Best Aetherium Wars expansion chips in Honkai: Star Rail

Grant your Aether Spirits the best equipment possible.

Four Aetherium Wars contestants posing and preparing for battle.
Image via miHoYo

Aetherium Wars challenges you to build an epic team and equip them with strong expansion chips to become the ultimate champion in Honkai: Star Rail.

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Some Aetherium Wars battles you face will be fairly easy, but the battles you face will become increasingly tougher over time as you make your way to earning the title of grand champion. One of the best ways to make these tough battles much easier is to ensure your Aether Spirits are equipped with the best expansion chips possible.

All Aetherium Wars expansion chips in Honkai: Star Rail

You’ll progressively gain more expansion chips as you work your way through Victory Zones and other battles in Aetherium Wars until you eventually have all of the available expansion chips.

There are many different chips you’ll come across, and there is no easy way to view which ones you have and which ones you’ll still need to put in some work to get. If you’re trying to plan ahead and craft the best build and best team for your Aether Spirits, then you’ll likely want to know every expansion chip you can find and their effects.

NameColorAbility
Defective Suppression ChipPurpleAfter an enemy has been eliminated, all foes’ actions are then delayed by 40 percent. This can be activated once per turn.
Trotter Patch ChipPurpleIf the equipping Aether Spirit is your Warp Trotter, this chip raises their attack by 35 percent and their maximum health points by 35 percent.
Emergency Reboot ChipPurpleWhen hit with a killing blow, the wearer will immediately have 30 percent of their maximum health points restored and all debuffs removed instead of being knocked down. They then receive an extra turn they must take immediately. This chip can only be activated once per battle.
Freeze Loophole ChipPurpleAs you enter a battle, this chip has a 100 percent chance to inflict all enemies with freeze for one turn.
Shield System ChipPurpleHighly raises the chances of the wearer being attacked. After entering a battle, a shield is gained which absorbs damage equal to 25 percent of the wearer’s maximum health points plus 500.
Efficiency Optimization ChipPurpleUpon entering battle, the energy required to use an Ultimate move is reduced by one. Energy cannot be reduced to less than two points.
Morale Activation ChipPurpleAfter a team member attacks, the entire party gains one stack of Morale. Each stack of Morale raises damage dealt by 0.4 percent, damage resistance by 0.4 percent, and speed by 0.4 percent. This can stack up to 60 times.
Attack Interception ChipPurpleAt the end of the wearer’s action, they gain a special barrier which then nullifies all incoming damage against them except for damage over time.
Sudden Interjection ChipPurpleWhen a basic attack, skill, or Ultimate is used for the first time in a battle, an additional turn is immediately granted.
Data Retrieval ChipPurpleAfter an opponent has been defeated, 80 percent of the maximum health points are restored.
Energy Recycling ChipPurpleThe wearer restores their energy to the maximum after they use their Ultimate to defeat targeted opponents.
Parallel Enhancement ChipPurpleAfter an attack is used, the damage received by the wearer is increased by 25 percent for the next turn, and the damage received by the selected opponent is also raised by 25 percent. This will last for the next turn.
Computation Lock ChipPurpleThe attack of the wearer is raised by 75 percent but their Ultimate is disabled.
Quick Command ChipPurpleAfter using a basic attack or skill, all skill points are consumed to immediately take an extra action. This chip cannot be activated consecutively.
Malfunctioning ChipBlueWhen the wearer strikes a debuffed opponent, they deal bonus damage equal to 50 percent of their attack against the targeted foe.
Performance Allocation ChipBlueWhen an enemy is eliminated, one energy is restored to all allies. This can be activated once each turn.
High Load-Low Speed ChipBlueThe wearer’s attack is raised by 90 percent but speed is lowered by 30 percent.
Backstage Enhancement ChipBlueWhen it’s not the equipping Aether Spirit’s turn, their attack is raised by 50 percent.
Sudden Evasion ChipBlueAfter entering a battle, the incoming damage is reduced by 90 percent for two turns.
Threshold Disruption ChipBlueWhen striking foes with 80 percent or more of their health points, the damage dealt by the wearer’s attack is raised by 70 percent.
Matrix Iteration ChipBlueAfter the equipping Aether Spirit uses their Ultimate move, 35 percent of their maximum health points are restored.
Safe Mode ChipBlueAttack is decreased by 75 percent but health points are raised by 60 percent.
Wind Shear Loophole ChipBlueUpon attacking, there is a 60 percent chance of activating wind shear on the targeted opponent for the next two turns. When wind shear is active, the target takes damage over time equal to 20 percent of the wearer’s attack at the beginning of each turn. This ability can stack up to five times.
Auto-Repair ChipBlueAfter taking action, two percent of the maximum health points are restored plus an additional amount based on how many times this has been triggered. The healing effect can be increased up to eight times.
Saturated Activation ChipBlueWhen the wearer begins their first turn, three energy is immediately gained.
Cleansing ChipBlueWhile attacking, one buff on the enemy is removed. This can be activated once for each attack. If a buff is successfully dispelled, the damage of this attack is increased by 75 percent.
Functional Overdraft ChipBlueAfter striking an opponent, 25 percent of the wearer’s maximum health points are consumed to advance their action forward by 40 percent. If their health points are insufficient to activate this effect, it will be triggered anyway, but their health will be reduced to one health point.
Firewall ChipBlueRaises the wearer’s maximum health points by 40 percent and greatly increases the chances of the opposing lineup choosing to attack this Aether Spirit.
Shieldbreaker ChipBlueIf a shielded character is hit while attacking, the damage dealt through the attack is raised by 75 percent.
Negative Load Algorithm ChipBlueFor every debuff the wearer has, their damage is raised by 25 percent. This can be activated on up to four debuffs for a 100 percent increase.
General Upgrade ChipBlueRaises attack by 20 percent and increases maximum health points by 20 percent.
Deep Clean ChipBlueAt the end of the turn, all debuffs the wearer has are removed. Additionally, one debuff is dispelled on each ally.

Best Aether Spirit expansion chips in Honkai: Star Rail

With so many expansion chips to choose from, it’s quite an overwhelming prospect trying to figure out which ones are the best options for your Aether Spirits. The best expansion chips will vary depending on what kind of Aether Spirit you’re trying to place them on, but there are also a few generally great ones any spirit can use.

Best general expansion chips in Honkai: Star Rail

These expansion chips are generally powerful choices you can give to any kind of Aether Spirit.

  • General Upgrade Chip
    • This is a simple but powerful way to boost the statistics of any Aether Spirit.
  • Negative Load Algorithm Chip
    • Provides a general damage boost based on how many debuffs are present, which can be useful for any Aether Spirit.
  • Attack Interception Chip
    • All damage is nullified by this chip except damage over time, so this is a great way to generally decrease the damage any spirit takes.
The level up screen for the Warp Trotter Aether Spirit.
Aether Spirits will have between two and four slots for expansion chips. Screenshot via Dot Esports

Best expansion chips for DPS Aether Spirts in Honkai: Star Rail

You’ll want to grant these expansion chips to the dedicated damage-dealing units on your team only and avoid equipping them on any support units.

  • Saturated Activation Chip
    • This will allow your damage dealers to use their powerful Ultimate move much more quickly.
  • Sudden Interjection Chip
    • The best way you can boost your DPS units is simply to let them fight as much as possible, so this chip is a great way to grant them a free extra turn early on in battle.
  • Emergency Reboot Chip
    • It’s tough to win any fight if your damage dealer goes down, so this chip gives them a one-time revival safety barrier to ensure you don’t lose them.
  • Energy Recycling Chip
    • Immediately after using an Ultimate to defeat enemies, energy will be completely replenished which allows your DPS forces to use their most powerful move again immediately.
A Silvermane Cannoneer on the level up screen.
Always check to ensure you have expansion chips equipped before you enter a battle. Screenshot via Dot Esports

Best expansion chips for support Aether Spirits in Honkai: Star Rail

Strong support units are key to success in any Aetherium Wars battle, so these expansion chips will help your support Aether Spirits boost their damage-dealing allies, supply buffs, and enhance their overall helpfulness in battle.

  • Backstage Enhancement Chip
    • For Aether Spirits like the Silvermane Cannoneer who jump in with follow-up attacks when it’s not their turn, this is an excellent chip for boosting support damage dealing.
  • Firewall Chip
    • Making a support unit a bigger target is a great way to ensure your damage dealers stay safe, especially if the support unit you equip it on is a healer like the Warp Trotter or the Entranced Ingenium: Obedient Dracolion.
  • Shield System Chip
    • This chip has similar benefits to the Firewall Chip as it also makes the wearer a bigger target to keep your damage dealers safe. Aether Spirits like the Silvermane Lieutenet will greatly benefit from this boost.
  • Morale Activation Chip
    • This is great for allowing any support unit to bolster their allies with a few powerful buffs.
  • High Load-Low Speed Chip
    • The speed decrease you take in exchange for an attack boost is a powerful buff for support characters who follow up damage dealer’s attacks like the Silvermane Cannoneer.
  • Trotter Patch Chip
    • This only works on your Warp Trotter, but it’s a great general boost to give them.
Author
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Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.