HSR Currency Wars Guide: Best Characters, Tips and More!

A new strategic frontier has arrived in Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.7 introduces Currency Wars, a permanent, auto-chess-inspired game mode that challenges you to build a 10-character roster, manage an economy, and conquer a series of battles. This guide will break down everything you need to know, from core mechanics to the best strategies for victory.

What is Currency Wars?

Currency Wars is a new endgame mode where you assemble a team of up to 10 characters on a tactical board before engaging in automated combat. Your goal is to progress through three planes of battle nodes, defeat a final boss, and manage your squad's HP throughout the run.

Running on a bi-weekly rotation with modes like Divergent Universe, it focuses on strategic planning, team synergy, and economic management rather than direct, turn-by-turn control.

Team Building: On-Field vs. Off-Field

Your roster is split into two positions:

• On-Field (4 Characters): These are the characters you directly control in battle. Placing a character in their designated on-field slot can unlock new or significantly enhanced abilities not seen in the main game (e.g., Firefly gains access to a powerful boss move).
• Off-Field (6 Characters): These units act automatically, providing support, follow-up attacks, or buffs based on their unique off-field empowerment abilities.

Some characters are flexible and can be placed in either position, which changes how their kit functions.

The Economy

Coins are King!

Gold Coins are the core resource. You use them to:

• Recruit Characters from the in-mode store.
• Buy EXP to increase your account level, which raises your maximum team size.
• Refresh the Store to find the characters you need.

How to Earn Coins:

• Base reward from winning battles.
• Interest: For every 10 Coins you save, you gain +1 bonus Coin after a battle (up to +3).
• Win Streak bonuses.
• Reward nodes and certain Bond effects.

Smart saving to generate interest is a key strategy for a powerful late-game economy.

Character Recruitment, Cost, and Rarity

Availability: All characters are available as trial versions if you don't own them. Owned characters use your progression data, and under-built ones are automatically enhanced to a template standard.

Cost & Rarity: Characters have a cost from 1 to 5, indicated by their color (Grey=1, Green=2, Blue=3, Purple=4, Gold=5). Higher cost generally means a stronger base kit, but lower-cost units often have higher scaling potential.

Star Level: Characters start at 1-star. Buying 3 copies of the same character merges them into a 2-star version, and 3x 2-star copies create a powerful 3-star unit. A 3-star, low-cost character can often outperform a 1-star, high-cost one.

Bonds: Powerful Faction Synergies

Bonds are faction- or playstyle-based synergies. Deploying multiple characters from the same Bond unlocks powerful team-wide effects.

Bond Name	Effect
Xianzhou	Summons the Lightning-Lord to attack all enemies.
Wolf Hunt	Summons a "Borisin" ally that evolves and strengthens during combat.
Follow-up ATK	Triggers a "Unified Attack" that deals True Damage based on accumulated follow-up damage.
Stellaron Hunters	The best-equipped Hunter becomes the "Star Hunter," and others assist them, triggering powerful coordinated attacks.
Bloodflame	Based on the HP consumed by "Bloodflame" members, increases the damage dealt by "Bloodflame Arena" members, and activates "Bloodflame Arena" to attack all enemy targets.
Skill Point	Increases ally max Skill Points. When "Skill Point" members consume Skill Points, they can draw for a prize, with a chance to gain benefits such as DMG Boost, Skill Point restoration, immediate action, or other effects.
Cosmic Scholar	Stacks "Cake Cats" based on the star level of "Cosmic Scholar" members and receives bonus rewards according to the number of stacks.

Mixing and matching Bonds is crucial for creating a dominant team.

Equipment and Customization

You can equip up to 3 items on your characters.

Two Basic Equipment items can be synthesized into one Advanced Equipment, which inherits base stats and gains a powerful unique effect (e.g., instantly activating the wearer's Ultimate).

Prioritize equipping your main damage dealers.

 

Best Teams

While team composition is highly flexible, focusing on strong synergies is the path to victory.

High-Cost Carries (4-5 Cost): Characters like Jing Yuan, Firefly, Topaz, and Feixiao are excellent candidates to be your team's primary damage source. Invest your resources in upgrading and equipping them.

Key Enablers: Characters whose off-field abilities or Bond synergies enable your entire team. Kafka (for DoT teams), Silver Wolf (for Stellaron Hunter teams), and Robin (for Follow-up teams) are incredibly valuable.

Low-Cost, High-Potential Units: Don't ignore 1 and 2-cost characters. Herta can become a monster if she gets enough kills to scale, and Qingque benefits greatly from the mode's altered mechanics.

Powerful Team Archetypes to Try:

• The Follow-Up Army: Combine Topaz, Dr. Ratio, Aventurine, and Robin to trigger the "Follow-up ATK" Bond and unleash a barrage of coordinated assaults.
• Stellaron Hunter Squad: Build around Firefly, Kafka, Blade, and Silver Wolf. The "Stellaron Hunters" Bond turns your best-geared Hunter into an unstoppable force.
• Wolf Pack: Use the "Wolf Hunt" Bond with characters like Jingliu, Feixiao, and Yunli to summon evolving Borisin allies that overwhelm the enemy.

Aglaea Team

On-Field
Off-Field

Equipment Acquisition Order

Note: Aglaea should equip two Anti-Grav Boots and one Light Speed Propeller.

Investment Strategy Selection

Loadout A ＞ Faster-Than-Light-Promotion ＞ Small Copy

Investment Environment Selection

Energy Index Funds > Download Mobility of Talent > The Rainbow Age

After Lv.5, get Aglaea, Hyacine, Tingyun, Huohuo and Tribbie. Then get 3 Cost Aglaea as soon as possible and upgrade to Lv.7.

 

Phainon Team

On-Field
Off-Field

Equipment Acquisition Order

Investment Strategy Selection:

Probability Event ＞ Sufficient Principal ＞ Procurement Specialist

Investment Environment Selection

Note: In high tiers, you can restart if there are no suitable options without losing rank.

Secondhand Market ＞ Job Rotation ＞ Rainbow Era

Remember: If Phainon is unavailable early game, Aglaea can be used as a temporary replacement. Save 50 Gold to earn interest, then start refreshing the store for White Er after reaching Level 7.

Castorice Team

On-Field
Off-Field

Equipment Acquisition Order

Investment Strategy Selection:

Fired Up ＞ Storm Knight ＞ Sufficient Principal

Investment Environment Selection

Note: In high tiers, you can restart if there are no suitable options without losing rank.

Fuel Concept Stocks ＞ Long-Term Bullish ＞ Rainbow Era

In the early game, after reaching Level 5, start saving 50 Gold to earn interest (around 2-6). Level up to 8 with this, then start refreshing the store for characters after reaching Level 8.

DOT Team

On-Field
Off-Field

Equipment Acquisition Order

Investment Strategy Selection

Sufficient Principal ＞ Strength in Numbers ＞ Procurement Specialist

Investment Environment Selection: In high tiers, you can restart if there are no suitable options without losing rank.

DoT Invitation ＞ DoT Contract ＞ Rainbow Era

Note: In the early game, after reaching Level 5, start saving 50 Gold to earn interest (around 2-6). Level up to 8 with this, then start refreshing the store for characters after reaching Level 8.

 

Pro Tips and Tricks

Economy First: Prioritize saving up to 30 Coins early to maximize your interest income (+3 per round). This will fund your late-game power spikes.

Level Up Strategically: Your level determines your team size and the odds of high-cost characters appearing. Balance spending on levels versus recruiting key characters.

Read the Abilities: On-field and off-field empowerments can completely change a character. Always check a character's tooltips before placing them.

Use the In-Game Guides: The mode offers recommended equipment and pre-made team compositions. Use them if you're feeling overwhelmed.

Choose Your Mode:

• Standard Gambit: The main mode for climbing the ranks and earning the best rewards. Focus on long-term strategy here.
• Overclock Gambit: A faster "hyper-roll" mode perfect for quickly clearing your weekly point rewards when you're short on time.

 

Conclusion

Currency Wars is a breath of fresh strategic air for Honkai: Star Rail. It successfully translates the appeal of auto-chess into HSR's combat system, offering immense depth and replay-ability. While the initial learning curve may seem steep, the in-game tutorials and guides are excellent. The true joy of the mode comes from experimentation—discovering powerful new character interactions, building a formidable economy, and watching your 10-character masterpiece dominate the battlefield. Dive in, manage your coins wisely, and most importantly, have fun crafting the ultimate team.For more information on HSR, bookmark LDShop HSR Hub to view the latest blog.