Honkai Star Rail’s turn-based gameplay is fun enough on its own, but teaming up with other players makes grinding materials, beating event bosses, and tackling endgame content way more rewarding. If you’ve ever wanted to run Calyxes or event challenges with people who match your playstyle, your first step is learning how to add people on Honkai Star Rail. A lot of new players get stuck on this step, especially if they’re playing across different devices or don’t know about server restrictions. This guide breaks down every part of the process, so you can build your friend list and start playing with others in no time.
How to Add People on Honkai Star Rail: Step-by-Step for All Platforms
Before you can send any friend requests, you’ll need to hit a very important milestone first. Trailblaze Level 16 is the minimum requirement to unlock the friend feature in Honkai Star Rail. You’ll hit this level naturally after completing the first few main story missions on Herta Space Station, so you won’t have to grind extra to unlock it. Once you hit level 16, the process works almost the same across PC, mobile, and PS5, with only small menu differences.
First, find your own UID to share with other players if you want to receive requests. It’s the 9-digit number in the bottom left corner of your in-game phone screen, or at the top of your profile page. To send a request, open your in-game phone, navigate to the “Friends” tab, and select the “Add Friend” button. You’ll see a search bar where you can enter the other player’s UID, then tap send. Always use a player’s unique 9-digit UID to send friend requests, as display names can be duplicated across servers. If you only search for a display name, you might send a request to the wrong person by accident.
Cross-platform play is fully supported for friend requests, but there’s one key rule to remember. Friend requests only work for players on the same regional server, no matter what device they use. If you play on the North American server, you can add someone playing on NA from PC, Android, iOS, or PS5 with no issues. But you won’t be able to add a friend who plays on the European or Asian server, even if you have their correct UID. If you’re not sure what server you’re on, check the top right corner of the game’s login screen for the server name.
Common Issues When Sending Honkai Star Rail Friend Requests (And Fixes)
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into errors when sending friend requests. These issues are almost always easy to fix once you know what’s causing them. From my experience, 90% of failed requests fall into one of three common categories, and you can resolve most of them in less than a minute.
- UID not found error: Double-check the 9-digit UID for typos, confirm you’re both on the same regional server, and ask the other player if they have friend requests disabled in their privacy settings. Some players turn off requests to avoid spam from random accounts, so they’ll need to toggle the setting on temporarily to accept your request.
- Request fails to send: Check if your own friend list is full (max 60 slots at max Trailblaze level) or if the recipient’s friend list has hit its limit. If either list is full, you’ll need to remove inactive players to free up space before you can send or accept new requests.
- PS5 player can’t receive requests: Wait 24 hours after linking your HoYoverse account to your PSN profile, as cross-platform sync can take time to activate for new PS5 players. If you still can’t receive requests after 24 hours, log out of both your HoYoverse and PSN accounts, then log back in to refresh the connection.
If your request gets rejected, don’t send repeated follow-up requests. Some players only add people they know in real life, or they might be clearing space for friends they already planned to add. Spamming requests will only get you blocked, so it’s better to move on and send requests to other players who might be interested in teaming up.
Best Practices for Managing Your Honkai Star Rail Friend List
Your friend list has a limited number of slots, so it’s smart to be intentional about who you add, instead of accepting every random request that comes your way. The best friend list will balance players who bring value to your gameplay, whether that’s strong support characters, consistent co-op partners, or just people who are fun to chat with during event runs.
Adding players with well-built support characters will give you more flexible options for tough endgame content like Pure Fiction and Forgotten Hall. Look for players who have leveled, well-geared supports like Bronya, Luocha, or Ruan Mei, since these characters can make even the hardest endgame fights way easier. You can borrow one support character from a friend per fight, so having a variety of built supports to choose from is a huge advantage, especially if you don’t have those characters yourself.
Don’t hesitate to remove players who have been inactive for 30+ days if you need space for active co-op partners. Inactive players can’t send you stamina, join your co-op runs, or update their support characters, so they’re taking up valuable space on your list. If you’re a casual player who doesn’t care about maxing out rewards, you can keep inactive friends if you want, but it’s not the most efficient choice if you’re trying to grind materials or climb endgame leaderboards.
You can also adjust your own privacy settings to control who can send you requests. If you don’t want random requests from strangers, set your profile to only be searchable by UID, or turn off friend requests entirely. If you do want to meet new co-op partners, leave your requests open and add a note to your profile saying what kind of players you’re looking for, like “looking for people to run weekly event challenges with” to attract compatible teammates.
Fun Things to Do After You Add People on Honkai Star Rail
Adding friends isn’t just for checking off a feature – it unlocks a ton of extra content and rewards that you can’t get playing solo. Even if you prefer playing most of the main story alone, there are plenty of benefits to having an active friend list that make the small effort of adding people worth it.
The most immediate reward is free daily stamina. Sending and receiving daily friend stamina gives you 60 extra Trailblaze Power per day for free, which adds up to 420 extra power a week. That’s enough extra power for 7 extra Calyx runs, or 2 extra relic farming runs, which adds up to a lot of extra materials over time. You don’t even have to play with the person to get this reward – you just have to be on each other’s friend lists and click the send stamina button once a day.
Co-op play is another huge benefit. You can team up with up to 3 friends to run Calyxes, Cave of Erosion stages, and most limited-time event challenges. Co-op runs are faster than solo runs if you’re farming large amounts of materials, and some event challenges give extra rewards for completing them in co-op mode. It’s also a great way to help lower-level friends grind materials they can’t beat on their own, or get help beating tough bosses you’re stuck on.
You can also check out your friends’ profile showcases to see how they built their characters, get inspiration for your own builds, or show off your latest fully built 5-star character. A lot of players love swapping build tips and team comp ideas with friends, which can help you get better at the game faster than trying to figure everything out on your own.
At the end of the day, Honkai Star Rail is way more fun when you’re playing with other people who share your playstyle. Whether you’re grinding for materials to level your newest character or tackling the hardest endgame challenges, a solid friend list makes every run smoother and more rewarding. Now that you know how to add people on Honkai Star Rail, you can start building that list and making the most of every game session. Don’t be afraid to send requests to players you meet in random co-op lobbies or community groups – most active players are happy to add new teammates who want to play the game and have fun.
