Beginner priorities
Last reviewed July 2026
Honkai: Star Rail rewards focusing a small roster. This page is a first-month checklist — not a 10,000-word wiki dump and not a stale “Version X.Y meta” article.
Week-one checklist
- Push main story until free characters and permanent Jade sources open up.
- Pick one DPS and one sustain (healer or shielder) as your investment core.
- Spend Trailblaze Power on ascension + Trace mats for those two before Cavern spam.
- Redeem codes and claim daily/weekly missions.
- Track Power with the Trailblaze Power timer so you don’t sit capped.
Who to level (early)
Free / early units change with story progress, but the roles stay the same. Level the people you actually put in the party.
Trailblazer
Always available — Path can switch; keep leveled with the account.
March 7th
Early sustain / support options depending on Path form — great safety net.
Dan Heng
Early Hunt DPS for story and farming when you lack a better carry.
Asta / Natasha / Herta / Serval
Common early Harmony / Abundance / Erudition pieces — use who you pull for free.
More detailed role notes: early teams guide. Character pages: characters hub.
Resources that matter
- Character EXP & Credits — keep your core pair at the current level cap.
- Traces — prioritize Basic / Skill / Ultimate you press every fight. Skip luxury nodes early.
- Light Cones — matching Path unlocks the full passive. A 4★ on-Path cone beats a random 5★ off-Path for most new accounts.
- Relics — correct main stats first; substats later. Use the relic scorer as a weighted helper, not gospel.
- Echo of War (weekly) — claim specialty Trace mats every week.
Full farm map: farming guide.
Jade & warps
- Clear permanent content (story, exploration, achievements) before panic-pulling.
- Learn soft/hard pity on the pity calculator or practice on the pull simulator.
- Eidolons (duplicates) are optional. New characters usually beat early Eidolons for account strength.
Ignore early
- Building eight characters to “have options”
- Infinite Cavern farming before Traces
- Chasing every limited banner
- Guides that still say “World Level” or invent day-locked Calyx calendars