If you’ve ever stared at a limited Honkai Star Rail banner counting down the days until your favorite 5-star leaves, only to realize you’re 12 pulls short of hitting pity, you know how frustrating that feels. A lot of players assume you have to spend hundreds of dollars to get the characters you want, but that’s not true at all. I’ve been a fully free-to-play HSR player since launch, and I’ve unlocked 12 limited 5-star characters so far without spending a cent. Learning how to get more pulls in Honkai Star Rail just comes down to knowing which rewards to prioritize, and which hidden sources of Stellar Jade most players miss. These tips work for casual and hardcore players alike, and you can start using them today to build up your pull stash fast.
Maximize Daily and Weekly Repeatable Rewards for Steady Pulls
Repeatable rewards are the backbone of any f2p player’s pull income, because they give you a consistent amount of Stellar Jade and passes every single week, no matter what events are running. You don’t have to grind for hours to get these rewards either, most of them take less than 15 minutes total to collect each day. Don't skip daily training even if you only have 10 minutes to play; 60 Stellar Jade a day adds up to 1,800 a month, which is enough for 11 pulls right there. That’s a free 10-pull every other month, just for doing a few quick tasks.
- Daily Training: 60 Stellar Jade per day for completing 5 simple tasks like defeating 20 enemies or using 2 character skills in combat
- Weekly Simulated Universe Point Exchanges: 2 Star Rail Special Passes every week for 1,200 points, which you can earn even from running low-level worlds
- Weekly Boss Fights: 30 Stellar Jade per boss defeat, up to 3 per week for 90 total, plus rare upgrade materials for your characters
- Forgotten Hall Weekly Reset: 60 Stellar Jade per star earned on Memory of Chaos stages, even if you only get 2 stars per stage, that’s 720 Stellar Jade a month
A lot of new players skip the Simulated Universe because they think it’s too hard, but even if you can only clear the first 3 worlds, you’ll still earn enough points for those 2 free Special Passes every week. Simulated Universe runs also give you relics and upgrade materials, so you’re making your characters stronger at the same time you’re farming for pulls. If you’re really short on time, you can even use the auto-battle feature to clear runs while you’re doing other things. Just make sure you claim your points from the in-game shop before the weekly reset every Monday, or you’ll lose them.
How to get more pulls in Honkai Star Rail from one-time, missable rewards
Repeatable rewards give you steady income, but one-time rewards are where you can get huge stacks of pulls in a very short amount of time. Most players only collect obvious chests as they play through the main story, but there are hundreds of hidden chests, achievement rewards, and quest rewards that go unclaimed for months. I once went back through Jarilo-VI after finishing the main story and found 800 unclaimed Stellar Jade in hidden chests and side quests I skipped, which was enough for 5 extra pulls right before a limited banner I wanted ended.
Character story quests are one of the most missed sources of free pulls. Every character, even 3-star characters like Natasha and Hook, have a short story quest that gives 60 Stellar Jade when you complete it. You only need one story key to unlock each quest, and you earn one key every 2 days from doing daily tasks, so you can easily clear 3 or 4 of these a month for extra Jade. If you haven't cleared all hidden achievements for the current open world map, you could be sitting on over 1000 unclaimed Stellar Jade. Even small bronze achievements give 5 Stellar Jade each, and there are hidden achievements for things like jumping off a high ledge 10 times or defeating an enemy with a basic attack only.
You should also make sure you claim all rewards from the Adventure Rank level up system, and the Herta Space Station achievement shop. The Herta shop lets you exchange leftover Hertareum for up to 20 Star Rail Passes and 5 Special Passes, which a lot of new players don’t even know exists. Just don’t waste your Hertareum on trash items like level up materials you can farm for free, save it for those passes first.
Take Full Advantage of Limited-Time Events for Bonus Pulls
Limited-time events are the fastest way to earn a huge number of pulls in a short period. Most events run for 2 weeks, and the average event gives between 1,600 and 3,000 Stellar Jade, plus often free Special Passes and even free 4-star characters. That’s enough for 10 to 18 pulls per event, which can be the difference between hitting pity for your favorite character and missing them for 6 months.
You don’t have to be a hardcore player to get all the pull-related rewards from events, either. Most events split their rewards into tiers, and the first 80% of rewards, including all the Stellar Jade and passes, are locked behind very easy tasks that take 10 minutes or less to complete each day. The harder challenges only give cosmetic rewards like profile pictures or phone wallpapers, so you don’t have to waste time on them if you don’t care about that stuff. Even if you're a casual player who only logs in a few times a week, you can get all the pull-related rewards from most events with minimal effort.
Don’t forget to claim maintenance rewards and free login gifts too. Every time the game gets a version update every 6 weeks, HoYoverse gives out 600 Stellar Jade as compensation for server downtime, which is almost 4 free pulls. They also often give out free Special Passes for anniversaries, holiday events, or even when they fix a big bug. Make sure you check your in-game mail at least once a week, because these rewards expire after 30 days and you can’t get them back once they’re gone.
Spend Your Pull Currency Wisely to Avoid Waste
It doesn’t matter how many pulls you earn if you waste them on banners you don’t actually care about. A lot of new players blow all their Stellar Jade on the first limited banner that comes out, just because they’re excited to pull, then end up with no Jade left when a character they really want drops a few weeks later. Taking a few minutes to plan your pulls will make sure you never miss out on a character you’ve been waiting for.
First, make sure you know the difference between the three types of pull currency. Star Rail Passes work on the standard permanent banner, Special Star Rail Passes work on limited character and light cone banners, and Stellar Jade can be exchanged for either type of pass. Never use Stellar Jade to buy standard Star Rail Passes, always save it for Special Passes for limited banners you want. You’ll get plenty of standard passes for free from Adventure Rank ups, events, and weekly rewards, so you don’t need to waste your hard-earned Jade on them. Standard banner characters like Bronya and Gepard will drop eventually for free, but limited characters like Jing Yuan or Kafka only come around once every 6 to 12 months.
You should also understand how the pity system works, so you don’t waste pulls unnecessarily. For limited character banners, you’re guaranteed a 5-star character every 90 pulls, and if that 5-star isn’t the limited rate-up character, your next 5-star will be. Remember that pity carries over between banners of the same type, so you don't lose your progress if you skip a banner. That means if you do 50 pulls on one limited banner and don’t get a 5-star, those 50 pulls count towards your pity on the next limited character banner that comes out. You don’t have to pull on every banner that releases, it’s totally fine to save for 2 or 3 months to get enough pulls to guarantee the character you want.
At the end of the day, you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to build the team you want in Honkai Star Rail. Learning how to get more pulls in Honkai Star Rail is just about being consistent with your daily and weekly tasks, not missing hidden one-time rewards, taking full advantage of limited events, and being smart about which banners you spend your currency on. I’ve used these exact tips to get every limited character I’ve wanted for the last two years as a fully free-to-play player, so I know they work. Next time a character you’ve been waiting for drops, you’ll have a stack of pulls waiting for you, instead of panicking about not having enough to hit pity.
