Aetherium Wars has officially started for Honkai: Star Rail. This is an enemy event, the flagship of the 1.4 update, where you capture enemies and use them to battle other enemies in a tournament-style arena. In this guide, I’ll be showing you how to join the Aetherium Wars and all you need to know about them.
From October 11 to November 13, 2023, the Aetherium Wars will be available for all players who are at least Trailblaze Level 34. Don’t miss out on the event in order to claim its exclusive rewards.
How to join Aetherium Wars
You first need to complete the Future Market 2 Trailblaze Continuance mission before you can unlock the Aetherium Wars. Then follow Let’s Go! Aetherium Wars! under the Interastral Tournament Festival in Adventure Missions to start the event.
Since Future Market 2 Trailblaze Continuance requires that you’re at least Trailblaze Level 34 to start, you can’t partake in Aetherium Wars until you’re at least that level. You also need to complete Future Market 1, which takes place in Jarilo-VI, Administrative District.
If you’re nowhere near Trailblaze Level 34 yet, you can still join Aetherium Wars even after the event is offered. You’ll eventually unlock Conventional Memoirs after completing Trailblaze Missions, where you can permanently access this event.
How to play Aetherium Wars
You can play through the Aetherium Wars event by collecting Aether Spirits and using them to battle against other Aether Spirits. These are replicas of enemies you encounter in Honkai: Star Rail’s normal story.
Collect Aether Spirits
Collecting Aether Spirits can be done in Victory Zones by battling and defeating them. Go to the Old Testing Ground and interact with the Aetherium Wars Player Terminal to see the list of available Victory Zones.
Types of Aether Spirits
There are three types of Aether Spirits: Humanoid, Mechanical, and Aberrant. Encounters play like Rock-Paper-Scissors so you should pit types according to their strengths and weaknesses.
Note: Humanoids are weak against Aberrants but strong against Mechanicals. Mechanicals are weak against Humanoids but strong against Aberrants. Aberrants are weak against Mechanicals but strong against Humanoids.
Upgrade Aether Spirits
As you collect data by battling other Aether Spirits in either Victory Zones or Hyperlink Matches, you can spend this resource to level them up. This gives them bigger HP and ATK stats. However, some Aether Spirits can be grown into powerful Overlord Aether Spirits with enough levels. Your rivals in the tournament will also be using them, making the competition tougher.
Unlock New Victory Zones
As you start Aetherium Wars, most of the other Victory Zones are locked. There are multiple Victory Zone locations, and each has its own Championship Contenders and an Overlord Aether Spirit at the end. Defeat the Championship Contenders and the Overlord Aether Spirit to unlock new Victory Zones and get rewards.
Hyperlink Battles
After clearing the first Victory Zone, you’ll unlock the Hyperlink Battles at the Aetherium Wars Player Terminal. Battle through named NPCs and their team of Aether Spirits to proceed to the next level and get the rewards.
Aetherium Wars Venue
You can participate in most of the Interastral Tournament Festival at the Old Weapons Testing Ground. This location is unlocked after completing the Future Market Trailblaze Continuance.
Aetherium Wars Walkthrough
The Aetherium Wars event takes place in multiple Adventure Missions. Here’s a complete walkthrough of the event:
Let’s Go! Aetherium Wars!
The first mission is the ‘Let’s Go! Aetherium Wars!’. Talk to March 7th in Jarilo-IV, standing in front of the Administrative District. Then talk to an NPC named Wilder in Rivet Town, who you can ask for more information about the Aetherium Wars.
Follow Wilder to the Old Weapon Testing Ground. You’ll enter a cutscene where you meet a masked man named Giovanni. After a cutscene, you’ll enter your first showdown, using Aether Spirits to fight for you against the Aether Spirits of the three IPC agents.
Embark! Corridor of Fading Echoes!
Next up is the Embark! Corridor of Fading Echoes! quest, where you’re introduced to the Victory Zones and hyperlink battles. Continue through the quest until you get to your first Victory Zone, Corridor of Fading Echoes.
It’s here that Giovanni will run you through the basics of capturing and upgrading Aether Spirits. After a quick tutorial, you’ll also encounter the Snowshine Lamp puzzles here, three of them specifically, before you can continue on your way. Progress through the quest until you reach the Goethe Hotel to rest up, where you’ll fight against the three IPC agents again.
After the battle, you’ll unlock the Purple Light Level of Hyperlink Matches. You’ll fight against four other contestants for the Interastral Tournament Festival. As you keep fighting through, you’ll unlock more difficult levels in Hyperlink matches against new opponents.
Onward Cloudford!
The next quest takes place in the Cloudford Victory Zone. This victory zone introduces the Victory Marking Puzzles where you have to move the camera to align the broken image whole and then take a picture. This can sometimes involve manipulating the environment so both halves of the image can match. There are three Victory Marking Puzzles for this Victory Zone.
Battle of Wits! Herta Space Station!
Next up is The Battle of Wits! Herta Space Station! which takes place in Herta Space Station. You’ll encounter the floor tile puzzles here which you should already be familiar with. However this time, there are black holes on certain tiles that teleport you around. You just have to fill up all the tiles without having to step on a tile twice. There are four floor tile puzzles in this Victory Zone.
The Herta Space Station Victory Zone ends with a showdown against Herta herself. Once the battle is over, head back to the Goethe Hotel to talk to Wilder.
Clash! Great Mine!
In Clash! Great Mine! you’ll be going to the Great Mine which is the last Victory Zone before the championship. This is where you’ll get introduced to a new type of puzzle that involves controlling an Automation Spider to get them near IPC employees before exploding. You can only use them once so make sure to trigger the explosion when the enemies are close by.
Final Showdown! Intergalactic Celebration!
After all the Victory Zones are complete, you’ll unlock the Final Showdown! Intergalactic Celebration! This is the last part of the Aetherium War event where you’ll showdown against notable characters for the championship title.
You’ll fight against six competitors: Luka, Guinaifen, Silver Wolf, Giovanni, Topaz, and then Hook. Each of them have their own cinematic entrances. After defeating all of them, you’ll become the festival champion and unlock Exhibition Matches.
Aetherium Wars Rewards
Upon completing the Aetherium Wars event and becoming champion, you can receive these rewards:
Free 4-Star Belobog Character
Upon becoming the champion of the Interastral Tournament Festival, you get a free pick of one 4-Star Belobog character. You can choose between Serval, Pela, Luka, and Hook.
Limited-Time Event Rewards
For partaking in the Interastral Tournament Festival, you can get these rewards for a limited time only:
- Self-Modeling Resin x1
- Stellar Jade x1,200
- Tracks of Destiny x1
- Fateful Crossings: Aetherium Wars
Regular Aetherium Event Rewards
Even after the Aetherium Event rewards is over, you still have permanent access to it using Conventional Memoirs. The rewards will be different from partaking in the event this way.
- Tracks of Destiny x1
- Stellar Jade x1040
- Chat Box “Warp Trotter”
- Relic Remains
- Traveler’s Guide
- Refined Aether
- Lost Crystal
- Trace Upgrade Materials
- Credit