There are lots of enemies to beat inHonkai: Star Rail. One of the toughest among them is the Echo of War called Borehole Planet’s Old Crater, also known as the Starcrusher Swarm King and the Propagation Clone. This enemy is a giant bug that is tricky to beat due to its ability to produce Stings — trap characters in Entanglement — and to throw an Ovum of Collapsed Star at your party.
you’re able to encounter them by doing the Crown of Mundane and Divine quest on the Herta Space Station. By defeating this tricky enemy, you can gain Past Evils of the Borehole Planet Disaster, a valuable Trace Material used for characters like Black Swan, Sparkle, and Dr. Ratio.
How To Unlock Borehole Planet’s Old Crater
you may unlock this Echo of War Zone by doing theCrown of MundaneandDivine Trailblazequest.
In order to unlock this quest, you must first reachTrailblaze level 24and beat the Trailblaze mission on Belabog (Jarilo-IV).
Where To Challenge Borehole Planet’s Old Crater
Borehole Planet’s Old Crater Echo of War is located on theSeclusion Zone map of the Herta Space Station.
Starcrusher Swarm King Mechanics And Moves
The fight against the Propagation Clone will take you throughtwo phases.It will have certain skills depending on which stage you are on.
Swarm King Canon
A single-target Quantum attack.
This is a normal monster attack, so deal with it how you normally would with your team.
Pyrolysis Death Beam
Deals Quantum damage to a target and the allies next to them.
Heal your charactersif their HP is getting too low.
Carapace of Begotten Spawn
Enters a shield-like state where all damage is reduced. Every time it is attacked, it will summon a Gnaw Sting (an additional enemy) to a maximum of four. Causing Weakness Break while in this state will deal damage to the Gnaw Stings present and reduce their Toughness.
This is the big one. The easiest and best way to defeat this boss is byinflicting Weakness Breakon it while it is in this state. However, while you’re trying to do this,you run the risk of summoning more Gnaw Stings, which will cause your team to suffer more damage overall.
So before the Starcrusher Swarm King can enter into Carapace of Begotten Spawn,make sure that you have inflicted as much damage as possible onto its Toughness.This will require fewer turns for you to take it out, which means you will summon fewer Gnaw Stings.
When you do break its Toughness, that is the time for your team to act. It’s good tosave up your team’s Skill Points and Ultimatesfor this moment.Use all your Ultimates and Skills on it nowto deal as much damage as possible.
If you have characters on your team during this phase who don’t damage Toughness very well but whose attacks hit multiple enemies at once, have them target the Gnaw Stings.
Phase Two
This phase is particularly dangerous. If your team is in a tight spot after Phase One, you probably won’t live long here. This phase is designed to keep the punches rolling and to kick you while you’re down. The trickiness of this phase means that you reallyneed to be familiar with the mechanicsso you can exploit them and work around them.
Here are the moves the Swarm King will throw at you in Phase Two:
Ovum of Collapsed Star
Deals massive Quantum damage to all targets.
Ovum of Collapsed Star is annoying because of how powerful it is. After getting hit by this one or two times, you’ll probably find that your team needs to be healed,so make sureyour healer’s Ultimate is ready or that the healer has enough Skill Pointsto help keep everyone alive.
Deals Quantum damage to a single target. It deals less damage than Ovum of Collapsed Star.
This move is less powerful than Ovum of Collapsed Star, but it is still a pain to deal with. Make sureyour team has enough healthso they can take one or two of these,or you might find them being defeated.
Radiating Venom
Deals Quantum damage to a single target and has the chance of Entangling them. This move also summons a Gnaw Sting.
You absolutely needa character who can clear Entaglementon your team, and you need them to do it quickly. If you don’t act soon,the Gnaw Sting that this move summons will target that character.This has a great chance of taking your character out, so be careful.
Carapace of Neutered Disaster
Similar to Carapace of Begotten Spawn. This move creates a shield-like barrier, which reduces the damage Swarm King will take. When it is attacked, a Gnaw Sting or a Lesser Sting will be summoned.
When Carapace of Neutered Disaster ends, it will use Ovum of Collapsed Star. By causing Weakness Break on Swarm King, it will deal damage to the surrounding Gnaw Stings and Lesser Stings and reduce their Toughness.
In order to best deal with this move, you need tocause Weakness Break quicklybefore it can hit you with an Ovum of Collapsed Star.
If it has too much Toughness for you to whittle down in a couple of turns, attack the Gnaw Stings and Lesser Stingsinstead and use your healer tomake sure everyone on the team has enough HPto take the upcoming Ovum of Collapsed Star.
What To Do To Prepare For Carapace of Begotten Spawn and Carapace of Neutered Disaster
Carapace of Begotten Spawn and Carapace of Neutered Disaster are two of the most deadly moves the Swarm King can do. There are some things that you can do to prepare for it before it kills off your team:
Gnaw Sting
The Gnaw Stings are particularly annoying enemies that aresummoned while the Swarm King has Carapace of Begotten Spawn or Carapace of Neutered Disaster active.
How To Deal With It
Horn Clash
Deals Quantum damage to a target and inflicts one stack of Entanglement. It will prioritize targets that are already entangled.
This move is probably the most annoying one to put up with becauseit will completely stop one of your characters from being able to act, which can be particularly devastating if you’re in a pinch.
Because of this, you should bring alonga character who can clear Entanglementfrom your other party members.
Decay Eulogy
When killed, it explodes and deals damage to the allies next to it, increasing the damage they will receive.
When there are lots of Gnaw Stings on the field, you should prioritize getting rid of them.Not only will this stop them from Entangling your team, but when you do defeat them, they will weaken their allies, including the Swarm King.
If you defeat a Gnaw Sting while the Swarm King has Carapace of Begotten Spawn or Carapace of Neutered Disaster active,its explosion will hit the Swarm King and cause it to summon another Gnaw Sting.
How To Deal With Lesser Stings
Lesser Stings are summoned by the Swarm King when it has Carapace of Neutered Disaster active during Phase Two.
Bursting Detonation
It explodes, dealing Wind damage to its targets. It has a high chance of inflicting Outrage.
Make sure your teamhas enough HPto deal with its damage.
Prepare to Fight
Enters a charge state. It will use Bursting Detonation during its next action.
If you can,kill it before it can explode.
Entomon Eulogy
When defeated, it deals Wind damage to its allies and has a high chance of increasing the damage its allies will receive.
Take advantage of its allies' weakened statesmoving forward.
What Kinds Of Characters Should You Bring?
The two kinds of characters you need most are those who canDispell Entanglement and those who can inflict Weakness Break.
ByDispelling Entanglement, you will be able to prevent your characters from falling from repeated attempts to Entangle themand increase their ability to survive the battle.
Causing Weakness Break on the Swarm King is also extremely important and the easiest way for you to defeat it,so it’s super important to bring characters along who can take down its Toughness.
Rewards for Beating Borehole Planet’s Old Crater
By beating Borehole Planet’s Old Crater, you will gain the following rewards:
Characters Who Use Its Trace Materials
This Echo of War zone drops a Trace Material called Past Evils of the Borehole Planet Disaster, which can be used to level up certain characters' Traces.
These are the characters who use Past Evils of the Borehole Planet Disaster:
