How good is Ruan Mei in Honkai Star Rail 1.6?

Ruan Mei is one of the newest additions to Honkai Star Rail's ever-expanding character roster, and she has brought a unique set of buffs by treading on the Harmony Path. Also designated as Member #81 of the Genius Society, she excels both as a researcher and a support unit that wields the Ice element to inflict powerful Weakness Break on enemies.

Moreover, most of her movesets scale on the Break Effect stat, which is unlike any other buffer in this game. Ruan Mei has quickly become a coveted 5-star character, as she can provide Toughness penetration that can massively benefit a lot of damage dealers on the battlefield.

This article will take a closer look at her kit to determine how well she fits in the current combat meta of Honkai Star Rail.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

---

Ruan Mei’s kit in Honkai Star Rail

Ruan Mei uses her Skill to increase Weakness Break Efficiency of all allies (Image via HoYoverse)

Honkai Star Rail offers a bunch of support units that are primarily used to boost the combat potential of entire teams. Likewise, Ruan Mei’s buffs are tailored to enhance the damage output and Weakness Break potential of all allies.

• Skill: Gains Overtone effect for three turns, which increases her teammate’s DMG and Weakness Break Efficiency.
• Ultimate: Deploys a field that boosts allies’ All-Type RES PEN and their attack applies Thanatoplum Rebloom. It prevents the target’s Weakness Break recovery and delays their action. Ruan Mei's Ultimate further deals Break DMG scaling on her Ice Break DMG.
• Talent: Increases SPD for the entire team. Ruan Mei further inflicts Ice Break DMG on opponents every time an ally breaks their Weakness.
• Technique: She obtains Silken Serenade after entering the battle, which triggers her Skill once. In the Simulated Universe, the effect enables her teammates to inflict a Weakness Break upon attacking a target. This Technique also enhances the Toughness-Reducing damage of the attack for every Blessing in possession.

---

Why is Ruan Mei good in Honkai Star Rail 1.6?

Ruan Mei has a stunning character design (Image via HoYoverse)

Ruan Mei introduces the Weakness Break Efficiency attribute in the game, which was previously available as a blessing in the Simulated Universe. It essentially allows a character to deal increased damage on an enemy’s Toughness bar, meaning they can trigger Weakness Break with fewer attacks.

This attribute will be exceptionally useful in tackling the later stages of the Memory of Chaos, where you'll fight elite enemies with high durability. With Ruan Mei on the team, your DPS should be able to stagger their turns with every Toughness Break.

Moreover, the All-Type RES PEN provides an indirect damage boost to any party member, as they can simply ignore a portion target’s DEF to deal DMG.

---

Verdict

Ruan Mei is an excellent support unit to use in Honkai Star Rail, and her unique set of buffs is certainly future-proof — unless HoYoverse removes the Toughness bar from the enemies. Also, her enhancements are neutral enough to benefit every character in the game, regardless of which attribute their abilities scale on.

She has also set a benchmark for a lot of other Harmony units in the future while overshadowing existing ones like Bronya and Tingyun.

---

For more news and updates on Honkai Star Rail, keep an eye out on Sportskeeda.