Anomaly Arbitration 4.4 Best Characters and Teams in Honkai: Star Rail
This is our guide for Anomaly Arbitration teams and best characters in version 4.4 of Honkai: Star Rail. Read on to learn about the best teams available for the current cycle of Anomaly Arbitration.
Anomaly Arbitration Version 4.5 Guide - Best Characters and Team Advice
Anomaly Arbitration is the hardest endgame content available in Honkai: Star Rail facing against 3 different sets of enemies before facing a final boss much harder than other endgame modes. Here you can see an overview of the boss mechanics, some general combat advice as well as our recommended team compositions to clear Anomaly Arbitration in version 4.5.
For players looking for more information on how Anomaly Arbitration works or the rewards from Anomaly Arbitration, check our overview below:
Anomaly Arbitration Version 4.5 Duration
- Event Duration: Start of Version 4.5 (2026/08/25) - End of Version 4.5 (2026/09/29)
Anomaly Arbitration releases a new phase at the start of every patch, lasting for the update. It always resets on the Wednesday after the version update.
The current Anomaly Arbitration cycle is Return of the Legion in Version 4.5, where players will face off against Irontomb.
Knights, Mechanics, and Recommended Teams
Here is a breakdown of all three Knights, as well as recommended teams and best tips to get the maximum stars!
Knight I Stage Breakdown & Team Compositions
Enemy targets' Toughness cannot be reduced, and Break DMG taken is reduced by 50%.
Enemy targets initially have 20 stacks of this effect. Each stack reduces enemy
targets' DMG taken by 2%. Enemy targets lose 1 stack each time they are attacked.
Stacks of this effect will reset during boss enemy phase transitions.
| Wave 1 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Lighthouse | Fire Wind Quantum |
| Decaying Shadow | Fire Lightning Wind |
| Wave 2 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
| Cocolia | Fire Lightning Quantum |
| Lighthouse | Fire Wind Quantum |
Recommended Team Compositions
Knight I debuff blocks Super Break teams from working effectively at low cost, so we would not recommend utilizing them here. This stage has the new elite "Lighthouse", who summons adds and has a damage resistence effect until you dispel it by hitting it enough times and lowering the value to 0. It works similarly to Hoolay's mechanic, where hits from Lighthouse and its adds will increase the stack counter. Try to land as many hits as possible after Lighthouse takes his turn.
See below for recommended team setups for Knight 1:
| Main DPS | Support / DPS | Support | Sustain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Himeko • Nova | Welt | Mortenax Blade | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae |
| Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Tribbie | Hyacine |
| Evanescia | Yao Guang | Elation Trailblazer | Huohuo |
| Archer | Rin Tohsaka | Sparkle | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae |
Knight II Stage Breakdown & Team Compositions
Each time after an enemy target is attacked by allies, DMG taken by them decreases by 2% and CRIT DMG taken decreases by 4%, stacking up to 10 time(s). This effect changes to decreasing by 5 stack(s) after the enemy target receives a Follow-Up ATK or when Aha Instant ends.
| Wave 1 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Joy Ascendant | Fire Lightning Imaginary |
| Rocking Rebel | Physical Fire Wind |
| Wave 2 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
| @SparxiConOfficial | Fire Quantum Imaginary |
Recommended Team Compositions
Knight II has a debuff that reduces your outgoing damage if you do not counter with follow-up attacks or Aha Instants. Knight also has a new mechanic, known as Corruption, which makes the Rocking Rebel in Phase 1 and Sparxiecon in Phase 2 gain an extra life. This stage requires a high amount of damage, so abuse the free Aha Instants that Sparxiecon gives you and try to use follow-up attacks or Aha Instants to remove Flow Break.
See below for recommended team setups for Knight 2:
| Main DPS | Support / DPS | Support | Sustain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Wolf LV.999 | Sparxie | Yao Guang | Huohuo |
| Sparxie | Yao Guang | Sparkle | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae |
| Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Tribbie | Hyacine |
| Evanescia | Yao Guang | Elation Trailblazer | Huohuo |
Knight III Stage Breakdown & Team Compositions
DMG taken by enemy targets is reduced by 60%. When there are more than 4 ally targets
currently on the field, this effect is reduced by 20% for each additional target.
| Wave 1 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Furiae Praetor x2 | Physical Fire Imaginary |
| Blaze Out of Space x2 | Physical Quantum Imaginary |
| Wave 2 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
| Flame Reaver of the Deepest Dark | Physical Lightning Imaginary |
Recommended Team Compositions
Knight III sees the return of Flame Reaver, this time carrying a debuff that forces you to bring Memosprites or suffer a massive damage penalty. For team building, esnure you include at least 2 Memosprites so the damage penalty is reduced to a manageable 20%. If you have a Mono-Rememberance team, here is the place to use it!
See below for recommended team setups for Knight 3:
| Main DPS | Support / DPS | Support | Sustain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evernight | Cyrene | Robin • Summeretto | Hyacine |
| Castorice | Evernight | Cyrene | Hyacine |
| Aglaea | Cyrene | Robin • Summeretto | Huohuo |
| Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Robin • Summeretto | Hyacine |
King in Check Enemy Breakdown & Team Compositions
King in Check is the main boss of the Anomaly Arbitration game mode. Defeating the King provides a limited avatar frame depending on the number of stars you earn. Clearing the Plight version of the King will grant you the highest tier of avatar frame, but is incredibly difficult and only recommended for players with extremely high eidolon investments.
Knights, Mechanics, and Recommended Teams
Here is a breakdown of the King stage, as well as recommended teams and best tips to get the maximum stars.
King in Check Clear Requirements
In order to clear the King in Check Stage, you need to defeat the boss within the 6 provided cycles for a 1-star clear. However, for every 2 cycles left when you clear, you can earn a higher star count and a higher tier of avatar frame. If you manage to clear the King in the first cycle, you can unlock a rarer avatar frame.
| Star Target | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1 Star | Achieve victory in no more than 6 cycles |
| 2 Stars | Achieve victory in no more than 4 cycles |
| 3 Stars | Achieve victory in no more than 2 cycles |
King in Check has the following debuffs:
At the start of ally targets' turns, they lose 500 HP. This effect can be fatal.
Enemy targets initially have 20 stacks of this effect. Each stack reduces enemy
targets' DMG taken by 2%. Enemy targets lose 1 stack each time they are attacked. Stacks of this effect will reset during boss enemy phase transitions.
| Wave 1 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Anti-Creator, Hatred Inundate | Ice Lightning Quantum |
King in Check has the following buffs available which can be used alongside your team.
Increases all ally targets' Elation by 40%, and increases the All-Type RES PEN of
Elation DMG dealt by 20%. This effect is doubled when using an Elation Skill.
At the start of any ally target's turn, all ally targets regenerate 25% Energy.
This effect can only be triggered 1 time per battle. Increases Skill and Ultimate
DMG dealt by all ally targets by 40%.
When the number of ally memosprites is 1/2/3/4, DMG dealt by all allies increases by 20%/25%/30%/50%.
Recommended Team Compositions
This King stage has many powerful buffs that allow a good amount of teams to thrive. Throughout the encounter, Irontomb's adds will inflict nasty debuffs such as Action Lock and delay if you do not defeat them quickly. Defeating these adds can give energy and action advance for your team, so prioritize defeting them quickly while lowering stacks of the Scales debuff on Irontomb to deal big bursts of Damage. Cyrene will appear in the action order to occasionally grant a free ultimate as well, just like in the Story version of this fight, so make sure to utilize and play around the free ultimates. Saving Cyrene's additional skill for Phase 3 will allow you to deal big damage to Irontomb, so avoid using it in Phase 2 if you don't need to it remove Scales.
| Main DPS | Support / DPS | Support | Sustain | Arbitral Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Himeko • Nova | Welt | Mortenax Blade | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae | Finale's Kiss |
| Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Tribbie | Hyacine | Finale's Kiss |
| Castorice | Evernight | Cyrene | Hyacine | Memoria Swarm |
| Evernight | Cyrene | Robin • Summeretto | Hyacine | Memoria Swarm |
| Archer | Rin Tohsaka | Sparkle | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae | Finale's Kiss |
| Silver Wolf LV.999 | Sparxie | Yao Guang | Huohuo | Marvelous Laughter |
| Evanescia | Yao Guang | Elation Trailblazer | Huohuo | Marvelous Laughter |
King in Check: Plight Clear Requirements
In order to clear the King in Check: Plight Stage, you need to defeat the boss within the 2 provided cycles for a full-star clear. Unlike the King in Check stage, there are no 1 or 2 star clear conditions. Clearing this version of the stage will grant you the highest rarity of avatar frame.
| Star Target | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 3 Stars | Achieve victory in no more than 2 cycles |
King in Check has the following debuffs:
At the start of ally targets' turns, they lose 1000 HP. This effect can be fatal.
Enemy targets initially have 20 stacks of this effect. Each stack reduces enemy targets'
DMG taken by 3%. Enemy targets lose 1 stack each time they are attacked. Stacks of this effect
will reset during boss enemy phase transitions.
| Wave 1 - Enemy Type | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Anti-Creator, Hatred Inundate | Ice Lightning Quantum |
King in Check has the following buffs available which can be used alongside your team.
Increases all ally targets' Elation by 40%, and increases the All-Type RES PEN of
Elation DMG dealt by 20%. This effect is doubled when using an Elation Skill.
At the start of any ally target's turn, all ally targets regenerate 25% Energy.
This effect can only be triggered 1 time per battle. Increases Skill and Ultimate
DMG dealt by all ally targets by 40%.
When the number of ally memosprites is 1/2/3/4, DMG dealt by all allies increases by 20%/25%/30%/50%.
Recommended Team Compositions
This King stage has many powerful buffs that allow a good amount of teams to thrive. Throughout the encounter, Irontomb's adds will inflict nasty debuffs such as Action Lock and delay if you do not defeat them quickly. Defeating these adds can give energy and action advance for your team, so prioritize defeting them quickly while lowering stacks of the Scales debuff on Irontomb to deal big bursts of Damage. Cyrene will appear in the action order to occasionally grant a free ultimate as well, just like in the Story version of this fight, so make sure to utilize and play around the free ultimates. Saving Cyrene's additional skill for Phase 3 will allow you to deal big damage to Irontomb, so avoid using it in Phase 2 if you don't need to it remove Scales.
| Main DPS | Support / DPS | Support | Sustain | Arbitral Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Himeko • Nova | Welt | Mortenax Blade | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae | Finale's Kiss |
| Ashveil | Mortenax Blade | Tribbie | Hyacine | Finale's Kiss |
| Castorice | Evernight | Cyrene | Hyacine | Memoria Swarm |
| Evernight | Cyrene | Robin • Summeretto | Hyacine | Memoria Swarm |
| Archer | Rin Tohsaka | Sparkle | Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae | Finale's Kiss |
| Silver Wolf LV.999 | Sparxie | Yao Guang | Huohuo | Marvelous Laughter |
| Evanescia | Yao Guang | Elation Trailblazer | Huohuo | Marvelous Laughter |
Overview and Rewards for Anomaly Arbitration
For more information on Anomaly Arbitration, how to unlock it, how it works, and the rewards you can get, you can head to our Anomaly Arbitration Overview:
Changelog
- 26 Aug. 2026: Guide updated for Version 4.5 Treasures Lightward.
- 13 Jul. 2026: Guide updated for Version 4.4 Treasures Lightward.
- 21 Apr. 2026: Guide updated for Version 4.2 Treasures Lightward.
- 24 Mar. 2026: Guide updated for Version 4.1 Treasures Lightward.
- 12 Feb. 2026: Guide updated for Version 4.0 Treasures Lightward.
- 19 Dec. 2025: Anomaly Arbitration Guide updated for version 3.8.
- 04 Nov. 2025: Anomaly Arbitration Guide updated for version 3.7.
- 23 Sep. 2025: Anomaly Arbitration Guide added.