Star Rail Anomaly Arbitration High Difficulty Mode Arrives in 3.6

HoYoVerse teased some of the new additions that will be part of the 3.6 Honkai: Star Rail update, and one of them will be an Anomaly Arbitration “high difficulty” mode. This is a feature that will need to be unlocked, so it may not be immediately accessible once the update arrives this fall. Also, as 3.5 is the next patch on the horizon, we probably won’t see it in the new Special Program on August 2, 2025.

When bringing up the new “hight difficulty” mode, HoYoVerse first explained how we’ll even access Anomaly Arbitration in Honkai: Star Rail. It will be locked behind the three other types of optional challenges Apocalyptic Shadow, Memory of Chaos, and Pure Fiction. You need to get four stars in Difficulty 4, Stage 4, and Stage 12, respectively, for each of those three modes. Once you do, this new one will become available. 

As for how it works, we know the general procedure and some of the possible rewards. We need to make four teams, though initially we start with three. Those three go through three “trial stages.” You you manage to clear them, then you make a new team for the fourth one. If you survive and defeat it, you can get cosmetics like avatar frames and items to level up characters and Light Cones.

Honkai: Star Rail is available for the PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the Special Program stream for 3.5 airs at 4:30am PT/7:30am ET on August 2, 2025. The 3.5 patch should arrive on August 13, 2025.