Honkai Star Rail Pure Fiction: How It Works

Updated 5 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

Pure Fiction is a recurring endgame mode in Honkai: Star Rail where you fight waves of enemies across two separate stages, aiming for a high score based on how many turns you take. You enter with two teams of four characters, and your goal is to defeat as many enemies as possible within a limited number of cycles (turns). The mode rewards you with Stellar Jades, upgrade materials, and a unique currency, and it refreshes every few weeks with new buffs and enemy lineups.

What Is Pure Fiction?

Pure Fiction is one of the three rotating endgame activities in Honkai: Star Rail, alongside Memory of Chaos (the Forgotten Hall’s higher floors) and Apocalyptic Shadow. It was introduced in version 1.6 and is designed to test your area-of-effect (AoE) damage and your ability to clear trash mobs quickly. Unlike Memory of Chaos, which focuses on single-target boss fights, Pure Fiction throws large groups of weak enemies at you, and your score is determined by how efficiently you clear them.

Each Pure Fiction season lasts about two to three weeks, and it has four difficulty levels. You unlock the mode after reaching Trailblaze Level 40 and completing the main story chapter “Jarilo-VI â€“ Part 1.” The mode has no entry cost, and you can retry as many times as you want before the season ends.

How Scoring Works

Your final score in each stage is the sum of points earned from defeating enemies and from clearing waves. The mode gives you a fixed number of cycles (usually 4 to 6, depending on the difficulty). Each cycle is a turn for your team, and every time an ally or enemy acts, that consumes a portion of the cycle. If you defeat all enemies in a wave, you immediately move to the next wave and get a small bonus.

At the end of the stage, you receive a star rating from 1 to 3 based on your total score. The score thresholds are roughly:

1 star: 10,000 points
2 stars: 20,000 points
3 stars: 30,000 points

You need a combined total of 60,000 points across both stages to earn the maximum Stellar Jade reward (usually 800 per season). The exact thresholds can vary slightly by season, but the pattern is consistent.

Team Building for Pure Fiction

Because the enemies are numerous and weak, single-target damage dealers are often less effective than characters with strong AoE or follow-up attacks. The best teams usually include:

An erudition character (like Himeko, Jing Yuan, or Argenti) who can hit all enemies at once.
A support character who provides energy regeneration or action advance (like Tingyun or Bronya).
A sustain character (healer or shielder) to keep the team alive through chip damage.
A flex slot for a second damage dealer or a buffer like Ruan Mei.

You also want to pay attention to the seasonal buffs. Each Pure Fiction season gives you a special mechanic, such as “When an ally uses a follow-up attack, all allies gain 10% energy” or “Enemies take 30% more damage from Ultimate attacks.” Building your team around that buff can dramatically increase your score.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

One common mistake is treating Pure Fiction like Memory of Chaos. In Memory of Chaos, you need to kill a boss quickly, so you bring a hypercarry and buffers. In Pure Fiction, you need to kill many small enemies, so you need characters who can hit multiple targets without wasting turns. Using a single-target DPS like Seele or Dan Heng IL can work, but you will often run out of cycles because you spend too many turns killing one enemy at a time.

Another misconception is that you must clear every wave to get a good score. In reality, you can leave some enemies alive and still get 3 stars if your score is high enough. The score is based on total damage dealt, not on clearing the stage perfectly. This means you can focus on dealing damage to as many enemies as possible, even if you don’t finish the last wave.

Also, do not ignore the buffs that appear on the field. Sometimes a special enemy drops a buff that gives you energy or a damage boost. Picking those up is often better than attacking the nearest enemy.

Rewards and Refresh Cycle

Pure Fiction rewards are reset every two weeks, aligned with the weekly reset on Monday. The rewards include:

Stellar Jade (up to 800 per season)
Credit (in-game currency)
Relic remains (used for relic crafting)
Character upgrade materials

To get the maximum Stellar Jade, you need to earn at least 60,000 points total across both stages. That usually requires you to get 3 stars on one stage and 2 stars on the other, or 3 stars on both with a little extra. If you are a new player, you can still get partial rewards with lower scores, so it is worth trying even if you cannot clear everything.

Strategies for High Scores

Here are some practical tips that work in most seasons:

Use characters with follow-up attacks (like Himeko, Topaz, or Clara) because they trigger extra hits without consuming extra turns.
Bring a character that can apply a debuff to all enemies, such as Pela’s Ultimate that reduces defense, to boost your whole team’s damage.
Prioritize killing enemies that give you points or buffs, not just the ones closest to you.
If you have a healer, you can afford to be more aggressive. If you do not, bring a shielder to prevent one-shots.
Save your strongest Ultimate for the second wave, where enemies have more HP and give more points.

Remember that you can retry the stage as many times as you want. If you get a bad start, you can restart without penalty. This is especially useful for resetting to get better energy regeneration from enemy kills.

Comparison to Other Endgame Modes

Pure Fiction is often compared to Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow. Here is a quick breakdown:

Memory of Chaos: Focuses on single-target DPS and survivability. You face a boss with a lot of HP, and you need to break its toughness bar. Best for single-target teams.
Pure Fiction: Focuses on AoE damage and speed. You face waves of weak enemies, and you need to clear them quickly. Best for erudition and follow-up attack teams.
Apocalyptic Shadow: Introduces special mechanics like enemy weaknesses that change over time. Requires a mix of single-target and AoE, and often forces you to bring specific elements.

All three modes reward you with Stellar Jades and upgrade materials, but they require different team compositions. If you are a free-to-play player, you should try to build at least one strong AoE team for Pure Fiction, even if you do not have the best characters. Many four-star characters like Herta and Serval are excellent in this mode.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to clear Pure Fiction to get Stellar Jades? No. You get Stellar Jades for reaching score thresholds, not for clearing the stage. Even if you only get 1 star on each stage, you will still earn some jades. The maximum reward requires 60,000 points total, but partial rewards are available.

Can I use the same character on both teams? No. Each character can only be used in one team per stage. However, you can use the same character in stage 1 and stage 2 if you want, but you cannot use them twice in the same stage. Plan your teams accordingly.

Why is my score so low even though I am killing enemies? Your score is based on the number of enemies defeated and the speed at which you defeat them. If you are taking too many turns (cycles) to kill enemies, your score will be low. Try to use AoE attacks and follow-up attacks to reduce the number of turns you take.

Is Pure Fiction harder than Memory of Chaos? It depends on your roster. If you have strong erudition characters, Pure Fiction is easier. If you only have single-target DPS, Memory of Chaos is easier. The game is designed to encourage you to build a variety of characters.

What is the best team for Pure Fiction? The best team changes every season due to the buffs. However, a general strong team is: Herta (or Himeko) as the main DPS, Tingyun as the buffer, a healer like Bailu or Natasha, and a flex slot for another erudition character or a debuffer like Pela. If you have a limited five-star like Ruan Mei, she is excellent in this mode.

Can I farm Pure Fiction for materials? No. Pure Fiction is a limited-time event that gives rewards only once per season. You cannot farm it repeatedly for materials. However, you can retry the stages as many times as you want during the season to improve your score.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.