How to Clear HSR Memory of Chaos Survival of the Fittest Stage 12

Memory of Chaos is the main endgame mode in Honkai: Star Rail, and a new season, Survival of the Fittest, is live now. This season rewards teams that use their Ultimates often, keeps Aha's free extra turn from the previous season, and asks for Fire and Wind damage in the first half of Stage 12 and Quantum and Imaginary in the second. At gamemarket.gg, we explain how Memory of Chaos works, what the current season's buff does, who you will face in Stage 12, which characters to bring and how many Stellar Jade you can earn. We update this guide every time a new season begins.

What Is Memory of Chaos?

Memory of Chaos is a permanent challenge in the Forgotten Hall. It has 12 stages, and each stage is split into two halves, so you need two separate teams of four characters.

• Stars: each stage awards up to 3 stars, based on how many Cycles you have left when you win and whether any character goes down
• Memory Turbulence: every season has a special buff that changes which characters and teams perform best
• Starward Mode: a harder version of Stage 12 with an extra reward for players who clear it fast enough
• Resets: a new season starts roughly every 6 weeks, with new enemies, a new buff and fresh rewards

Current Season: Survival of the Fittest

• Start: November 2, 2026, 04:00 (server time)
• End: December 14, 2026, 03:59 (server time)

This season runs past the Version 4.7 update on November 11, so any new characters you pull in 4.7 can still help you here.

Memory Turbulence

According to the HSR Wiki:

• When an ally uses their Ultimate, they gain 5 Punchlines
• At the start of each Cycle, Aha gains 1 extra turn with a fixed 20 Punchlines taken into account, and this turn does not consume Punchlines

The Aha extra turn carries over from the previous season, Crossing the Afterlife. The new part is the Punchline gain on every Ultimate, which pushes the meta toward teams that build energy quickly and cast Ultimates often.

Stage 12 Enemies and Weaknesses

First Half (Node 1)

• Enemies: Rocking Rebel, Decaying Shadow, Borisin Warhead: Hoolay
• Recommended types: Fire and Wind

Second Half (Node 2)

• Enemies: Moonlit Pegasus, Noontide Gryphon, Blood of the Fallen God: Yabuli
• Recommended types: Quantum and Imaginary

Hoolay and Yabuli are the bosses of each half, so save your strongest single-target damage for them. The other enemies show up in waves, which makes some AoE helpful for clearing them before the boss phase.

Starward Mode: Third Half (Node 3)

Starward Mode uses the same first and second halves, then adds a third half with its own lineup:

• Enemies: Ichor Memosprite: Winged Serpent, Aurumaton Spectral Envoy, Ichor Memosprite: Judge of Oblivion
• Recommended type: Physical
• Voracity Corrosion (Corruption Level 3): strengthens the Winged Serpent, the Judge of Oblivion and every Ichor Memosprite: Pheasant the Judge summons
• Cycle limit: 45 Cycles across all three halves
• Stars: win with at least 15 Cycles left for the second star and 30 for the third
• Prismatic Star: earn 3 stars and win with 33 or more Cycles remaining

Because the Judge of Oblivion keeps summoning Pheasants, a Physical team with some AoE makes this half much easier. Save your third-strongest team for Node 3, since Nodes 1 and 2 already use your two main teams.

How to Use This Season's Buff

• Prioritize Ultimate-heavy characters. Every Ultimate adds Punchlines, so characters with fast energy regeneration get more value from the buff
• Bring energy support. Supports that help your team charge Ultimates faster now do double duty
• Let Aha's extra turn work for you. It triggers at the start of every Cycle for free, so shorter fights still benefit from it
• Elation characters gain the most. Punchlines are tied to the Elation system, so Elation units and teams built around them are likely to get the biggest boost

Best Characters for This Season

Match your teams to each half's weaknesses:

First half: Fire and Wind

• Fire: Firefly
• Wind: Feixiao, Anaxa

Second half: Quantum and Imaginary

• Quantum: Archer, Castorice, Seele
• Imaginary: Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Dr. Ratio

Pair your main damage dealer with a strong support and a sustain unit. Characters who do not match the weakness can still work in strong teams, but matching Types makes Toughness breaks and fast clears much easier.

For a closer look at the current meta, our Version 4.6 tier list ranks the strongest characters, and our Version 4.7 overview covers who is coming next.

Memory of Chaos Rewards

• Stars: 60 Stellar Jade for every 3 stars, reported at around 900 Stellar Jade in total for a full clear
• Starward Mode: 100 Stellar Jade, 100 Jade Feathers and 20,000 Credits for earning the Prismatic Star
• Stage completion: Lucent Afterglow, Traveler's Guides, Lost Crystals, Refined Aether and Credits

Rewards reset with every new season, so even partial progress is worth collecting before December 14.

Tips for a Full Clear

• Build two teams evenly. A strong first team cannot carry a weak second team, since each half is cleared separately
• Check the weaknesses before every stage. The recommended Types change from stage to stage, not just in Stage 12
• Keep everyone alive. A single downed character costs you a star
• Use the earlier stages to test teams. Stages 1 to 10 are easier and are a safe place to try different lineups
• Come back after new pulls. With this season running into Version 4.7, a new character can turn a 2-star clear into 3 stars

Past Seasons

• Crossing the Afterlife (September 28 to November 2, 2026): the slot 1 character gained the Elation Skill Euphoric Maelstrom, and Aha gained an extra turn every Cycle. Stage 12 asked for Fire and Quantum in the first half and Physical and Ice in the second
• Stormcleanse (August 17 to September 28, 2026): our Stormcleanse guide covers that season

If you are still learning the other challenge modes, our endgame modes guide explains Pure Fiction, and our Apocalyptic Shadow guide covers the third mode.

If you want an account with more top characters already unlocked, you can explore trusted Honkai: Star Rail Accounts, keep your dailies and weekly modes on track with reliable Honkai: Star Rail Hourly Services, or clear Memory of Chaos faster through dependable Honkai: Star Rail Boosting.

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