Aventurine isHonkai: Star Rail’s most high-stakes gambler and his gameplay reflects some of that with the RNG of his Ultimate. Though he follows the path of Preservation, he does a lot more than defend. Aventurine offers great solo sustain potential with his stackable shields, and his damage is based on his DEF, making his kit a win-win in both dealing and surviving damage.
On top of that, he’s got follow-up attacks that build up every time he or a team member gets hit, and he’s an overall SP positive unit. Aventurine is one of those characters who does well in almost every team, but there are some team members who can utilize all of his potential.
Element
Imaginary
Dr. Ratio excels at dealing damage, and putting him in a team with Aventurine doubles Imaginary damage against enemies. This is especially good for strong enemies who only have a couple of weaknesses to exploit, like theTrue Sting boss in Swarm Disaster.
But what really makes the two a good pair is the fact that the focus ofDr. Ratio’s kitis his follow-up attacks, and Aventurine’s A6 trace makes it so that he gains a point towards his own follow-up attack when a team member does their own. So, you’ll be seeing a lot more of Aventurine’s follow-up attacks with Dr. Ratio on board.
Fire
With Topaz and Numby, there are follow-up attacks galore. Topaz and Aventurine feed each other with their follow-ups because all of Topaz’s attacks are considered follow-up attacks, meaning Aventurine’s bar will fill up that much faster. Then, every time Aventurine does his follow-up attack, Numby’s own follow-up attack moves forward, whichthencontributes to Aventurine’s follow-up bar again, and so on. It’s a glorious cycle.
This is particularly useful for situations where you have a limited number of cycles to finish a battle since follow-up attacks don’t count as a turn taken. As a bonus, Topaz’s fire element is pretty beneficial, as there aren’t many DPS fire types, and she’s the only one who follows the Hunt path so far.
Lightning
Acheron is a beast on the battlefield, and if you have her, you’llwant to use herwhenever possible, right? Despite the popular notion that you need at leasttwo other Nihility characterswith her at E0, you can actually replace one of them with a Preservation character, and that’s exactly what Aventurine is.
If you have the Trend of the Universal Market lightcone on him, every time Aventurine gets hit, it’ll apply the Burn debuff on the attacker, giving Acheron an extra petal. And since he’s a Preservation unit, his chances of being the target of attacks are higher. Or, if you want to getreallyfancy and pull for his signature lightcone, it’ll let him apply an increased DMG debuff every time he does a follow-up attack. This, along with his strong shields, leaves no weaknesses in a team with Acheron.
Another contender for the follow-up squad, and this time a standard banner character, making her much easier to get. Rather than her Skill, Himeko’s follow-up attacks trigger when she has three Charges. To get a Charge, you just have to Weakness Break an enemy. And if you Weakness Break a boss or elite, she immediately gets three Charges and performs her follow-up attack.
Though it might not be as straightforward as Dr. Ratio or Topaz’s follow-up mechanics, it’s still a good budget option to help Aventurine gain more points for his own follow-up, especially if the enemy is weak to both Fire and Imaginary.
Physical
Another standard banner option for follow-up attacks, Clara’s counter every time she’s hit by an enemy counts as a follow-up, making it possible to rack up Aventurine’s points quite fast for the duration of battle. The caveat is that, being Preservation and Destruction, respectively, Aventurine and Clara will sort of be fighting for who gets targeted by enemies.
Luckily, this isn’t too bad. Clara’s Ultimate makes it so that she counters the enemy regardless of who gets hit, as well as increasing her own chances of being targeted. But even if Aventurine is attacked instead, it’ll contribute two points towards the follow-up rather than one, so it’s basically a win-win.
Ice
If you have literally none of the above, Herta is the guaranteed economical option for follow-ups. She especially shines in Pure Fiction, which is not an easy mode to get all stars in, and Aventurine can help make it all the easier. Herta’s follow-up attack triggers whenever someone attacks an enemy and makes the enemy’s HP fall to 50 percent or less.
So, you just need to wittle down the initial half before Herta starts constantly doing her follow-up attacks, in turn rapidly granting Aventurine his own follow-up points. Also, having an Ice character in the team is always a plus, because freezing enemies is one of the best things you can do in this game.
Unlike most of the other characters on this list, Ruan Mei doesn’t have any follow-up mechanics. However,she’s an excellent supportand, like Aventurine, fits in almost any kind of team. She can increase other team members' DMG and Weakness Break efficiency with her Skill, and her Ultimate makes it so that enemies take more time to recover from Weakness Break, making them vulnerable for longer.
With Ruan Mei, you can take advantage of Aventurine’s damage capabilities, whether or not you’ve built him to be somewhat of a DPS. You’ll be able to clear enemies faster while keeping your team protected. With Aventurine’s SP positive kit, you’ll have the means to give Skill points to Ruan Mei andany DPS teammates.
