Even though you’ll be visiting other locations through your Honkai Star Rail journey, various adventure missions will bring you back to the Herta Space Station. One example is a set of quests on the elusive Xenohydro monster. Our guide will tell you how to finish that short questline and complete the Spirit Traces Adventure Mission in Honkai Star Rail.
How to Unlock the Spirit Traces Quest
The Spirit Traces quest is a follow-up to a previous adventure mission called Ever-Changing. Aside from clearing that first, I wasn’t able to tackle Spirit Traces until I was Trailblaze Level 33.
The quest starts with a message from Asta. She’s received a mysterious letter that pertains to the missing Xenohydro, and she needs your help to figure things out. The quest officially becomes available at the end of the message, but the first step will be to talk to her.
How to Complete Spirit Traces in Honkai Star Rail
Head over to Asta’s usual spot in the middle of the Master Control Zone. You’ll go back and forth with her about the letter and what it could mean.
A few clues will begin to stick out after some quick deduction. Thankfully, you won’t have to think too hard about it since the quest markers will always point you in the right direction. The most prominent clue is your next location: the Storage Zone.
The precise location will be on the second floor of the Storage Zone. Fast travel to the Special Purpose Lab (Second Floor) space anchor, and you’ll find Capote talking down to his secretary Lamina.
After listening through the uncomfortable conversation, you can talk directly to Lamina about her side of the story and show her the letter. She’ll mention that she knows a few places the Xenohydro could be hiding and will tag along to show you.
Xenohyrdo Location 1
Her first guess will be on the first floor of the Storage Zone in the southwestern room. You can walk downstairs and through some enemies or skip past them by using the Outside the Control Center (First Floor) space anchor. Lamina will be waiting at the location.
The opportunity to ask her how she feels about Capote will come about as you await for the monster to appear. It never does though, leading her to venture into the adjacent room to look for clues.
Two traces can be found here:
- On the computer screen.
- Near the two big tubes.
Both of them can be seen in the screenshot above, marked by their pulsating lights. Interact with both, and Lamina will point you toward another hiding spot.
Xenohydro Location 2
This location in the Spirit Traces quest is on the same floor but in the northeastern room. If you’ve unlocked the nearby Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Gelid Wind, you can save a lot of time by fast traveling to it.
Related: Honkai Star Rail: Caverns of Corrosion Guide
Turn left and then head toward the room. Lamina doesn’t seem to be there, although an enemy is crouching in wait to ambush you. Attack them from the doorway before they get a chance to hit you first.
This fight consists of two Voidranger: Reavers and two Voidranger: Distorters. These enemies are straight-forward compared to those from latter areas, and you’ve certainly fought plenty by now during your time with Honkai Star Rail. As long as your team is at the proper levels, this shouldn’t take you too long. Finish them off, and Lamina will appear. With no Xenohydro in sight, she heads out to one last spot.
Xenohydro Location 3
The final Xenohydro spot is practically right above you on the second floor. Take the space elevator up or just use the Special Purpose Lab (Second Floor) space anchor and then walk north.
Head to the far room to find Lamina again. If you want to be the most prepared for what’s to come, bring along a team consisting of Fire, Wind, and/or Quantum characters. Walk into the room when you’re ready, and she’ll be accompanied along with a doppelganger of yourself. Talk it out, and the other “you” will properly reveal itself as the Xenohydro.
Xenohydro Fight
Just as in the Ever-Changing mission, it’s time for a fight against the shape-shifter. The monster is once again represented as an Ice Out of Space enemy that’s weak to the character types mentioned above (Fire, Wind, and/or Quantum). Aside from its Everwinter Rain attack that hits everyone and has a chance to freeze them, this is a simple battle.
My team wasn’t the most optimal, but I was still able to get by fine with the fire-based Trailblazer (Path of Preservation) and Dan Heng covering weaknesses. March 7th and Natasha, meanwhile, were used for shields and healing, respectively.
If I had to make a recommendation for anyone using a team of free characters, Asta can do wonders here. Make sure to save some skill points for her Meteor Storm skill, which can very quickly melt through the enemy’s stability bar since it’s alone on the field.
Defeat it, and you’ll be left to speak with Lamina. She admits that she’s been an accomplice to the monster. Convince her to look past her self-doubt and then return to Asta to report everything that happened. The Spirit Traces quest is almost over.
Return to the Master Control Zone
You’ll have a very brief dialogue with Asta that includes her revealing that she wrote the letter. What’s seemingly more important to her is how Lamina is doing, who can be seen with a group of people surrounding Capote.
Walk over to witness the fall of Capote’s fan club and Lamina’s newfound independence. Watching it all unfold is the last step before the end of this adventure mission.
With that, the Spirit Traces Adventure Mission in Honkai Star Rail is complete, and the Xenohydro questline is over. If you have more trailblazing concerns, including how to add friends, check out our growing Honkai Star Rail guide library.
