If you’ve ever stared at a perfect 5-star relic with substats that fit your main DPS perfectly, only to realize you don’t have nearly enough relic EXP to max it out, you’re not alone. I’ve spent months testing different run routes and resource allocation methods to figure out the most efficient ways to grind without burning through all my saved Trailblaze Power in a single afternoon. This guide breaks down exactly how to farm relic exp honkai star rail, with tips that work for both new Trailblazers just hitting Trailblaze Level 40 and endgame players chasing perfect builds for their whole roster.
How to Farm Relic EXP in Honkai Star Rail Without Wasting Trailblaze Power
The first rule of efficient relic EXP farming is to prioritize free sources before you spend any Trailblaze Power. A lot of players jump straight to running Calyxes the second they run low on materials, but you can get thousands of relic EXP every week without spending a single point of power. These are the highest-value free sources you should clear first every week:
- Unopened chests in all open world maps, including Hidden Exploration Objective rewards that often include stacks of rare relic EXP materials
- Weekly Simulated Universe bonus rewards, especially from higher difficulty clears that drop extra Superior Relic Remains
- Daily assignment rewards that list Relic Remains or Superior Relic Remains as a payout, which require zero effort to claim
- Event shop exchanges, which almost always sell relic EXP materials for free event currency during limited-time events
If you can clear Simulated Universe World 7 and higher on difficulty 2 or above, you can get up to 10,000 relic EXP worth of materials every week just from the bonus first clear rewards, no extra power spent. Once you’ve cleared all free sources, Calyx (Golden): Bud of Treasures is the most efficient paid source, giving roughly 140-160 relic EXP per Trailblaze Power spent on the highest available difficulty. If you’re already farming relic domains for a specific gear set for one of your characters, you can also use the trash 3 and 4-star relics you get from those runs as EXP, so you don’t have to run Calyxes as much that week.
How to Stretch Your Relic EXP to Avoid Unnecessary Grind
Farming relic EXP efficiently isn’t just about getting more materials—it’s about not wasting the materials you already have. The biggest mistake most players make is pouring EXP into low-rarity or low-quality relics they’ll only use for a week or two, then losing 20% of that EXP when they feed the leveled relic to a better one later. That 20% penalty adds up fast; I lost almost two weeks worth of grind to this mistake when I first hit TL 50 and swapped my whole team to 5-star relic sets.
Never level 2 or 3-star relics past +3 under any circumstances, even if you’re brand new to the game. They give almost no stat boost, and you’ll lose almost all the EXP you put into them when you upgrade. If you’re still early game and don’t have good 5-star relics yet, you can level 4-star relics to +6 temporarily, but don’t go past that unless you’re 100% sure you’ll use them for at least a month. Once you hit TL 50, you should only invest EXP in 5-star relics that have at least 2 useful substats for the character you’re building, so you don’t end up wasting materials on relics you’ll replace in a few days.
Optimal Weekly Routines to Stockpile Relic EXP Consistently
Once you know which sources give the most value, building a weekly routine makes relic EXP farming feel almost automatic, no endless grinding required. You don’t have to run Calyxes every day to have enough materials for your team; you only need to run Calyx of Treasures 2-3 times a week if you’re also clearing your weekly Simulated Universe runs and doing all your daily assignments. That leaves you with plenty of Trailblaze Power to farm relic sets, trace materials, or credits for other parts of your account.
If you’re saving up for a new character drop, you can stash extra Fuel to use on Calyxes a few days before the character releases, but for the most part, you should save your Fuel for double drop events. During these events, you get twice the materials for the same Trailblaze Power spent, so one full Fuel charge gives you as much relic EXP as two charges used outside the event. I usually save at least 3 full Fuel charges and 240 points of reserved Trailblaze Power for every double Calyx event, and that gives me enough relic EXP to level 2 full sets of relics to +15 each, no extra grind needed.
Don’t forget to clear your weekly boss fights too, even if you don’t need the drop materials for traces. Weekly bosses drop a handful of 3 to 5-star relics every clear, which you can feed to your good relics for extra EXP, and they often drop stacks of Relic Remains as bonus rewards too. It’s a small addition, but it adds up to a few thousand extra relic EXP every week for no extra cost.
Common Relic EXP Farming Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you follow the best farming routes, small mistakes can cost you thousands of relic EXP every month without you noticing. The first common mistake is running low-tier Calyxes once you unlock higher difficulties. Once you unlock Calyx (Golden) Level 6 at TL 60, never run lower levels, because the drop rate per Trailblaze Power is 30% higher on the highest difficulty. That’s a huge difference that adds up over time.
Second, don’t feed 5-star relics with good off-set substats for EXP, even if they don’t fit anyone on your current roster. A 5-star Planar Sphere with crit rate and ATK% might be perfect for a new character that releases in a few months, or for a support you haven’t built yet, so store them in your relic inventory instead of turning them into EXP. You can filter your relic inventory by substat to find these gems fast, so you don’t accidentally feed them.
Third, don’t sell relics for credits instead of feeding them. Even 3-star relics give more value as EXP than they do as credits sold, so never sell relics unless you’re completely capped on relic EXP materials, which almost never happens for most players. The only exception is if you’re desperate for credits to level traces for a new character, but even then, you should only sell extra 3-star relics first.
At the end of the day, relic EXP is one of the most consistent bottlenecks for progression in Honkai Star Rail, but you don’t have to spend all your free time grinding to have enough for your main team. By following the tips we’ve laid out, you can cut down on unnecessary runs and make the most of every point of Trailblaze Power you spend. Once you get into a steady routine, learning how to farm relic exp honkai star rail becomes second nature, and you’ll have enough materials saved up to level new characters as soon as you pull them, no last-minute grind required.
