Among the HoYoverse projects, Honkai: Star Rail stands out for its special combat mechanics, tied to a turn-based duel scheme (TBS). The player does not have complete freedom to control the characters, while getting the opportunity to consistently manage each action. So the gameplay becomes strategic, and the course of the battle becomes more controlled. In this guide, you can learn about all the features of the combat system in the Pathfinder universe.
The main stages of combat in Honkai Star Rail
Like many games in the jRPG genre, there is no combat in the world of Star Rail in the open world, and you can fight monsters through a separate mechanism that transfers the team to the battlefield.
Gameplay can be divided into two main stages: exploration and combat.
Research
In the process of inspecting locations, the player encounters enemy creatures that can “notice” the stranger and begin to follow or attack. If the first attack is made by the enemy, the team will fall into an “ambush”.
Ambush is a mode that is activated at the beginning of the battle, provided that the opponent attacked first. In this case, the attacker has the right of the first move. However, if the attacked squad member's speed is high enough, the player's squad will still attack first.
Tip: When exploring the game areas, try to keep an eye on the mini-map: if there are enemies nearby, they will be displayed as red dots. This way you can minimize the chance of an unexpected attack on your hero.
If a squad member starts the battle first, and his damage type matches that to which the enemy is susceptible, then the duel will begin with a “vulnerability” that gives a significant advantage in fight. We have described in more detail about the relationship between elements and vulnerabilities in a separate guide.
Vulnerability – a mode that is launched during an attack on a target by a playable character of the element to which the opponent is weak. Before the fight, the enemy will immediately receive a certain amount of damage and/or a negative effect, depending on the element and the attack used.
When controlling characters while exploring the world, the player can only use normal attacks and special techniques. To squeeze the latter, a limited number of points are given (from 3 to 5, depending on the level of Balance), common to the whole team.
Technique is an individual skill for each character, with which you can strengthen (heal) your characters, weaken opponents or deal additional damage to them.
Combat
After committing an attack in the world, the conflict turns into a battle. The battle zone in Star Rail is presented as a separate field, on which each participant can perform their actions in the allotted turn.
During the battle, pay attention to the changed interface, among which the following details can be distinguished:
- The order of moves in the upper left corner of the screen. The order depends on the speed of the characters and may change due to the effects applied to both enemies and allies.
- Squad icons in the lower left corner of the screen. Under the portraits of the heroes there is a strip of HP and a surrounding white frame (in the event that the character has a shield). Active buffs and debuffs are displayed below the health bar, and the icon of the ultimate skill is displayed next to the character image.
- Attack buttons and the amount of energy points in the lower right corner of the screen. The amount of points is total for the entire pack and is spent when using an additional skill.
- The name of the enemy in the upper right part of the screen. Next to the name, you can see the level of the enemy, and under the scale, the active buffs and debuffs.
- White scale of resistance (armor) and red scale of HP above opponents on the field. Above them is a list of damage types to which the enemy is vulnerable.
- The buttons for acceleration, auto-battle and pause in the upper right corner of the screen. Usually blocked in important battles from story quests.
Please note: Auto-battle allows the computer to use all the squad's skills, including ultimates, but this does not always benefit the battle. This mechanic can be adjusted by enabling the pause menu and opening the last window (or through the general settings in the “Other” section).
Note: By pressing C or Z during combat, you can open an additional window with detailed information about squad members and opponents, including lore description, active statuses, skills, and number of moves.
Proper use of these game conventions can help turn the course of the battle in your favor and avoid losses in the squad.
Skills
Having received the opportunity to act, the active participant in the battle must choose a target and apply an ability to it. The target can be either an enemy (one or more) or an ally – it all depends on the character and the chosen skill.
There are three types of attacks in total:
- Basic attack (Q ). Inflicts damage on the enemy corresponding to the element of the attacker. Accumulates energy points.
- Special Skill (E). A unique ability that consumes energy points.
- Superpower (ultimate). An additional action skill with a massive animation that requires neither turn order nor energy to activate.
< p>Tip: Use your basic attack to build up energy. This is especially true for those characters whose element cannot penetrate the vulnerabilities of opponents.
In addition to the basic attacks available to the player, you should also pay attention to the following indicators: speed, penetration effect, energy and bonus attack.
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Speed
In Honkai: Star Rail, speed is a game parameter that affects the order of moves: the higher the speed, the faster the character will start to walk. During the battle, this numeric index is indicated in the lower right corner of the miniatures of squad members and opponents on the queue interface panel.
Penetration effect
A combat phenomenon that takes effect after the enemy's stamina runs out (a white bar of armor over the enemy). The penetration effect is triggered depending on the attacking element and disappears after the enemy's shield is restored. At the same time, breaking stamina will increase damage to the target, and its move will be delayed until the parameter is restored. Read more about the mechanics in a separate manual.
Energy
The parameter required to use the superpower. Energy can be accumulated by using combat talents, taking and dealing damage to enemies, as well as due to the parameters of the light cone.
Bonus -attack
Bonus attack is a periodic ability that activates automatically under conditions that differ for different characters. The talent does not require squeezing and does not spend move points. As of version 1.1, the following have bonus attacks: March 7, Hertha, Himeko, Jin Yuan.
Currently this is all general information about the combat system in Honkai: Star Rail. We hope that it will help you understand how the basic mechanics work during game battles.
