Wanna try Honkai Impact 3rd because of Honkai Star Rail? Here's what you need to know!

Honkai: Star Rail's success has only made us appreciate its predecessor, Honkai Impact 3rd, that much more. Why not try Honkai Impact 3rd for more Honkai action?

Does Honkai: Star Rail make you itch for more epic adventures in the Honkai universe? Then why not try out Honkai Impact 3rd? Here's everything you need to know about OG Honkai game. (Photos: HoYoverse)
Does Honkai: Star Rail make you itch for more epic adventures in the Honkai universe? Then why not try out Honkai Impact 3rd? Here's everything you need to know about OG Honkai game. (Photos: HoYoverse)

With Honkai: Star Rail dominating the gacha gaming world right now (with even a VALORANT team forfeiting their match because of that one player who wanted to get in on the Star Rail action…), the expansive world building we have been introduced to is only an inkling to how well HoYoverse can craft an epic adventure.

And if you're looking for more epic adventures, then Star Rail's predecessor and HoYoverse’s magnum opus, Honkai Impact 3rd, is definitely one of the best experiences you can get.

If you’re interested in starting your own journey as Captain of the Hyperion, here’s everything you need to know about Honkai Impact 3rd leading up to the latest version update!

Battlesuits

Honkai Impact 3rd is set in an alternate reality where a threat known as the “Honkai” was created alongside civilisation, designed to be humanity’s mortal enemy.

The Honkai is a cyclical destructive phenomenon which periodically adjusts the universe. In previous outbreaks, Honkai has manifested itself in natural disasters and plagues, but in modern-day alternate earth, the Honkai have now manifested as zombies and beasts.

Because of this, whatever was left of humanity have created anti-Honkai organisations that are focused on quelling the monsters as well as the ultimate personifications of the Honkai: Herrschers.

One such organisation where we begin our journey, Schicksal, employs the use of the Valkyrja, essentially a combatant unit of extremely talented and powerful girls who have the ability to fight against the Honkai with the use of battlesuits.

In essence, characters in Honkai Impact 3rd will have multiple playable versions of themselves, just in different battlesuits with varying abilities, that can be acquired through farming or the game's gacha system.

If you're coming from Honkai: Star Rail, then there will be plenty of familiar faces to be found in Honkai Impact 3rd.

Battlesuits are specifically made for the Valkyrie, as it is designed to further enhance their fighting capability, and can utilise different elemental damage through gameplay. The elements that can be found in game are: Lightning, Ice, Physical, and Fire.

Besides having elemental DMG, battlesuits are also separated into groups, that being Biologic, Psychic, Mecha, Imaginary, and Quantum.these types can help you in battle, as enemies will be weak to certain battlesuit types. For example, Psychic enemies are weak to Mecha battlesuits, so it’s best to deploy a Mecha battlesuit to the fight.

There is also a special line of battlesuits called SP. These battlesuits get significantly stronger as their ranks are increased by perks that can be unlocked by evolving. You can evolve an SP battlesuit through battle drops.

Battlesuits are ranked from B (the lowest) to SSS (the highest). You can upgrade B-A-S tier battlesuits to SSS by getting battlesuit shards through quests, the in-game store, or Gacha. There are over 70 battlesuits available!

With the battlesuits, your Valkyrie will also need its adjoining weapon. Honkai Impact has 11 weapon types available as of version 6.6, namely Pistols, Gauntlets, Katana, Javelin, Cross, Greatsword, Scythe, Lance, Bow, and Chakram.

The last key to a perfect battlesuit is the Stigmata. In Genshin Impact terms, these are the artifacts that will give your Valkyrie set bonuses that can further enhance their DMG capability.

There are also ELFS, or Equipment: Living Form. These are autonomous support units in cute chibi form that aid Valkyrja in battles.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Honkai Impact 3rd is reminiscent of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Employing a hack-and-slash battle system, players will have a team which consists of 3 Battlesuits, ideally with specific roles such as a Main DPS, Buffer/Support, and Sub-DPS.

The combat system is unique as there are some mechanics that are specific only to certain characters, but besides that, it’s pretty easy to catch on to when you start. There are Basic Attacks, which is pretty self-explanatory, Evade, again, self-explanatory, Block, which can only be done by specific battlesuits like Yamabuki Armor, Parry, which can be done by battlesuit Blueberry Blitz, and Throw Counterattack, which can only be done by Lance wielding battlesuits.

Depending on your weapon, you will be able to employ a Weapon Skill, which sometimes costs Energy Points. For example, Lance users will have a Throw Attack as a permanent weapon skill.

The most powerful attack in any Valkyrie’s arsenal is their Ultimate. The Ultimate costs a huge amount of Energy Points and has two varieties, that being:

  • One-Time Usage, which typically grants invincibility to all types of DMG in a short time

  • Burst Mode, which enhances your Valkyrie’s basic attacks to “burst attacks”, allowing them to deal greater DMG in a set duration.

Personally, my favourite ultimate has to be Herrscher of Sentience’s Senti Supremacy.

Beginner captains will be given tons of recommendations in-game regarding team building, preferred weapons, and tutorials on the battle system, so there’s no need to feel overwhelmed when starting out!

But that being said, Honkai Impact 3rd already has a ton of content. The main story alone already has 37 chapters, and a new storyline already launched with version 6.6, so there’s a lot to grind if you’re just starting out now.

Honkai Impact 3rd has open world exploration that is tied to the in-game story which is separated into 4 maps: Sakura Samsara which focuses on Yae Village, Schicksal HQ, A Post Honkai Odyssey, and A Post Honkai Odyssey 2, the latter two focusing on events after the main storyline. It is notable to point out that A Post Honkai Odyssey will later on lead to Honkai: Star Rail’s storyline.

There are also permanent battle arenas where you can simply just duke it out with enemies, that being: Q-Singularis, Superstring Dimension, Memorial Arena, Universal Mirage, and Elysian Realm.

Q-Singularis is a battle mode where players compete to get the highest score. To get into the rankings, players must complete the preliminary Q-Gateway to get into Q-Singularis Abyss. QS Abyss is separated into different level brackets for Captains, It’s an easier version of Superstring Dimension.

Superstring Dimension is only available to Captains who have chosen to “break the ceiling” and levelled up to lvl 81, making it a difficult and bloody challenge for dedicated players. It also has a ranking system that benefits the Captains who reach the top with tons of rewards.

Memorial Arena consists of 3 challenges where you battle against enemies you have defeated in the storyline. Think of it like Honkai: Star Rail’s Forgotten Hall.

Universal Mirage is a game mode where Captains fight certain enemies to receive materials you can use in the Foundry. The Foundry is a valuable asset in the game as you can craft weapons as well as upgrade specific weapons to their maximum capability.

Elysian Realm is the most unique of the battle arenas available, as it is deeply Lore-heavy regarding the Flamechasers of the previous era. I won’t get into it to avoid spoiling, so don’t worry about those details! As a challenge, it is very similar to Honkai: Star Rail’s Simulated Universe, where each level will reward you specific Signets from 13 of the Flamechasers, giving you a variety of buffs.

There is even a Co-Op Raid, where you can team up with other Captains to battle enemies in different levels to gain rewards for levelling up weapons and battlesuits.

Gacha

Honkai Impact 3rd’s gacha system is not as forgiving as Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, as Captains need to spend a maximum of 100 pulls to just get the battlesuit they want.

The Supply, as the gacha is called in game, uses special currency called “Crystals”, which you can get by finishing battle arenas, stories, and through events and purchases in the ingame shop. A single pull costs 280 Crystals, while 10 pulls will cost 2,800 Crystals.

You can also get specific cards that can be spent on the Supply. For example, a Focused Supply Card can only be used for Focused Supply.

There are 7 Supplies to spend your crystals on, that being:

  • Event Supply - where event-limited SP battlesuits as well as their gear can be acquired

  • Expansion Supply - where new characters and their S-rank battlesuits can be acquired

  • EXPA Select Supply - where Captains can choose which S-Rank battlesuit to pull for, both Expansion and EXPA Select share the same drop count

  • Focused Supply

    • A - where Weapon and Stigmatas of the Expansion Supply battlesuit can be acquired

    • B - where Weapon and Stigmata of previous battlesuits can be acquired

  • Outfit Supply - where outfits (a cosmetic item) of battlesuits can be acquired

  • ELF supply - where an S-rank ELF can be acquired

  • Dorm Supply - where standard battlesuits can be acquired

Save for Dorm Supply, the banners employ a 50/50 mechanic where one can “lose” or “win” their pity. If lost, the next 100 pulls will guarantee the rate up weapon, stigmata, or battlesuit.

Captains can get coins, weapon and character upgrade materials, weapons, and Stigmata. Another obtainable through Gacha are “Battlesuit shards” which you can exchange in game for S-rank Rank Up stamps and other rare items in Supply shop, and Essentine, which can be used to exchange for S-rank battlesuits and souls.

With a new storyline and new faces to get to know, Honkai Impact 3rd has no signs of slowing down or stopping. So if you’re waiting for more Honkai: Star Rail or Genshin Impact content, or just want a more challenging game to try, why not check out Honkai Impact 3rd?

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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