Best Teams for HSR 3.5 Apocalyptic Shadow (Lupine Warhead)

One of Honkai Star Rail’s big endgame activities, Apocalyptic Shadow, just got a fresh reset in version 3.5! That means everyone gets another shot at tackling the challenge, clearing new enemy lineups, and grabbing all the juicy rewards on offer.

With the reset also come new mechanics and node buffs, so it’s natural to wonder: what teams work best this time around, and which buffs should you pick?

Node Buffs - Your Strategic Edge

Before we talk about the best team to clear these two bosses, let’s take a look at the two buffs that will be provided for each Node:

Node One Buffs:

• Fight in Unity – Each time someone uses a Skill Point, your team gets an 8% damage boost (stackable up to 10 times).
• Tangled Chaos – Enemies take 15% more Break damage when an ally eliminates an enemy.
• No Turning Back – If someone sacrifices their own HP, they get a massive 55% Crit DMG boost for two turns.

Node Two Buffs:

• Fatality Exploitation – Ultimate attacks deal 30% extra damage to all enemies, and another 30% when targets are Weakness Broken.
• Obstinate Weed – When a DoT hits an enemy, it immediately deals an extra 15% of its original damage if triggered by a Basic Attack or Skill.
• Heroic Vanguard – The character in the first slot has their Weakness Break Efficiency and CRIT DMG increased by 50%.

Node One — Best Team Combinations

1. Castorice Hypercarry Squad

• Team: Castorice, Tribbie, Hyacine, Remembrance Trailblazer
• Why it works: Since the Fulminating Wolflord in Node 1 is weak to the Quantum Element, Castorice will make quick work of him while being amplified by Tribbie’s RES PEN and Trailblazer’s Crit buffs. Hyacine was tailor-made for Castorice, so it’s a no-brainer to use her here to keep everyone healthy.
• Optimal Buff: No Turning Back for extra Crit Damage for the whole team.

2. Archer Hypercarry Setup

• Team: Archer, Sparkle, Tribbie, Gallagher
• Why it works: Archer is also a Quantum unit and, as such, will have a very easy time breaking this Node boss. Sparkle will help Archer recover Skill Points very quickly while also allowing him to use more skills in succession. Tribbie helps with breaking and provides some incredible buffs, and Gallagher ensures survivability with his high healing and provides great utility by generating extra Skill Points.
• Optimal Buff: Fight in Unity, to supercharge the damage of Archer with each Skill Point used.

Node Two — Best Team Compositions

3. Phainon Domination Team

• Team: Phainon, Sunday, Bronya, Huohuo
• Why it works: This boss has many enemies on the field that, once broken, will contribute to the break bar of the main boss. Because they all have Physical weakness, Phainon will do massive damage while breaking the enemies very quickly. He is boosted further by Sunday and Bronya, who help him generate energy to get his ultimate faster. Huohuo is there to add healing and further buff his damage.
• Optimal Buff: Heroic Vanguard to give Phainon even more damage and weakness break efficiency

4. Hysilens DoT Team

• Team: Hysilens, Kafka, Black Swan, Huohuo (or any healers)
• Why it works: This squad focuses on stacking DoTs and amplifying them with Hysilens, Black Swan, and Kafka. Huohuo is there to further buff their damage while letting them get their ult quicker. Other healers that can generate lots of skill points will also do quite well, since this team relies heavily on SP.
• Optimal Buff: Obstinate Weed to make use of the many DoTs being inflicted on the enemies.

Quick Team Comparison Table

Pro Tips for Facing Lupine Warhead

These teams are just recommendations and may not work for everyone’s different accounts. For a better time clearing, here are some general tips for team building:

• Use the right buff to match your team’s strengths - Node One benefits from fast Skill-Point play or HP trade-offs, while Node Two rewards Ultimates and consistent DoT pressure.
• Keep your team balanced - pick healers when you’re confident in delivering bursts, or go aggressive when the buffs line up.
• Focus on synergy - everyone on your squad should enhance the main DPS, whether through support, shields, or elemental advantages.