How to Get Started with Honkai Impact

Last Updated: August 20, 2022

Honkai Impact 3rd (崩坏3) is a role-playing game by miHoYo and an older game than Genshin Impact. A hack-and-slash game, Honkai Impact shares many of the same mechanics as other games of the genre, and some of the features from Honkai Impact have made it into Genshin Impact as well. While the games may be vastly different, the core mechanics are oddly similar. This wikiHow will show you how to get started with Honkai Impact.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Started

1
Download Honkai Impact. The game is available worldwide to all users. You can download this game on Windows, iOS, or Android. The game currently does not work on Mac or any console platform.
- The download process continues after launching the game, during which the latest update preview trailer will loop. This can be turned off and the game can be moved to the background to let the download quietly proceed.
2
Create an account. You can log in with your email address, Apple, Google, Facebook, or Twitter. If you played any miHoYo game before, including Genshin Impact and Tears of Themis, you already have a miHoYo account. Enter your credentials into the login screen, or follow the prompts to create an account for the game.
- If you are seeing "Abnormal game environment" then you need to make sure Honkai Impact is running as an administrator or disable memory integrity.
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3
Tap the screen to start. After all the resources are downloaded and you are logged in, you can start. Chapter I Act I serves as a tutorial for the game's fundamental controls.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Basic Controls

1
Use WASD or the joystick to move around. Like many games, you can use WASD on your keyboard or the digital joystick onscreen to move.
2
Use QENM or drag the screen to change the field of view. This will allow you to see behind you, ahead of you, and to the side of you.
- The game can be played using only a keyboard, in addition to touch and controller, making it a good game for laptops and other handheld devices.
3
Press J (or tap the bottom right button) to attack. This will activate the current character's current weapon. Valkyries may deal Physical, Fire, Lightning, or Ice damage, depending on her damage type and her battlesuit.
4
Press K (or tap the bottom left button) to trigger evasion skills. A successful evasion will both nullify incoming damage on trigger and trigger the evasion skill. This may range anything from skills that slow down time (referred to as time fracture) to skills that provide attack bonuses and heal characters.
5
Press U (or tap the top left button) to trigger a weapon skill. This will consume a set number of skill points (SP) to perform an attack. Weapon skills often deal physical damage, but some deal Fire, Ice and Lightning damage. There are also weapon skills that instead of dealing damage, buff the Valkryie, or debuff the enemy. Certain enemies may be weaker to one of the four types of damage, making it more effective.
6
Press I (or tap the top right button) to trigger the Valkyrie's ultimate. This will consume a larger number of skill points (SP) to perform an attack. Ultimates deal far more damage than physical damage, but some may also trigger other passive effects like time fracture or time stop.

Tip: Some Valkyries do not have a secondary skill. Others have one, but the ultimate button is bound to it instead. In this case, holding I will trigger the Valkyrie's ultimate.
7
Press the number keys to switch your character. Note that you cannot switch characters while taking or dealing damage. You can also switch characters by tapping on the character to switch to.
- If a Valkyrie's icon is blinking, it means she has a QTE (quick time event) ready. Switching to her may increase the cooldown of switching back, but will perform some other passive effect like a follow-up attack.
8
Press the escape key or the pause button to pause. This will bring up the pause menu. Not all gameplay is pauseable. The pause menu allows for adjustment of controls as well as viewing of currently active missions.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Other Important Information

1
Note the bar on the bottom of the screen is your Valkyrie's health. This can be replenished by picking up health tokens. If that bar reaches zero, then that character dies. You can revive by spending crystals, although this is undesirable since crystals are also used for pulling on the gacha.
- Ways to lose health in a stage include debuffs (such as bleed, common in the Quantum Singularis (QS) challenges) that drain health and take damage.
- Ways to gain health include picking up health tokens and Valkyrie skills that can heal the party.
- If all your characters die, then you will be presented with the "Defeat" screen. You will have to restart the challenge over, or you will be removed from the open world and will have to wait for your characters to revive.
2
Understand the different Valkyrie/enemy types. In the game, depending on the type of the Valkyrie and enemy, you may gain an attack boost or an attack reduction when casting certain skills.
- The three most common enemy types in much of the start of the game are Biologic (BIO), Mecha (MECH), and Psychic (PSY).
  - Attacks from BIO are strong against PSY but weak against MECH.
  - Attacks from PSY are strong against MECH but weak against BIO.
  - Attacks from MECH are strong against BIO but weak against PSY.
- The other two enemy types are Quantum (QUA) and Imaginary (IMG).
  - Attacks from QUA are strong against QUA but weak against IMG.
  - Attacks from IMG are strong against IMG but weak against QUA.
- Weak attacks gain a 30% attack reduction, and strong attacks gain a 30% attack boost. Neutral attacks have no reduction or boost in attack strength.
- When making character parties, the maximum number of characters you can have is three, so you should try to include characters from BIO, PSY, and MECH to be ready to counter the most common types.
3
Note the bar on the top of the screen is the selected enemy's health. This will also list status effects active on the enemy. The words "UP" or "DOWN" also show how effective your attacks against the enemy will be based on your Valkyrie's type.
4
Forget elemental reactions if coming from Genshin Impact. Honkai does not have any elemental reactions in the main storyline, but may have similar systems in other challenges. Elemental damage also cannot score critical hits in Honkai Impact in most cases. Spamming K or the spacebar to unfreeze also does not work, either.
- If an elemental gauge is filled up it will apply some status effect such as freezing a character/enemy or dealing damage over time.
5
Know how to level up. Leveling up is the only way to unlock more content in the game. You can level up your captain level, your Valkyries, and your weapons.
- Captain level: Complete stages and daily tasks (listed on the "Dailies" section from the left menu on the home screen).
- Valkyries/Battlesuits: Select the "Valkyria" button from the main screen. Select the character to level up, then select "Level up". The character's max level is the same as your captain level.
- Weapons/Stigmata: Select the "Equipment" button then select the weapon or stigmata from your inventory. Click on the weapon, then "Enhance" to enhance the weapon or stigmata, and "Upgrade" to upgrade the weapon or stigmata after reaching the level cap.

Community Q&A

Question

Is Honkai an online game?

Aasim

Top Answerer

Yes. Honkai Impact requires an Internet connection to play. The same applies to Genshin Impact, Tears of Themis, and Honkai: Star Rail.
Question

What is the gacha like in this game?

Aasim

Top Answerer

Honkai Impact has several banners. Dorm Supply is the permanent supply with S-rank Valkyries dropped every 100 pulls. Expansion Supply is the rotating supply with a featured S-rank Valkyrie every 100 pulls. EXPA has a more frequent rotation when active. Focused A and Focused B have stigmata (which are the equivalent of artifacts in Genshin) with featured stigs guaranteed after 10 pulls. Event Supply has a limited time A-rank character guaranteed after 25 pulls. Each Expansion and Dorm Supply has an associated Equipment Supply with stigmata and weapons. Of the different supplies, only the Dorm and Expansion (Equipment) Supplies retain their drop count across banners.
Question

How do you reach Red Lotus in the QS Abyss?

Aasim

Top Answerer

To achieve Red Lotus ranking, you need to be in the Agony bracket and rank near the top. Play the challenge multiple times to achieve the best score possible.