HSR Gacha System Explained: Pity, Soft Pity & the 50/50 Rule
30-second summary: you are guaranteed a 5★ within 90 pulls (rates spike from pull ~74 — "soft pity"). When a 5★ drops on a limited banner it's 50% the featured character, 50% a standard one ("losing the 50/50") — but after losing, your NEXT 5★ is 100% guaranteed to be the featured character. Pity carries over between banners. (90/74/50-50 are numbers stated by the publisher in-game.)
What is pity?
Pity is a guarantee counter: every pull without a 5★ raises it by 1. If you reach pull 90 without one, that pull is GUARANTEED to be a 5★ — a losing streak cannot last forever.
The base 5★ rate per pull is only 0.6%. From around pull 74 the rate climbs steeply each pull (soft pity), so most players get their 5★ between pulls 75–85; very few ever hit 90.
For 4★: every 10 pulls guarantee at least one 4★ character or Light Cone. (official in-game figures.)
Want to know exactly how far your pity is from the guarantee? Try it for your own case → — enter your pull count and the tool simulates it instantly.
X-axis: pull # · Y-axis: cumulative chance of a 5★ by then (same numbers as the detailed table below)
The 50/50 and the guarantee
On a limited character banner, when a 5★ drops: 50% it's the featured character, 50% it's from the standard pool (Bronya, Gepard, Himeko, Welt, Bailu, Clara, Yanqing…). Getting a standard character is called "losing the 50/50".
Bailu
YanqingThe upside: after losing, your NEXT 5★ is 100% guaranteed to be the featured character — on whichever banner you pull next. This guarantee never expires when a banner ends.
Example: you pull Gepard on Feixiao's banner (a loss). You save jades for a later banner — your first 5★ there is guaranteed to be that banner's character. (official in-game figures.)
FeixiaoJust lost the 50/50? Try it for your own case → to see exactly when you're guaranteed the featured character.
How is the Light Cone banner different?
The Light Cone (weapon) banner is more forgiving: a 5★ is guaranteed within 80 pulls, and when it drops it's 75% the featured Cone (only 25% to lose). After a loss, the next one is guaranteed, same as characters.
Common community advice: pull CHARACTERS first — they change how you play far more; a signature Cone is a luxury upgrade for spare resources. (official in-game figures.)
Thinking about pulling for the Light Cone? Try it for your own case → in Light Cone banner mode.
Character bannerCap 90 pulls · 50% chance Light Cone bannerCap 80 pulls · 75% chance Using your pity wisely
Your pity is visible in-game: Warp → View Details → count pulls since your last 5★. Faster: enter your UID into GameVika's tools to read it automatically.
Three practical tips: (1) don't drip pulls into the standard banner — save for limited; (2) holding a guarantee with ~90 pulls saved means ANY featured character is a lock; (3) without a guarantee, budget ~180 pulls for the worst case (lose the 50/50, then build pity again). (official in-game figures.)
~90 pulls savedGuaranteed → featured character is a LOCK ~180 pulls savedNo guarantee → still safe for worst case The soft-pity curve: probability PER PULL (recalculated, not copied)
From pull 1 to 73, the 5★ rate stays flat at 0.6% per pull (publisher-stated number) — since it never changes, the table below collapses this range into one row. From pull 74 onward the rate climbs by 6 percentage points per pull (community-measured, NOT a publisher number) — the table below shows EVERY SINGLE PULL from 74 to 90 so you can see the actual climb, instead of a vague "around 70-80".
The "cumulative probability" column is the chance you've ALREADY gotten a 5★ by that exact pull — recalculated from the survival-probability formula, not copied from any other site. It lines up with the community rule of thumb: cumulative probability at pull 83 ≈ 99.3% — matching the commonly repeated "pull 83 is basically guaranteed", except here you get the exact number instead of a guess.
Reminder: the pull-74 threshold and the 6%/pull climb are COMMUNITY-MEASURED figures from tens of thousands of real pulls, NOT an official number published by HoYoverse — the game only states the base 0.6% rate and the hard cap of 90.
| Pull # | 5★ rate this pull (community) | Cumulative chance by now (community) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| 73 | 0.6% | 35.6% |
| 74 | 6.6% | 39.8% |
| 75 | 12.6% | 47.4% |
| 76 | 18.6% | 57.2% |
| 77 | 24.6% | 67.7% |
| 78 | 30.6% | 77.6% |
| 79 | 36.6% | 85.8% |
| 80 | 42.6% | 91.8% |
| 81 | 48.6% | 95.8% |
| 82 | 54.6% | 98.1% |
| 83 | 60.6% | 99.3% |
| 84 | 66.6% | 99.7% |
| 85 | 72.6% | 99.9% |
| 86 | 78.6% | 100.0% |
| 87 | 84.6% | 100.0% |
| 88 | 90.6% | 100.0% |
| 89 | 96.6% | 100.0% |
| 90 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
All 6 gacha banner types in the game data — including crossover banners
Official in-game data (version 4.4.0) lists exactly 6 gacha types that exist in the game — not just the 2-3 that usually get discussed: Normal (the standard/permanent banner), Newbie (the Departure Warp for new players), the Character Limited Warp (50% up-rate), the Light Cone Limited Warp (75% up-rate), and two types most guides skip: the Collab Character Warp and the Collab Light Cone Warp — used specifically for crossover events with other franchises. As of version 4.4.0, the game has run 134 Character Limited banners, 134 Light Cone Limited banners, and 4 banners each for the two collaboration types — crossovers aren't a one-off rarity.
Important for veteran players: per the game's own numbers, collaboration banners keep the exact same up-rate as regular limited banners — 50% for collab characters, 75% for collab Light Cones. The game doesn't publish a separate hard-pity figure (90/80 pulls) specifically for the two collaboration types apart from the regular limited banners, so this guide won't invent details beyond what the official in-game data actually confirms: the same 50/50 mechanic and the same 160-Jade ticket price.
JadeOne detail almost no guide mentions: the Normal (standard/permanent) banner has a "Direct Selection" mechanic — save up 300 pulls on this banner and you can CHOOSE any one of the 7 standard 5-star characters outright instead of relying on pure randomness. These are the same 7 names that can drop from the Departure Warp when you're brand new — see the full table in the Reroll guide. (official in-game figures.)
| Banner type | Ticket price | Up-rate | Hard pity | Banners run (as of 4.4.0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal (standard/permanent) | 160 Jade | — | 300 pulls for Direct Selection | 1 (permanent) |
| Newbie (Departure Warp) | 160 Jade | — | 50 pulls | 1 (one-time) |
| Character Limited Warp | 160 Jade | 50% | 90 pulls | 134 |
| Light Cone Limited Warp | 160 Jade | 75% | 80 pulls | 134 |
| Collab Character Warp | 160 Jade | 50% | not separately disclosed | 4 |
| Collab Light Cone Warp | 160 Jade | 75% | not separately disclosed | 4 |
What duplicate pulls convert into — Undying Starlight & Embers
When you pull a DUPLICATE copy (not counting the first time you own a character/Light Cone), the extra copy is automatically converted into one of two stockpile currencies: Undying Starlight (from Limited Warps — event-banner 5★/4★ characters and Light Cones) and Undying Embers (from 3★ Light Cones on the Standard Warp).
The exact conversion numbers below are cross-checked and matching between multiple independent community sources: a duplicate 5★ character (1st-6th dup) = 40 Undying Starlight + 1 Eidolon material; from the 7th dup onward = 100 Undying Starlight + 1 Silver Companion Spirit; a duplicate 4★ character (1st-6th dup) = 8 Undying Starlight + 1 Eidolon material, from the 7th dup = 20 Undying Starlight; a 5★ Light Cone (Limited Warp) = 40 Undying Starlight; a 4★ Light Cone = 8 Undying Starlight; a 3★ Light Cone (Standard Warp) = 20 Undying Embers.
At the Starlight Exchange shop, Undying Starlight buys a Star Rail Pass or Star Rail Special Pass for 20 Undying Starlight each, with no purchase limit — this price was confirmed matching across two independent aggregated sources.
However, the exact Undying Embers price for a Star Rail Pass at the Embers Exchange is reported inconsistently across community sources (160 vs. 150 Undying Embers) — these two numbers CONTRADICT each other, so the specific figure is CUT from this page; we only state that the Embers Exchange does sell Passes and upgrade materials, without giving a price.
The only 2 real signals a 5★ is coming (no superstition works)
There are only 2 REAL signals, both from the pity mechanic itself — no other signal is trustworthy: (1) Pulls since your last 5★ — every HSR Limited/Standard Warp has a BASE 5★ rate of 0.6% per pull for the first 73 pulls; starting at pull 74 the system enters "soft pity", raising the rate each pull up to roughly 6% by pull 89; and at pull 90 "hard pity" GUARANTEES a 5★.
(2) The 50/50 mechanic — when a 5★ drops on a Character Limited Warp, there's a 50% chance it's the rate-up (featured) character and 50% chance it's a standard 5★ character instead; if you lose that 50/50, the VERY NEXT 5★ is 100% guaranteed to be the featured character. Both the 74 and 90 pull counts are confirmed matching across multiple independent community sources and years of community-verified pull statistics across millions of tracked pulls.
There is no superstition-based signal (changing your pull time, lunar dates, full moons…) that affects the 5★ rate — every pull is an independent draw following the exact rate table above, regardless of real-world time or date.
FAQ
Does pity reset when a banner ends?
No. Pity and the guarantee carry over between limited character banners. Character, Light Cone and standard banners keep three SEPARATE counters.
Do 10-pulls have better odds than singles?
No — each pull has identical odds. A 10-pull is just convenient. Singles even let you stop the moment your character drops, wasting fewer pulls.
How much Stellar Jade per pull?
160 Stellar Jade = 1 pull. So 90 pulls ≈ 14,400 jade and 180 pulls ≈ 28,800. Use GameVika's Jade Planner to see how long saving takes. (official in-game figures.)
Do collaboration/crossover banners have different rates than regular limited banners?
No. Per the official in-game numbers, collaboration character banners still have a 50% up-rate and collaboration Light Cone banners still have 75% — identical to regular limited banners, just labeled under a different type in the game data. (official in-game figures.)
What do you get after 300 pulls on the standard banner?
You get to directly pick one of the 7 standard 5-star characters (Himeko, Welt, Bronya, Gepard, Clara, Yanqing, Bailu) instead of waiting for a random drop — the Direct Selection mechanic recorded in the official in-game data for the Normal banner. It costs far more than the 90-pull limited banner pity, so most players only grind toward it when chasing one specific name from that list. (official in-game figures.)
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