Honkai Star Rail Pure Fiction Stage 3 & 4 Guide

Updated 6 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

This guide explains how to beat Pure Fiction Stages 3 and 4 in Honkai: Star Rail, covering team building, buff selection, and the specific enemy layouts you will face. You need to score at least 20,000 points per stage to earn all star rewards, which requires clearing both halves with enough turns left over. The key is understanding that Pure Fiction rewards frequent Ultimate and follow-up attacks, not raw single-target damage.

How Pure Fiction Works

Pure Fiction is a rotating endgame mode in Honkai: Star Rail, unlocked after reaching Trailblaze Level 40 and completing the main story up to a certain point. Unlike Memory of Chaos, which focuses on single-target boss fights, Pure Fiction throws waves of weak enemies at you. The goal is to clear as many waves as possible within a limited number of cycles (turns). Each wave has a set number of enemies, and killing them all advances you to the next wave. The mode has four stages, with Stages 3 and 4 being the hardest. Stage 3 features enemies around Level 90, and Stage 4 around Level 95. Your characters’ levels, traces, and relics matter, but the real key is matching the current buff.

Choosing the Right Team

Because enemies die quickly, single-target damage dealers like Seele or Dan Heng IL are less effective than characters who hit multiple targets or trigger extra attacks. The best teams for Pure Fiction Stages 3 and 4 include:

Erudition characters – Himeko, Herta, Jing Yuan, Argenti, and Serval excel because their skills and Ultimates hit all enemies. Herta is especially strong in this mode because her follow-up attack triggers whenever an enemy drops below 50% HP, which happens constantly.
Follow-up attackers – Characters like Clara, Topaz, and Dr. Ratio can rack up extra damage outside their turns, which effectively gives you more actions.
Harmony supports – Bronya, Tingyun, and Ruan Mei provide attack buffs and energy, letting your DPS use their Ultimates more often. Ruan Mei is particularly valuable because her Ultimate delays enemy actions, giving you more turns.
Sustain options – You still need a healer or shielder, but you can often use a sub-DPS healer like Luocha or a shielder like Gepard. If your team is strong enough, you can even run no sustain and rely on killing enemies before they act.

A typical team for Stage 4 might be Herta (DPS), Himeko (sub-DPS/breaker), Ruan Mei (support), and Luocha (healer). The idea is that Herta and Himeko both trigger follow-up attacks constantly, and Ruan Mei’s break efficiency makes enemies stay broken longer.

Reading the Current Buff

Each Pure Fiction rotation has a special buff that changes how you play. For example, one rotation might give all characters 50% Energy Regeneration, while another might make follow-up attacks deal 100% more damage. Always read the buff description before building your team. If the buff favors follow-up attacks, bring characters like Herta and Clara. If it favors Ultimate damage, bring characters who can spam their Ultimates, such as Argenti or Serval. Ignoring the buff is the most common reason players fail Stage 4.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Many players struggle with Pure Fiction because they treat it like Memory of Chaos. Here are the most frequent pitfalls:

Using single-target DPS – Seele and Dan Heng IL can clear waves, but they take too many turns. Swap them for Erudition characters.
Not building Energy Regeneration – Ultimates are your main wave-clearing tool. Use Energy Regeneration ropes and Tingyun’s skill to keep your DPS’s Ultimate ready.
Forgetting to use the buff – If the buff says “follow-up attacks deal 50% more damage,” you need characters who actually do follow-up attacks.
Over-investing in sustain – A healer like Bailu is fine, but if you bring two sustain units, you won’t have enough damage. Try to kill enemies before they hurt you.
Ignoring enemy mechanics – Some enemies have shields or resist certain elements. Check the enemy list before starting and adjust your team’s elements accordingly.

Stage 3 vs Stage 4: Key Differences

Stage 3 and Stage 4 share the same wave structure, but Stage 4 has tougher enemies and a higher score requirement. Stage 3 enemies have around 20% less HP, so you can afford to make more mistakes. Stage 4 also introduces elite enemies with more HP and tougher attacks. The scoring threshold for all stars is the same (20,000), but Stage 4 gives you fewer cycles to achieve it, so you need to be more efficient. In practice, this means your characters need better relics and traces for Stage 4. If you can clear Stage 3 with 20,000 points, you might only get 18,000 on Stage 4 with the same team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum score for all stars in Pure Fiction Stage 3 and 4? You need 20,000 points total across both halves. This means clearing all waves in both halves and having at least 10 turns left combined. If you clear both halves perfectly with 30 turns left, you get 26,000 points, but 20,000 is the magic number for all rewards.

Can I use a healer in Pure Fiction? Yes, but you should only bring one. A healer like Luocha or Huohuo can keep your team alive while still contributing to damage. If you bring two healers, you’ll likely run out of time. If your characters are well-built, you can even skip sustain entirely and rely on killing enemies before they attack.

Why is Herta so good in Pure Fiction? Herta’s follow-up attack triggers whenever any enemy drops below 50% HP. In Pure Fiction, there are always many enemies at low HP, so she attacks constantly. Her Ultimate also hits all enemies, making her one of the best wave-clearers in the game.

What is the best team for Stage 4 if I don’t have Himeko? You can replace Himeko with Serval, Jing Yuan, or even a well-built Qingque. The core is to have two Erudition characters and one Harmony support. For example, Herta + Serval + Tingyun + Luocha works well. If you have Ruan Mei, use her instead of Tingyun for better break efficiency.

How many turns do I have in each half? Each half gives you 30 cycles (turns). The turn counter decreases by 1 each time any character acts. So if you have 4 characters, each full round of actions costs 4 turns. This is why you want to minimize wasted actions and use AoE attacks to kill multiple enemies at once.

Do enemy weaknesses matter in Pure Fiction? Yes, but less than in other modes. Weakness break is still important because it delays enemy actions and increases damage. However, since enemies die quickly, you can often brute-force with the right element. If you’re struggling, check the enemy list and bring characters that match their weaknesses.

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