How to beat Giovanni in Honkai: Star Rail’s Aetherium Wars

He's a rather enigmatic character and his team is a tough one.

Giovanni bowing while holding out an Aether Coin.
Screenshot via Dot Esports

To become the grand champion of Aetherium Wars in Honkai: Star Rail, you’ll have to beat the best of the best, including the mysterious Giovanni who guides you through most of the event.

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You’ll face your fair share of tough opponents in Aetherium Wars, but Giovanni is by far one of the most formidable. If you’re struggling with this challenging fight, here’s what you need to know to beat Giovanni in Aetherium Wars.

How to defeat Giovanni in Honkai: Star Rail

The only way to beat Giovanni in Honkai: Star Rail’s Aetherium Wars event is to craft your team lineup based on the Counteract system. You should be creating your team based on what his team looks like so you can take him down in battle.

Giovanni’s team includes:

  • Frigid Prowler (Mechanical Overlord)
  • Automaton Spider (Mechanical)
  • Everwinter Shadewalker (Abberant)
  • Silvermane Soldier (Humanoid)

Because his Overlord Aether Spirit is Mechanical and he also has a second Mechanical unit present, you’ll want to build a team that is primarily Humanoid to combat him. Focusing on the Counteract system is the easiest way to ensure victory in this battle because it will greatly increase the damage you deal against him.

The Counteract system in Aetherium Wars.
Choose your team based on what his team looks like to find success. Screenshot via Dot Esports

Best team to use against Giovanni in Honkai: Star Rail

The best team you can use against Giovanni in Aetherium Wars is one that is balanced and primarily features Humanoid Aether Spirits. You can build any kind of Humanoid-focused team to beat Giovanni, but some lineups will work better than others.

Of all the team options, the one I was able to beat him with and found to be the best for facing him overall includes the following lineup:

  • Silvermane Lieutenant (Humanoid Overlord)
    • Level: Six
    • Expansion Chips: Shield System, Efficiency Optimization, and Negative Load Algorithm
  • Warp Trotter (Abberant)
    • Level: Six
    • Expansion Chips: Deep Clean, Saturated Activation, Parallel Enhancement, and Malfunction
  • Silvermane Cannoneer (Humanoid)
    • Level: Six
    • Expansion Chips: Auto-Repair and Morale Activation
  • Entranced Ingenium: Obedient Dracolion (Mechanical)
    • Level: Six
    • Expansion Chips: Sudden Evasion and Firewall
A team of Aether Spirits fighting Giovanni's team.
This team is nowhere near as tough as they look as long as you craft a strong lineup to go against them. Screenshot via Dot Esports

I managed to beat Giovanni in one go with this exact team. The Frigid Prowler that Giovanni brings to the fight in combination with the Silvermane Lieutenant I brought made for a lengthy battle, but I did win in the end with all of my team still alive.

It’s best to focus on defeating Giovanni’s Frigid Prowler as quickly as possible since this Overlord Aether Spirit is capable of dealing immensely brutal damage if you give them the time to build up to it. The Frigid Prowler will drain its allies to increase its own attack, so between this and you using attacks capable of striking multiple foes, all adjacent enemies should still be quickly defeated even though you’ll only be focusing on the Frigid Prowler.

If you’re still struggling to beat this battle, you might want to consider swapping out the Entranced Ingenium: Obedient Dracolion for another Humanoid Aether Spirit like the Silvermane Soldier. I prefer the Entranced Ingenium: Obedient Dracolion instead, but you might find the battle a bit easier with three Humanoid spirits instead of two.

Defeating Giovanni is an important landmark in the Aetherium Wars event and is one of the final battles you’ll need to tackle before you can claim the grand prize, which is a free four-star character you get to choose. There are also two more formidable foes who follow after his battle, including the mysterious elite player, so be prepared to take them on too.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
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.