Honkai Star Rail wish counter: How many pulls are needed for a guaranteed 5-star character?

The wish counter in Honkai Star Rail, known popularly as the warp counter, allows players to get guaranteed 5-star characters at a certain point in the game. Two ratings are assigned to entities in the title: 4 stars and 5 stars. However, the 5-star characters are the main attraction. Thanks to a system that HoYoverse has implemented, players won’t always have to rely on their luck to improve their squads.

The developer has implemented a pity counter that works closely with the embedded wish counter. To benefit from it, players must understand how the system works in the first place. This will help them plan better when spending the Star Rail banners on different event wraps.

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Honkai Star Rail’s wish counter works similarly to that of Genshin Impact

While Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact are two different games, they share similarities since HoYoverse (formerly miHoYo) developed both of them. The pity systems on both titles are the same, and the term wish counter has to do with Genshin Impact as well.

No matter what the community chooses to call it, it’s vital to know when players will be guaranteed a 5-star character. Honkai Star Rail's pity rate is set at 90 pulls. Both single and multiple contribute towards that counter. Once someone hits the 90th pull on a wrap banner, they’re certain to get a 5-star character.

Moreover, the warp counter carries over between banners, but in a complex fashion. The existing pity from one Highlight banner will get carried onto the next one when the latter releases. However, the wish counter for Highlight character banners is separate from that of the light cone banners. The permanent banner also has a separate pity system, set at 90 pulls.

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What happens when the wish counter hits the pity point?

Once the pity point is reached, players are assured a 5-star character. There’s a 50% chance it will be the character highlighted on the banner. If it’s not so, the next 5 star players get guaranteed to be the highlighted character.

Similarly, there’s a 75% chance that the 5-star light cone you get will be the highlighted one. Any time you have remaining pity on either type of highlight banner, they will get carried over automatically to the next one.

It's worth noting that any pulls made on the permanent banner in Honkai Star Rail will be separate from all of this. While the pity rate is the same (90), any highlight banner pull won't be included with it.

Additionally, players will be able to choose a 5-star character from an exclusive pool once they complete 300 pulls on the permanent banner.