In Honkai: Star Rail, every time a new character releases, the question that stumps most Trailblazers is always “Should I pull the character’s signature light cone along with them?” Also called signature weapons, signature light cones are notoriously hard to pull and drain huge amounts of Stellar Jade. Is the strength boost actually worth your hard-earned currency, and what light cones can free-to-play and casual players use if they don’t have the signature option? We’ve compiled all the answers you need right here.
So many Trailblazers see the massive stats on a new signature light cone and jump straight to pulling, but the truth is that these 5-star options aren’t mandatory for every player. Before you spend your Stellar Jade, evaluate your needs based on these two core factors:
If you’re a brand new player just getting started, your top priority right now is building a full, functional team and expanding your character roster. Instead of dumping all your Stellar Jade into a signature weapon, pulling more new characters will make building your team far easier and help you clear all game modes much more smoothly. Even if you’re a veteran player, if you don’t have enough Stellar Jade saved up for your next target character, it’s almost always better to hold your resources for the character first. Signature light cones are almost always a quality of life upgrade, not a requirement to clear content.
If this character is your core damage dealer that you use on almost every run and in almost every team, investing in their signature light cone gives you incredible value for your Stellar Jade. But if you only pulled the character for collection and rarely use them on your active teams, their signature light cone will just sit unused in your inventory, making it a much lower-value investment.
If you’ve decided not to pull, or you just weren’t lucky enough to get the signature light cone, don’t worry. We’ve compiled the best F2P-friendly alternatives for every character role, including free event light cones and accessible 4-star options. Even fully refined 4-star alternatives are more than strong enough to handle almost every piece of content in the game:
Damage dealers rely the most on their light cone for extra damage, but there are high-value budget alternatives for every damage type. For Firefly, whose signature is Who Clears the Clouds, the best alternative is the free event light cone Mechanical Mind Meets the Crack, and the damage difference between the two is less than 10%. For Jing Yuan, whose signature is In the Night, a great replacement is the 4-star Only Radiance. For Black Swan, the high-value alternative to her signature Endless Illusion is the 4-star Together in the View, and it works well even if you don’t have it fully refined.
Preservation and Abundance characters care most about HP and defense stats, and there are tons of great budget options available. For Gepard, you can replace his signature Material of Memory with the fan-favorite 4-star Landau’s Choice, which actually has a more useful taunt effect for most teams. For Fu Xuan, the best alternative to her signature She Has Closed Her Eyes is Abyss in Memory, and even a fully refined 3-star Ode provides more than enough survivability for most content. For Bailu, the best replacement for her signature Warm Night Won’t Be Long is the 4-star Abundance, which is extremely versatile for any healer.
Support light cones focus on energy regeneration and extra damage buffs, and there are plenty of high-value budget options here too. For Bronya, the alternative to her signature But the Battle Isn’t Over is the 4-star Meeting the Planets that almost every player owns, with an extremely low investment cost. For Robin, the alternative to her signature Brighter Than Spring Sunlight is the 5-star Eternal Recurrence, and F2P players can also use the 4-star Simulation in Memory. For Tingyun, the classic budget alternative is the 3-star The Wheel, which performs almost as well as higher-rarity light cones when fully refined.
Overall, signature light cones do provide a noticeable boost to damage and overall gameplay experience, but they are never a mandatory pull that you have to get. If you have more than enough Stellar Jade saved and the character is a core long-term member of your roster, pulling their signature weapon is absolutely worth the investment. But if you’re a new player, short on resources, or haven’t finished building out your full character roster yet, you can absolutely clear all the hardest endgame content like Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow by prioritizing characters first and using these budget alternative light cones. You don’t need to stress about not having a signature light cone to enjoy and progress through the game.
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