Honkai: Star Rail terms and mechanics, explained

Honkai: Star Rail is a mobile gacha game throughYou can also find out more about the following: through, and uses a ton of the same mechanics that you’ll see in other games of the same genre.

While the game has tons of similar UI elements and general mechanics as Hoyoverse’s other games, Honkai Impact 3rd and Genshin Impact, it’s actually way easier to grasp if you just know what all these mumbo-jumbo terms mean.

Here we explain the mechanics of modern Gacha games and all their terms.

Information about your account

• Trailblaze level: Your account level. Pom Pom rewards you for your progress and increases your Equilibrium levels.
• Equilibrium LevelYou can increase the difficulty of your game. This is the level at which you can increase your character’s power.
• Trailblaze Power: Your stamina. Spending this will only allow you to play certain elements. The maximum is 180. Six minutes is required to replenish one Trailblaze Power, and it takes 18 hours to recharge all 180.

Characters and Equipment

• The PathsCharacter Types, categorized into Defensive, Healing, Area of Effect, etc. roles. The Light Cones are different for each of the seven classes.
• Light Cones: Weapons. Weapons are your main pieces of gear. They can be obtained through the Gacha, or by farming lower-rare ones in various battles.
• Traces: Character skill levels. You can upgrade your characters with easy materials and increase their damage.
• RelicsSimilar sub-equipments Genshin Impact artifacts. There are set bonuses for them and they can also roll random substats.
• EidolonYou can improve the stats and abilities of characters by increasing their Eidolon.

Hoyoverse image via Polygon

• The Talent of OthersAn ability which can boost the character’s stats, make them perform additional attacks etc.
• SkillAbility that needs skill points in order to be used.
• UltimateA powerful power that can only be activated with a fully charged ultimate gauge.
• TechniqueA skill that can be used in combat or outside to complement a forthcoming fight.

Daily and weekly newspapers

• The Nameless HonourBattle pass. The battle pass is a paid-for service that allows you to upgrade your level by purchasing additional rewards.
• Everyday Training: A set of five tasks you can do to earn “activity.” For each 100 activity you earn, you get a handful of Stellar Jade.

Hoyoverse image via Polygon

• You can also find out more about Assignments.Send away characters and get different items. The longer you send them away, the more materials they’ll bring back. You can use the characters that you’ve sent away in battle.
• SynthesizeWith this easy-to-use system, you can create food that is healing and transform small items into larger ones.
• Simulated Universe: A roguelite combat mode where you travel to different “worlds” and take different paths to fight enemies and earn buffs that are only active in this mode. It’s very similar to Honkai Impact 3rd’s Elysium Realm, though on a simpler scale. Reward levels reset weekly.
• Forgotten Hall: It’s a combat mode that requires you to eliminate enemies in a set number of rounds to receive rewards. It’s similar to Genshin Impact’s Spiral Abyss.

The Gacha currency

• Stellar JadeYou earn this currency by completing missions, opening chests and other activities.
• Star Rail Special PassYou can use this currency to buy the gacha banners at events. They cost 160 Stellar Jewels each.
• Star Rail PassThese cost 160 Stellar Jade each. They cost 160 Stellar Jewels each.
• The Undying StarlightThis currency is earned by achieving four or more stars via the gacha. This currency can be spent on additional passes, characters with four stars, or light cones that have five stars.
• The Undying FlamesYou can spend this currency on more passes and upgrade materials. Spend this currency on upgrades, passes or more materials.
• Oneiric ShardsYou can only purchase premium currency with real cash. This currency can be converted to Stellar Jade for a 1:1 ratio or used to purchase special bundles.
• Credits:Common currency is used for upgrading characters, buying items in NPC shops and so on.

Materials for agriculture and farming equipment

• Calyx Golden: The Farming Stages are used to obtain character EXP and Credits, in addition to Light Cone materials. Trailblaze Power is required to run.

Hoyoverse image via Polygon

• Calyx (Crimson). The stages are used to harvest the material for Trace Cone and Light Cone Ascension. Running costs 10 Trailblaze Power.
• Dark Shadows: Character ascension materials are dropped by small-scale bosses. It costs 30 Trailblaze Power per run.
• Caverns Of Corrosion The farming stages are for the Relics. Running costs Trailblaze Power 40.
• Echo of War Weekly bosses who drop weapons with four stars and trace materials. You can run this only 3 times a week and it costs you 30 Trailblaze Power.