Cover-Credits:
Hoyoverse
Boothill is an upcoming 5-star Physical character in Honkai: Star Rail from the Path of the Hunt. He has quite a few similarities with Xueyi and you could consider him to be a 5-star variant of her. Unlike Xueyi, Boothill is not dependent on elemental weakness as he can apply Physical weakness with his Ultimate. If you are planning to pull for Boothill, here's a quick breakdown of his kit and a discussion on whether you should pull for him in Honkai: Star Rail 2.2.
Boothill's Kit in Honkai: Star Rail
Note: The multipliers for his skills and talents have not been mentioned as talent levels and eidolons affect these multipliers and things are still subject to change until his release.
Basic Attack
Skullcrush Spurs - Deals Physical damage equal to X% of Boothill's attack to a single enemy.
Enhanced Basic Attack
Fanning the Hammer - Deals Physical damage equal to X% of Boothill's attack to a single enemy. This enhanced Basic Attack can't recover Skill Points, and can only target the enemy currently with Standoff.
Skill: Sizzlin' Tango - When used, his Skill makes the targeted enemy and Boothill enter the Standoff state. Boothill's Basic Attack becomes Enhanced, and he can't use his Skill, lasting for two turns. The remaining turn count reduces by one at the start of Boothill's turn. The enemy target in Standoff is taunted. When the target/Boothill receives an attack from the other, the damage they receive increases by X%. After the target is defeated or becomes Weakness Broken, Boothill obtains one stack of Pocket Trickshot, then dispels Standoff. His Skill can't regenerate Energy, but his turn will not end after using it.
Ultimate: Dust Devil's Sunset Rodeo - Boothill applies Physical Weakness to a target enemy, lasting for two turns. He also deals Physical damage equal to X% of his attack to the target, and delays their action by X%
Talent
Five Peas in a Pod - Every stack of Trickshot increases Boothill's Enhanced Basic Attack's Toughness-Reducing damage by X%, stacking up to three times. If the target is Weakness Broken when his Enhanced Basic Attack is used, for every stack of Pocket Trickshot Boothill has, he deals Break Damage to this target equal to X% of Boothill's Physical Break Damage. The maximum Toughness taken into account by this attack can't exceed 16 times the base Toughness-Reducing Damage dealt by the 'Skull crush Spurs' attack. After winning a battle, Boothill can retain Pocket Trickshot for the next battle.
Technique
3-9x Smile - When using Boothill's Skill for the first time in the next battle, Physical Weakness is added to the target, equal to that applied by his Ultimate. This lasts for two turns.
Bonus Trace 1
Ghost Load - Increases Boothill's Crit Rate by 10% of his Break Effect, and his Crit Damage by 50% of his Break Effect. Crit Rate can only be increased by a maximum of 30%, whereas Crit Damage can be increased by a maximum of 150%.
Bonus Trace 2
Above Snakes - Decreases the damage Boothill receives from targets not in Standoff by 30%.
Bonus Trace 3
Point Blank - When Pocket Trickshot is obtained via Boothill's Talent, he regenerates 10 Energy. This effect is also triggered when obtaining Pocket Trickshot stacks that exceed the maximum.
Should You Pull Boothill in Honkai: Star Rail?
Boothill is a tricky DPS to pull for. Currently, Argenti is the only other Physical DPS in the game and he excels in Pure Fiction. Boothill on the other hand is purely single target and boasts incredibly high Break damage. His performance will vary tremendously depending on the kind of content you are facing but he should still be a top-tier single target DPS.
Hoyoverse has teased an upcoming game mode that might heavily favor single-target units, which should favor Boothill greatly. As it stands, if you like the character you should get Boothill but expect his performance to be erratic depending on the game modes you use him in.
Ruan Mei is also an important unit to have in your account if you are planning to pull for him. She can enhance your weakness break efficiency and might be crucial to Boothill's performance. If you don't have Ruan Mei, I recommend waiting a few days after his release to see how he performs in teams without her before spending your Stellar Jade.
Harmony Trailblazer is also set to arrive in patch 2.2 and Caelus/Stelle can greatly enhance your weakness breaking capabilities on Boothill. Boothill is quite different from existing DPS units and might easily take over as the best single-target hypercarry in the game, but his full potential is currently unknown.
We will not offer a verdict at this time and recommend waiting for his release as well as the new game mode Apocalyptic Shadows to see how he fares as a character. If you want a Physical DPS for Memory of Chaos, he should be a great pickup and if you like Boothill you should grab him if you think he will enhance your play experience.
