5 beginner mistakes to avoid in Honkai Star Rail

Honkai Star Rail is a new turn-based role-playing game from the developers of Genshin Impact. It brings many new ideas and fun mechanics to the table. While players familiar with Genshin Impact, Honkai Impact 3rd, and gacha games may be familiar with the usual drill, the game can be a bit daunting for newcomers. Eager players may be overwhelmed with the game's many options, features, and gacha - which is precisely why this guide will detail common beginner mistakes one should avoid during their journey in Honkai Star Rail.

Note: Minor spoilers for Honkai Star Rail will follow. Additionally, this is a subjective list that reflects the writer's opinions.

---

5 common beginner mistakes players must not make in Honkai Star Rail

Failures draw the path to success, and it is no surprise that a fair share of us have already made quite a few mistakes in Honkai Star Rail. Keeping that in mind, here are the five most common beginner mistakes one should avoid, as noted by us during the first few action-packed hours of the game:

---

5) Completely ignoring starter units

Starter units hold tremendous value in the game (Image via HoYoverse)

While it may be tempting to ignore and level up the 5-star units players acquire via the various in-game events and login bonuses of Honkai Star Rail, 4-star characters will remain the essential carry for a sizable portion of the game's lifespan.

Gacha characters can be expensive to collect, and as such, 4-stars are a viable alternative for clearing in-game content such as story and Cocoons.

One of the standout units is the protagonist, an impressive physical damage dealer. Additionally, the protagonist can receive Eidolon upgrades via the campaign, making them incredibly versatile. Dan Heng and Natasha are other units to watch for their excellent DPS output and support capabilities.

---

4) Not reading combat descriptions and enemy stats

Combat in Star Rail can be exhilarating and flashy, but amidst all the excitement, it can be easy to lose track of what is happening. While sufficiently raising your units will allow you to auto most battles, more complicated challenges will not be a walk in the park.

Therefore it is highly recommended to have a feel of the battle system beyond the prologue - reading enemy descriptions and their weaknesses. Each enemy has their own unique set of stats and immunities accessed by pressing Z on the PC. Additional information, such as debuffs and enemy movesets, are also described in detail via the in-game help menu, a handy tool.

---

3) Rushing exploration

While exploration may not be the proper focus of Honkai Star Rail (unlike its elder sibling, Genshin Impact), it still presents a beautiful pseudo-open world in that players can immerse themselves.

Exploration is essential as it helps build the narrative of the game's many worlds and allows players to gather resources to make their roster.

Additionally, keen players can find many treasure chests scattered around the map and other breakable objects that reward them with in-game items, including Stellar Jade, which will undoubtedly be helpful in their journey and summons.

---

2) Accidentally wasting Stellar Jades on the Stellar Warp banner

The standard banner is a trap for many (Image via HoYoverse)

While it may seem obvious to most, in the excitement of the gacha, several players can make wrong decisions that ultimately doom the progression of their account.

One of the most common mistakes has to be players accidentally summoning on the Stellar Warp banner instead of the Limited Warp banner. To make it clear, Stellar Warp features permanent characters that can be obtained at any point of the game's lifespan, while the Limited banners (as the name implies) feature characters that do not return to the game's gacha pool - or at least until HoYoverse decides to rerun the said unit.

While using Star Rail Passes on the Stellar Warp banner is safe, players should be careful not to waste their hard-earned Stellar Jades on this banner by mistake. Saving for limited units is a great way to be in the "meta" of a live service title such as Honkai Star Rail and will prolong your account's usefulness in non-campaign content.

---

1) Ignoring the Store

The in-game Store presents items that aid in gacha and exploration (Image via HoYoverse)

The Store is probably the most ignored aspect of the game, especially for newbies.

While the in-game shop primarily offers in-app purchases against real-world money, it also includes several items that can be purchased for using Embers and Starlight, which are dropped when players roll on the gacha. These two currencies mostly buy additional Star Rail Passes/Special Star Rail Passes and Light Cones.

Other items include ascension and EXP materials, which are of lower priority.

The shop is updated at regular intervals, so players should not forget to exchange these rewards from time to time.

Honkai Star Rail was released for PC and mobile devices on April 26, 2023, as a free-to-play RPG. A PlayStation port is also in development.