STAR uses ratings, not Rankings. There is Ranked Robin, but that's not STAR.

Ranked Robin has more complexity in the count, but the good thing is that it always elects the Condorcet winner, because he sort of invented the system. Well, an early version. Ranked Robin is the formalized modern version, and you could argue that since equal ranks are allowed in Ranked Robin, it's closer to ratings.

I used the word formalized because STAR and Ranked Robin both have specific written procedures for the ballot appearance, the counting, and basically everything else you need to run an election using the system.

It makes adoption easier when you don't have to design anything, just follow directions for a fairly representative election.