If you’ve ever watched a top-tier Honkai: Star Rail player clear a Memory of Chaos stage with a seemingly unkillable team or wipe entire waves of enemies in one hit, you’ve probably seen eidolons at work. These character-specific upgrades turn solid, usable units into absolute powerhouses that can carry even the most challenging endgame content. But many new players don’t know how to get eidolons in Honkai Star Rail without dumping hundreds of dollars into the gacha, and that’s exactly what we’re breaking down today. We’ve tested every available method across 12 months of gameplay to separate the reliable, free options from the overhyped, low-value traps that waste your hard-earned resources.
All Free Methods to Get Eidolons in Honkai: Star Rail
You don’t have to swipe your credit card to get eidolons for most of your favorite units. HoYoverse regularly adds free eidolon opportunities for both 4-star and 5-star characters, and you can earn up to 6 eidolons for many units without spending a cent. The most consistent free methods include:
- Event rewards: Almost every limited-time event gives out 1-3 eidolons for a featured 4-star character, and some major events even offer a free 5-star unit plus 2 of their eidolons for full event completion. We’ve earned 8 full 4-star eidolon sets exclusively from events in the last year alone.
- Shop exchanges: The Stellar Warp shop lets you exchange Undying Starlight for random 4-star eidolons of your choice, while the Undying Embers shop rotates 4-star eidolons for new players every month. You earn both currencies every time you pull on any banner, even free ones from daily login rewards.
- Hard mode story and Forgotten Hall rewards: Clearing specific Forgotten Hall stages and hard mode story chapters gives you fixed eidolons for select 4-star units like March 7th, Dan Heng, and Asta, no gacha pulls required.
- Regular login campaigns: Anniversary events and major update login rewards often include free eidolons for popular 4-star units, sometimes even 5-star eidolons for limited run characters.
One common mistake new players make is saving their Undying Starlight for 5-star pulls instead of eidolons. We recommend prioritizing 4-star eidolons for your core team first, as they give a much bigger power boost per currency spent than a random 5-star pull that might not even be a unit you use. You can earn around 120 Undying Starlight per month just from free pulls, so you can get one 4-star eidolon every 2 months without spending anything.
Paid Methods to Unlock Eidolons Faster
If you want to get eidolons for limited 5-star units faster, there are paid options that give you better value than just spamming random pulls. You don’t have to drop thousands of dollars to get high impact eidolons, either – most units get their biggest power spike at E2, which is achievable with small, consistent spending instead of big one-time purchases. The highest value paid options are the monthly pass and the battle pass, which give you extra Stellar Jade, Undying Starlight, and even occasional eidolon tickets for limited banners. The monthly pass gives you 900 Stellar Jade a month plus an extra 30 per day, which adds up to almost 2 full pulls a week for less than $5.
For players who want to target a specific 5-star character’s eidolons, the limited banner pity system works in your favor: every 75-90 pulls you get a 5-star character, and you have a 50% chance it’s the featured limited unit. If you lose the 50/50, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be the featured one. That means you need around 180 pulls to get a single eidolon for a limited 5-star, on average. But you should never pull for eidolons unless you already have the base character first, and you’ve confirmed their playstyle fits your team. We once wasted almost 300 pulls trying to get E6 Seele just for flex value, and we still regret not using those pulls to get support eidolons that would have made our entire team stronger. Stick to pulling eidolons only for units you use in every team comp for the best return on investment.
Which Eidolons Should You Prioritize First?
Not all eidolons are created equal, and wasting resources on low-impact eidolons will leave your team weaker than if you’d spent those resources on relics or traces instead. We’ve tested eidolons for every unit in the game, and we’ve found that the highest impact eidolons fall into three main categories. First, look for eidolons that remove core weaknesses of a character. For example, Seele’s E1 removes her skill point penalty for killing enemies, which lets her use her skill every turn without draining your team’s skill point pool. That single eidolon doubles her damage output in most content, making it one of the best value eidolons in the entire game.
Next, prioritize eidolons that give universal buffs to your entire team. Units like Bronya and Ruan Mei have eidolons that boost the damage of every character on your team, not just themselves, so their eidolons give a bigger overall power boost than eidolons for pure DPS units. You should also avoid chasing E6 for most units unless you’re a whale. The difference between E2 and E6 for most 5-star units is less than 20% extra damage, which isn’t worth the hundreds of extra dollars you’ll spend to get those last 4 eidolons. For 4-star units, E6 is much more achievable, and many 4-star units like Tingyun and Qingque become just as strong as 5-star units at E6, so they’re a great use of extra Undying Starlight.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Eidolons
Even if you follow all the right methods to get eidolons, small mistakes can set you back weeks or even months of progress. We’ve made almost all of these mistakes ourselves over our time playing, so we can tell you exactly what to skip. First, don’t waste Undying Starlight on 5-star eidolons unless you already have every 4-star eidolon you need. 5-star eidolons cost 7 times as much as 4-star ones, and the power boost you get is rarely worth that big of a cost difference for casual players. Second, never pull on the standard banner to get eidolons. The standard banner has 7 different 5-star units, so your chance of getting the specific eidolon you want is extremely low. You’re far better off saving your Stellar Jade for limited banners where you can target the exact unit you want.
Third, don’t sleep on free event eidolons for niche units. Even if you don’t use a unit right now, their eidolons might make them viable for future content that counters your current main team. We ignored a free event eidolon for Yukong last year, and we ended up having to pull for her later when a new Memory of Chaos stage required an Imaginary support. You should also keep track of eidolon drop rates for limited banners. Featured 4-star units have a 50% drop rate on their respective banners, so you’ll usually get 2-3 eidolons for the featured 4-star every time you pull for a 5-star on that banner. That’s a great way to build up 4-star eidolons while you’re chasing 5-star characters. If you’re strictly free to play, you can easily get 2-3 4-star eidolons a month just by playing events and doing your daily tasks, so don’t feel pressured to spend to keep up with content.
At the end of the day, building up your eidolon collection doesn’t have to be expensive or frustrating if you plan ahead and focus on high-value targets. Whether you’re completely free to play or you spend a small amount each month, there are consistent ways to get eidolons in Honkai Star Rail that fit every budget and playstyle. Take time to test which units you enjoy using most first, then focus your resources on their eidolons, and you’ll have a team that can clear even the hardest content in no time. Don’t rush the process – half the fun of the game is building up your characters over time, and eidolons are a great reward for consistent play.
