Honkai Star Rail Guide: Gameplay, Characters, Light Cones, and Events Explained

Honkai: Star Rail is the latest game in the Honkai series produced by the HoyoVerse. If you are familiar with the game Genshin Impact, you might already know who Hoyoverse is. This Chinese gaming company produces one of the best games and has excellent visuals and gameplay with deep stories and narrations. One of the best features of Honkai is the world-building and the story plot that never gets boring. Its stunning visuals pull you in with their charm and make you stay for the ultimate gaming experience.

Despite there being confusion about Honkai, it is not a spin-off of Genshin Impact, but a new game in itself. The Star rail starts with the Herta space station being attacked, with the trailblazer getting their memory erased by Kafka. The story follows the path of the traveller and explores the truth of their forgotten enemy in this exciting video game.

What is Honkai Star Rail?

Honkai Star Rail is a turn-based role-playing game, where you can collect characters and make a team of up to four to fight against your enemies using the different powers and specialties of each character. You can obtain these characters via in-game missions or through the game's gacha system. A gacha system is when you spend currency to earn rewards, except they are random, which means you might not get the reward you want and are depends on luck due to the game's mechanics.

In this game, you can progress your character by upgrading their stats using new relics, different tools, and equipping light cones. Each character can be upgraded to level 80. Once you reach this level, the character will need to ascend so they can upgrade higher.

Honkai Star Rail Gameplay

The Honkai Star Rail is a fast-paced combat RPG game. You can make a team of four characters having different element specialties. The current version has seven unique elements with eight character paths. This game is a frequently expanding game with regular updates and zone additions. There are two modes in Honkai Star Rail: Overworld and battle. You can explore the zones in the overworld, but as soon as you spot the enemy, the mode will change to battle mode. Here are a few pointers through which you can understand the gameplay:

• Combat Play: The Honkai Star Rail is focused on the combat play, where you can switch characters and use their specific element abilities to create a unique power code. The key to a successful attack and surviving the game is learning fast skills and strategically planning your attack.
• Progression: Each character will have their path and progression in the story. To sustain your character and make it more powerful with the increasing levels, you will need to upgrade them by upgrading traces, light cones, and Eidolons.
• Puzzles: The Honkai game also provides you with different puzzles to solve a new mystery or discover a new place. This matches the story plot of the traveler who is in search of answers.
• World building: unlike Genshin Impact, Honkai is not an open-world game; rather, you explore much more compact zones.

Honkai Star Rail Light Cones

The Light cones are a weapon or equipment that all characters can have to boost their stats. There are different kinds of Light cones ranging from three-star to five-star. The five-star light cones are a rarity in the system, with the 3 stars being the most common. Similar to the character's ascension path, the light cones also have a level one and a level eighty. And follows the same process of ascension. However, there is a twist.

The light cone has a special passive upgrade called “Light cone abilities” that can be used by the characters who only have the cones' abilities tied in their path. The characters that do not match the light cones' path will not be able to use this feature to upgrade their stats. There are five ranks in Light cone abilities, which will increase by using the superimpose function to duplicate the cone's abilities. Every time you earn a new light cone, you will also earn some different currency like Undying Embers or Undying Starlights, which you can use later for the gacha system.

Honkai Star Rail Trailblazer

The Trailblazer is the main character of Honkai Star Rail. As the Kafka and wolf erase the memories of the trailblazer, the main journey of the Trailblazer starts in the game. The players are given two character choices: Stelle (female) or Caelus (Male), to continue their journey. The Trailblazer starts as Physical Destructor, but can change paths after Level 24 of the Trailblaze Mission in Jarilo VI. Changing elements and paths make the trailblazer more fluent, and they are able to gain new abilities to progress in the game. You can also get different personalities that are generally player-defined.

Honkai Star Rail Gacha System

Honkai Star Rail Gacha System is called “Warp”. You can get rare characters and other rewards by using your pulls in the warp system. There are four types of Warps for the Honkai Star Rail:

• Departure Warp: This is for the new beginners in the game. This banner allows you a maximum of 50 pulls, with a discount of 20 percent on multiple pools. This starter pack guarantees a five-star character if you do the whole 50 pulls in the game under this banner. There's also a 5.1 percent chance of receiving a four-starter character and light cones.
• Character Event Warp: This is a time-limited banner that guarantees you a four-star character every 10 pulls. The featured character also receives a drop rate boost. You can also obtain a random five-star character in 90 pulls and a featured five-star character in 180 pulls.
• Regular Warp: The regular warp is similar to the departure warp, except for allowing the players 1 pull or 10 pulls. This will cost 1 1-star trail pass for one pull and a 10-star rail pass for 10 pulls.
• Light Cone Event Warp: The Light cone event warp is also somewhat similar to the Character event warp. This is also a time-limited banner with 10 warps, guaranteeing a 4-star light cone and a featured light cone drop boost. The 5-star Light cone is guaranteed with 90 pulls, and the featured one will have 180 pulls.

Honkai Star Rail Events

Honkai Star Rail events are limited-time activities in the game. There are two types of events, permanent and current. The current events are only there for a specific time and period. The permanent events can be played anytime in the game and are recurring events. Some of the permanent events are:

• Daily Check-In: This is a login event that gives rewards for logging in daily on the Hoyo account.
• Trailblazing Will: Once you unlock the travel log, you will reach the trailblazing event. Complete the levels to claim the rewards. Level 5 will give you 10 Star Rail Passes, Level 15 will give you 10 Star Rail Passes, Level 25 will give you 10 Star Rail Passes and 800 Stellar Jade, and Level 35 will give you 10 Star Rail Passes and 800 Stellar Jade.
• Starkissed Synchrony: This event is also unlocked after you complete the early Trailblazing levels. You can get Herta, Natasha as characters and the Trailblaze timer from completing the challenges and missions.
• Turquoise's Reverie: You need to complete the trailblazing event level 21 to unlock this event. You will have to complete the Forgotten Hall Memory Stage 3 challenge to receive the 4-star character Qingque permanently.
• Starlit Homecoming: This event is unlocked after the trailblazing level 10 event. Other requirements include that you must not have logged in for 14 days. The last activation of this event must also be older than 40 days.
• Retire Upon the Perch: The requirements for this event include completing the Trailblaze Mission: "Xianzhou Luofu, A Dragon Gallant, Its Ocean Distant". You will get the Yukong character as a reward.
• Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster: This event will unlock after completing the Simulated Universe: World 5. You get some rewards by completing this event.
• Camping in the snow: The required step is to complete the Adventure Mission: "Youci's Clever Decor". You will receive the character “lynx” for completing this event.
• When Charmony Rings Out: This event will require unlocking the trailblazing mission “ The Return”. You can receive the Trailblazer's improved combat mechanics for completing this event.
• Along with Heroic Spirits: After unlocking the travel log, you can play this event for various in-game rewards.

Honkai Star Rail Platforms & System Requirements

The Honkai Star Rail game is a free-to-play game that you can play across all platforms. This is available for PC, mobile, and PS5. Although it is not yet available for Nintendo Switch and PS4.

PC

Click on the blue Download link to download Honkai Star Rail PC. Given below are the minimum requirements you need for this game to work on your personal computer.

Consoles (PS)

This game is only available on PS5 at this time. You can download the game by clicking on the Blue link.

Android

To download the mobile version of the game, you can click on this link or search for the game on the Play Store app.

IOS

To download the mobile version of the game, you can click on this link or search for the game on the App Store app