HoYoverse new turn-based game has finally released its 2nd beta access. Have you already familiar with how the turn-based combat system works? Here are all 7 main principles that you need to know about the combat system.

Wondering which characters are the best? Check out our Honkai: Star Rail tier list guide.

1. Pre-battle activation: Weakness Advantage vs Ambush Disadvantage

Since Honkai: Star Rail is an open-world turn-based game, we as the player have the free will to engage in the battle or if we want to ignore the enemies in the world. Even before the combat begins, there are 2 things that you need to know first. One of them is the pre-battle advantage vs disadvantage.

When you approach the enemy, you can actually see the details of their attribute. What is the enemy’s level, what is their elemental weakness, and you can actually see the details of their available skills too. This will be crucial if you will fight some hard bosses and you want to know how to counter them during the battle.

To start the battle, you can simply press the attack button and it will trigger the combat sequence. But, if your active character’s element is the enemy’s elemental weakness, you will get a “headstart” in the combat. Basically, it will randomly reduce the enemy’s toughness bar.

You can read this article: Honkai: Star Rail Elements Weaknesses if you want to know more about the toughness bar, weakness break, and what exactly each element’s weakness break will do.

In this game, we are not the only ones who can trigger the battle. If we stand close enough to the enemy, they can also chase us and trigger the battle. But don’t worry, high-difficulty enemies like a world boss for example will not chase us, so we can always prepare ourselves first before triggering the attack with the bosses.

If the enemies managed to approach us and trigger the battle without us pressing the attack button, then we will get ambushed instead. Since our main party doesn’t have a toughness bar, the enemies will have a “headstart” with an early turn instead.

Need free items? Check out our Honkai Star Rail Codes page.

2. Pre-battle activation: Character Technique

Before the battle starts, you can also use the technique first. Technique is like a character’s support skill or buff skill that you can use to “modify” the start of the battle. Some characters like Dan Heng’s technique are used to buff themselves. Some character’s techniques are used to heal the entire team like our physical MC, some are used to deliver debuff to random enemies like March 7’s technique, and some characters like Blade’s technique are used to reduce random enemy’s HP bar.

We only have 4 stacks of technique, and each time any of our characters used the technique, the stacks will deplete. If we won the battle, it will recharge the technique stacks again. There is also a breakable item that will recharge our technique stacks.

Unfortunately, teleporting ourselves to the teleport waypoint will only heal our character’s HP bar and it will not replenish the technique stack.

So, you need to use your technique wisely, especially if you will fight stronger enemies.