There’s no worse feeling than pulling your dream 5-star character after saving up dozens of pulls, only to realize you don’t have enough EXP books or credits to get them past level 20. I’ve been there, I pulled Blade on his first banner and spent three days grinding calyxes just to get him to a usable level, because I’d wasted all my materials on random 4-stars I never used. If you’re tired of running out of resources right when you need them, this guide breaks down exactly how to get level up materials Honkai Star Rail efficiently, no unnecessary grinding or Stellar Jade spending required.
How to Get Level Up Materials Honkai Star Rail: Core Farmable Sources
If you’re looking for consistent, reliable sources of level up materials, these core farming spots will cover 70% of your needs long term. The most common mistake new players make here is running the wrong difficulty of calyxes, or wasting their limited Trailblaze Power on materials they don’t actually need right away. Double drop events are the best time to stock up on level up materials, so hold off on farming if you know an event is coming in the next week or two, you’ll get twice the rewards for the same amount of Trailblaze Power.
- Calyx (Crimson): Drops both Character EXP Materials and Credits, costs 10 Trailblaze Power per run. Run the highest difficulty you can clear quickly, as higher difficulties give slightly better drop rates per unit of Trailblaze Power.
- Simulated Universe: Bonus weekly rewards include hundreds of EXP books and millions of credits for clearing worlds, even if you only clear world 3 or 4 each week. The weekly point rewards also give extra materials for spending your Cosmic Fragments in the shop.
- Assignment System: Send unused characters on 4/8/20 hour assignments to get free level up materials without spending TB Power. Longer assignments give better value per hour, so set 20 hour assignments before you go to bed for maximum passive gains.
I once forgot to claim my assignment rewards for 10 days when I was busy with work, and when I finally logged back in, I had enough EXP books to level my new Fu Xuan from 1 to 75 without running a single calyx. That’s how valuable these free passive sources are, don’t sleep on them. Credit calyx runs give 20% more value during double drop events than EXP book runs, because you’ll need credits for both leveling and trace upgrades down the line.
Free Non-Farming Sources You’re Probably Missing
You don’t have to spend every last bit of Trailblaze Power on calyxes to get enough materials to level your team. There are dozens of free sources scattered across the game that most new players ignore, and they add up to a huge amount of resources over time. For example, every chest you open on every map gives at least a small amount of credits, and many give 1-star or 2-star EXP books that add up fast. I had a friend who skipped 80% of Jarilo-VI chests when he first started playing, and when he finally went back to open them all, he had enough materials to level his Bronya from 20 to 80 immediately.
Forgotten Hall stages also give massive amounts of level up materials as first clear rewards, even the early stages for new players. You don’t have to 3-star every stage to get the rewards, just clearing them once gives you enough books to level a character 10 or 20 levels. The Nameless Honor pass (free track) gives enough level up materials to level three characters to 70 every patch, so even if you don’t buy the paid pass, make sure you hit level 50 each patch to claim all the free rewards. Limited time events are another huge source, almost every event gives thousands of credits and dozens of EXP books for just playing through the casual story modes, you don’t even have to clear the hardest challenges to get most of the rewards.
How to Optimize Your Farming to Avoid Wasting Trailblaze Power
Trailblaze Power is the most limited resource in the game, so you want to make every bit count when you’re farming level up materials. First, only farm materials for characters you actually plan to use in your main team, not every 4-star you pull. A lot of new players spread their resources too thin, leveling 10 different characters to 50, and end up with no strong characters to clear Forgotten Hall or Simulated Universe endgame content.
Match your calyx runs to your daily mission requirements to get the most value out of your time. If your daily mission asks you to run 2 calyxes, pick the one that drops the materials you need right now, so you’re completing your daily mission and farming needed resources at the same time. If you have leftover TB Power at the end of the day, run the credit calyx, because credits are always in short supply, even at endgame. If you’re saving up for a new character coming on an upcoming banner, you can pre-farm their level up materials for two weeks before their banner drops, so you can level them to 80 the second you pull them. I did this for Jingliu and didn’t have to spend a single Stellar Jade on refills when I got her, which saved me around 1200 jades I could use for her signature light cone. Just don’t waste Stellar Jade on TB Power refills unless you’re in a huge hurry, it’s almost always better to save it for character or light cone pulls.
Common Mistakes That Waste Your Level Up Materials
Even if you’re farming all the right sources, you could be wasting a ton of materials without realizing it. The first mistake I see all the time is using high-tier EXP books on low-level characters. Using 5-star EXP books on characters below level 40 wastes over 30% of the EXP value because of the way the game rounds down EXP gains. Use 1 and 2-star books for low levels, save the purple and gold ones for levels 50+ to avoid wasting EXP.
Another common mistake is leveling characters you never plan to use past level 50. The free 100 Stellar Jade you get for leveling a character to 50 is worth the small investment, but don’t take them to 60 or 70 unless you actually add them to your team rotation. You should also avoid spending credits on trace upgrades for unused characters, that credits could go to leveling your main team first, which will help you clear harder content and get even more resources faster. Don’t sell your low-tier EXP books either, you can combine them in the synthesis menu for higher-tier ones if you have extra, but it’s almost always better to use them on low-level characters first to save your higher-tier books for endgame leveling.
At the end of the day, learning how to get level up materials Honkai Star Rail efficiently is all about working smarter, not harder. You don’t have to grind for hours every day to have enough resources for your favorite characters, just focus on the highest value sources, collect all the free rewards available, and avoid the common mistakes that waste your hard-earned materials. If you follow these tips, you’ll never find yourself stuck with a new character you can’t level again, and you’ll have more time to focus on the parts of the game you actually enjoy.
