The Most Common HSR Beginner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (Stop Wasting Resources)
30-second answer: The biggest HSR beginner mistakes are spending Jades on the Standard banner, leveling too many characters at once, letting Trailblaze Power overflow, and upgrading throwaway relics. Avoid them by saving Jades for limited banners (a 5★ is guaranteed within 90 pulls and your pity count carries over forever), focusing on one team of four — Traces included — and spending your 240 daily Trailblaze Power on EXP and materials before touching relic farms. GameVika's Pity Counter and Materials Planner cover most of these traps for you.
Mistake 1: Spending Jades on the Standard Banner
Stellar Jades are your rarest currency — one Warp costs 160 Jades. The two most common rookie mistakes: spending Jades on the Standard banner (the permanent one), and sprinkling a few pulls across every banner. Pull the Standard banner only with the free passes the game hands you; save Jades and Special Passes for limited character banners. Here's why: the pity system guarantees a 5★ within 90 pulls at most. That 5★ has a 50% chance to be the featured character, and if you lose the 50/50, your next 5★ is guaranteed to be the featured one. Most importantly, your pity count never resets when a banner ends — it carries over intact to the next limited banner. Stopping halfway costs you nothing; scattering Jades everywhere costs you a lot. Before you commit to pulling, check GameVika's Pity Counter to see exactly how many pulls you are from the guarantee, then decide.
Mistake 2: Letting Trailblaze Power Overflow (or Spending It Wrong)
Trailblaze Power is your stamina — think of it as a fuel tank. It regenerates 1 point every 6 minutes, roughly 240 per day. Once it caps, the overflow trickles into reserve power at one-third speed, so sitting at a full tank means you're leaking fuel. The second mistake is spending it wrong. Early on, funnel everything into EXP books and Credits to power up your main team; ascension and Trace materials come next. Do not farm relics yet — at low account levels the drops are mostly 2-3★ pieces you'll replace anyway. With only about 240 power a day, spending correctly matters far more than spending a lot. To know exactly how many books and materials a character needs to hit your target level, plug them into GameVika's Materials Planner and farm off a checklist instead of guessing.
- 1EXP materials + credits for your core teamRush your main team's levels first
- 2Ascension + Trace materialsThe next step once the team is levelled
- 3Hold off on farming RelicsLow levels only drop 2-3★ gear you'll replace later
Mistake 3: Leveling Too Many Characters at Once
HSR combat teams run exactly 4 characters. New players try to raise everyone at once and end up with a warehouse of half-leveled units that can't clear anything. Pick one team of four using a simple formula: a main damage dealer, a buffer, a debuffer or shield-breaker, and a healer or tank. Give those four everything first — everyone else can wait. And leveling isn't the whole job: Traces — the passive skill tree and skill upgrades — carry a huge chunk of a character's power and are the thing beginners skip most. A lower-level character with filled-out Traces often outperforms a higher-level one with empty Traces. Since different characters need different Trace materials, check GameVika's Materials Planner before you farm, so a week of grinding doesn't end with the wrong materials sitting in your bag.
Mistake 4: Upgrading Junk Relics Too Early
Relics are your gear — and upgrading them is the biggest resource sink in the game. The mechanic is fixed: every +3 levels, a relic gains a new substat or upgrades an existing one; 5★ relics cap at +15 and start with 3-4 substats. The higher the rarity, the faster costs snowball. The classic beginner mistake is dumping all your upgrade materials into early 3-4★ pieces you'll replace within weeks — money out the window. Early on, upgrade just enough to keep progressing, and prioritize pieces with the right main stat for the role: attack or damage stats for your carry, healing for your healer. Serious relic farming only pays off once your Equilibrium level is high and 5★ pieces drop consistently. Not sure whether a piece is a keeper? Drop it into GameVika's Relic Scorer — it grades relics per character, so you never invest in junk again.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Light Cone Paths
Light Cones are your characters' weapons, and there's one hard rule many beginners never learn: a Light Cone's passive only activates when its Path matches the wearer's Path. Off-Path, you still get the base stats but lose the entire effect — like buying a flagship phone just to make calls. Mistake number two: spending materials on 3★ Light Cones. Those are stopgaps for the first days; 4★ cones from warps and events will serve you for a very long time. If you're eyeing the Light Cone banner, know its separate rules: pity hits at 80 pulls, and any 5★ you get has a 75% chance to be the featured cone — friendlier odds than the character banner. Still, on a tight beginner budget, new characters usually deserve priority. Which cone to level, how much it costs, where to stop — run it through GameVika's Materials Planner before spending.
Mistake 6: Skipping Free Jades, Passes, and Event Rewards
Free Jades come from many places, and the single biggest source each version is limited-time events: clearing the event lineup typically nets several hundred to over a thousand Jades, costs almost no Trailblaze Power, and events often lend trial characters so even a thin roster can join. Never skip them. Then keep the daily engine running: Daily Training pays a fixed 60 Jades at 500 activity points — over 10 pulls a month; Assignments send idle characters off to bring back Credits and materials every day for zero effort; Simulated Universe pays weekly Jades and is the main source of Planar Ornaments (the two special relic slots). And here's the one most beginners never find: the Embers Exchange shop. Undying Embers pile up automatically as you warp, and every month you can trade them for 5 Star Rail Passes plus 5 Special Passes — ten free pulls that are lost if you forget to claim them. Finally, redemption codes: HoYoverse hands out 
Jade codes with every version launch and livestream, but they expire. GameVika's Codes page keeps a live list of working codes you can copy in one visit.
Limited-time eventsBiggest jade source each version, barely any stamina Daily Training60 jade a day when you hit 500 activity Simulated UniversePays out jade every week 
Embers Exchange5 regular + 5 Special Passes every month Redemption codesGiven out each new version and livestream, they expire 
Mistake 7: Wasting Skill Points and Ignoring Weakness Elements
Two combat habits sink beginners even with a properly leveled team. First: burning Skill Points carelessly. Your whole team shares one pool capped at 5 points — Basic Attacks generate one, Skills consume one. If everyone spams Skills every turn, the pool runs dry right when your main damage dealer needs it most. The simple rule: supports use Basic Attacks to bank points, and the carry spends them. Second: ignoring weakness elements. Every enemy has a white Toughness bar with weakness icons above its head, and only attacks matching those elements chip that bar down. Empty it and you trigger a Weakness Break — the enemy staggers, its turn gets delayed, and it takes extra damage. Attack with the wrong elements and the bar never moves, turning easy fights into slugfests. Before entering any challenge, check the enemy weaknesses shown right on the entry screen and bring four characters whose elements match. It's the cheapest power boost in the game: no Jades, no materials — just picking the right team for the fight in front of you.
FAQ
Should I reroll my account when starting HSR?
Not worth it. Rerolling takes a long time, while the game showers you with Jades early on and pity never resets. Keep your account, stockpile Jades for the limited banner of a character you actually want — you'll get strong faster than any reroll.
Do I lose my pity when I lose the 50/50 or when a banner ends?
No. Your pull count carries over intact to the next limited banner of the same type. And after losing the 50/50, your next 5★ is guaranteed to be the featured character. Load your warp history into GameVika's Pity Counter to see exactly where you stand.
When should I start farming relics seriously?
Not early on: low-level runs mostly drop 2-3★ pieces you'll replace anyway. Use whatever you pick up, upgrade just enough to progress, and only start dedicated relic farming once your Equilibrium level is high enough for consistent 5★ drops.
What should I spend Trailblaze Power on as a beginner?
EXP books and Credits first to push your main team, then ascension and Trace materials; relics come last. Try to spend the roughly 240 power you regenerate daily so nothing overflows. Use GameVika's Materials Planner to calculate exactly what to farm.
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