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Version 1.3 of Honkai: Star Rail introduced a new feature to the Simulated Universe. Swarm Disaster combines the typical Simulated Universe format with dice and a board game. Instead of choosing the domain types as they come, Swarm Disaster allows you to view the entire map before making any choices. In order to unlock this mode, you need to complete any difficulty level of Simulated Universe – World 5.
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Swarm Disaster focuses on the Aeon of Propagation. As you fight through swarms, you will unlock Blessings of Propagation. Overall, this mode acts like three Simulated Universe Worlds in one adventure. Each exploration is split into three planes. Every plane has a boss battle but with a twist. During the first two planes, you can choose between two bosses to fight. Each boss provides a different effect that should help in your final fight against the Swarm True Stings Boss.
How It Works
When you begin a run of Swarm Disaster, you need to choose a Path: Preservation, Remembrance, Nihility, The Hunt, Abundance, Destruction, Elation, or Propagation. Each Path will affect your Path Resonance and the type of Audience Dice you use. Audience Dice provides different effects to your map and can trigger a new effect for each domain you complete.
After choosing your Path, you’ll begin the First Plane: Wingflap. At the beginning of each plane, you’ll see a map of the available upcoming domains. There are 3 planes in all. You can move between bordering domains, though some Audience Dice may let you skip domains. There are 12 types of domains: Blank, Combat, Occurrence, Reward, Adventure, Respite, Transaction, Combat: Swarm, Occurrence: Swarm, Elite, Boss, and Boss: Swarm.
After completing a domain, the Communing Device will unlock and allow you to proceed. This is also where you roll the Audience Dice. Unless you have the Spirit of the Knights of Beauty Curio, you can only reroll the Audience Dice once per run. Keep in mind that you can collect 10 Cosmic Fragments if you forfeit the Audience Dice effect.
Finally, Swarm Disaster has a movement countdown that limits your domain exploration. If your countdown hits 0, you’ll trigger Planar Disarray. Your counter will go into the negatives and begin tracking your Disruption Level. Each time you move to another domain during Planar Disarray, your Disruption Level will increase. The higher the Disruption Level, the more your enemies will be buffed.
Resonance Interplays
Swarm Disaster is much more difficult than the usual Simulated Universe, so it comes with some new features to help with your adventure. Resonance Interplays occur when you have 3 Blessings from your base Path and 3 Blessings from a different Path. Each Path has two possible Resonance Interplays. If you strategize correctly, you can get both of your Path’s Resonance Interplays in one run. The Path of Propagation also has two Resonance Interplays, but you need to complete all 13 Swarm Disaster Chapters in order to unlock Propagation as a base Path.
Communing Trail & Trail of Pathstrider
These two features are closely linked to each other. Each will gain different features and levels as you progress through Swarm Disaster. Both will also give you more rewards, including a lot of Stellar Jade. It’s great for anyone who has fully completed all Worlds and difficulties in the Simulated Universe. Completing Swarm Disaster will take time, so it’s great to do after you max out your weekly Simulated Universe rewards.
The Communing Trail tracks your affinity with each of the original seven Paths. You can get up to 20 points for each Path. At certain point intervals, you will receive a buff for your Swarm Disaster expeditions. Currently, each Path has 9 available buffs for a total of 63 possible buffs.
Trail of Pathstrider provides your points for Communing Trail. Each node of the Trail of Pathstrider is a different mission. Completing the requirements of the mission rewards you with Communing Trail points. Missions include completing certain types of domains, gaining certain Blessings, and exploring the Swarm Disaster Chapters. You can check your progress on Trail of Pathstrider by checking the icon in the upper right corner of the screen next to your team setup.
Like the usual Simulated Universe, Swarm Disaster will get easier the more you play it. It’s a challenge, but each time you play, you get a little bit closer to success. You have numerous ways to go about this mode, so try out the different Paths and play around with Resonance Interplay.
