If you’ve ever stared at your Honkai: Star Rail character screen wondering why you can’t bump their level cap past 20, you already know how crucial ascension is. But figuring out how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail requires for each character can feel like solving a messy puzzle, especially if you’re raising multiple units at once. I’ve spent hundreds of hours farming domains and world bosses for my own account, so I’ve put together all the exact counts you need, plus tricks to avoid wasting stamina on useless drops. You won’t have to cross-reference 10 different spreadsheets mid-grind ever again.
Exact Breakdown: How Many Ascension Materials Honkai: Star Rail Characters Need Per Phase
First, let’s get the base rules out of the way: every character in HSR, regardless of path or element, follows the same ascension material structure, with only the specific type of material changing based on their element and boss drop. The only difference in total count comes down to whether you’re raising a 4-star or 5-star unit. I’ve broken down the exact numbers for both below, so you can adjust based on your roster.
That adds up to a total of 26 elemental materials, 80 enemy drops, and 20 boss drops for a fully ascended 4-star, and 45 elemental materials, 97 enemy drops, and 29 boss drops for a maxed 5-star. If you’re only planning to bring a unit to level 70 for support use, you can cut the total how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail requires by almost 40% by skipping phase 6. I keep a note of these totals in my phone notes app so I don’t overfarm when I’m bouncing between raising multiple supports and DPS units. You’d be shocked how easy it is to accidentally farm 15 extra boss drops for a unit you only plan to bring to level 70.
What Types of Ascension Materials Do You Need for Different Characters?
Now that you know how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail requires for each phase, you need to make sure you’re farming the right types for your chosen unit. Every character’s ascension kit is tied to two core things: their element, and the world boss or weekly boss tied to their release. I’ve mixed these up more times than I can count, so here’s a quick breakdown to avoid wasted stamina.
First, elemental materials come from the Cavern of Corruption domains scattered across each planet. For example, Ice units need Frost of Lost Dreams materials, Fire units need Scorching Fang of the Wildfire drops, and Imaginary units need Threads of Transcending Dreams items. You can check exactly which domain drops your unit’s materials by tapping the material icon on their ascension screen, so you don’t waste 60 stamina on the wrong domain run.
Enemy drops are even more straightforward. Every common enemy type in the game drops a specific set of tiered materials: Antimatter Legion troops drop Broken Teeth of Iron Famine items, Mara-Struck soldiers drop Shape Shifter’s Staff drops, and Sanctus Medicus members drop Life Worrying Dew materials. I usually farm these while I’m doing weekly Calyx runs, so I don’t have to make separate trips just for ascension drops.
The only tricky part is boss drops. Most standard banner and limited banner characters use drops from open world bosses, but some limited 5-stars use drops from weekly bosses instead. For example, Jingliu uses drops from the Echo of War boss Shuhu’s Falling Feather, while Seele uses drops from the world boss Bronya, Silvermane Guard. Always double check the boss drop requirement before you spend your 60 stamina on a boss run, because you only get 3 weekly boss rewards per week for half stamina. It’s easy to overfarm if you don’t keep track of how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail needs for your current roster goals.
Pro Tips to Farm Ascension Materials Faster
Even if you know exactly how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail needs for your units, farming them can feel like a never-ending grind if you don’t play smart. I’ve tested dozens of farming routes and stamina usage hacks over the past year, and these are the only tricks that actually cut down my total grind time by almost 40%.
First, always take advantage of double drop events for Calyxes, Caverns of Corruption, and world bosses. These events run every few weeks, and they let you get twice as many materials for the same stamina cost. I save all of my stamina refills and reserved stamina for these events, so I can farm 2 weeks worth of materials in just 3 days. If you only have time to farm during events, you’ll never run out of ascension materials for your core roster.
Second, don’t max every single character you pull. I know it’s tempting to bring every cute 4-star to level 80, but most support units work perfectly fine at level 70 or even level 60, as long as their traces are leveled up enough. That cuts the total amount of ascension materials you need by almost 60% for those units, so you can save the higher tier materials for your main DPS and 5-star limited units. I only max units that I use in every single MoC team, and I keep all of my niche supports at level 70.
Another easy trick is to use your Immersers for ascension material farming instead of relic farming. Relics have random stats, so you can spend 10 runs of a relic domain and get nothing useful. Ascension materials are guaranteed drops, so you’ll always get value out of every stamina point you spend on them. I only use my immersers for relic farming once I have all of my core units fully ascended and traced.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Ascension Materials
I’ve made almost every possible mistake when farming ascension materials, from farming the wrong boss to wasting 100 stamina on materials for a unit I never ended up using. Avoid these common pitfalls, and you’ll never find yourself short of materials right when you want to ascend a new limited banner unit.
The biggest mistake I see new players make is farming materials for every character they pull before they even test if they like using them. I did this with a 4-star unit I pulled on my first banner, spent 3 days farming all of their ascension materials, then realized I hated their playstyle and never put them on a team. Now I always test a unit at level 20 for a few days in simulated universe before I spend any stamina on their ascension materials.
Another common mistake is forgetting that Trailblaze level requirements lock higher ascension phases. You can’t ascend a character to phase 3 until you hit Trailblaze level 40, phase 4 until TL 50, phase 5 until TL 60, and phase 6 until TL 65. If you’re still at Trailblaze level 35, there’s no point farming purple tier elemental materials yet, because you won’t be able to use them for weeks. Focus on farming the materials you can actually use right now, and save the higher tier stuff for when you hit the required Trailblaze level.
Don’t ignore the free ascension materials you can get from events, the simulated universe shop, and the Forgotten Hall shop either. I get almost 10 purple elemental materials a month from these shops, which cuts down my farming time by a full day every month. You can also get free boss drops from some event rewards, so always check the shop rotation before you start a farming session.
At the end of the day, planning ahead is the easiest way to cut down on unnecessary grind and make sure you have everything you need when you pull a new favorite unit. Now that you know exactly how many ascension materials Honkai Star Rail needs for both 4-star and 5-star units, you can plan your stamina usage way more effectively, and avoid wasting hours farming materials you don’t actually need. I update my own farming list every time a new character is announced, so I can have all their materials ready the second I pull them, and you can do the same with the counts and tips we covered here.
