Honkai: Star Rail: How to Level Up Characters

Looking for how to level up characters in Honkai: Star Rail? In order to progress in HoYoverse's hit turnbased RPG, you're going to want to make your characters as strong as possible. The best way to do this is by levelling them up. On this page, as part of our Honkai: Star Rail guide, we're going to explain how to level up characters.

How Do You Level Up Characters in Honkai: Star Rail?

Levelling up characters is an important part of progression in Honkai: Star Rail, as it increases their effectiveness and durability in battle, as well as their unique statistics. There are a number of steps you'll need to go through in order to level up characters, but we'll explain everything you need to know about how to level up characters on this page.

Increase Character Level

It's important not to confuse Trailblaze Level with character levels. Your Trailblaze Level reflects your overall progression through the game, while character levels are more specific to your unlocked characters. You'll earn XP by using your characters in battle, but you can level them up quicker by using Character EXP Materials. It should be noted that you'll only be able to reach determined level caps before you need to Ascend your character, which we'll explain below.

Ascend Your Characters

Character ascension occurs when you reach a level milestone and exchange materials to unlock the cap. This allows you to further level up your characters with Character EXP Materials before you reach the next milestone. Do keep in mind that sometimes you'll need to fulfil specific conditions, like reaching a designated Trailblaze Level or Equilibrium Level before you can Ascend.

Equip Relics and Light Cones

It's always important to equip Relics and Light Cones to your character in order to buff them further in combat. Relics are best used in sets, because you'll get statistical boosts for wearing two or four of the same type. Light Cones, meanwhile, can only be assigned based on Path Type. Both can be levelled up, and in the case of Light Cones you can Superimpose them by merging duplicates together.

Take a Look at Traces

Another way to level up your characters is to unlock Traces. As you level up your character and Ascend them, you'll be able to spend Trace Materials on improving your character's abilities in combat. Depending on the character, Traces will usually improve combat competency, the effectiveness of Skills and Ultimates, and so on, but the exact nature does vary on a character-by-character basis. Each character will also add new gain new abilities and buffs through their Traces.

Don't Forget Eidolons

A key aspect of gacha games is duplicates, and this system features in Honkai: Star Rail as well. The first time you pull a particular character, you'll be able to add them to your party. However, duplicate pulls will henceforth unlock Eidolons, which can be used to unlock improvements to the character's performance in combat. You can unlock a total of six Eidolons for each character, with this maximising their capabilities in combat.

Did you find this page on how to level up characters in Honkai: Star Rail helpful? Take a look at our Honkai: Star Rail guide, and let us know in the comments section below.