Honkai: Star Rail: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Honkai: Star Rail in Version 4.6: turn-based combat fundamentals, Paths and elements, relics and light cones, daily Trailblaze Power spending, endgame modes, Warp pity and who to pull, including the new Elation Path.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Version 4.6 "Dance With the Beast Before Moonrise" (live September 27 NA / September 28 EU and Asia). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Push the Trailblaze Missions. Story unlocks worlds, Trailblaze Level, Equilibrium Levels, endgame modes and a lot of Stellar Jade.
Never cap Trailblaze Power. Spend it daily; early on on character EXP and Trace materials, later on relics and Planar Ornaments.
Weakness Break is everything. Hit enemies with elements they are weak to (icons above their health bar) to break Toughness, delay their turn and apply a debuff.
Manage Skill Points. The team shares a pool of Skill Points. Basic attacks generate them, Skills spend them. Pair one Skill Point-hungry character with one or two generous ones.
Use Techniques before combat. Attacking an enemy in the overworld with a Technique or a weakness-matching character starts the fight with an advantage.
Build one strong team of four first: a damage dealer, a buffer/debuffer, a second damage dealer or support, and a sustain unit.
Pity is 90 on character Warps. Losing a 50/50 guarantees the featured 5-star next time.
Endgame rewards reset regularly. Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction and Apocalyptic Shadow are your main recurring Stellar Jade sources.
Gilgamesh is free (Fate collab) for logging in until the end of Version 4.6 — claim him if you have not.

What Is Current (Version 4.6)

Item	Details
Version	4.6 "Dance With the Beast Before Moonrise"
New 5-star	Pearl — Ice, Path of Elation (support). New 5-star Light Cone: Colors for Tomorrow
Reruns	Evanescia (Elation; Sep 27 to Oct 21), Mortenax Blade (Oct 21 to Nov 10)
Pearl banner window	September 27 (NA) to November 10, 2026 server time
Story	The Trailblazer heads to the Life Sciences Institute in Astropolis to stop Madam Yabuli's scheme to "weaponize the husk," tied to a Voracity-worshipping faction. The arc builds toward Nihilux - Aha, the Elation 5-star expected in 4.7.
Events	Love, Ghosts & Robots (mechatron workshop event, Sep 28 to Nov 11), Interastral Peace Gala: One Take (combat reality-show event, Oct 21 to Nov 11), Astral Slammers Squad! co-op challenges
Bonus drops	Double Planar Ornaments (Oct 12 to 25), double Golden/Crimson Calyx rewards (Oct 30 to Nov 11)
New system	Astral Imagea — obtain companions for your adventures; co-op "Astral Slammers Squad!" challenges
Free character	Gilgamesh (Fate collab) via login, available since July 24 until the end of 4.6

Coming next (announced): Nihilux / Aha (5-star Quantum, Elation) is expected in 4.7, and the Zenless Zone Zero crossover with Ellen and Astra Yao as playable characters is set for Version 4.8 (winter 2026).

Pearl in one paragraph

Pearl is a support: she consumes her "Certified Banger" to offset a portion of damage for all allies and enters a "Deep Learning" state that raises team ATK. She fits best in Elation teams alongside characters such as Aventurine - Waveflair, Evanescia, Sparxie or Yao Guang; check her kit page for exact Elation synergies before pulling.

Combat Fundamentals

Turn order and actions

Speed (SPD) determines how often a character acts. The Action Order bar on the left shows who moves next.
Basic ATK generates a Skill Point and some Energy.
Skill spends a Skill Point for a stronger effect.
Ultimate uses Energy and can be cast almost any time, even out of turn.
Talents are passives; Techniques are overworld abilities used before a fight.

Weakness Break

Every enemy has a Toughness bar and listed elemental weaknesses. Depleting Toughness with matching elements causes a Weakness Break: the enemy's action is delayed, it takes Break damage and receives an element-specific effect.

Element	Break effect
Physical	Bleed (damage over time based on enemy max HP)
Fire	Burn
Ice	Freeze (skips the enemy's turn)
Lightning	Shock
Wind	Wind Shear (stacking damage over time)
Quantum	Entanglement (delays action further)
Imaginary	Imprisonment (delays and slows)

Break Effect builds (the "Super Break" archetype with characters like Harmony Trailblazer, Firefly, Boothill, Ruan Mei) turn this into their main damage source.

Paths

Path	Role
Destruction	Sturdy damage dealers, often HP-costing
The Hunt	Single-target damage
Erudition	Multi-target damage
Harmony	Buffers (ATK/CRIT/SPD, action advance)
Nihility	Debuffers and damage over time
Preservation	Shielders
Abundance	Healers
Remembrance	Summon/memosprite-based units
Elation	Newest Path (4.x) with its own Elation damage and team synergies — Yao Guang, Sparxie, Trailblazer (Lightning), Silver Wolf Lv.999, Evanescia, Aventurine - Waveflair, Pearl, and the upcoming Nihilux - Aha

Light Cones only give their passive to characters of the matching Path.

Gear and Progression

Trailblaze Power spending

Activity	What it gives
Calyx (Golden)	Character EXP, Light Cone EXP, Credits
Calyx (Crimson)	Trace materials
Stagnant Shadow	Ascension materials
Echo of War	Weekly boss drops for Trace upgrades (rewards limited to three runs per week)
Cavern of Corrosion	Relics (4-piece sets: Head, Hands, Body, Feet)
Divergent / Simulated Universe	Planar Ornaments (2-piece sets: Sphere, Link Rope)

Reserved Trailblaze Power stores overflow up to a limit — convert it with Fuel or just log in daily.

Relics and Planar Ornaments

Slot	Main stats to look for
Body	CRIT Rate / CRIT DMG (DPS), Outgoing Healing (healers), Effect Hit Rate (debuffers)
Feet	SPD for almost everyone; ATK% for some DPS
Planar Sphere	Elemental DMG Bonus (DPS), HP%/DEF% for sustain
Link Rope	Energy Regeneration Rate for supports, ATK%/Break Effect for DPS

Speed tuning matters more than in most games. Many supports want to act before the DPS; common targets are clean SPD breakpoints that give extra turns in the first cycle.
Upgrade relics to +3/+6 before committing: if the random sub-stats go wrong, stop there.
Use the Relic Remake and Self-Modeling Resin (from dismantling) to fix the worst pieces.

Traces and Eidolons

Traces are the skill tree. Level Skill and Ultimate on DPS first; Talent on characters whose passive does the work.
Eidolons come from duplicates. E0 is fully viable; for 4-stars, E6 is usually free over time.

Account levels

Trailblaze Level raises Equilibrium Level through Trials. Higher Equilibrium means better drops and tougher enemies.
Equilibrium Level also raises the level cap for your characters and gear.

Warps (Gacha) Explained

Banner	Hard pity	Featured odds	Notes
Character Event Warp	90	50/50; guaranteed after a loss	Pity and guarantee carry over
Light Cone Event Warp	80	75/25	Separate pity
Stellar Warp (standard)	90	—	Use Star Rail Passes only

160 Stellar Jade = 1 Star Rail Special Pass.
Soft pity makes 5-stars much likelier in the high 70s; budget around 75-90 Warps per featured 5-star.
Embers and Starlight from duplicates buy Passes and select 4-stars in the shop monthly.

Endgame Modes

Mode	Focus	Tip
Memory of Chaos (Forgotten Hall)	Two teams, cycle limits, tough single/multi enemies	Speed-tuned teams and sustain matter
Pure Fiction	Waves of adds, score-based	AoE and follow-up attacks shine
Apocalyptic Shadow	Boss-focused, score-based	Break and burst damage shine
Anomaly Arbitration	Permanent top-end boss challenge (Knight stages, then "King in Check")	For fully built accounts
Simulated / Divergent Universe	Roguelike runs	Planar Ornaments and weekly Stellar Jade

Each mode rotates on a set schedule with new buffs ("Memory Turbulence," etc.). Read the buffs before you pick teams: many cycles are designed around one archetype.

Team Archetypes

Archetype	Core idea	Example pieces
Hypercarry	One DPS gets every buff	A DPS plus two Harmony/Nihility supports plus sustain
Follow-up attack	Allies' actions trigger extra attacks	Topaz, Feixiao, Robin, Aventurine
Break / Super Break	Deal damage via Weakness Break	Harmony Trailblazer, Firefly, Boothill, Ruan Mei, Lingsha
Damage over time	Stack Burn/Shock/Bleed/Wind Shear	Kafka, Black Swan, Guinaifen, Sampo
Elation (4.x)	Elation damage and synergies	Pearl, Evanescia, Sparxie, Yao Guang, Aventurine - Waveflair, (upcoming) Nihilux - Aha

Always include one sustain unit (Abundance or Preservation) until you are confident the fight ends quickly.

F2P Priorities

Build what you get from story and events — free 4-stars and the Trailblazer's Paths are genuinely strong.
Warp for limited supports that fit many teams (Harmony and Nihility units) before situational DPS.
Use the Express Supply Pass if you spend anything; it is the best value.
Clear endgame modes every reset — they are the biggest recurring Stellar Jade source.
Save Stellar Jade from events and codes; do not refresh Trailblaze Power with it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Letting Trailblaze Power cap.
Ignoring SPD. A slow support wrecks the whole rotation.
Spreading resources thin. Finish one team before starting a second.
Wasting Skill Points by pairing two heavy spenders without a Skill Point generator.
Pulling light cones before characters. Characters change your account more.
Skipping the event schedule — double Planar Ornament and Calyx windows in 4.6 are the best times to farm.

Advanced Tips

Action advance and SPD breakpoints: plan supports to act right before the DPS each cycle.
Ultimate timing: since Ultimates can be used out of turn, hold them to interrupt a dangerous enemy action or to finish a break window.
Break timing: save your big hits for when an enemy is broken — broken enemies take more damage.
Use the Technique opener: many characters' Techniques grant an opening buff, Energy, or free Toughness damage; read them and start every fight with the best one.
Read the enemy list: Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow show weaknesses before you enter — build around them.
Relic targeting: farm a domain that drops sets for two characters at once to halve waste.

FAQ

Should I pull for Pearl? If you already play Elation (e.g. own Aventurine - Waveflair) or want to invest in the Elation Path ahead of Aha in 4.7, yes. Otherwise save for a support that fits your existing teams.

When is the Zenless Zone Zero crossover? Version 4.8, expected winter 2026, with Ellen and Astra Yao playable.

How do I get Gilgamesh for free? Log in during the event window (open since July 24, 2026); he stays claimable until the end of Version 4.6, around November 10.

What is Astral Imagea? A new 4.6 gameplay system that lets you obtain companions for your adventures; the co-op "Astral Slammers Squad!" challenges launched alongside it.

Does pity carry over between banners? Yes, within the same banner type, including the guarantee after a lost 50/50.

What are the best stats for my DPS? Generally CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG body, SPD or ATK% feet, Elemental DMG sphere, ATK% rope — but Break and DoT characters prefer Break Effect and Effect Hit Rate respectively.