Ruan Mei vs Dr. Ratio: Speculating which 5-star to pick in Honkai Star Rail 1.6

The Honkai Star Rail community has been eagerly awaiting the upcoming characters Ruan Mei and Dr. Ratio since developer HoYoverse announced them in their drip marketing post on X (Formerly Twitter). Version 1.6, which will introduce the two new characters, is scheduled to be released globally in late December 2023. Trailblazers unfamiliar with the upcoming characters may wonder which unit to pick in version 1.6.

This article details Ruan Mei and Dr. Ratio's kits and abilities and discusses which 5-star character you should spend your Stellar Jades on in Honkai Star Rail version 1.6.

Note: This article is subjective and based on unreleased information, which is subject to change.

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Ruan Mei’s abilities and kit in Honkai Star Rail

Ruan Mei (Image via HoYoverse)

Ruan Mei is an Ice character treading on the Path of Harmony. Her kit focuses on Weakness Break efficiency and SPD-oriented buffs. All of her abilities are listed in the section below:

• Basic Attack: Deals Ice damage on a single opponent.
• Skill: Ruan Mei obtains a buff, which increases her ally's SPD and Break efficiency to two turns.
• Ultimate: Deals Ice damage to enemies and increases weakness break duration for all opponents. Adversaries affected by this ability will get their action delayed based on Ruan Mei's Break Effect stat.
• Talent: Increases all allies' damage against enemies with a Weakness Break. After an enemy's weakness is broken or hitting a broken opponent, deals additional Ice damage that scales with Ruan Mei's ATK stat.
• Technique: Lowers an enemy's toughness against an element and increases all allies' ATK stat at the start of the battle.

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Dr. Ratio's kit and abilities in Honkai Star Rail

Dr. Ratio (Image via HoYoverse)

Dr. Ratio will be a 5-star character wielding the Imaginary element. He can deal extraordinary damage to his opponents as a Path of The Hunt unit. The list below details his abilities in Honkai Star Rail version 1.6:

• Basic Attack: Unleashes an attack on an enemy dealing Imaginary DMG.
• Skill: Deals Imaginary damage to a single enemy. The Skill will get enhanced when the enemy is affected by a debuff.
• Ultimate: Deals significant Imaginary damage to an opponent and obtains a buff. The buff improves the chance of triggering a follow-up attack.
• Passive Talent: Dr. Ratio randomly obtains one of five buffs whenever he attacks an enemy with his Basic Attack or Skill. The five buffs increase either CRIT DMG, CRIT Rate, ATK, and SPD up to three stacks or launch a follow-up attack.
• Technique: Taunts all nearby enemies by creating a field. All opponent's SPD will be reduced for two turns.

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Ruan Mei vs Dr. Ratio: Which 5-star character should you pick in Honkai Star Rail version 1.6?

Ruan Mei is the better 5-star character to pick in Honkai Star Rail version 1.6 (Image via HoYoverse)

In Honkai Star Rail version 1.6, Ruan Mei is the better 5-star character to pick. She is the first exclusive character treading on the Path of harmony. Her kit focuses on breaking the enemy's weakness and increasing the duration of the Weakness Break state.

If you do not own or possess strong characters who follow the Harmony Path, pulling for Ruan Mei will be an excellent choice, as she can amplify your DPS character's damage. Her kit will be helpful in the long run since it can be paired with units specializing in dealing damage.

Dr. Ratio is also a phenomenal character. His kit allows him to deal significant Imaginary damage to a single enemy and launch follow-up attacks. This character is also an adequate choice if players do not possess a decent damage dealer. However, due to the power creep, he is not viable in the long run.

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