The latest and greatest test of your combat abilities is Honkai Star Rail’s Pure Fiction mode, where you fight waves of enemies in a limited time to gain as many points as you can in a set amount of turns. What are you waiting for? Get your best DPS characters and head into it.
Do you live for the thrill of battle? Then you can try Honkai Star Rail’s simulated universe out, too, or perhaps Honkai Star Rail’s swarm disaster for some bug-flavored combat. Or, if you need some help with your builds, here’s our guide to Honkai Star Rail light cones.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Honkai Star Rail Pure Fiction mode.
What is Honkai Star Rail’s Pure Fiction mode?
Pure Fiction is a combat-only gameplay mode similar to the Memory of Chaos, where you build two teams to take on waves of different enemies, and harder bosses.
There are four different stages, comprising of two halves each, with three waves of enemies per half. The stages last for six weeks at a time, giving you plenty of time to build new characters and tackle them. The good news is – you get plenty of rewards for making it through these treacherous stages.
When is the Pure Fiction reset time?
A new phase of Pure Fiction starts every three weeks, and each phase has a six-week duration, so there’ll be a bit of overlap between them – which means plenty of rewards on a constant basis. For instance, the debut phase Youci’s Wandering Words took place from January 8 to February 19, and the second phase, Tales of a Tethered Bird, from February 5 to March 18. The reset time for these phases is 04:00 server time on a Monday.
The current Pure Fiction phase is An Expression of Eloquence, on now until April 15, 2024. This phase focuses on follow-up attacks.
How to play Pure Fiction
First things first, you must unlock the Pure Fiction mode at Youci’s Clever Decor on the Xianzhou Luofu. In front of the shop is a small birdcage – approach this and start the dialogue. Then, you can head into the combat stages by listening to a tale.
Next, you create two teams of four, and the objective is to kill as many enemies as you can, to generate points. Your goal is 30k points and above – you get extra rewards for passing 40, 50, and 60k. Smaller enemies respawn when killed, but the bigger ‘boss’ enemy in the middle is the key to clearing each stage. We cover different characters and team options below, but Erudition and multi-target DPS characters are your best bet during these fights.
Each six-week phase has a different effect, so you need to switch up which characters you use. The first phase has a buff to ultimate attacks, which adds a Shatter effect. The second phase focuses on damage over time by increasing damage dealt and reducing enemies’ abilities.
As you complete each stage, you earn between one and three stars, which dictates the rewards you get.
What are the Pure Fiction rewards?
The biggest reward you get from this mode is a free copy of Honkai Star Rail’s Lynx – a four-star healer – for completing stage two. Each star you earn counts towards unlocking new rewards, which include stellar jades, jade feathers, and credits. These reset with each phase, so you can continue to get rewarded each time.
Who are the best characters for Honkai Star Rail’s Pure Fiction?
There is no ‘best team’ for the Pure Fiction stages, as the buffs and enemies change each stage and each rotation. A good DPS is key, no matter what you’re doing, though. Keep the buff of each stage in mind when picking a team, along with the elements that enemies are weak against.
Erudition characters – your multi-target DPS units – are generally the best idea, along with Nihility characters that can apply damage over time. The more enemies you can get rid of at once, the better, so generally speaking characters like Honkai Star Rail’s Himeko, Honkai Star Rail’s Herta, and Honkai Star Rail’s Argenti work quicker than single-target hitters like Honkai Star Rail’s Seele. Characters like Honkai Star Rail’s Jing Yuan, who have a hefty follow-up attack, can also be beneficial.
For those of you who might need a new character, check out our Honkai Star Rail tier list and Honkai Star Rail codes to see who to build and pull for.