Simulated Universe in Honkai Star Rail: how to get through all the Worlds

In Honkai: Star Rail, the Simulated Universe is a separate game mode in which you need to go through randomly generated Worlds, fighting various enemies and bosses, as well as participating in various events. For clearing these dungeons, you can get Star Jades, Credits, Herta Bonds, planar decorations and pumping materials.

In this guide, we will tell you how to unlock the Virtual Universe, consider all its features and briefly study the passage of all Worlds, giving links to detailed guides for each stage.

How to open the Simulated Universe in Honkai: Star Rail

You will try out this mode for the first time during the mission "Virtual Universe: Primary Test", which is part of the story chain "Yesterday Today Was Tomorrow" so it's impossible to miss it.

True, the Virtual Universe will be significantly curtailed. All its functionality will open only after the completion of the adventure mission called "Gusto". Up to this point, you will find a kind of training prologue, in which they give a basic understanding of each element and mechanics of the mode.

Where to find the Virtual Universe

It is located on the Hertha space station. Later, you can quickly travel to it by going to the Main Control Zone map and selecting "Herta Office". Then just go to the car near the researcher and interact with her.

Basic elements of the Virtual Universe

On the main page of the mode, you will see six Worlds, main sections and rewards for points. The latter are issued for clearing zones and include credits, star jade, bonds of Gerta and leveling materials. They are updated every Monday at 4 am server time.

Hertha Store

Here you can buy unique 5-star light cones and star passes using the aforementioned Hertha bonds. We add that to apply them, you do not need to purchase duplicates - it will be enough for you to purchase a special Overlay, which costs 4 times cheaper than the weapon itself.

Directory

This section contains information about all the blessings and curiosities that you managed to collect, as well as the events you discovered. Here you can not only get acquainted with the descriptions of these items, but also receive rewards for unlocking them.

For example, for each curiosity mined, you can get 30 star jade. In total, there are 45 curiosities in the game. Thus, you will be able to accumulate 1350 crystals thanks to the farming of these items.

Ability Tree

Access to it appears after completing World 2. It includes various bonuses that are permanent in all zones. Some of them strengthen the characters themselves, increasing their characteristics, while others unlock additional mechanics and expand them.

The most important mechanic is Path Resonance, which together with Resonance Formations can change the outcome of almost any battle in your favor. These buffs are opened after collecting 3, 6, 10 and 14 blessings of one previously selected type. We talked about this in a little more detail below.

As for opening tree bonuses, for this you will need ability points. They are earned by passing the Worlds. At the same time, it is not necessary to defeat the main boss - points are given even if you die in the first zone, however, very few.

Structure and features of the Virtual Universe

Each World, with the exception of the first two (they are mainly educational in nature), has common features and structure:

• They have several levels of difficulty that open as the rank of Equilibrium increases.
• Consist of several battle zones (regular enemies), events, deals, rest and meetings, as well as two areas with elite enemies and a boss arena (detailed below).
• Reward blessings of varying rarity for each successful battle.
• Awarded with space fragments for destroying destructible objects and killing enemies.
• Passed by a team of four heroes, which can be changed.

Battle zone

A standard area that is randomly generated and includes from one to four battles with various opponents. For defeating each group of enemies, one blessing is guaranteed (out of three to choose from) with a rarity of 1 or 2 stars. It is the battles that are the main source of bonuses.

Events, deals and meetings zones

Events are dialogue mini-quests in which you need to make various decisions, leading to both positive and negative effects. For example, you can get additional space fragments, a curiosity or a blessing, or lose your health and get hold of a negative curiosity.

The trade zone allows you to exchange blessings if some of them turned out to be useless for you. The meeting zone is similar to random events, with the exception that they almost always end in a battle with a powerful enemy (while during the conversation, sometimes you can choose the conditions of the battle).

Rest zone

Usually appears in front of an area with an elite enemy or boss. In it, you can summon an additional fighter, buy new or enhance existing blessings, purchase a curiosity and resurrect dead heroes (if you have the corresponding function open). All services must be paid in space fragments.

Elite Enemy and Boss Zone

Elite enemies meet twice for the passage of one World. In the team selection menu, you can see which opponents you can face. We advise you to study their vulnerabilities in order to choose the right characters to fight them. We add that the second mini-boss will always be enhanced - he has a larger bar of life, so the battle with him often lasts much longer.

The boss will be waiting for you at the end of the World. Its vulnerabilities can also be found on the squad selection page. In general, the team is usually assembled based on the weaknesses of the main enemy. Now let's look at the key mechanics of the Virtual Universe: blessings, curiosities, and choosing the Path.

Choice of Path and its Resonance

The Path plays an important role in the Virtual Universe, as it not only provides certain bonuses and increases the chances of dropping corresponding blessings, but also opens up access to the resonance and formations of the Path, which, as we have already indicated above, can turn any battle in your favor.

So, today you can choose one of the seven Paths, namely:

• Preservation - Increases the maximum damage absorbed by Shields by 10%. Resonance deals physical damage based on the size of all characters' shields.
• Memory - Decreases enemy's resistance to effects by 10%. Resonance deals frost damage and freezes enemies.
• Non-existence - Increases periodic damage by 15%. Resonance inflicts Shock, Bleed, Burn, and Weathering on all enemies for two turns.
• Abundance - Increases health regeneration by 10%. Resonance heals characters and increases their maximum HP.
• Hunting - increases the speed of heroes by 6%. Resonance deals wind damage based on the attack power of the character with the highest wind damage.
• Destruction - Reduces incoming damage by 6%. Resonance deals fire damage, the amount of which depends on the characters' lost health.
• Joy - Bonus Attack Damage is increased by 24%. Resonance inflicts a random-type bonus attack to all enemies 3-5 times.

You should choose the Path based on which characters you have chosen and which boss you have to fight. For example, Preserve will be useless on teams that don't have shielders, and Memory won't help you in any way when fighting Kocolia, who is immune to Freeze.

The Resonance of the Path is unlocked after receiving three corresponding blessings. It is a kind of ult, which has its own energy scale, which is filled when your heroes perform various actions. It can be significantly strengthened with the help of three formations, unlocked after mining 6, 10 and 14 blessings.

Blessings

Special bonuses that are directly related to the Paths, that is, the blessings of Preservation, for example, strengthen shields or work only if the characters have shields. For this reason, you should also choose them based on the characters you use, that is, if there are fighters with bonus attacks, you should take the blessings of Joy, and with periodic damage - Non-existence.

Plus, don't forget to accumulate Cosmic Fragments in order to increase the obtained blessings in the future. We advise you to be sure to upgrade 3-star buffs and those of them, the effects of which depend on the number of blessings of one Path you have.

Curiosities

Special items that can buff or buff your team. One curiosity can be chosen before the start of the passage of the World. Two more drop out after the destruction of elite enemies. They can also be purchased from Gert for Space Fragments in the Recreation Area or dropped during random events.

Some of them allow you to get additional blessings - we advise you to take them first. For the most part, they are just pleasant bonuses that affect the passage of the World much less than the same Resonance of the Path.

Useful tips for passing Worlds

In almost all playthroughs, the key to success lies in collecting 10 blessings of a suitable path to open two priority Resonance Formations. For example, when choosing Abundance, you can not only instantly heal all your characters (and do it twice in a short time), but also remove all debuffs from them, and Hunts can deal significant damage to multiple targets and quickly restore energy to reapply resonance.

With these bonuses and the right characters, you should be able to deal with most of the bosses in the Virtual Universe without too much trouble. However, for this you will need to try hard, because getting 10 blessings of one path is very difficult, as they drop out randomly. Here are some tips for accumulating them:

• Before starting the passage of the World, try to always choose a bonus in the form of a blessing of the 1st or 2nd rarity.
• You can sometimes reset blessings when choosing them by spending cosmic fragments. However, do not do this too often, as this currency will come in handy for increasing buffs.
• In the first battle zone with the Extra Blessing ability unlocked, you can get 4 bonuses after defeating enemies. It is highly desirable that 3 of them turn out to be the path you need, so that you can discover its resonance at the very beginning. If this did not happen, then we recommend that you start clearing the World from scratch.
• Battles are guaranteed to drop blessings, unlike events, so we advise you to choose them in a ratio of 2 to 1. As a result, you should visit the event zone no more than twice in the entire World.
• In Recreation Areas, remember to buy 1-Star Blessings from Hertha at 80 Space Fragments.

Don't forget to use the character's techniques before starting the battle with the elite enemies or the boss. With the help of them, you can strengthen your heroes or immediately deal serious damage to enemies.

Note: If during the boss fight you make a big mistake or your fighters start to die, then you can simply replay the fight. To do this, you need to exit the game - after the restart, you will start with a duel with the boss. Perhaps in the future this hole will be patched.

How to complete all Worlds in Honkai: Star Rail

Universal Strategy: Memory

Before looking at each World separately, let's talk about a universal tactic that is suitable for each test (with the exception of World 6, since Kokoliya cannot be frozen now). It is based on Freezing enemies.

At the same time, it is not even necessary to take ice characters to the team (although it is desirable), since you will freeze with the help of blessings and Resonance of the path. Be sure to take bonuses that reduce the resistance of enemies to Freeze, increase the chance of hitting effects, and allow you to apply Freeze by hitting and damaging. Thanks to Decay, you will be able to inflict huge damage even on bosses when they come out of a frozen state.

As for the priority of choosing resonance formations, we advise you to first open "Repeat First Love" (allows you to use resonance more often), and then "Excess Experience" (Freeze will stay on enemies longer). Total Recall will only be useful if you haven't been able to lower your enemies' resistance to Freeze with blessings.

World 1

You will complete it as part of an adventure mission. "Virtual Universe: Second Beta Test" (here we have described in detail about its passage). The functionality of this mode will be significantly limited in it (you cannot choose a path), since we are still talking about learning. Basic information about this world can be seen in the picture below.

You will most likely be doing this quest in the first half of the game, so you won't have a lot of hero variety. In the table below, we have shown some optimal commands.

World 2

Another tutorial level that you have to go through during the adventure mission "Virtual Universe. Part 2" (here we examined its implementation in detail). Here you will discover the mechanics of choosing the Path for the first time. By the way, we advise you to choose Memory, as many enemies are initially vulnerable to ice damage. A good option can also be Save with a shield in the squad.

The picture above shows the basic information about World 2: its enemies, recommended elements and the optimal level of characters. As for eligible units, they are shown in the table below.

World 3

It is in it that access to all the functions of the Virtual Universe is opened. True, for the first time you also have to go through it as part of a side quest - "Gusto". In it, we told in detail how you can clear World 3, so we will not repeat ourselves here, but will indicate only the basic information.

When choosing a path, we advise you to give preference to Memory or Hunt. The first will allow you to freeze the boss and his henchmen, and the second - to inflict huge damage on them. As for the commands, they are listed in the table below.

World 4

It is no longer associated with any quest, so detailed information about its passage can be found in our separate guide. General information is shown in the picture below. For this World, we advise you to choose the path of the Hunt or Non-existence (the first will allow you to deal significant direct damage, and the second - to destroy enemies with periodic damage). Again, do not forget about Memory.

As for the optimal characters and teams, they are presented in the table below. First, we indicate the budget units, and then the recommended packs. Under Non-Being, the third group is best suited.

World 5

Detailed information about its passage can be found in our separate guide. General information is shown in the picture below. For this World, we advise you to choose the path of Hunting or Abundance (the first will allow you to deal significant direct damage, and the second will heal characters and remove debuffs from them). Again, do not forget about Memory.

As for the optimal characters and teams, they are presented in the table below. First, we indicate the budget units, and then the recommended packs.

World 6

Detailed information about its passage can be found in our separate guide. General information is shown in the picture below. For this World, we advise you to choose the path of Hunt, Non-Existence or Abundance (the first will allow you to deal significant direct damage, the second - to destroy enemies with periodic damage, and the third - to heal characters and remove debuffs from them).

As for the optimal characters and teams, they are presented in the table below. First, we indicate the budget units, and then the recommended packs.

Virtual Universe Awards

In addition to Hertha Bonds, which can be used to purchase Light Cones, you will receive many other rewards. The most valuable of them, of course, are planar decorations - this is an additional set of relics that gives another bonus to the character and increases its individual characteristics. These artifacts are mined only in the Virtual Universe.

In addition, for the first passage of each difficulty of the World, you will receive additional rewards in the form of stellar nephrites, development experience and planar decorations.