How To Defeat Every Opponent In Aetherium Wars Final Showdown Of Honkai: Star Rail

The Aetherium Wars questline in Honkai Star Rail crescendos with the Final Showdown! Intergalactic Celebration! Adventure Mission. Prepare to battle through an electrifying gauntlet in the Old Weapon Testing Ground, which has now been refurbished into the Interastral Tournament Festival venue.

Related: Honkai: Star Rail – Complete Aether Spirits Guide

This Championship is both a test of your might and a reflection of your journey. Your command over the Aether Spirits, understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and knowledge of the opponents’ strategies will all be under scrutiny. And at the zenith of this questline, the enigma that is the ‘Elite Player’ awaits, casting a shadow of anticipation and promise.

How To Begin Final Showdown! Intergalactic Celebration!

Before beginning ‘Final Showdown! Intergalactic Celebration!,’ complete all preceding quests in the ‘Aetherium Wars’ event, specifically the ‘Battle Of Wits! Herta Space Station!’ quest.

Once ready, head to the Administrative District on Jarilo-VI and meet up with March 7th. Following your brief interaction, you’ll be directed towards the long-anticipated Interastral Tournament Festival venue (located at the Old Weapon Testing Ground)

After a quick exchange with Wilder and handing over your Aether Coin, your participation in the tournament is confirmed. With limited time left before the competition begins, follow March 7th’s suggestion and explore the surroundings to ensure you’re fully primed for the upcoming challenges.

NPCs To Meet Before The Tournament Finals

Before stepping on stage, you’ll have the opportunity to speak to NPCs around the venue. Though most don’t give any rewards for doing so, they’ll disappear after you begin the tournament (replaced by a new set of NPCs after each round). If you’re a lore enthusiast, don’t miss out on interacting with them.

One of the few NPCs in the area that will give you something is Barrie. He’ll provide you with rewards depending on the number of Mastery Marks you possess.

If you’ve been obtaining all available Aether Spirits from the Victory Zones up to this point, these last two Aether Spirits given to you by Barrie will also unlock the ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ Achievement.

How To Defeat Luka

Luka stands as the first opponent you’ll take on in the Tournament Championship.

With the exception of his Automaton Direwolf (Mechanical Type), Luka’s lineup will consist of all Aberrant Type Aether Spirits, such as the Incineration Shadewalker, Imaginary Weaver, and Voidranger: Reaver.

To counter this, build your team with mostly Mechanical Type Aether Spirits.

Recommended Team

The strategy with this team is to steadily ramp up the survivability of your team through Silvermane Soldier’s Morale stacks, which can accumulate up to 60 stacks as each ally acts. These not only boost resistances but also amplify damage and speed.

In tandem, the Aurumaton Gatekeeper debuffs adversaries by cutting their damage output and delaying their turns. Finally, your Warp Trotter deserves special mention for its consistent healing. This is a vital help, particularly during the earlier turns when you haven’t yet accumulated many Morale stacks.

All the while, the DoT of your Enhanced Ingenium: Illumination Dragonfish will chip away at the HP of opposing Aether Spirits. And when the Aurumaton Gatekeeper activates its Sanction Mode, it calls forth two more Illumination Dragonfish, effectively tripling the application speed of DoT stacks.

How To Defeat Guinaifen

The formidable Guinaifen will be your second opponent in the Tournament Championship.

She’ll be equipped with predominantly Abberant Type Aether Spirits, including Blaze Out of Space, Incineration Shadewalker, and Wooden Lupus, along with the Mechanical Type Entranced Ingenium: Illumination Dragonfish.

To counter this, build your team with mostly Mechanical Type Aether Spirits.

Recommended Team

Guinaifen’s team closely mirrors Luka’s in regards to Aether Spirit Types, so your game plan remains largely the same.

Continue to lean on Silvermane Soldier and Aurumaton Gatekeeper to bolster your team’s tankiness. Use Warp Trotter for healing to keep all your Spirits topped up, and count on Illumination Dragonfish to continue applying DoT stacks every turn.

However, stay alert: Guinaifen’s Wooden Lupus can call forth a Shadow Jackhyena upon using its Ultimate. To sidestep this added threat, prioritize eliminating the Wooden Lupus early on.

How To Defeat Silver Wolf

As the third opponent in the Tournament Championship, Silver Wolf awaits with a deadly strategy that’ll have unprepared players KO’d before they can even say “Oh my trotter” — well-fitting for her in-world reputation as a hardcore gamer.

Her lineup primarily consists of Abberant Type Aether Spirits such as the Voidranger: Trampler, Voidranger: Reaver, Imaginary Weaver, and the Humanoid Type Vagrant.

To counter this, build your team with mostly Mechanical Type Aether Spirits.

Recommended Team

While your strategy remains the same as prior battles, Silver Wolf’s team presents unique challenges.

Her roster includes the powerful Voidranger: Trampler, an Overlord Aether Spirit that packs an immense punch, stronger than any foe you’ve faced up to this point. But what makes it particularly dangerous is Silver Wolf pairing it with the Vagrant. This Aether Spirit is notable for its Ultimate, which strengthens its allies, and its Skill, which grants an immediate turn to an ally.

This can significantly hasten the typically devastating-yet-slow attacks of the Voidranger: Trampler.

Your primary objective should be to get rid of the Vagrant swiftly. By doing so, you prevent it from bolstering its teammates and setting the tempo in Silver Wolf’s favor.

How To Defeat Giovanni

Giovanni, the fourth opponent in the Tournament Championship, offers a unique challenge with his diverse team of Aether Spirits.

Unlike many of his predecessors, Giovanni’s lineup includes a variety of Spirit Types, showcasing the depth of his tactics. His team consists of the Frigid Prowler, Automaton Spider, Everwinter Shadewalker, and Silvermane Soldier.

Due to the variety of Spirit Types, there is no easy counter. Instead, build your team with several Defense, Support, or Healing Type Aether Spirits.

Recommended Team

While Giovanni’s lineup might seem formidable, the survivability-focused DoT strategy you’ve used so far should serve you well here.

The key is understanding his Overlord Aether Spirit, the Frigid Prowler. This icy behemoth can drain HP from its teammates, restoring its own and amplifying its damage. Thus, directly attacking the Frigid Prowler early on may be ineffective, as it can easily regain its health.

Instead, start with Giovanni’s other units. The Prowler often needlessly uses its HP restoration, significantly hurting its allies. By using this to your advantage, you can quickly thin out Giovanni’s squad and then tackle the isolated Frigid Prowler more efficiently.

How To Defeat Champion Topaz

Topaz stands as the daunting penultimate challenge in the Tournament Championship, and defeating her can be a challenge if you’re not prepared.

Apart from her Warp Trotter, Topaz’s Aether Spirit lineup is predominantly composed of Humanoid types, showcasing a tactical blend of IPC foes that include the Senior Staff: Team Leader, Grunt: Field Personnel, and Grunt: Security Personnel.

To counter this, build your team with mostly Aberrant Type Aether Spirits.

Recommended Team

Facing the champion Topaz requires a strategic pivot. Taking a page from Silver Wolf’s playbook, your strategy shifts to the Voidranger: Trampler Overlord Aether Spirit, supercharging its attack potency with Expansion Chips, Silvermane Soldier’s Morale Stacks, and the Vagrant’s Ultimate.

The Voidranger boasts one of the strongest skills of any Aether Spirit, inflicting 300 percent of its ATK on a single target. Such a powerful attack comes with an equally crippling downside: a subsequent 100 percent delay for its next move. However, we’ll be bypassing this in three ways:

1. Should an enemy (or ally) be downed, the Voidranger will instantly take action again.
2. The Vagrant’s skill advances the turn of any ally, in this case, the Voidranger, allowing it to move immediately regardless of any delays.
3. The Sudden Interjection Chip you’ve equipped to the Voidranger grants the wearer an additional turn after taking any action for the first time.

Pairing this with select Expansion Chips like High Load-Low Speed (boosting ATK by 90 percent for reduced speed) and Threshold Disruption (increases damage dealt by 70 percent against healthy enemies) enables you to blow significant holes in quick succession to Topaz’s team, neutralizing the full-extent of her strategy.

How To Defeat The Mysterious Elite Player

Now that you’ve defeated the champion, there’s one more opponent that awaits. Standing as the apex predator of the Interastral Tournament Championship, the Mysterious Elite Player is none other than… Hook?

As the final challenger, her strategy is relentless and multi-layered, bringing forth two waves of enemies, each graced by the presence of not one but two Overlord Aether Spirits. As expected of Pitch-Dark Hook the Great.

Recommended Team

In this climactic finale, we’re returning to our tried-and-true defensive DoT team setup. The only one packing a stronger punch than the Voidranger: Trampler is the mighty Hook the Great herself. So opting for sheer power is a non-starter.

The initial wave sees the imposing Overlord Aether Spirits, Automaton Grizzly, and Automaton Direwolf, with a pair of Imaginary Weavers in tow. Your first objective here is to neutralize the Weavers, as they’re most vulnerable to your Mechanical Type allies.

Wave two sees the icy duo of Everwinter Shadewalker and Frigid Prowler align with their fiery counterparts, the Searing Prowler and Incineration Shadewalker. Just as with Giovanni, exploit the Frigid Prowler’s tendency to damage its own allies, allowing you to swiftly dispatch the less formidable targets.

Using this strategy, you can rapidly pare down Hook’s lineup and concentrate on the now-vulnerable Frigid Prowler.

Until your Silvermane Soldier accumulates significant Morale stacks, team members, like your Warp Trotter, might be persistently at critical HP levels. In such scenarios, use Silvermane Soldier’s Skill to shield a healthier ally. This applies a pseudo-taunt, effectively drawing enemy attention away from your more vulnerable allies.

Next: Honkai: Star Rail – Complete Aetherium Wars Event Guide