The next phase of Pure Fiction is now live in Honkai Star Rail, and this time, you don’t need a ton of powerful 5-star characters to earn the highest score. Follow-up attacks are king for An Expression of Eloquence, so the usual suspects come in clutch here.
Best Pure Fiction Teams for An Expression of Eloquence
For this phase of Pure Fiction, follow-up attacks deal increased damage. That damage buff increases with each follow-up attack that you land, and once the damage buff reaches 100%, an additional AOE attack will be triggered without wasting a turn. You basically just want to trigger as many follow-up attacks as you can, no matter how weak they may be initially.
For the first time in what seems like forever, this phase of Pure Fiction doesn’t favor the featured 5-star banner characters that much. Jing Yuan’s rerun banner might look a little bit more enticing when you’re attempting to clear this challenge, but you really don’t need to pull for anyone this time. You’ll still have a much easier time with certain 5-star mainstays, though.
Stage 1
As always, the enemies featured in Stage One are only level 55 so you can overpower them with just about anyone. You should easily be able to cross the 60,000-point threshold to earn all three stars if you use these teams.
- Team 1
- Herta
- Yanqing
- Clara
- March 7th
- Team 2
- Kafka
- Jing Yuan
- Blade
- Serval
For this stage, the first team will do most of the carrying. All four of them launch follow-up attacks very frequently, so they should make quick work of the incoming enemies and rack up a ton of points. The second team composition allows for much more freedom, but the best picks are 5-stars.
If you’d rather use more common 4-star characters on the second team, then equip the Flattery buff. This makes Ultimates count as follow-up attacks, so you don’t need to have a fully follow-up-centric team. If you use Flattery, choose characters like Guinaifen and Hook who have incredibly fast Energy Regeneration Rates.
Stage 2
Things get a little tougher on Stage Two, but level 65 enemies are not that hard to handle as long as you have a decent setup. Use these teams to hit 60,000 points and earn all three stars for this stage.
- Team 1
- Topaz and Numby
- Xueyi
- Himeko
- Fu Xuan
- Team 2
- Herta
- Kafka
- Serval
- Bailu
The first team relies on 5-star characters like Topaz (who is an absolute champ for this phase of Pure Fiction), but you can swap her and Himeko out for Guinaifen and Hook as long as you use the Flattery buff and focus on using their Ultimates to build up the buff.
As for the second team, Herta is the hero as is usually the case with follow-up attacks. Kafka, Serval, and Bailu are great for inflicting some bonus DoT damage to help thin out the crowd, and Bailu’s normal attacks can trigger Kafka’s follow-up attack and regain some Skill Points for Herta and the others.Use the Blarney buff with this group. Yanqing and March 7th are also great picks here.
Stage 3
The third stage features some fearsome foes at level 75, but the recommended damage types actually make building teams much easier. We recommend these groups to make quick work of Stage Three.
- Team 1
- Himeko
- Clara
- Asta
- Topaz and Numby
- Team 2
- Kafka
- Jing Yuan
- Blade
- Bailu
The first set of enemies is weak to Fire and Physical, which means you get to use some of the best follow-up attack characters in the game. Asta will help increase your damage output for this battle, but if you find yourself needing some more protection, don’t be afraid to swap her out for an Abundance character like Natasha or a Preservation character like March 7th. Use either Spiel or Blarney with this group because they deploy follow-up attacks incredibly often.
The second group has Wind and Electric weaknesses, so we can reuse some of the characters from previous stages. Kafka and Blade have powerful follow-up attacks that make up for them not being available as frequently, and Jing Yuan and Bailu will with weakness breaks. You can swap them out for other characters like Huohuo or Serval as well. Flattery is a great buff for this group since they get their Ultimates pretty fast.
Stage 4
The fourth and final stage is the toughest of the bunch, but the recommended damage types allow for some really great team compositions. To conquer Stage Four of An Expression of Eloquence, use these teams.
- Team 1
- Yanqing
- Topaz and Numby
- Herta
- Fu Xuan
- Team 2
- Bailu
- Kafka
- Dr. Ratio
- Jing Yuan
You’ll need the best of the best when it comes to follow-up attacks to clear this stage, so 5-star characters with good Relics and upgraded Traces are a necessity. On the first team, Topaz, Herta, and Yanqing will trigger the Whimsicality bonus damage super often, and Fu Xuan will keep everyone shielded from incoming damage. This group does best with the Blarney buff. You can also use Jingliu, Sparkle, Gepard, or Himeko in this composition as well.
The second team gives us a rare Imaginary and Electric combo, so Kafka, Jing Yuan, and Dr. Ratio will be your main damage dealers with their follow-up attacks. Bailu is just there for support, so feel free to swap her out for someone like Luocha if needed. You should use the Flattery buff with this team.
Best Expression of Eloquence Buffs in Honkai Star Rail
As always, there are three Cacophony buffs to choose from in An Expression of Eloquence. Each of them favors a different playstyle and team composition, so choose carefully when planning for each stage.
Blarney will increase your team’s follow-up attack damage by 50% and trigger the effect an additional time once you trigger the Whimsicality by reaching 100% bonus follow-up attack damage. This is a safe pick for any team, especially for characters that don’t have follow-up attacks that trigger very often. Spiel will advance your team’s actions forward by 14% every time a follow-up attack lands, so this is perfect for characters with very frequent follow-up attacks like Herta and Kafka.
The odd one out is Flattery. This treats your team’s Ultimate attacks as follow-up attacks, which allows you to completely change your playstyle for this phase of Pure Fiction. It makes characters like Hook and Guinaifen much stronger since they have Ultimates that recharge remarkably fast.
An Expression of Eloquence Pure Fiction Rewards
The rewards for Pure Fiction haven’t changed, so it’s still a great way to get some enhancement materials to build your characters. Finishing a stage with any rating will get you the following items.
- 6 Traveler’s Guide
- 3 Refined Aether
- 6 Lost Crystal
- 24 Lucen Afterglow
- 30,000 Credits
If you manage to achieve the highest score on all four stages and earn 12 stars in total, you’ll get these rewards.
- 720 Stellar Jades
- 600 Jade Feathers
- 240,000 Credits
Jade Feathers can be exchanged for prizes in the Jokes Come True shop, so make sure to stock up on them. They can be used to purchase rare enhancement materials like Lost Crystals and even Self-Modeling Resin so you can hand-pick your Relic stats. The Stellar Jades are nice too, especially if you’re trying to save up for some of the best Honkai Star Rail characters.
