If you’ve been grinding Honkai: Star Rail for a few weeks and hit a wall where character upgrade materials stop dropping at the rarity you need, you’re probably wondering how to progress past that soft cap. A big part of breaking that ceiling is learning how to get Equilibrium Level 2 in Honkai Star Rail, the first major progression milestone that unlocks a whole new tier of rewards, enemy levels, and character upgrade paths. I’ve run this trial on three different accounts across servers, so I’m breaking down exactly what you need to do to prep, beat the trial, and make the most of your new Equilibrium Level once you unlock it. Don’t worry if you’re running a free-to-play team, you don’t need 5-star limited characters to clear this.
Pre-Requisites You Need to Meet Before Attempting Equilibrium Level 2
You can’t just jump into the Equilibrium Level 2 trial whenever you want, there are a few hard requirements you have to hit first to unlock access. The first and most non-negotiable one is your Trailblaze Level. You must reach Trailblaze Level 30 first to get the quest for the trial to pop up in your mission tab. If you’re stuck a few levels short, you can speed up your grind by completing daily training tasks, running low-stamina calyxes, and knocking out any uncompleted side quests from Herta Space Station or Jarilo-VI.
You also need to have cleared the Equilibrium Level 1 trial first, which unlocks at Trailblaze Level 20. If you skipped that trial to keep grinding lower level content, you’ll have to go back and complete it before you can access the Level 2 trial. That’s not a bad thing, either, as the Level 1 trial gives you a good feel for how these progression trials work, and you’ll unlock the ability to level characters to 50 in the process.
One thing a lot of new players miss is that you don’t have to run the trial the second you hit Level 30. If your main team is still sitting at level 40 with low-level light cones, you can take a day or two to grind upgrades before you attempt it. There’s no timer on the quest, and you won’t miss out on any rewards by waiting a little while to make sure you’re prepared.
Step-by-Step: How to Get Equilibrium Level 2 in Honkai Star Rail
Once you’ve hit all the pre-requisites, actually unlocking Equilibrium Level 2 is a pretty straightforward process. I’ve broken it down into simple steps that work for both free-to-play and paying players, so you don’t have to waste time guessing what to do next.
- Accept the "Equilibrium Trial Level 2" mission from your quest menu once you hit Trailblaze Level 30. It will show up under the "Adventure Mission" tab automatically, no extra steps needed to trigger it.
- Navigate to the trial domain via the quest shortcut, or head to the Herta Space Station Storage Zone to enter manually. The shortcut is the faster option, as it will teleport you directly to the domain entrance without you having to walk through the whole station.
- Clear both waves of level 50 enemies within the 10-minute time limit to pass the trial. The first wave has four regular enemies and one elite enemy, while the second wave has a single boss with two supporting smaller enemies.
- Claim your completion reward, and your Equilibrium Level will automatically update to 2. You’ll get a small stack of credits, upgrade materials, and a few stellar jades as a bonus for clearing the trial.
There are a few little details that make this trial way easier than most players expect. There is no penalty for failing the trial, so you can try as many times as you need to adjust your team or rotation without losing anything. If you die halfway through, you can just restart immediately and try again with a different strategy.
You don't need to spend any stamina to enter the trial, so you don’t have to worry about wasting resources on attempts. I’ve seen players hold off on running the trial because they think it will cost them stamina they could use for calyxes, but that’s not the case at all. You can run it 10 times in a row if you want, and it won’t cost you a single point of Trailblaze Power.
Best Free-to-Play Team Comps to Clear the Equilibrium Level 2 Trial
You don’t need fancy limited 5-star characters to clear this trial, I’ve done it with a full free-to-play team on multiple accounts, and it only takes a few minutes each time. The key is to build a balanced team that can handle both the first wave of smaller enemies and the single boss in the second wave without dying halfway through.
The most reliable free-to-play comp I’ve tested is: Fire Trailblazer (tank), Natasha (healer), Dan Heng (main DPS), and Asta (support/sub-DPS). Every single one of these characters is given to players for free through normal gameplay, so you don’t have to pull on any banners to get them. Fire Trailblazer soaks up all the damage from the boss and elite enemies, Natasha heals any chip damage your team takes, Dan Heng deals high single-target damage to take down the boss fast, and Asta boosts the whole team’s speed so you get more turns per cycle.
If you don’t have Dan Heng leveled, you can swap him out for Serval if you need more AoE damage for the first wave, or Arlan if you have him leveled and prefer a more aggressive playstyle. The only non-negotiable slots are a healer and a tank, you can swap the DPS and support slots for whatever characters you have leveled and enjoy playing.
Prioritize leveling your main DPS to level 50 first before attempting the trial, even if your supports are only at level 40. The trial’s enemies are level 50, so a level 50 DPS will deal way more damage than a level 40 one, and you’ll be able to clear the waves before the timer runs out. Make sure you have at least one level 4 light cone on each character to boost their stats enough to survive and deal consistent damage. You don’t need 4 or 5-star light cones, level 3 ones that match the character’s path work perfectly fine for this trial.
What to Do After You Unlock Equilibrium Level 2
Unlocking Equilibrium Level 2 opens up a ton of new content and rewards, but it also comes with a few small downsides you should be prepared for. The first thing you’ll notice is that all open world enemies are now scaled up to level 50, so if your main team is still at level 40, you might struggle with random fights while you’re exploring. It’s a good idea to spend your first few hours after unlocking the new level farming calyxes to get the materials you need to level your main team to 60 as fast as possible.
The biggest benefit of Equilibrium Level 2 is that you now have access to higher rarity upgrade materials from calyxes, so you can level your characters and light cones past level 50 all the way to 60. You’ll also get better rewards from weekly bosses, including a higher chance of getting 5-star light cone ascension materials and rare relics.
You can now farm 3-star relics from Caverns of Corrosion too, which are a huge upgrade over the 2-star relics you probably had before. 3-star relics are more than enough to get you through to Equilibrium Level 3, so don’t be afraid to spend a little stamina farming sets that match your main characters’ builds.
Don't farm 5-star relics immediately after hitting Equilibrium Level 2, the drop rate is still extremely low, so you’re better off saving your stamina for character and light cone upgrade materials first. You’ll get way more value from leveling your main team to 60 than you will from grinding for a 5-star relic that might not even have good stats. Wait until you hit Equilibrium Level 3 or 4 to start farming 5-star relics, when the drop rate is much higher.
Once you get the hang of the trial mechanics and prep your team even a little, learning how to get Equilibrium Level 2 in Honkai Star Rail is way less intimidating than it sounds at first. You don’t need to spend money on premium characters or pull for limited banners to clear it, and the rewards you unlock are well worth the 10 minutes it takes to run the trial. If you fail your first attempt, just take a minute to check your team’s levels, light cones, and eidolons to see where you can make small adjustments before trying again. Once you unlock it, you’ll have access to all the materials you need to make your team stronger than ever for future content like the Simulated Universe and new story updates.
