Honkai Star Rail Simulated Universe guide

Not to be confused with the Metaverse whatsoever, the Simulated Universe is one of Honkai: Star Rail’s many activities for earning the highly sought-after Stellar Jade resource. After all, most of us would really like to bag Seele or Tingyun in a Warp; would be nice, right?

The Simulated Universe is a weekly activity unlocked early on in Honkai Star Rail, and it’s pretty good fun. With plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and some decent rewards on the line, it’s one Honkai Star Rail activity you definitely shouldn’t neglect. Without further ado, here’s our guide to the Simulated Universe in Honkai Star Rail.

What is the Simulated Universe in Honkai Star Rail?

The Simulated Universe is a game mode in Honkai Star Rail that pits you against waves of enemies and random events in six different worlds.

Whenever you enter a world, you’ll be able to choose four characters to take with you, and then you’re on your own. You’ll engage in combat with various enemies, but also be privy to mysterious occurrences that may make or break your time in the Simulated Universe.

How to use the Simulated Universe in Honkai Star Rail

You’ll unlock the Simulated Universe after meeting Herta in Honkai Star Rail. When you first meet, she’ll say she has something she wants to show you, and request you in her office at Herta’s Space Station.

Go speak with Herta in her office to learn about the Simulated Universe. Herta will then throw you into the Simulated Universe’s ‘Closed Beta’ before finally introducing you to the six worlds you’ll be tackling.

You’ll need to complete each world in order to unlock them all, and of course, they become more and more challenging each time. You’ll be able to take four characters with you, but can download and swap in another if you reach a Respite point in the world. The areas you will experience are as follows:

• Domain - Combat: Take on a horde of enemies. These are the easiest combat domains.
• Domain - Elite: Take on an elite enemy. These enemies are tough, but could be worse.
• Domain - Boss: The ultimate battle of any Simulated Universe is with a challenging boss.
• Domain - Occurrence: These consist of random text-based events that may land you with some support, or the complete opposite. Play it safe or take a risk!
• Domain - Respite: Areas of rest throughout the Simulated Universe. Swap out your team, heal them, and enhance Blessings here.

Throughout the worlds, you’ll regularly be able to choose Blessings that can help you in battle. Pick these depending on what your team’s specialities are, and the type of foes you’re facing. For example, if a Blessing is offering to improve the defence of characters with shields, but you're not running a character that can provide shields, you should opt for an alternative Blessing.

It’s also worth noting that while you can use the support skills of your characters to heal in the Simulated Universe, you cannot use any consumables or access your inventory during your time in the world.

Simulated Universe rewards

Whenever you complete a world in the Simulated Universe of Honkai Star Rail, you’ll be rewarded with Simulated Universe Points and Ability Points.

Ability Points can be redeemed at the ‘Ability Tree’ in the Simulated Universe menu; they’ll give you additional, permanent buffs throughout your next world experiences if you spend them wisely.

Simulated Universe Points will generally accrue until you reach the next milestone of progress in the Simulated Universe. Once you reach a milestone, you can claim your rewards from the Simulated Universe menu, which typically consist of Stellar Jade (perfect for those Warps) and Herta Bonds that can be spent on Light Cones and Passes in Herta’s Store (also in the Simulated Universe menu).

You can earn up to 3500 Simulated Universe Points each week; after that, you can keep playing for Ability Points, or wait for the next week to earn yourself more Simulated Universe points, and thus, more Stellar Jade and Herta Bonds.

For more on Honkai Star Rail, check out our tier list of the best characters, and our guide to unlocking the Forgotten Hall.