Best teams for Honkai Star Rail 3.3 Apocalyptic Shadow

The Apocalyptic Shadow gameplay mode in Honkai Star Rail has recently refreshed, bringing in a fresh set of enemies, buffs, and gameplay strategies. The Honkai Star Rail 3.3 Apocalyptic Shadow is titled Cutting Mistral, and features two veteran bosses in the game — Annihilator of Desolation Mistral (Cocolia) and Soulhook Sovereign (Kafka).

As per standard Apocalyptic Shadow gameplay rules, there are a total of four stages that players will need to clear. The two aforementioned bosses are featured in all four stages, with increasing difficulty levels. This article discusses the best teams that you can use to clear Honkai Star Rail 3.3 Apocalyptic Shadow.

---

Team recommendations for Honkai Star Rail 3.3 Apocalyptic Shadow Cutting Mistral

You can pick between different buffs while challenging Apocalyptic Shadow (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming/HoYoverse)

Before exploring the optimal team choices for this current rotation of Apocalyptic Shadow, let us take a look at the boss traits and buffs for both nodes, which are the following:

Node 1 buffs

1. Call of Dawn: Weakness Break Efficiency of all memosprites is increased by 50%.Additionally, 20% of the enemies' DEF is ignored by memosprites when they are deal damage to enemy targets.
2. Barren of Life: When Weakness Broken enemies are attacked, all DoT's currently present on the enemy will immediately deal DMG equal to 80% of their original DMG. This effect can be triggered up to two times per character (in a single turn).
3. Sweeping Force: CRIT DMG of all Ultimates is increased by 30%, with an additional 30% DMG increase when the Ultimate is used on enemies that are already Weakness Broken.

Node 2 buffs

1. Crimson Tide: All allies Physical DMG dealt is increased by 50%. When a character uses their Skill, 20% of their HP is restored.
2. Turn of Luck: Follow-up ATK DMG dealt by characters ignores 15% of the enemies' All-Type RES, and can also reduce the Toughness of enemies that do not have the corresponding weakness. This Toughness reduction effect is equivalent to 50% of the original Toughness reduction.
3. Rime Piercer: Increases the Break DMG taken by all enemies by 10%. After an enemy's weakness is broken, all allies SPD is increased by 20% for two turns.

---

Best teams for Node 1

1) Castorice, Tribbie, Remembrance Trailblazer, Hyacine

Castorice, Tribbie, Remembrance Trailblazer, Hyacine (Image via HoYoverse)

Since the "Call of Dawn" buff in Node 1 features a boost to Memosprites' DMG, this is a great team where you can take full advantage of the aforementioned buff. Castorice is currently one of the strongest DPS units in game, and her Memosprite is capable of dealing an incredible amount of damage. Tribbie and Remembrance Trailblazer are great supports for Castorice, and the newly released healer unit Hyacine is also Castorice's best sustain teammate.

If you don't have Hyacine, you can always replace her with other good healers such as Luocha and Gallagher. Similarly, Tribbie can also be replaced with Ruan Mei, in case you don't own her.

---

2) Acheron, Jiaoqiu, Aventurine, Pela

Acheron, Jiaoqiu, Aventurine, Pela (Image via HoYoverse)

Acheron can easily use the "Sweeping Force" Node buff to make quick work of the bosses on all four stages of Apocalyptic Shadow. This buff gives her a 30% CRIT DMG bonus, which is extremely helpful for her as Acheron's main source of damage comes from her Ultimate. The SPD buff gained by the entire team after using an Ultimate on weakness broken enemies can also help Acheron regain her Ultimate stacks faster.

Aventurine can be replaced by Gallagher in this team, in case you don't have him. Jiaoqiu can also be replaced by Guinaifen, although it is highly recommended to pair Jiaoqiu with Acheron for their great synergy.

---

3) Kafka, Black Swan, Ruan Mei, Huo Huo

Kafka, Black Swan, Ruan Mei, Huo Huo (Image via HoYoverse)

This team can take advantage of the DoT buff in Node 1 — "Barren of Life". Kafka is a great DoT DPS unit, and her best supports include Black Swan and Ruan Mei. Since the Node 1 Boss is Cocolia, who takes many consecutive turns, DoTs can be triggered constantly with relative ease.

If you don't have Black Swan, she can be replaced with Sampo, who is a good DoT unit despite being a 4-star character.

---

Best teams for Node 2

1) Firefly, Fugue, Ruan Mei, Lingsha

Firefly, Fugue, Ruan Mei, Lingsha (Image via HoYoverse)

This team can take advantage of the "Rime Piercer" buff in Node 2. Firefly is one of the best Break DPS units in the game, who can deal tremendous amounts of Break DMG to the boss. Fugue, Ruan Mei. and Lingsha are Firefly's best supports, as they both debuff the enemy and buff Firefly herself.

For players who don't own Fugue or Lingsha, they can be replaced with Harmony Trailblazer, and Gallagher, respectively. In case you don't have Firefly, she can be replaced with Rappa (or event Boothill). However, Firefly is still the best DPS choice for this team.

---

2) Yunli, Robin, Huohuo, Tingyun

Yunli, Robin, Huohuo, Tingyun (Image via HoYoverse)

The Node 2 buff "Crimson Tide" increases all members' Physical DMG by 50%, which means a well-built Yunli hypercarry team can easily achieve a full-clear of all four Apocalyptic Shadow stages. Robin, Huohuo, and Tingyun are all great supports for Yunli, as they can help advance her and keep providing her with energy so she can activate her Ultimate.

A properly-built Clara can also take Yunli's DPS spot in this team, although it is recommended to use Yunli for higher overall damage output. If you don't have Huohuo, she can be replaced with another sustain like Lynx.

---

3) Feixiao, Topaz, Aventurine, Robin

Feixiao, Topaz, Aventurine, Robin (Image via HoYoverse)

This is Feixiao's premium Follow-Up Attack team, who can all use the "Turn of Luck" node buff. Topaz serves as a sub-DPS in this team, who can also take advantage of the Follow-up Attack buff. Additionally both Topaz and Aventurine can help can help in quickly accumulating stacks for Feixiao. Aventurine functions as a top-tier shielder in this team, and Robin is a mandatory addition to all Follow-Up Attack teams.

If you don't have Topaz, you can replace her with March 7th (Hunt). Aventurine can also be replaced with Gallagher.

---

Follow Sportskeeda for more Honkai Star Rail news, updates, and guides.