Honkai: Star Rail is on Version 4.4 — the Fate/Star Rail Part 2 collab. Come in cold and the game throws a lot of systems at you fast. This guide skips the tutorial talk and gets you from "made an account" to "clearing Memory of Chaos" as quickly as the pity system allows.
Reroll for Gilgamesh if you want the strongest 4.4 DPS, or Aventurine for the best sustain. Run the free Trailblazer main story to unlock the wish system, build one team around your first 5-star, and hit Trailblaze Level 40 before you spend a single Stellar Jade on artifact farming.
Paths — the one system to understand first
Every character has one of eight Paths: Destruction, Hunt, Erudition, Harmony, Nihility, Preservation, Abundance, or Remembrance. Paths decide role:
- Destruction — durable single-target damage.
- Hunt — single-target burst DPS.
- Erudition — AoE damage.
- Harmony — party buff support.
- Nihility — debuff and DoT.
- Preservation — shield tank.
- Abundance — heal support.
- Remembrance — summon-based amp (added post-2.0).
Every team needs one damage-dealing Path, one support Path (Harmony or Nihility), one sustain Path (Preservation or Abundance), and one flex slot. If your team is missing a category, you're one boss combo away from a wipe.
Reroll priority (new accounts)
Star Rail's early Trailblaze Levels give you enough Stellar Jade for roughly 20–25 wishes on the starter banner. Reroll targets, best to worst:
- Gilgamesh (4.4 banner) — Currently the strongest 5-star Erudition DPS in the game.
- Aventurine (4.4 rerun) — Best Imaginary sustain, works in every follow-up team.
- Firefly / Feixiao / Acheron (previous banners; wait for reruns) — the older meta-defining picks.
The Standard Banner selector — you pick one 5-star after 300 wishes — should go to Bronya or Bailu. Both are meta supports that scale into every team.
First 40 hours — what to actually do
- Finish the Herta Space Station opening. Unlocks the wish system and gives you your first 5-star selector (any 5-star from the standard banner).
- Push through Jarilo-VI — the first planet's story. Unlocks the Simulated Universe (roguelite mode), which pays out relic (artifact-equivalent) material.
- Reach Trailblaze Level 40. This unlocks Memory of Chaos, the daily assignment reward tier, and serious relic farming.
- Build one team of four before you scatter resources. Level everyone to the same milestone (60, then 70, then 80), then max their signature skills.
Trailblaze Power — the daily loop
Trailblaze Power is your energy meter — 240 per day (regenerates over about 24 hours). Spend it, don't hoard:
- Cavern of Corrosion — daily relic runs.
- Simulated Universe — weekly Planar Ornament runs.
- Weekly boss — one clear per week for character ascension materials.
- Calyx runs — character and Light Cone XP; skip once you're leveling with automatic overflow.
Don't run daily activities in Simulated Universe past your first weekly clear; the reward drops off hard.
The Warp (wish) system
Star Rail uses the same 90-pull hard pity as Genshin, with soft pity kicking in around 75. Character banners follow the 50/50 rule: your first 5-star has a 50% chance of being the featured character; if you lose, the next one is guaranteed. Light Cone banners hit hard pity at 80 with a 75/25 rule.
Your Stellar Jade income comes from quest completion, weekly boss clears, and Memory of Chaos rewards. Two months of active play gets you enough for roughly 80 wishes.
For this guide we consulted the Game8 Honkai: Star Rail wiki (Version 4.4 banner list, Path system, Warp mechanics, Trailblaze Power economy), the HoYoverse official page, and community discussion on Reddit and player Discords.