Honkai: Star Rail’s Simulated Universe is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards make each journey worth it. This is why I try to see just how far I can take my sessions whenever I feel confident enough about my builds. Among all the Simulated Universe Worlds I've explored, it's really World 3 that gives me the biggest headache no matter what difficulty I run with it.
HSR Simulated Universe 3 Guide
Best Characters for Simulated Universe World 3 in Honkai Star Rail
The best characters to bring in Simulated Universe World 3 are Trailblazer (Fire), a lightning Hero like Serval and Jing Yuan, as well as a healer like Natasha. Your fourth should be a single-enemy DPS with an element Gepard is weak to, like Sushang and Arlan.
Stats
Next, be sure your team is equipped with the best and highest-level relics you have. And level up your Light Cones if you haven't! For reference, you should be prioritizing the following main stats for them:
- Trailblazer (Fire): DEF
- Healers: Check which stat their heal % is dependent on, but it's usually HP.
- Any DPS: ATK
I recommend getting the above stats to the following numbers:
- Difficulty 1: 1,200
- Difficulty 2: 1,600 to 1,800
- Difficulty 3: 2,000 to 2,500
Related: Honkai Star Rail Characters Tier List – Best Character for each path
Path and Blessings
Choose the Hunt Path. Hunt has blessings that boost speed and bump turn order. The more turns you get, the less chance Gepard has to use his AoE. Upgrade all cards that increase speed and Advance Forward. Plus, its Path Resonance does the most damage to his shield. You'll thank me later!
When choosing your blessings, prioritize Hunt cards and Preservation cards. Always pick combat domains when given the option for guaranteed blessings.
How to defeat Gepard in Simulated Universe World 3
Difficulty 1
All Gepard battles are divided into three phases. Phase one is easy and straightforward enough, but phase two and three need more focus. Gepard will cast a shield over his whole team that will render all opponents immune to damage until you can reduce the shield to 0% (you’ll see the percentage above his head).
Then, here are all the things I did to win:
- Do not turn on auto battle until Gepard is alone. You want to be in complete control of your skills.
- Attack Gepard, not the Silvermane Guards, when the shield is up. I hate the resistance/defenses on those things—they're stupidly high for mobs. This is the most efficient way to get the shields down.
- If you have an AoE character, keep blasting their skill/ultimate so all enemies take damage. It will lower the shield % faster.
- Always use Trailblazer’s skill when it’s their turn. This is to taunt, reduce damage, and cast shields on every member of your team. Never use them to attack unless Gepard is unconscious. Gepard has a nasty AoE—you’re going to thank your shields later.
- Save your Path Resonance, or Blessing's Attack, for phase two and three when the shield is up. This will do the most damage to the shield.
- Save your party wide heals when it looks like you’re in a pinch.
- If any of your non-Trailblazer characters are damaged, always use your healer to restore their HP on their turn. The closer everyone is to full HP, the more prepared you’ll be for the AoE.
Related: Honkai Star Rail Swarm Disaster Guide (Simulated Universe) – Best team comps, strategies, & more!
Once the shield goes down, you’ll actually find out that the Silvermane Guards have laughably low HPs. Eliminate them from the field and dogpile on Gepard!
Difficulty 2
I’m attaching the photo above to let you know that what I’m about to tell you isn’t a scam. Difficulty 2 can be cleared in Equilibrium Level 3. You just need to make sure that:
- Your DPSes have unlocked all possible Traces available at this point.
- All members of the team have Relics that are mostly upgraded to 12+.
Again, you need to be on the Hunt Path with the Bow and Arrow and Perfect Aim Resonance upgrades. Bow and Arrow guarantees that your Path Resonance crits and Perfect Aim lets you stack it up to two, allowing you to save it for when you absolutely need it (the shield... they're for that awful shield).
Then, here’s how I went about the fight with the team I have:
- Only use Path Resonance when there are Silvermane Guards on the field.
- Avoid attacking Gepard with your low-HP DPSes when he has Counter on.
- ONLY when Gepard is alone will Counter will go away after one attack, so just let the Trailblazer or your healer do it when they can.
- Save the Trailblazer’s Ultimate. Gepard always gets a double turn. On turns that he uses that dastardly AoE, immediately trigger War-Flaming Lance to restore your shields before he gets the second hit in.
- If any of your characters are at 60% HP (sans your defender), trigger your party-wide heal.
If you’re using another defender like Gepard himself, the way to win remains the same. Keep your shields up, don’t attack when Counter is up, and only use Path Resonance when the mobs are around.
Difficulty 3 and above
Gepard in Difficulty 3 hits way harder than the previous one. Get your DPSes' HP to above 2,500 at the very least so they survive.
After that, feel free to use the same tactic(s) I've outlined above! If you're tired of the Hunt Path, I ran its anti-thesis—The Remembrance—on this one. This Path inflicts Freeze on the enemy, delaying their turns. Don't mind the Jing Yuan on our team because it's Sushang and her multi-turns that proved to be the MVP of the battle. If you have Welt, he'll work extremely well, too, because of his Slow-inducing skills.
For more help with Simulated Universes in Honkai: Star Rail, take a look at Honkai Star Rail Simulated Universe World 4 Guide – How to Beat Svarog and Honkai Star Rail Simulated Universe World 5 Guide – How to Beat Kafka here at Pro Game Guides.
Bianca has over three years of experience in gaming journalism, specializing in anything remotely turn-based and strategic, like Pokémon, Final Fantasy, and Honkai: Star Rail. She's a huge fan of Square Enix, RPGs, party games, and visual novels, but will play anything with a banger OST. She's a proud early bird.