What is the Simulated Universe in Honkai: Star Rail? – Answered

Story difficulty scales rapidly in Honkai: Star Rail, but there’s always a bigger challenge to complete elsewhere. For many, this challenge is the Simulated Universe, a combat arena that is exactly what the name implies. And it doesn’t only serve as an end-game challenge but also as another source of resources, Credits, materials and Passes. In this guide, we’ll explain what the Simulated Universe is in Honkai: Star Rail.

What Is the Simulated Universe in Honkai: Star Rail?

The Simulated Universe is a dungeon-crawling mode where you choose four or more characters to explore various rooms and defeat its final boss. This gameplay mode is first presented during the initial quests when Herta calmly asks you to participate in its first “Closed Beta”, where you use test characters to make the mission a breeze. Later you’ll find the Second Close Beta available as an Adventure Mission, which works just the same. The actual Universe is unlocked after finishing it.

You can participate in it by visiting Herta again in her Space Station, but now you’ll need to use your own characters to succeed inside the now-completed battle simulation. Select your World and the appropriate characters and rush until the end. This is very similar to Genshin’s Spyral Abyss, but it has some key differences. A more similar iteration of the Abyss in Star Rail would be the Forgotten Hall.

After each completed battle, you’re offered a Blessing that will grant you certain bonuses. They range from simple “Damage up” cards to some really interesting things like “All characters gain a shield at the beginning of the battle”. 

Each Blessing you obtain is then registered in the Index, and getting different Blessings for the first time rewards you with Stellar Jades. Blessings can also be upgraded inside the Universe to stronger versions of themselves.

Another peculiar element is that you can bring more than four characters at once. Extras can be “downloaded” at certain rooms to replace your team for a specific fight or to back you up if any character is defeated. Very useful for some later Worlds.

Related: All Base Zone Treasure Chest Locations in Honkai: Star Rail

Simulated Universe Rewards

You also get to keep all resources obtained while in the Simulated Universe, but each World has a first-time clear reward which included Stellar Jades, Credits, Passes and, most importantly, the unique Herta Bond currency. This can be used in Herta’s Store in the Universe’s initial menu, where you can buy some strong Light Cones and more Passes.

After unlocking World 3, you also unlock Planar Ornaments as possible rewards. These Relics are exclusive to the Simulated Universe, so you’ll probably spend some time and Trailblaze Power inside this dungeon.

The most important part might be the Point Rewards system, which resets weekly. By obtaining a high enough score every week, you can get even more of the aforementioned items. This gives you a reason to keep replaying the Simulated Universe and advancing even deeper into the Worlds aside from farming Planar Ornaments. And with so many juicy rewards, it’s highly recommended to at least give it a shot every now and then.