Simulated Universe is a rogue-like game mode where players can test their strategic thinking and creativity. World 6 is currently the last stage of the Simulated Universe and it presents a significant challenge for players with limited characters. This guide will show players how to beat World 6, even at lower Equilibrium Level, using only free characters and equipment.
Simulated Universe is one of the primary end-game activities that players can enjoy in Honkai: Star Rail. The rogue-like elements present in Simulated Universe allow players to make plenty of creative and strategic choices, leading to excellent replayability. Simulated Universe is also the sole source of Planar Ornaments, making it an essential activity that players should partake in. World 6 is currently the last stage available in Simulated Universe, and its first difficulty unlocks at Equilibrium Level 2. Players at Equilibrium Level 2 may find it challenging to face enemies 15 levels above their characters in World 6, especially those with a limited character pool. This guide will walk through the best way to tackle World 6 using only free characters and Light Cones.
This guide will center on The Abundance Path, which provides players with the best survival options and decent damage output at Equilibrium Level 2. Survivability becomes the top priority due to a significant 15-level gap between players’ characters and Cocolia, the final boss of World 6. Although it’s possible to defeat Cocolia with other Paths, such as Preservation, Destruction, and Hunt, it’s considerably more challenging. The Abundance Path provides several advantages, including HP boosts, consistent healing, and most importantly, Debuff Dispel and Immunity, making it the optimal choice for weaker teams.
The optimal team composition for The Abundance consists of Preservation Trailblazer, Natasha, Serval, and Asta. This combination provides excellent survivability, decent AoE damage, and covers all possible Elemental Weaknesses of Elite encounters and the final boss.
Preservation Trailblazer is an exceptional unit that protects the team through shields and Taunts. Consistent shielding with Trailblazer’s Talent enables players to choose Preservation blessings for additional shield potency, greatly boosting team survivability. The Trailblazer also provides Fire AoE damage, which is crucial in bringing down Ice Edge summons and Bronya during the Cocolia boss fight.
Natasha is a vital part of this team composition due to her on-demand healing, single-target Debuff cleanse, and Physical damage type. This character is essential in keeping the team alive until the power of The Abundance Path can manifest. Additionally, her healing can contribute to more damage through ‘Dewdrop’ charges, which the guide will elaborate on in a later section.
Serval is the team’s primary damage dealer and her AoE is key to quickly eliminating boss summons before they become problematic. Her Lightning Element also covers all possible Elite Weaknesses in World 6, with the exception of ‘Ice Out of Space’.
Asta not only buffs the team with increased Attack and Speed but also possesses one of the most effective Skills to break through Toughness Bars. On a single target, her Skill provides the same amount of Toughness Break as an Ultimate ability.
To optimize team survivability, players should consider placing Trailblazer in either the first or fourth position. This way, they can absorb cleave abilities away from squishier characters like Serval and Asta. Additionally, it is recommended to place Natasha next to Trailblazer, as she often has the highest HP due to it being her preferred stat.
Although free Light Cone options are limited, they are more than enough to get the job done. It is important to level them up as they provide a significant boost to a character’s stats.
Preservation Trailblazer: For Preservation Light Cones, players can choose between 5-star ‘Texture of Memories’ or 4-star ‘We Are Wildfire’. Texture of Memories can be bought from Herta’s Store and works well with Trailblazer’s Taunt Skill, increasing their tankiness when taking hard hitting abilities. Being a 5-star, Texture of Memories also provides higher Defense stats, contributing to Trailblazer’s team shielding value.
We Are Wildfire can be obtained from Boulder Town’s Underground Shop and Forgotten Hall’s Light Cone Manifest. While this Light Cone does provide damage reduction for the team, the effect only lasts for five turns, which is not likely to last through Cocolia’s second phase. Regardless, it is still better than wearing a lower stat 3-star Light Cone.
Natasha: The 4-star Light Cone ‘Quid Pro Quo’ can be obtained upon reaching Trailblazer Level 20 and can be purchased from Forgotten Hall’s Light Cone Manifest. The Energy regeneration effect allows teams to use their Ultimates more often, charging up the Path’s Resonance ability faster and leading to more healing and damage.
Serval: Players can choose between ‘Make the World Clamor’ or ‘The Seriousness of Breakfast’ depending on what they have. Make the World Clamor was obtained for free from the All-Star Invite web event, and The Seriousness of Breakfast can be purchased from Light Cone Manifest.
Asta: Besides 3-star options, ‘Past and Future’ is currently the only free 4-star Light Cone available. It is rewarded from Jeweler’s Pagoda in Central Starskiff Haven and purchasable from Light Cone Manifest. Past and Future has a decent damage buff, but its target can be challenging to manipulate without proper turn setup from Relics.
Once characters and Light Cones have been leveled up, the next priority should be Traces. These provide a significant power boost and, unlike Relics, are not subject to the whims of RNG. It's a good idea to unlock each character's Bonus Ability, as the effects can be quite strong and the nodes after it offer worthwhile stat bonuses. There's no need to invest in tiers that require ‘Tracks of Destiny’; just focus on the tier that requires only Echo of War materials for now.
Relics are a significant source of power in the game but farming them at lower Equilibrium Levels is not necessary, and it's not recommended due to their random nature. Instead, players should prioritize using their Trailblazer Power to obtain Ascension Materials and Trace levels early on. Free Relics from quests, region stores, chests, and Trailblazer Level rewards are adequate for now. However, it's essential to level them up to at least level 6 to 9, and up to 12 for decent stats. All stats are welcome, even defensive ones on damage dealers, since survival against Cocolia is crucial. Leveled up Relics can transfer 80% of their EXP to new Relics, so investing in suboptimal Relics isn't a total waste. Players can choose Relics with good stats at the expense of set effects or use set effects at the cost of good stats due to limited options. The same principles can be applied to Planar Ornaments, as their availability may vary among players.
Preservation Trailblazer: Players can use the ‘Knight of Purity Palace’ set. The 3-star rarity pieces are given out for free at Trailblazer Level 17, while the 4-star rarity pieces are rewarded at Level 32, 33, 34, and 35.
Natasha: Players can use the ‘Passerby’s Roaming Dragon Bracer’ set, which can be obtained for free from Trailblazer Level 26 and 27.
Serval: Players can either go 4-piece ‘Musketeer of Wild Wheat’ or 2-piece Musketeer with 2-piece ‘Thief of Shooting Meteor’.
Asta: Players can either go 4-piece ‘Thief of Shooting Meteor’ or 2-piece Thief with 2-piece ‘Firesmith of Lava-Forging’. Players can get a free set of Firesmith by completing all difficulties of ‘Warring Expedition’ in Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone.
The two most important nodes in the Ability Tree required for this strategy are ‘Reset Blessings’ and ‘Resonance Formation II’. Reset Blessings will provide players more chances to acquire Abundance Blessings, while Resonance Formation II will enable players to obtain two Resonance Formations for their Path Resonance ability, which is a critical aspect of this strategy.
The two Resonance Formations that players will be aiming for are ‘Anatta’ and ‘Anicca’. Anatta enables the Path Resonance ability to enter the Action Order at 70% healing effectiveness after its first use in each battle. This provides the team with consistent healing every turn and is extremely powerful in conjunction with Anicca. Anicca adds a Debuff cleanse and a stack of Debuff immunity, for one turn, to the Path Resonance ability. This combination is key to negating Cocolia’s Freeze effects and stacking AoE damage.
It is important for players to aggressively reroll for Abundance Blessings, as the second Resonance Formation choice requires 10 Abundance Blessings to unlock. In the early stages, regardless of their usefulness, Abundance Blessings should be prioritized until both Formations are unlocked. It is recommended to choose Anatta first and Anicca second.
The most important Blessing that players need is ‘Prosperity, Longevity’, as it serves as the team’s primary source of damage. This Blessing enables characters to accumulate ‘Dewdrop’ charges through healing received, which can be discharged as additional damage every time they attack. If players do not obtain ‘Prosperity, Longevity’ before the second Elite Domain, it is recommended to restart the run as further progression may be challenging.
Apart from acquiring 10 Abundance Blessings, players should focus on two primary types of Blessings: ones that enhance survival and those that boost Dewdrop charges.
For survival, Abundance Blessings such as ‘Clear Lucite Body’, ‘Dispel Disaster’, and ‘Rain of Truth’ help bolster the team’s ability to tank Cocolia’s attacks. Outside of Abundance, Blessings from Preservation and Destruction also offer excellent defensive options such as increased shield potency and reduced damage taken.
For Dewdrop charges, Blessings like ‘Mudra of Blessing’ and ‘Mortals of the Buddha-Field’ are great for directly boosting its charging efficiency. Players can also indirectly boost Dewdrop charge efficiency through Blessings that increase healing and max HP, such as ‘Sweet Dew’, ‘Prajna Boat’, and ‘Orbital Redshift’.
If the aforementioned Blessings are unavailable, it is generally advisable to choose Blessings that boost Energy regeneration, damage, or Speed. If possible, players should avoid Blessings from Remembrance and Elation since Cocolia has Freeze Immunity and the team composition lacks follow-up attacks. Nihility is also less than ideal, but it does at least provide some damage value.
When it comes to Enhancing Blessings, ‘Prosperity, Longevity’ should be the foremost priority for players. Afterward, they can choose to enhance their Blessings based on their needs for survival or damage. Players should pay attention to prior fights to gauge what they may be lacking before facing off against Cocolia.
The safer choice in the early stages is generally to opt for Combat Domains, as they guarantee access to Blessings after each fight. Due to the importance of unlocking Resonance Formations in this strategy, increasing the odds of obtaining Abundance Blessings is highly recommended. Occurrence Domains are often riskier due potential punishments from various events, but they can also offer extremely powerful rewards. Ultimately, it’s up to players to decide how much risk they want to take during their run.
As for Curios, those that increase Blessing and Cosmic Fragment availability are generally good picks. Error Code Curios are extremely powerful, but players should be mindful of acquiring them too close to Elite/Boss Domains, before they have the chance to ‘fix’ them.
If possible, it is recommended to fill up Path Resonance Energy in a prior fight before engaging Elites or Cocolia. This ensures that Anatta enters the Action Order as soon as possible.
During combat, players should focus on cycling Ultimates and Path Resonance to increase healing output. Frequent use of Ultimates charges up Path Resonance faster, leading to more damage output from Dewdrop charges. Dewdrop charges can be collected from over-healing, meaning heals received by full-health characters are still counted. This also means players should be using Natasha’s Ultimate and Skill aggressively to build up larger charges.
Holding on to Ultimates and Path Resonance for too long can result in a loss of efficiency, but there are exceptions, such as Phase II and III of Cocolia’s encounter, where players may need to hold a healing option to top off before or after a giant hit.
Cycling Path Resonance, in combination with Anatta and Natasha, ensures that buffs from Abundance Blessings and Anicca are always active, such as ‘Precious Moon-Like Candlelight’, ‘Dispel Disaster’, and ‘Victorious Force’. It is particularly important to make sure characters are topped for the damage reduction from ‘Clear Lucite Body’ before incoming big abilities from Elites and Cocolia.
Cocolia presents a three-phase boss fight with numerous abilities that players must keep a close eye on.
The first one is ‘Intensifying Cold’, a stackable buff that Cocolia gains for every target she Freezes. This buff is essentially a form of soft enrage, preventing players from stalling out the fight for too long. Fortunately, Anicca’s Debuff Immunity stacks help to slow down the rate at which Cocolia gains Intensifying Cold. Nonetheless, since Cocolia has two actions per turn, characters will inevitably get Frozen when unprotected by Anicca’s buff.
‘Hoarfrost of Eternal Isolation’ is Cocolia’s strongest single target ability and the one most likely to trigger Freezes. Ideally, players should try to soak this ability with Trailblazers Taunt.
Cocolia periodically summons two Ice Edges through ‘Omen of Everlasting Freeze’, with each dealing an instance of AoE Ice damage each turn. The damage is initially low but ramps up throughout the fight due to Intensifying Cold, becoming quite an annoyance in Phase III. Players should be able to passively kill them with AoE damage from Serval, Trailblazer, and Asta.
From Phase II and onwards Cocolia will regularly charge an ability called ‘Wrath of Winterland Saints’. On Cocolia’s next turn, she will unleash ‘Punishment of Endless Winter’ and deal massive AoE damage. This is Cocolia’s scariest attack and one that players must play around in order to survive this fight.
Cocolia's damage output is relatively lower in Phase I, providing players with the ideal window to deal as much damage as possible. The goal is to swiftly advance to Phase II and minimize the buildup of Intensifying Cold early on. By cycling Ultimates and Path Resonance, players can maximize their damage output, as outlined in the previous combat principles. If players can minimize the stacks of Intensifying Cold on Cocolia when transitioning to Phase II and III, they will have an easier time dealing with her more powerful attacks.
At the start of Phase II, Cocolia summons Bronya to fight alongside her. Bronya has the ability to buff Cocolia’s damage and forward Cocolia to the top of the Action Order. Players on a lower Equilibrium Level should prioritize taking down Bronya, as her abilities can be challenging to deal with in Phase III if left unchecked. On the other hand, Players with a higher-level team can opt to cleave her down while focusing solely on Cocolia. Like Ice Edges, Bronya will also benefit from Intensifying Cold.
As mentioned before, Cocolia starts performing Punishment of Endless Winter in Phase II. Depending on how much damage the team is taking, players may want to consider holding Natasha’s Ultimate or the Path Resonance to use between Punishment of Endless Winter and Cocolia’s second action. Often, Cocolia may follow up with Hoarfrost of Eternal Isolation, which can easily eliminate a low health Serval or Asta. If no heals will be available in time, players should use Trailblazer’s Taunt beforehand, as it reduces damage taken for the team and allows her to soak the Hoarfrost. Doing so should buy enough time for characters to recover their health.
In Phase III, Cocolia adds an ability called ‘Doomsday Ice Cascade’ into the Action Order. Doomsday Ice Cascade deals multiple ticks of Ice AoE once a turn and it does not count towards one of Cocolia’s actions. The challenge is finding the best times to heal in between Ice Edges, Doomsdays, and Endless Winters, while seeking to end the fight before Cocolia overwhelms the team with high stacks of Intensifying Cold.
During Doomsday's multiple ticks of damage, players have the opportunity to charge Energy quite quickly for Ultimates and the Path Resonance. To make the most of this, it's important to pay close attention during Doomsday in case a healing option becomes available, allowing it to be used before Cocolia takes action. This concept can be applied anytime characters take damage, providing an opening between enemy actions.
In general, focusing down Ice Edges can reduce incoming damage and allow Asta’s skill to burn through Cocolia’s Toughness Bar more efficiently. This, in turn, makes it easier for players to time Cocolia’s Toughness Bar Break and interrupt her while she’s charging Wrath of Winterland Saints. If multiple instances of damage are inevitable, be sure to remember to use Trailblazer’s Skill to reduce damage taken by the team. By focusing on the Action Order and planning moves in advance, players should be able to defeat Cocolia, even at Equilibrium Level 2.
While there are several different ways to beat Simulated Universe, the Abundance Path stands out as an effective option for weaker teams to tackle higher difficulty Worlds. Different Paths should become more viable as players progress through higher Equilibrium Levels and strengthen their characters. Simulated Universe is one of the most entertaining game modes in Star Rail, and hopefully, HoYoverse will continue to expand on it.
