Honkai: Star Rail Early Game Guide

If you're anything like me, you've probably already been playing a bit of Honkai: Star Rail. I won't lie, having previously played Genshin Impact and a lot of other gacha games, I wasn't sure I would love this game. Truth be told, I kind of hoped I wouldn't so I could try it and drop it. Needless to say, I somehow played 5+ hours on the first day and tried to get through as much as I could. It was way past bedtime by the time I took a break.

This guide, I hope will help you through some of the early game stuff in the game. It was quite a bit of trial and error to get through some of the earlier parts of the game.

Rerolling

So you're thinking about rerolling to get the current limited banner character? Well, there is good news and bad news. First, the good news, rerolling in the game is technically possible. The bad news, this is a MiHoYo game and rerolling will take forever. That's not to even mention that you can't even roll on the limited banner with the regular reroll method. You only really get tickets to roll on the standard and beginner banners.

If you still want to do it. You'll want to have a bunch of email addresses ready as you'll need to make a new account each time in order to do so. Then you'll have to go through the tutorial which takes close to 30 to 40 minutes to complete. Once you do, you'll be able to roll 20 times using the Star Rail Passes from the pre-registration bonus. If you hit Trailblaze Level 5, you'll be able to do 10 more rolls.

The starter banner guarantees a 5★ character within the first 50 rolls on it. Then the banner disappears for good. The characters you can get are Bailu, Bronya, Clara, Gepard, Himeko, Welt, and Yanqing.

Of these characters, Bronya is by far the best universally. She's just a strong support character. Bailu is also a decent pull as she's just a really strong healer. Not to mention, she'll help a lot in the early game.

Redemption Codes

Start off the game with a few bonus resources with the following gift codes:

You can redeem the codes online here or using the in-game redemption under the "..." section near the top right of your menu.

Early Game Tips

Having played the game now for about 3 days and closer to 15 hours, here are some tips, I picked up along the way.

Gameplay Tips

• Getting through the tutorial takes close to 30-40 minutes. Take the time to learn the basics and the system since most of the stuff is unskippable anyway.
• Once you finally get control of your character, you'll also get to use March 7th and Dan Heng. They will be a large part of your starting team.
• As you progress through the Space Station, you'll find chests and various items along the way. No worries, you can come back after you complete the story here.
• Make sure to upgrade your characters and light cones to level 20 when you can. You'll be using these characters for quite some time. Not to mention, your main characters has to be used in later parts of the game so feel free to level them up.
• You want to start doing your first 50-roll with the 5★ character earlier rather than later. The units you roll and Light Cones will determine how to build your team.
• Once you finish the main story here at the Space Station, you'll move on to the Ice Planet. The earlier you get through the main story, the easier it is to start farming.
• Make sure to farm the Simulated Universe 1 when you can for more resources and more rolls as well. This is a good weekly source to farm for additional resources.
• Once you unlock your first Calyx, you can just use all your Trailblaze Power/Resin. You have daily missions that as you to use it and you also get both farming materials and Trailblaze Experience to level up as well.
• Don't forget to visit Pom-Pom once you bring up your Trailblaze Level, you get rewards for each level you go up.
• Make sure to buy the discounted Standard and Limited banner Rail Passes from the Embers Exchange each month.
• When you unlock the Nameless Honor/Battle Pass and Daily Quests, make sure to do those for additional rewards.
• You'll need to do some exploring and side quests to hit the required Trailblaze levels to move on with the main quest. You'll likely get stuck around the 20, 24, and 29 level marks. Be sure to do your daily quests and use your Trailblaze Power/Resin.
• Once you hit Trailblaze Level 20, do the ascension quest to level up your world. The enemies will be harder but the rewards will increase with it.

Character Tips

• Unless you roll extremely well, you'll likely be using your starter units for quite some time.
• Prioritize leveling up your characters when you can. Dan Heng is a strong early-game carry. You'll also need to level up your Trailblazer as they are required for story quest progression.
• Make sure your Light Cones match your character's path. You get bonuses for it doing so.
• Once you unlock Relics, you'll want to equip them as soon as possible. Sets are important and give you a strong boost to your characters. Don't worry too much about the stats on them. You can just level them for now. Trust me, as a Genshin player, you'll be farming the higher-end versions of them and doing it until you find the most optimal pieces.
• Don't forget to level up your Light Cones and ascend them when possible. There is a point of diminishing returns, and you should consider prioritizing your character levels at that point. Your main character will need to be at least level 30 by the end of the Ice Planet.
• In terms of team building you'll want at least 1 DPS character, 1 sub-DPS character, 1 support character, and 1 shielder/healer. You'll be getting a healer about 1/2 way through the Ice Planet.

Combat Tips

• In terms of team building you'll want at least 1 DPS character, 1 sub-DPS character, 1 support character, and 1 shielder/healer. You'll be getting a healer about 1/2 way through the Ice Planet.
• Watch for enemy weaknesses and ensure your team can deal that type of damage. You don't want to go into a fight without at least a unit of that type to break them.
• The Break Effect is going to be your best friend. It interrupts enemy attacks and also does additional damage to them. This will be especially important against bosses later on.
• Make sure your team has both units that generate and spend skill points. It's great to have all these units that have great skills but someone has to just attack normally to generate them.
• Turtling is a legitimate early-game strategy. It doesn't matter if it takes you a few more turns to kill the enemy. As long as your party doesn't wipe, you can still win the fight.
• Remember to use your Technique Points on character skills outside of combat. There are plenty of recovery containers in the world.
• You can always use your 4th slot to borrow a support character from a friend. Make some good friends with good characters.

Leveling Tips

• Complete the Daily Training for 1000 EXP daily.
• Do the side and companion missions. They give good EXP for the time spent on top of other rewards.
• Spend your Trailblaze Power/Resin. Just spending it on Calyx and other farming missions can help you get to your next level much faster.
• Explore the world for chests, encounters, fights, and special events will give you EXP to level faster.
• Complete Operation Briefing missions as all of them give EXP and other resources as well.

Hopefully, these tips will help you out on your journey across the galaxy. I sure wish I had known some of these things when I first started. Good luck if you're rolling hard on the current Seele banner!

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Last Update: April 28, 2023