Archetypes, especially character archetypes in anime and anime-type media, exist for a reason. To elaborate a bit, archetypes in this context are a series of different characters that all follow the same core idea whether that's in their design or personality. Sure, some people may be tired of seeing the same sort of 'hot-blooded delinquent' character in most anime, but these street punks like Josuke Joestar only pop up so often because people love seeing them.
So far with the 24 characters in Honkai: Star Rail, there are already a lot of archetypes in design, personalities, and fighting styles that have been represented. And, if that massive 20+ character leak is to be believed, a lot of the archetypes we're about to mention are probably already in the works with characters like Luka or Xueyi. But, let's go over a few more iconic stereotypes that Honkai: Star Rail absolutely needs to design a playable character around at some point.
7 Airheaded Or Too 'Pure' For This World Casanova
Let's start things off with a fun one, Honkai needs a big dumb sweetheart as a playable character. To elaborate, this archetype is one of a stereotypically attractive or overly muscular person (man, woman, or non-gendered) who is way too nice for their own good or barely has anything going on in that noggin of theirs. While it's not the most endearing term, it's what most people would describe as a 'himbo-type' character.
Typically, these sorts of characters fill the role of a reliable ally who is obsessed with physical fitness or food (such as Raphael in Fire Emblem: Three Houses), a 'street punk' who actually does a lot more good than they like to admit (like Arataki Itto from Genshin Impact), or a head-empty-charge-forward protagonist along the same vein as someone like Kamina in Gurren Lagann. The only character in HSR that even comes close to any of these characters is Gepard (Sampo is also in the running), but he's way too smart and serious for his own good.
6 The 'Larger Than Life' Performer
Granted, Serval is already in the game and is the 'rocker' archetype in a very similar way to Xinyan from Genshin Impact, but that's not the only fine arts-based archetype that's commonly seen in these types of games and anime. For example, Dorothea from Three Houses and Barbara (also from Genshin Impact) are two examples of different ways designers can approach the 'idol' or 'singer' archetype with the core concept still remaining the same. Even Azura, a tragic yet gifted songstress from Fire Emblem: Fates (both Conquest and Birthright) could work though she's a bit more stoic and less 'bubbly'.
For a space-based series, Honkai: Star Rail should absolutely have a futuristic opera singer to match the Space Opera vibe. For example, Diva Plavalaguna in the Fifth Element is a fantastic example of this archetype and Honkai's attempt could even have a Ruby Rhod-type manager character alongside her. It would truly be interesting to see how the 'idol' concept is done when everyone lives among the stars.
5 The Unhinged & (Sometimes) Incomprehensible Explosives Expert
So far, Honkai: Star Rail has done a pretty good job with the diversity of standard and unique weapons characters use. Thankfully, because the game uses Light Cones and Paths instead of restricting characters to a subset of weapon types (like in Genshin Impact), characters have a bit more freedom in what they use to fight the creatures of the Fragmentum. For example, Himeko uses a combat drone that also functions as what can only be described as a giant pizza cutter. Additionally, Hook, a literal child, uses an advanced claw-shaped mining device called the Diggertron that's literally bigger than her entire body to fight for her life.
And, while Hook does have a very explosive Ultimate attack, the comparisons between her and Klee in Genshin basically stop there as she's not an explosives expert like Klee and while she does play pretend Hook at least makes sense most of the time. That said people love playing as characters who love big booms like Ziggs in League of Legends or Junkrat in Overwatch. If HoYoverse does introduce someone skilled with explosives into Honkai: Star Rail, they'll probably go for more of a Tiny Tina (from Borderlands) type of character than a Junkrat one.
4 The All-Flair No Substance Wrestler
This next archetype might sound a lot like the 'larger-than-life' performer one, as both characters of these archetypes work in the entertainment industry, but this is even more hyper-specific than the others. Basically, it would be amazing if Honkai: Star Rail introduced a character that represented that classic professional wrestler stereotype. This archetype is usually personified by a character that has committed their entire body, soul, and personality to being a masterclass wrestler/performer. They are the type of character to always act like they're performing for a crowd, even if no one else is around, and they're all about showmanship, even in life-or-death situations. And, people may be surprised to find out just how many characters fit into this archetype quite comfortably, such as:
- Beowulf from Skullgirls.
- Rainbow Mika (and Znagief) from the Street Fighter games.
- King and Armor King from the Tekken games.
There are plenty more examples as well, but these ones are by far the most iconic personification of this. The idea of a Destruction-Path character who fights with a chair and suplexes their enemies for their ultimate is, hopefully, too good of an idea for HoYoverse to ever pass up on. Luka, who HoYoverse gave details on, may be the closest players get to this archetype, but until Luka is out and playable who knows how much of an entertainer he actually is.
3 Sociopathic Jester Or Clown
Up until now all of the archetypes mentioned are just character archetypes that would be neat to see or could easily be written to fit into the Honkai: Star Rail setting. This next idea, however, directly relates to an Aeon in the HSR world. The name of this Aeon is Aha, and he leads the Path of Elation. Aha, quite simply, is basically the god of pranks, humor, chaos, tragedy, and even a bit of nihilism. For a frame of reference, he's similar to something like the Norse God Loki (not the Marvel Movies version) or the Laughing God Cegorach in the Warhammer 40k universe.
It would be incredibly interesting to see Mihoyo's take on a jester or jokester type of character who is a follower of Aha and does everything 'for the laughs'. The typical route for a character representing this archetype is someone similar to Harley Quinn, the Joker, Shaco from League of Legends, or technically (though a bit less serious) even Buggy the Clown from One Piece. However, lore entries in HSR point to the fact that Aha will often recognize and give powers of Elation to those that stand in direct opposition to Aha and represent the opposite of what everyone would expect of a joker, such as the Mourning Actors, so that could work as another archetype route for an Aha-related character.
2 A 'Fish Out Of Water' Alien Character
Out of all the archetypes on here that have a chance of actually being represented in Honkai: Star Rail, this next one probably has the lowest likelihood of happening. HSR takes place in space and the main cast is a group of characters who literally ride a space train across the galaxy to solve problems on different planets. In essence, they're sort of an anime version of the Enterprise in Star Trek.
But, what the Enterprise has that the Astral Express is sorely lacking are 'actual' alien species, While players have already seen non-human races with the Foxians (such as Tingyun) and the Vidyadhara (Bailu) these two species look so similar to humans it really doesn't count. It would be incredibly interesting to see Mihoyo's take on a more alien-looking extraterrestrial character. It doesn't need to go full H. R. Giger Alien, but something like Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy, Liara T'Soni from Mass Effect, or even Starfire from Teen Titans would be plenty.
1 The 'Fallen Diety' Or A Forgotten Aeon
Lastly, (and this is surely coming at some point in Honkai's future), it would be amazing if the HoYoverse team managed to somehow make an Aeon playable. Granted, the Aeons themselves such as Aha, Qlipoth, or Nanook are way too powerful to be playable, and it wouldn't make sense for them to be traveling with a bunch of humans. These are beings that supply the power to everyone that follows their Path, so they'd be a bit too overpowered compared to someone with icy arrows like March 7th. From a story standpoint, this could easily work, as it's always fun to see godlike beings interacting with normal people like Beerus interacting with Bulma in Dragon Ball Super, but from a gameplay standpoint, they'd really have to work to make the Aeon 'nerfed' enough to be playable and comparable to other characters.
However, this doesn't mean that a fallen Aeon can't work such as Tayzzyronth (who is thought to be dead). Granted, Tayzzyronth was basically thought to be an infinite swarm of insects so that probably wouldn't work as a character alongside cute anime girls, but an avatar of Tayzzyronth or some almost-forgotten or amnesiac Aeon could absolutely work such as Screwllum, who is a part of the Genius Society following the Erudition Path of Nous. But, leaked details show that his phone case in Honkai: Star Rail has an insect on the back, possibly hinting at Tayzzyronth.
Honkai: Star Rail is available now for PC and mobile devices. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.