ratio was given away for free quite recently, however, so you might not need another Imaginary 5-Star at the moment.

Acheron, on the other hand, is a very strong Electric character, but you need to build a team around her to get the most out of her. If you don’t already have a strong debuff lineup, then you should pass on Acheron. If you don’t already have Kafka or Black Swan, then Acheron is a safe skip at the moment unless you really want her.

There are a bunch of 4-Star options to pair with Acheron, though, so you can make her work without other Nihility 5-Stars. Luka, Guinaifen, and Serval are excellent DoT characters that will enhance Acheron’s damage via Crimson Knots.

Ultimately, both of these characters are great. The thing to consider for Acheron is that she has a very specific playstyle and might not mesh well with your existing lineup, and the main thing to consider for Acheron is if you need a new Preservation unit. Every Honkai Star Rail player has a different roster, so take a look at your best teams. Acheron is the safer pull since he slots into any team, though.