How to Defeat Giovanni in Honkai Star Rail (HSR)
In this guide you will learn how to defeat Giovanni in Honkai Star Rail. He was introduced in Update 1.4 and is part of the Aetherium Wars event.
Honkai Star Rail is a F2P game from the creators of Genshin Impact, in which we traverse planets, perform tasks and meet interesting characters. The game is supported all the time and regularly receives updates introducing new content, an example of which is the Aetherium Wars event. In this guide you will learn how to defeat Giovanni in Honkai Star Rail.
How to defeat Giovanni in Honkai Star Rail
HSR received update 1.4, introducing the Aetherium Wars event, in which we collect Aether Spirits and then fight in a tournament using them. After some time we will come to face Giovanni, also known as Trotterlord. This is a challenging opponent with a strong team, but by choosing the right characters you can defeat him with relative ease.
- HSR – Preparations before a fight against Giovanni
- HSR - Team against Giovanni
- HSR - Strategy against Giovanni
HSR – Preparations before a fight against Giovanni
Beat all available Hyperlink Matches opponents before facing Giovanni, as they will award you Aether Spirit Upgrade Data to level up your party and powerful Expansion Chips you can equip. You may struggle against the this opponent if you’re under-leveled, so make the Aether Spirits you plan to use level 6.
Make sure you have completed all objectives in the Victory Zones, as the most powerful Overlord Aether Spirits can only be obtained past the Mystery Mark Detection, accessible after beating the Champion Contenders. That includes Silvermane Lieutenant, who is recommended to use against Giovanni.
The Mystery Mark Detection is marked on the map of each zone with a blue pentagon.
The quest line will prompt you to leave the Victory Zone right after defeating a Champion Contender, but you can choose to Continue Exploration or revisit the zone later and continue where you left off.
HSR - Team against Giovanni
Below is an example of a team that will work well when fighting Giovanni.
- Warp Trotter, Expansion Chips - choose those that add bonuses to healing
- Silvermane Lieutenant, Expansion Chips - Shield System, Backstage Enhancement, Negative Load Algorithm.
- Silvermane Cannoneer, Expansion Chips - High Load-Low Speed, Emergency Reboot
- Silvermane Gunner, Expansion Chips - Data Retrieval, Malfunction
During combat it is worth focusing on the defensive and attack characters that have weaknesses against your team members. Remember that auto mode is disabled in these clashes.
HSR - Strategy against Giovanni
Use the buffs from Silvermane Cannoneer’s Skill and Ultimate to support the Silvermane Lieutenant as the top priority.
Alternate using the Silvermane Lieutenant Skill and Ultimate to grant a new shield when the previous one wears off. Try to make sure your team is always protected – this way, the Lieutenant can keep using follow-up attacks, as well.
Giovanni can deal very high damage at once using the Automaton Spider’s Ultimate, so if the Automaton is growing red, defeat it right away to stop it from blowing up.
Otherwise, prioritise attacking Frigid Prowler as it can heal and deal AoE damage. It will absorb HP from its allies, so it can “help” you knock them out.
Additional tips for Aetherium Wars in Honkai Star Rail
It is worth remembering that the setup presented above is only one example and does not need to be strictly adhered to. Before the battle, it is possible to preview what characters Giovanni is fielding and thus find out what type they are. You can then create a party composed of creatures having the opposite type, that is, dealing more damage. You will find an indication of the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents in the upper right corner of the screen just before you create the team.
In the case of Expansion Chips you can also choose your own method, and if you are not sure about something, there is always the option to rely on those with the recommended designation.
More about Honkai Star Rail can be found below.
