Inkford Hermitage is the new explorable area added to Honkai: Star Rail in version 4.3, and it sits inside Planarcadia, the overworld at the center of the current 4.x story arc. It runs on a snowy onsen resort theme, with hot springs, ice blocks, and a hidden Interplanar Jump course tucked behind the main hotel. Before you can track down any treasure chest there, you first have to get the region open, because it does not appear in the map selector on its own.
Unlock Inkford Hermitage before hunting chests
Inkford Hermitage went live on June 1, 2026 as part of the 4.3 update. It is not freely accessible the moment you boot the patch. You open it by starting and working through the Trailblaze Mission called The Lethe Below the Living, which is the quest line that introduces the area.
Because this is Planarcadia content, you also need to have cleared the earlier 4.x Trailblaze Mission chain. If you skipped previous story quests in the arc, the new region stays locked until those are finished. Once the mission opens the area, it becomes a normal explorable map with its own space anchors, enemies, and collectibles.
You will know access is working when Inkford Hermitage appears as a selectable destination and its space anchors show up on the map for fast travel.
Use space anchors to reach each chest zone
Treasure chests in Inkford Hermitage are spread across the resort's connected areas, and the fastest way to clear them is to anchor-hop and then explore each pocket on foot. The Graphia Store Street Space Anchor is a key starting point. From there, you can move west toward the hot spring, which is also the path into the region's hidden platforming challenge.
Work outward from each anchor, open the map, and check for unexplored corners around the hotel, the hot spring, and the surrounding snowfields. Chests in Star Rail regions are usually clustered near these explorable pockets, so sweeping the full footprint of every anchor is the reliable way to leave nothing behind.
Reach the hidden Bizarre Melody area
One section of Inkford Hermitage is gated behind a platforming course inside the Interplanar Jump! Difficulty III, located west of the Graphia Store Street anchor near the hot spring. Clearing it opens the Bizarre Melody puzzle and a hidden stage with its own reward, so it is worth doing while you are sweeping the region.
Step 1: From the Graphia Store Street Space Anchor, walk west toward the hot spring and enter the Interplanar Jump! Difficulty III.
Step 2: Jump twice to break the ice cubes in front of you, then walk right and drop down with two more jumps to shatter the next set of ice.
Step 3: Move toward the spikes and pass underneath them rather than over the top.
Step 4: Lure the snow-blowing enemy so it forms ice cubes on top of the spikes. You have to taunt the snowman to make it release snowflakes, so position yourself by jumping or walking where you want those snowflakes to land.
Step 5: Use the new ice cubes to cross the gap and stand on the left edge of the platform.
Step 6: Leap to the ice platform above, then jump up twice to break through the ice barrier and head left to reach the Bizarre Melody puzzle.
Solve the Bizarre Melody puzzle
The melody you need to play is a snippet of Jingle Bells, which fits the region's snowy theme. Follow the arrow order shown on the puzzle and input this sequence of notes.
| Order | Note |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | Mi Mi Mi Mi |
| 5 | Sol |
| 6 | Do |
| 7 | Re |
| 8 | Mi |
Play it as Mi Mi Mi Mi Sol Do Re Mi. When the melody is correct, you are teleported to a hidden stage. Run to the end of that stage and jump twice on the large block of ice to free the Snow Child trapped inside.
You know it worked when you receive the Arcadia Variation: Snow Child achievement. If the input does not trigger the teleport, recheck the note order against the on-screen arrows, since a single wrong note resets the sequence.
Other Inkford Hermitage collectibles
Chests are only one part of fully clearing the region. Inkford Hermitage also hides Nameless Wispae, the small collectibles scattered across the resort that are worth grabbing on the same exploration pass. Combining your chest sweep with a Wispae hunt means you only walk each anchor's area once.
If you are exploring on patch day, head straight into The Lethe Below the Living to open the map, then anchor-hop from Graphia Store Street, clear the hot spring route and the Interplanar Jump course, and the rest of the region's chests fall into place as you uncover each pocket of the snowy resort.