How to Unlock Stagnant Shadow in Honkai Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail locks some of its most useful mechanics behind level progression or plot advancement. To build up your characters, you have to explore all sorts of portals and farming techniques. Here is our guide on how to unlock Stagnant Shadow in Honkai: Star Rail.

Note: We’ll have a Honkai: Star Rail guides and features hub soon, so stay tuned.

Honkai: Star Rail – how to unlock Stagnant Shadow

Stagnant Shadow is an important game mechanic. Besides counting toward your Daily Training activity, it allows you to gather uncommon character ascension materials such as Storm Eye, Lightning Crown of the Past Shadow, and numerous others. You will spend 30 Trailblaze Power for each attempt.

To unlock Stagnant Shadow, you must increase your Equilibrium Level to 2. Doing so requires you to reach Trailblaze level 30, which grants access to a mission called Trial of Equilibrium: Part 2. For a more in-depth look at the process, check our guide on how to raise your Equilibrium Level in Honkai: Star Rail.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

Before you attempt the Trial of Equilibrium: Part 2 mission, prepare for a tough battle. The highest level your characters can have attained by then is level 40. Higher levels are locked behind an ascension that can’t happen until you reach Equilibrium Level 2. If possible, bring four characters that have reached level 40. You must defeat two bosses: Guardian Shadow and Stormbringer. Between them, they have weaknesses to physical, wind, fire, and ice attacks. I found they both put up quite a fight, but I emerged triumphant using my usual team of Serval, Dan Heng, Bailu, and March 7th. If you have the Fire Trailblazer, I suggest using that character in place of Serval. Natasha should work fine as your healer/support character, if you don’t have Bailu.

Once you clear the required mission and your Equilibrium Level increases, you can teleport to any Stagnant Shadow portal you access while exploring the various maps. Portals exist across each available planet. Some of them might not be accessible to you quite yet, depending on how far you have progressed into the story campaign. You will have to navigate to them the first time. After that, you can teleport directly to them for future farming.

Honkai: Star Rail is available via its official website.