Apocalyptic Shadow is a permanent game mode in Honkai: Star Rail. See how to unlock Apocalyptic Shadow, a guide for how to beat it in Version 3.0, and when it resets here!

How to Unlock Apocalyptic Shadow

Finish Grim Film of Finality

You can unlock Apocalyptic Shadow by completing the Grim Film of Finality Mission in Dreamflux Reef. You will unlock Stage 1 after talking to Elegy.

Apocalyptic Shadow Best Teams

Locust's Instigation Best Teams

Use Physical, Ice, Quantum, and Imaginary Characters

Enemies in the first half are Physical, Ice, Quantum, and Imaginary.

We recommend DPS units that can deal damage to five enemies and attack frequently to take on the Starcrusher Swarm King and its summons.

Use Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Imaginary Characters

Enemies in the second half are weak to Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Imaginary.

We recommend using characters that deal a lot of Toughness DMG to an enemy and easily take down the Lotus summons.

How to Beat Apocalyptic Shadow Locust's Instigation

Sky-Shrouding Stardevourer Swarm Boss

Defeat Sting Summons to Reduce Toughness

When Gnaw Stings are summoned, focus on taking them out to deal Toughness DMG to the Starcrusher Swarm King.

Reducing the Swarm King's toughness will also reduce the Insect Eggs, which buff the Sting summons.

Prioritize Lesser Sting Enemies in Phase 2

In Phase 2, The Swarm King can summon Lesser Sting enemies that can inflict Enrage on targeted allies. Take out the Lesser Stings before they attack on their turn to prevent them from inflicting Enrage.

Opportunistic Provocateur Boss

Defeat Lotuses For DMG Buffs

In both Phases, focus on defeating the Lotus summons to enable Phantylia's Weakness and gain buffs for your party members.

Destroying Destruction Lotuses will provide you a Break Effect buff, while Abundance Lotuses give you an All-Type DMG buff.

Defeat Lotuses to Weaken Eternal Condemnation

In Phase 2, Phantylia can lock onto all units and can unleash a powerful attack called Eternal Condemnation. To weaken this, defeat all the Lotuses before Phantylia's next turn.

Apocalyptic Shadow Boss Mirages

Sky-Shrouding Stardevourer Swarm

Sky-Shrouding Stardevourer Swarm Information
Starcrusher Swarm King - Skaracabaz (Synthetic)
Phases	2 Phases
Weaknesses
Resistances	RES Entanglement RES

Sky-Shrouding Stardevourer Swarm Boss Traits

Boss Trait	Explanation
Steadfast Safeguard	Boss Mirage takes 50% less DMG. After its Weakness is broken and action gets additionally delayed, additionally increases DMG taken by 100%.
Battlefield Transfer	At the end of Boss Mirage's turn, Boss Mirage will gain a certain number of Insect Eggs. Boss Mirage can consume Insect Egg to enhance its Swarm summons and grant them 1 stack of "Growth Hormone". Insect Egg - At the end of Boss Mirage's turn, Boss Mirage will gain a certain number of Insect Eggs. Boss Mirage can consume Insect Egg to Enhance its Swarm summons and grant them 1 stack of "Growth Hormone".
Hormone Secretion (Difficulty 3)	Every time Boss Mirage summons a certain number of Swarm summons, the next summon it summons will come automatically with 1 stack of "Growth Hormone". Growth Hormone - Every stack of "Growth Hormone" increases ATK by a certain amount, stacking up to 3 times. When 3 stacks are reached, Swarm summons will unlock Bonus Abilities.
Egg Burst (Difficulty 4)	At the end of Boss Mirage's Turn, the number of Insect Eggs gained through "Nesting Incubation" increases.

Sky-Shrouding Stardevourer Swarm Summon Info

Phase 1 Enemies	Weaknesses
Gnaw Sting
Phase 2 Enemies	Weaknesses
Gnaw Sting
Lesser Sting

Opportunistic Provocateur

Opportunistic Provocateur Information
Phantylia the Undying
Phases	2 Phases
Weaknesses
Resistances	RES Control Effects RES

Opportunistic Provocateur Summon Info

Enemies	Weaknesses
Abundance Lotus
Destruction Lotus

Opportunistic Provocateur Boss Traits

Boss Trait	Explanation
Steadfast Safeguard	Boss Mirage takes 50% less DMG. After Weakness is broken and action gets additionally delayed, additionally increases DMG taken by 100%.
Flower By Another Name	When a new Lotus is summoned, Boss Mirage will enter the Toughness Protection state. Defeating any summon will dispel the Boss Mirage's Toughness Protection and deal additional Toughness Reduction to the Boss Mirage. Toughness Protection - Toughness cannot be reduced.
Withered Tree's Revival (Difficulty 3)	In Phase I, when Boss Mirage changes form, the summons will restore 25% HP.
Hollowflower Blaze (Difficulty 4)	In Phase II, the summons' Max HP increases by 20%.

Apocalyptic Shadow Reset

Apocalyptic Shadow Reset Calendar

When Does Apocalyptic Shadow Reset?

Reset Time	2024/01/20 - 4:00 (Server Time)

Apocalyptic Shadow will release a new Phase every six weeks, which also lasts for the same time frame. Apocalyptic Shadow always resets on a Monday at 04:00.

Current Phase: Locust's Instigation

Ruinous Embers Effect
When an enemy with "Steadfast Safeguard" is Weakness Broken, dispels control states for all allies, recovers their Skill Points, and activates their Ultimates. Increases the Skill DMG taken by all enemies by 25% and increases Ultimate DMG taken by 15%.
Phase Duration	01/20/2025 - 03/03/2025

Each Apocalyptic Shadow Phase will bring out a different Ruinous Embers effect and Finality's Axiom buffs. Progress made from clearing Apocalyptic Shadow stages will also reset, allowing players to recollect the rewards.

How to Play Apocalyptic Shadow

Face Two Boss Mirages

In Apocalyptic Shadow, you must face projections of the Finality and defeat bosses you have faced before. These bosses are different from regular bosses, meaning they will have different or additional attacks and abilities.

You can view each enemy's traits before the start of the battle. Each phase has four challenge difficulties, with each difficulty granting you rewards.

Choose Finality's Axiom Buffs

You will need two teams since there are two bosses and you can select buffs for your party, just like Pure Fiction. Each Apocalyptic Shadow phase will have several buffs to choose from.

Defeat Bosses as Quickly as Possible

Apocalyptic Shadow's stages have an Action Value Timer. The value gets reduced with each Action by both you and the enemy. Your score will be calculated by both remaining Action Value after defeating the boss and the boss HP.

Your goal is to defeat both bosses as quickly as possible to earn a lot of points.

Apocalyptic Shadow Rewards

Free 4-Star: Xueyi

Xueyi joins the roster of free 4-star characters as a reward for completing Difficulty 2 of Apocalyptic Shadow for the first time. You will also obtain 300 Stellar Jades and 1 Self-Modelling Resin.

List of All Free Characters

Rewards Per Difficulty

Stages	Rewards
Clear an Apocalyptic Shadow Difficulty	Lost Crystal x6 Lucent Afterglow x24 Traveler's Guide x6 Refined Aether x3 Credit x30000
Collect 1 Insignia	Stellar Jade x60 Credit x20000
Collect 1 Insignia (Starting from 9 Insignias)	Stellar Jade x80 Credit x20000

Total Insignia Rewards

Insignia Rewards
Stellar Jade x800	Credit x220000	Jade Feather x600

You can get 60 Stellar Jades and 20000 Credits for every star or insignia that you get from completing the stages in Pure Fiction. On your ninth insignia, the Stellar Jade per insignia increases to 80 Stellar Jades.

These rewards will reset every few weeks, so you can collect all Stellar Jades by doing Apocalyptic Shadow again.

From collecting 7 to 12 Insignias, you can get up to 600 Jade Feathers per Phase and they can be used to purchase items such as Self Modeling Resins and Relic Remains in the Jokes Come True tab of the Priceless Jewels shop.

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Apocalyptic Shadow