Zenless Zone Zero
Stellar Jade and Warp Pity in Honkai: Star Rail
Stellar Jade turns into the passes you use to pull for 5-star characters and Light Cones, so spending it badly really hurts. This guide covers where to earn it for free, where to spend it, how pity and the 50/50 actually work, and how to pick a banner in version 4.6.
In This Guide
What Stellar Jade Is Actually For
You can’t pull on a banner with Stellar Jade directly. First you trade it for passes at 160 Stellar Jade each, then you spend the passes on Warps. There are two kinds of pass, and picking the wrong one wastes your savings:
- Star Rail Special Pass: used on the limited character banner (Character Event Warp) and the limited Light Cone banner (Light Cone Event Warp). This is the one you want almost every time.
- Star Rail Pass: used on the permanent Stellar Warp and the Departure Warp for new players. What the permanent banner offers is almost always worse than the limited banners, so don’t spend Stellar Jade on these passes. The one exception is the Departure Warp for new accounts, covered further down.
Stellar Jade can also refill Trailblaze Power, the stamina you spend farming materials. Every refill trades away part of a pull for a little extra farming.
Where to Get Free Stellar Jade
Free Stellar Jade comes in two flavors: one-time rewards and rewards that refresh. New players should clear out the one-time sources first. Once you’ve caught up on the story, the repeating sources are what keep your stash growing.
| Source | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trailblaze Missions and some Adventure Missions | One-time | Playing through the main story pays out Stellar Jade, and some side missions reward it too. |
| Treasure chests | One-time | Spread across every area. Each chest gives a small amount, so exploring properly adds up. |
| Warp Trotters | One-time | You’ll run into these enemies all over the map. Beat one and it drops Stellar Jade. |
| Tutorials | One-time | Every tip you see on screen while playing pays out a bit of Stellar Jade. Open the Tutorials menu now and then to read any you skipped. |
| Dreamscape Pass stickers | One-time | Pick up Stickers as you explore Penacony, then add them to your Dreamscape Pass to earn Stellar Jade. |
| Events | Repeating | A fairly easy way to earn Stellar Jade. Claim every reward before the event closes. |
| Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction, Apocalyptic Shadow | Repeating | The three endgame modes reset on a cycle, and clearing all their stages pays out a lot of Stellar Jade. This is your steady income once the story is done. |
| Simulated Universe Weekly Point Rewards | Repeating | Earn enough points each week to claim the rewards, which include Stellar Jade. |
If You Want to Spend a Little
Oneiric Shards are the paid currency, and they convert to Stellar Jade at 1:1. The first time you buy each top-up option, you usually get double the Oneiric Shards. After that, you get the base amount.
For light spenders, the Express Supply Pass is better value than buying Oneiric Shards on their own. You get some Oneiric Shards right away when you buy it, then extra Stellar Jade every day you log in for as long as the pass lasts.
Where to Spend Stellar Jade and Other Currencies
Stellar Jade isn’t the only currency that piles up in your inventory. A lot of players leave the others sitting there untouched. Here’s where each one does the most good:
| Currency | Where to use it | Best buy |
|---|---|---|
| Stellar Jade | Exchange for passes, 160 each | Star Rail Special Passes for limited banners |
| Oneiric Shard | Converts 1:1 into Stellar Jade | Convert it, then spend it as above |
| Undying Embers | Embers Exchange in the Store | Star Rail Special Passes, Star Rail Passes and Tracks of Destiny |
| Undying Starlight | Starlight Exchange in the Store | A 5-star Light Cone of your choice |
| Credits | Spent directly | Leveling characters, upgrading Traces, enhancing Light Cones |
Tracks of Destiny are what you need to max out a character’s Traces, and you only get a handful each month. That’s why, after the passes, they’re the item to buy regularly from the Embers Exchange.
The Starlight Exchange is one of the few places where you pick a 5-star Light Cone yourself instead of pulling for it. Choose one that matches the Path of a main character you plan to use for a long time, so it stays useful.
How Pity Works on Each Banner
Pity is the maximum number of pulls it can take on a banner to get a 4-star or a 5-star. Getting one earlier is completely normal. The pity number is just the ceiling for your worst luck.
| Banner | 4-star pity | 5-star pity | Base 5-star rate | Base 4-star rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character Event Warp (limited character) | 10 pulls | 90 pulls | 0.6% | 5.1% |
| Light Cone Event Warp (limited Light Cone) | 10 pulls | 80 pulls | 0.8% | 6.6% |
| Stellar Warp (permanent) | 10 pulls | 90 pulls | 0.6% | 5.1% |
| Departure Warp (beginner) | 10 pulls | 50 pulls | 0.6% | 5.1% |
Here’s how that plays out. If you go 9 pulls without a 4-star or better, pull 10 is guaranteed to be a 4-star or higher. If you reach pull 89 on a character banner with no 5-star, pull 90 will be one. Each banner also lists its pity under View Details.
Four Separate Counters
- Each banner type (limited character, limited Light Cone, permanent, beginner) has its own counter. Pulling on the Light Cone banner does nothing for your character banner pity.
- A 4-star only resets the 4-star counter, and your 5-star counter keeps going. A 5-star resets both.
- When a banner ends, your pull count carries over to the next banner of the same type.
- When two limited character banners run side by side, they share one counter. Pulls on either one add to the same number.
Is Soft Pity Real?
There’s no official confirmation from HoYoverse, so soft pity counts as a hidden mechanic. Many players think your 5-star odds start rising as you approach pull 89 (pull 79 on the Light Cone banner). When you plan your Stellar Jade, use hard pity (90 and 80) as your target. Anything that comes earlier is a bonus.
The 50/50 and the Guarantee
When you hit a 5-star on the character banner, there’s only a 50% chance it’s the featured character. Otherwise you get an off-banner character. The Light Cone banner is kinder at 75%. After every 5-star, the game handles it like this:
You win the 50/50
You get the featured characterYour counter goes back to 0, and your next 5-star is a 50/50 again.
You lose the 50/50
You get an off-banner characterYou’re now on guarantee: your next 5-star will be the featured character. The guarantee stays with you even if the banner ends.
Two 5-stars in one 10-pull
The last one decidesIf the later 5-star is the featured character, your next one is a 50/50. If the later one is off-banner, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be featured.
The same rule applies to 4-stars. Each 4-star has a 50% chance (75% on the Light Cone banner) to be one of the featured 4-stars. Miss, and your next 4-star is guaranteed to be a featured one.
How Much Stellar Jade You Need in the Worst Case
| Goal | Max pulls | Stellar Jade |
|---|---|---|
| Any 4-star | 10 | 1,600 |
| One of the featured 4-stars | 20 | 3,200 |
| Any 5-star on the character banner | 90 | 14,400 |
| The featured 5-star character, guaranteed | 180 | 28,800 |
| Any 5-star on the Light Cone banner | 80 | 12,800 |
| The featured 5-star Light Cone, guaranteed | 160 | 25,600 |
| A 5-star on the Departure Warp | 50 (20% off) | 6,400 |
| The 5-star selector on the Stellar Warp | 300 | 48,000 |
A quick example: you’re 60 pulls past your last 5-star, and that 5-star was off-banner. You’re on guarantee, so the most you need is 30 more pulls, or 4,800 Stellar Jade. If that last 5-star was the featured character, you have to plan for losing the next 50/50 too: up to 30 plus 90 pulls, which is 19,200 Stellar Jade.
Celestial Invitation: A Wider Off-Banner Pool
Losing the 50/50 on the character banner used to mean getting one of the permanent banner characters. With Celestial Invitation, Seele, Blade and Fu Xuan can now show up as the off-banner 5-star as well, and more limited characters may be added to that pool later. If a banner features one of these three, your odds of getting them on that banner are higher.
How to Track Your Own Pity
The game doesn’t show a pity counter anywhere, so you have to count it yourself from your Warp history:
- Open the banner detailsOn the Warp screen, tap View Details on the banner you’re pulling on.
- Go to RecordsOpen the Records tab. It only keeps your pulls from the last 6 months.
- Find your last 4-star and 5-starPage back to your most recent 4-star or 5-star and count the pulls from there to now. Count each banner type separately.
- Check if you’re on guaranteeLook at your last 5-star on the character banner. If it was off-banner, you’re holding a guarantee. The game doesn’t show this anywhere else.
Which Banners Are Worth Pulling
A few rules to keep in mind before you look at any specific banner:
- Limited character banners come first. What you get there is almost always better than what the permanent banner offers.
- Characters before Light Cones. Plenty of characters have solid substitute Light Cones, so only pull on the Light Cone banner when a key character of yours really lacks good options.
- Pull for the teams you have. A strong character who doesn’t fit any of your teams won’t do much for you. Check team ideas on the teams page and character strength on the tier list.
- New players should do the Departure Warp first. You pull there in batches of 10 at 20% off, which means 40 passes (6,400 Stellar Jade) are enough to lock in a 5-star character. The banner disappears once you’ve done all 50 pulls.
- Save the Stellar Warp for your regular Star Rail Passes. It’s the only banner with both 5-star characters and 5-star Light Cones. After 300 pulls you get a 5-star selector (once per account) that lets you pick one character from Bailu, Bronya, Clara, Gepard, Himeko, Welt and Yanqing. On the current tier list, Bronya and Welt are S+ Overall, and Himeko is SS in Pure Fiction specifically.
Where to See Which Banners Are Running
Banners change every half version, so we don’t list them here. Check what’s live on Banner History, look up how strong the featured character is on the tier list, then find them in the character list and see which teams they slot into.
An easy rule of thumb: a character rated SS or S+ on the Overall tab who also fits a team you already run is worth saving for. If they’re strong but don’t fit any of your teams, think twice, because you’d need to pull extra partners before they pay off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I lose my pity when a banner ends?
No. Your pull count carries over to the next banner of the same type. Say you did 89 pulls on a character banner with no 5-star and then the banner closed: your first pull on the next character banner counts as pull 90 and will be a 5-star. If you weren’t on guarantee, that 5-star still has a 50% chance of being off-banner.
If I lose the 50/50 and the banner ends, do I keep the guarantee?
Yes. Your next 5-star on a limited character banner will be that banner’s featured character. To check whether you still have it, look at your last 5-star in Records and see if it was off-banner.
How much Stellar Jade do I need to guarantee a limited character?
In the worst case, 180 pulls, or 28,800 Stellar Jade. That’s what it takes if you lose the 50/50 on your first 5-star. If you’re already on guarantee from an earlier loss, you need at most 90 pulls (14,400 Stellar Jade). For a limited Light Cone, the worst case is 160 pulls (25,600 Stellar Jade).
Does getting a 4-star reset my 5-star pity?
No. A 4-star only resets the 4-star counter, and your 5-star counter keeps climbing. Both counters go back to 0 only when you get a 5-star.
How does the 50/50 work if I get two 5-stars in one 10-pull?
The game goes by the 5-star that came last. If the last one is the featured character, your next 5-star is a 50/50 again. If the last one is off-banner, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be featured.
Should I buy regular Star Rail Passes with Stellar Jade?
Usually not. Regular passes only work on the Stellar Warp and the Departure Warp, and what those banners offer is weaker than the limited banners. The exception is the Departure Warp for new players: 20% off and a 5-star within 50 pulls makes it worth it. Otherwise, use the Star Rail Passes you earn, or the ones you buy with Undying Embers, on the Stellar Warp.
Related Guides
Updated October 7, 2026 (version 4.6). See also all guides, the tier list and the best teams.