Honkai: Star Rail is a brand new sport by Hoyoverse, the oldsters behind Genshin Influence and Honkai Influence third. The sport incorporates a fantasy house odyssey story with turn-based fight, and you’ll play it with out spending a single cent on gacha.
In the event you’re unfamiliar with cell gacha video games or are simply confused by the phrases Honkai: Star Rail makes use of, we’re right here to assist. We compiled among the questions Polygon staffers had whereas enjoying and reply them beneath.
What’s the gameplay loop for Honkai: Star Rail?
Utilizing a celebration of 4 characters, you battle enemies utilizing turn-based fight and progress via foremost story quests and aspect quests. To power-up your characters and light-weight cones (weapons), you’ll have to battle particular enemies that eat your Trailblaze Energy (stamina that refills over time). It turns into a cycle of logging on, performing some dailies, and grinding to strengthen your characters and provides them higher equips.
What’s the plot of Honkai: Star Rail?
The Trailblazer (you) mysteriously wakes up after being created with a Stellaron. Stellarons are highly effective vitality sources that may trigger catastrophe, however the Trailblazer is ready to talk with it and harness its energy with out doing something tremendous terrible (or so we’ve seen to date). You be a part of the Astral Categorical crew, who flies across the stars on their practice, stopping any disasters about to happen on account of Stellarons on totally different planets.
Do I have to spend cash in Honkai: Star Rail to achieve success?
No. The entire story shall be clearable with four-star characters, so that you received’t must spend cash to play.
Nevertheless, superior content material like Simulated Universe and Forgotten Corridor shall be simpler with five-star characters. This doesn’t imply you possibly can’t beat it utilizing lower-rarity characters, although. There are already movies of beta gamers doing Forgotten Corridor with solely four-star characters, so it’s not inconceivable. Will probably be more durable, although.
Is Honkai: Star Rail like Genshin Influence or Honkai Influence third?
Quite a lot of the similarities between Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Influence and Honkai Influence third are there due to the cell RPG style greater than another purpose. Honkai: Star Rail shares loads of traits with cell video games (together with Genshin Influence), resembling stamina-based farming and unlocking characters through gacha.
There are some things that do look virtually precisely like Genshin Influence, just like the character display and different UI components. In the event you’re conversant in Genshin already, it is possible for you to to rapidly adapt to Honkai: Star Rail because of the UI structure alone.
![Bronya in Honkai: Star Rail as seen on the character screen](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_ji9M2-oeJUElnCglOX9N3If_Wg=/0x0:1920x1035/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1035):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24601650/StarRail_2023_04_21_14_33_34.jpg)
Picture: Hoyoverse through Polygon
The gameplay loop (as talked about above) is similar to each Hoyoverse titles, however it ought to be famous that Honkai: Star Rail will not be an open-world sport and it doesn’t have lively multiplayer like how Genshin Influence does.
How do I discover Calyx/Stagnant Shadow/Cavern of Corrosion/Echo of Conflict?
You’ll find these marked in your map and teleport to them, however since Honkai: Star Rail doesn’t use an open world map, it may be a ache within the butt to seek out what precisely you’re searching for rapidly. We advocate simply utilizing the “survival index” tab of the Insterastral Information, which you’ll entry through the principle menu or by tapping the rectangle with a hoop round it within the high proper nook.
How do I replenish Trailblaze Energy?
Simply be affected person. It takes six minutes to recharge one and 18 hours to recharge the complete set of 180.
You may also use Stellar Jade to replenish your resin as much as eight occasions per day. 50 Stellar Jade replenishes 60 Trailblaze Energy. You may also use Gasoline, a reward for finishing battle cross missions and different bonuses, to recharge 60 Trailblaze Energy.
How do I recharge a way in Honkai: Star Rail?
You’ll wish to hit these glowing purple canisters you see round maps to refuel your method factors. Each will restore two method factors.
![Bronya stands in front of some mechanical devices, including a glass canister of some purple glowing stuff in Honkai: Star Rail](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JP5-cSDV3_BtjDxMVvWRHm3W1PQ=/0x0:1920x1035/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1035):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24601655/StarRail_2023_04_21_13_28_16.jpg)
Picture: Hoyoverse through Polygon
How do increase my equilibrium degree?
At sure Trailblaze ranges (your account degree), you can be prompted with a quest to extend your equilibrium degree. Doing this can make the enemies round you a bit more durable, however it’ll additionally can help you energy up your characters extra. Simply maintain leveling up your trailblaze degree and take note of your quest log to unlock greater equilibrium ranges.
Notably, you will want to be at equilibrium degree three to begin farming any five-star relics.
How do I prepare dinner in Honkai: Star Rail?
As you progress via the early sport, Pom-Pom will educate you the best way to Synthesize, which is Honkai: Star Rail’s model of cooking. After he teaches you the way, you possibly can entry the Synthesize function from the in-game menu to prepare dinner everytime you need, so long as you will have the elements.
What does the help character within the profile do?
As an alternative of utilizing 4 of your personal characters, you possibly can borrow different folks’s characters, so long as they’re set as their help character. Whoever you set as your help character is who different folks can borrow from you.
For instance, if I’ve a totally constructed Bronya, I can set that as my help character, and different gamers can borrow her to make use of in their very own battles.
You can’t use help characters in Forgotten Corridor or Simulated Universe.
Do your personal characters have weaknesses to sure fight sorts?
Nope. Enemies have weaknesses, however your characters don’t, so don’t fear about being countered.
How do I search for a monster’s weak point?
All enemies have their weaknesses displayed above their heads. You may also verify enemy weaknesses within the information financial institution, which is accessible from the principle menu.
![The data bank page for a Stormbringer, a green mechanical centaur, in Honkai: Star Rail](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MeBrp8ihpHpOqBZoR49qquEZfCQ=/0x0:1920x1035/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1035):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24601652/StarRail_2023_04_21_13_27_02.jpg)
Picture: Hoyoverse through Polygon
Which character ought to I degree up first?
It’s as much as you, however a lot of the characters in your group ought to be leveled up equally. The starter characters given to you’re really fairly helpful. The one factor we strongly advocate when beginning out is to be sure to both have a shielder or healer in your group. March seventh and Natasha are each given to you without spending a dime and match these roles respectively.
Ought to I roll on the newbie gacha warp banner?
The consensus is form of cut up on whether or not or not you need to do that. The newbie banner is discounted (costing eight Star Rail Passes as a substitute of 10 for 10 pulls). After 50 pulls (40 Star Rail Passes), you’re assured a random five-star character from the common banner. The common warp banner means that you can decide a normal five-star character one time, if you happen to do a whopping 300 pulls.
Based mostly on private expertise with regard to Hoyoverse video games alone, I might advocate simply pulling on the newbie warp utilizing any Star Rail Passes rewarded to you. Don’t flip your Stellar Jade into further passes — solely use the passes the sport really palms to you. You need to use any further Star Rail Passes on the usual warp after.
300 pulls is so much, and if you happen to don’t plan on spending cash on this sport, it will possibly take some time to amass the Star Rail Passes to hit this purpose, even with the bountiful beginning rewards Hoyoverse palms out.
Finally, based mostly on Genshin Influence, energy creep shall be plentiful in Honkai: Star Rail. No matter characters you get from the the newbie or normal warp shall be helpful initially, however it’s a toss up in the event that they’ll be helpful in six months or past that. That stated, if you happen to don’t get the strongest character round at first, perhaps the meta will shift and so they’ll be extra helpful down the road.
Whether or not or not you need to use the 40 passes that will go in direction of the usual warp on the newbie warp is as much as you and the way a lot you worth particular five-star characters over others. That brings us to the subsequent query…
What Honkai: Star Rail characters are the strongest at launch?
Most gamers are pointing in direction of Welt and Bronya being the perfect normal warp characters as a result of their debuffs and buffs are extraordinarily helpful. Nevertheless, this could change as extra characters launch over time and the meta shifts.
As of penning this, DPS calculators have Seele and Jing Yuan on the high of the single-target and multi-target charts, respectively. That stated, you don’t want to tug for these characters, as there are four-star characters, like Sushang and Serval, who can nonetheless dish out massive numbers when constructed accurately. These calculators additionally depend on particular builds and conditions that you could be not use.
That every one stated, this can all change as patches roll out, so we don’t advocate going all-in on a personality this early except you actually like them.
When you’ve got extra questions, drop them beneath, and we are able to do our greatest to reply based mostly on what we all know from the sport’s beta.