Here’s a quick Honkai Star Rail primer if you’re looking to be the newest Trailblazer.
Thinking of starting your Honkai Star Rail journey? Give our HSR beginner's guide and tips for new players a read to make your first few hours as a Trailblazer the best it can be!
Honkai Star Rail Beginner's Guide
First, the most important thing to note is that Honkai Star Rail is a gacha game. This means that many aspects of the game, including the characters and equipment, are primarily based on chance.
If you're crossing over from a different HoYoverse title like Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero, then check out our currency and material guide to make your transition seamless.
This is the perfect time to start playing Honkai Star Rail, since the 2nd anniversary is arriving with a lot of rewards that will help you with starting your game.
Tips for new HSR players
- Make sure you focus on strengthening one to two characters in the beginning. A good damage unit (Paths: The Hunt, Destruction, Erudition) and one sustain/survivability unit (Paths: Abundance, Preservation) go a long way in the early game.
- Try your best to do the daily missions under Daily Training. The rewards it gives add up in the long term.
- Make a habit of clearing the content that regularly resets! The Simulated Universe and Divergent Universe are both fun game modes and are quite generous with their rewards.
- Divergent Universe gives you a version of your characters that are decently raised, so don't worry about character upgrades on the game mode!
- Save your Stellar Jades for a character you like. In the early game, the meta doesn't matter. If getting a certain character will get you to have more fun playing the game, save up for them.
- Play the limited events! The events run for a limited time, usually around two weeks, and give a lot of Stellar Jades and other useful rewards. A lot of them are beginner-friendly, too, and will most likely not require you to have powerful characters.
- Keep your eyes peeled for rewards on the map. These chests and puzzles not only make exploring maps worthwhile but also give you valuable prizes.
- Maximize your Trailblaze Energy! Using Trailblaze Energy on the various farming nodes in the game is one of the primary sources of Player EXP. Make sure your Energy isn't capped as much as possible.
Core HSR mechanics
Honkai Star Rail is a turn-based game. The areas are closed maps and have various collectibles and puzzles scattered around them.
Trailblaze Energy
Trailblaze Energy is the limiting factor to your gameplay. Farming nodes for any material, from in-game money (Credits) to Relics, costs Trailblaze Energy to challenge. Other content like Events, Trailblaze Missions, and Side Quests do not require Trailblaze Energy.
This recharges at a rate of one per six minutes and is capped at 300. It takes 30 hours for the Energy to completely replenish. If time passes while it is maxed out, the Reserved Trailblaze Energy will begin filling up at a rate of one per 18 minutes, for a max of 2400.
Characters and Party
A party consists of up to four characters. Characters in Honkai Star Rail have three defining properties: Rarity, Path, and Element.
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The Paths loosely dictate a character's role within a party. For example, Abundance and Preservation characters help the team's survivability through heals and shields, Harmony characters buff teammates, and Erudition characters are great AoE units.
Each character can be strengthened through various means: Ascension Levels, Eidolons, Light Cones, Relics, and Traces. A character's Ascension Level is a linear growth - maxing out at level 80. This takes a considerable amount of resources.
Characters are acquired through various means, but limited 5-star units can only be acquired on their respective limited-time banners.
Multiple copies of a character end up being Eidolon levels, up to six. A character begins at Eidolon 0 (E0) and gains substantial buffs to their kit as you level them up to E6.
Light Cones
Light Cones are the primary equipment on characters. This is in place of a weapon in a traditional RPG.
Like characters, Light Cones also have a Path that they are attuned to. You are highly encouraged to match the Path of the Light Cone and the character they are equipped on. Otherwise, the special effect on the Light Cone will not proc.
The similarities don't stop there, though. You can ascend and level up Light Cones, making the base numbers like ATK, HP, and DEF higher. To strengthen the special effect of a Light Cone, you need to Superimpose them, essentially combining two or more of the same Light Cone.
Again, Light Cones can be acquired through various means, and limited 5-star Light Cones can be acquired on their respective limited Honkai Star Rail banners. Each 5-star character has a "signature" Light Cone, meaning one that has the best synergy with them.
Traces
Traces are another way to make your character stronger. By feeding them various materials, the individual levels of each of their skills can be raised. Also, each character has at least three Main Traces, which are additional effects that the character permanently gains.
Relics
Relics are divided into two parts: Cavern Relics and Planar Ornaments.
You can equip up to four Cavern Relics, gaining a bonus if two are from the same set and another bonus if all four share the set. Meanwhile, you can have two Planar Ornaments, and you gain the bonus at two Relics.
Each Relic has a main stat and several substats. These are randomly selected from a pre-defined pool and can be farmed through various farming nodes throughout the game.
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