If you’ve ever stared at a perfect 5-star relic set for your main DPS, only to realize you’re short on materials to get it to +15, you know how frustrating that gap can be. Figuring out how to get artifact level up material in Honkai: Star Rail doesn’t have to be a confusing grind that eats up all your trailblaze power, though. I’ve spent months testing different farming routes and tricks to cut down the time I spend chasing these materials, and this guide breaks down every reliable method, whether you’re a new F2P player or a long-time spender looking to optimize your resource use. We’ll cover everything from repeatable sources to limited-time event rewards, so you never get stuck waiting to level up a key relic again.
Core Repeatable Sources to Farm Artifact Level Up Material in Honkai: Star Rail
Most of your steady supply of these materials will come from repeatable content you can run daily, as long as you have trailblaze power to spend. The first and most straightforward source is Crimson Calyxes: Relic Enhancement, which drop every tier of relic enhancement material, from the low-level Lost Crystals to the high-level Divine Remains. The higher the calyx difficulty, the more higher-tier materials you get per run, so you should unlock the highest difficulty you can clear reliably as soon as possible. For reference, a full run of a level 60 Calyx of Relic Enhancement costs 10 trailblaze power and gives around 5-7 mid to high-tier materials, plus a handful of low-tier ones, so you can get enough materials to level one relic to +15 from around 8-10 runs, if you don’t have any dismantled materials to use.
Another consistent source is dismantling unused relics you get from runs of the Cavern of Corrosion or Simulated Universe. Any 2 or 3-star relics you don’t plan to use, and even 4 or 5-star relics with bad substats, can be dismantled for a huge chunk of enhancement materials. I usually keep a stack of 50 unused relics in my inventory at all times to dismantle when I’m running low, which saves me from spending extra trailblaze power on calyx runs.
You’ll also get a steady trickle of materials from weekly content like Simulated Universe World Clears and Forgotten Hall resets. Both of these give free enhancement materials as part of their regular rewards, no extra trailblaze power required, so make sure you clear them every week to stock up. That means if you spend half your daily trailblaze power on these calyxes for a week, you’ll have enough materials to level an entire 6-piece relic set to +15 easily.
F2P-Friendly Tricks to Cut Down Your Grind Time
You don’t have to spend every last bit of trailblaze power on calyx runs to get enough materials for your builds. A few small tricks I’ve picked up over my time playing can help you get 20-30% more materials without spending extra power or real money. First, always use trailblaze power double drop events for calyx runs whenever they are active. These events double all materials you get from calyx runs for a limited time, so you should save up all your reserved trailblaze power and fuel for these windows to get twice as many materials for the same cost.
Don’t sleep on the Nameless Honor pass either, even the free tier gives dozens of high-tier relic enhancement materials every update cycle. You only need to complete daily and weekly missions to level up the pass, so it’s completely free for all players, no purchase required. I usually get enough materials from the free pass to level 2-3 full relic sets to +12 every cycle, which saves me hours of grinding.
Also, make sure you claim your rewards from the Assignment board every day. There are specific assignments that give relic enhancement materials as a reward, and they only take 4 or 8 hours to complete, no trailblaze power required. I run two of these assignments every day, and I get enough low and mid-tier materials to level up new relics as I get them, without having to run extra calyxes.
Limited-Time Sources You Should Never Miss
HoYoverse regularly adds limited-time sources of relic enhancement materials to events, and taking advantage of these can give you enough materials to level multiple full sets in just a few days, with very little effort. Some of the most common limited-time sources you should look out for include:
- Web events: These are browser-based events that usually take less than 10 minutes to complete, and often give 10-20 high-tier enhancement materials as a reward, along with stellar jades and other resources.
- In-game event shops: Almost every update has a themed event with a shop where you can exchange event currency for relic enhancement materials, usually at a much better value than spending trailblaze power on calyxes. I always prioritize buying all the enhancement materials from these shops before I buy any other rewards, since event shop materials always offer better value than stellar jade purchases or trailblaze power spent on calyxes.
- Login campaigns: Every few weeks, there are short login campaigns that give free enhancement materials just for logging in for 3-7 days. You don’t have to complete any missions to get these, so make sure you log in even if you don’t have time to play that day.
- Anniversary and update rewards: Big milestones like game anniversaries or big version updates usually give out thousands of enhancement materials for free to all players, so make sure you claim these from your in-game mail before they expire.
These limited-time sources are way more efficient than regular grinding, so I always set a reminder on my phone to check for new events every week, so I don’t miss out on any free materials. Last version, I got enough materials from the event shop and web events to level my Seele’s full relic set to +15 without spending a single point of trailblaze power on calyx runs, which I was able to spend on farming new relics instead.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming These Materials
Even if you follow all the farming methods above, you can end up wasting a lot of materials if you make these common mistakes that I see a lot of new players make. First, don’t waste high-tier enhancement materials on low-level relics that you’re going to replace in a few weeks. If you’re using a 3-star relic set for a new character, only level it to +6 or +9 with low-tier materials, and save your high-tier Divine Remains for 5-star relics that you’re going to use long-term.
Another big mistake is dismantling 4-star relic sets that are useful for support characters. A lot of new players dismantle every 4-star relic they get, but many 4-star sets like the Musketeer of Wild Wheat or Thief of Shooting Meteor are perfect for support characters that don’t need 5-star sets to perform well. You’ll save a lot of materials by using these 4-star sets instead of farming 5-star sets for every character on your roster.
Don’t spend stellar jades on trailblaze power just to farm enhancement materials either. Stellar jades are better spent on pulling for limited characters and light cones, and you can get all the enhancement materials you need from regular grinding and events for free. The only time I’d recommend spending jades on power is if you’re trying to max out a character for a big tournament or event, but for regular play, it’s completely unnecessary.
Finally, don’t level every single relic you get just to test substats. Rolling for good substats is fun, but you’ll burn through all your enhancement materials really fast if you level every 5-star relic you get. I only level a relic if it has at least 2 useful substats for the character I’m building, otherwise I dismantle it for materials to use on better relics.
At the end of the day, getting enough materials to level your artifacts doesn’t have to be a stressful, endless grind if you prioritize the right sources and avoid common mistakes. Between regular calyx runs, weekly content, event rewards, and smart use of dismantling, you’ll have more than enough materials to max out all your favorite character builds in no time. If you take nothing else away from this guide, remember to save your trailblaze power for double drop events and always grab free event rewards first, and you’ll never struggle with how to get artifact level up material in Honkai: Star Rail again.
