One of Genshin Impact’s most maddening mechanics is the game’s Artifact System, which randomly enhances certain stats when equipment is upgraded. Unfortunately, HoYoverse seems to have brought this mechanic into Honkai: Star Rail under a new name.
HoYo’s latest project has a Relic System, which equips characters with up to six pieces of gear that raise stats like ATK, DEF, and SPD. It’s up to players to pick which pieces best complement their character. However, like in Genshin, that might be difficult with the levels of random chance involved in the process.
Honkai: Star Rail has five levels of RNG:
- Main stat
- Sub-stats
- Base number of initial sub-stats
- How much goes into each sub-stat
- Base number for each sub-stat
Each Relic has a main stat highlighted at the top of its profile. If you’re farming for attack-boosting Relics, then you want something like Crit DMG, Crit Rate, or ATK as your main stat. The main stat increases each time you level up the Relic. Then, the sub-stats themselves add a few more layers of RNG on top of that.
Honkai: Star Rail also has a random range of base numbers for each Relic sub-stat. One Relic might have a higher Crit Rate sub-stat than another one, which is enough for min-maxers to stress about finding a higher base sub-stat for their ideal artifact. Imagine grinding for five percent more Crit Rate than the luckiest player on Earth.
Thankfully, Relics have a lower max level than the Artifacts in Genshin Impact, so you won’t need to spend as many resources leveling them up.
Once you get to 5-star Relics, the highest-level Relics in the game, each Relic comes with three to four sub-stats right away. Relics will raise one of the sub-stats at random every three levels — Level 3, Level 6, and so on. If you get four sub-stats, then that means the next few levels will definitely raise one of those four sub-stats. If you only get three, then the next milestone will unlock the fourth sub-stat before it gets to raising any of the sub-stats. In that sense, Relics with four starting sub-stats have an edge over those with only three.
Honkai: Star Rail’s Relic System is almost identical — at first. High-level players like Valkyrja found that the game offers the option to craft custom Relics at Trailblaze Level 40, but it’s not so easy. You need either 100 Relic Remains or one Self-Modeling Resin to do it. Relic Remains come from salvaging 5-star Relics, which means exchanging the useless ones for Relic Remains. For lower-level Relics, you can only salvage them for level-raising materials.
So that means you need at least 100 5-star rejects to make a custom Relic. You can also get one Self-Modeling Resin for free at Level 40 on the Nameless Honor Battle Pass. It’s a big improvement that there even is an option to create your own Relic after grinding through battle after battle, but until then, you still need to suffer through the remaining layers of RNG.
Oh, and you can pay to get more Relic Remains from the Battle Pass. Well played, HoYo.
