Starward Mode is the harder version of Pure Fiction Stage 4, and it changes the math in one important way: instead of two nodes, you fight three, and your score from all three is added together. The current phase, Domain Genesis (IV), runs on Elation rules built around Punchline and Aha Instant, with Level 85 enemies in every node.
Quick answer: Starward Mode splits Stage 4 into three nodes worth 40,000 points each. Clearing needs 45,000 cumulative points, and the Prismatic Star needs 99,000, or roughly 33,000 per node.
Starward Mode score thresholds and rewards
Starward Mode unlocks once you have cleared Stage 3 of Pure Fiction. It replaces the normal Stage 4 targets with a higher set of thresholds, and the theoretical ceiling is 120,000 points because each of the three nodes caps at 40,000.
| Cumulative score | What it grants |
|---|---|
| 45,000 | Stage clear |
| 60,000 | 1 star |
| 75,000 | 2 stars |
| 90,000 | 3 stars |
| 99,000 | Prismatic Star and extra rewards |
| 120,000 | Maximum possible score |
Collecting 12 stars across the phase plus the Prismatic Star awards that period’s Pure Fiction Limited-Time Clearance Medal. The 12 stars come from the regular stages, so Starward Mode is only the final piece.
You can switch back to Regular Mode at any point and play the normal two-node Stage 4 for the original rewards instead.
How each node awards points
Every node is a three-wave fight, and points come only from damage dealt to the enemy carrying Binding Obligation. Regular enemies carry Fate’s Convergence, which means killing them chips the Binding Obligation target for you. That is why clearing trash quickly matters more than nuking the elite directly.
| Wave | Max points | How points accrue |
|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 8,000 | 400 per enemy defeated, 20 kills total |
| Wave 2 | 16,000 | 40 per 0.25% Max HP removed from the elite |
| Wave 3 | 16,000 | 40 per 0.25% Max HP removed from the boss |
In wave 1 the Fictional Ensemble health bar drops 5% for every enemy you kill, so 20 kills ends the wave. In waves 2 and 3, each Fate’s Convergence kill deals true damage equal to 3% of the Binding Obligation target’s Max HP.
You get 4 cycles per node at this difficulty, and Action Value does not reset when a new wave starts. If cycles run out or your team wipes, the node ends early and the score locks in where it stands.
Domain Genesis grit rules: Punchline, Aha Instant, and Surging Grit
Grit Value fills to 100 before Surging Grit activates. Defeating enemies is worth 5 Grit each, and the Domain Genesis phase adds its own source on top of that.
- Every time Punchline is gained, allies also accumulate 2 Grit Value.
- Concordant Truce gives the stage an Elation Skill: entering Aha Instant deals 15 instances of Imaginary Elation damage to a random enemy.
- Any enemy defeated by any target grants 1 Punchline.
- Surging Grit gives Aha an immediate extra turn counting a fixed 20 Punchline, without consuming Punchline, at 50% of the normal Elation Skill damage.
- During Surging Grit, enemies take 50% more damage and Aha Instant gains 40 SPD.
The loop is self-feeding. Kills generate Punchline, Punchline generates Grit, Grit triggers Aha Instant, and Aha Instant clears more enemies. Furbo Journalists in wave 1 are the fastest Punchline source, so they should die first.
Once Surging Grit is running, you can bank up to 30 Resounding Tide from further kills. When the countdown turn arrives, the phase ends and that Resounding Tide converts straight back into Grit Value, which shortens the wait for the next activation.
Domain Genesis (IV) node lineup and a 102,240-point clear
A full three-node run at 102,240 points clears the 99,000 threshold with room to spare, and it shows how uneven the nodes can be. Two nodes landed in the low 30,000s while the third hit the 40,000 cap outright.
| Node | Wave 3 target (Lv. 85) | Team used | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swarm: True Sting | Castorice, Cyrene, Evernight, Hyacine | 29,480 |
| 2 | Paramount Bliss Inverted | Silver Wolf, Yao Guang, Trailblazer, Huohuo | 32,760 |
| 3 | Borisin Warhead: Hoolay | Himeko, Robin, Sunday, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae | 40,000 |
Node 1: Remembrance team into Swarm: True Sting
Wave 2 brings in the Noontide Gryphon, which applies Aquila’s Mark through its bigger attacks. Two stacks on one character drains their Energy. You remove a stack by cleansing it or by having the marked character land a kill, which happens naturally in a mode built around constant adds.
The full Remembrance lineup of Castorice, Cyrene, Evernight and Hyacine carries the node into wave 3 against Swarm: True Sting, where memosprite damage plus continuous add clearing does the work on the boss health bar.
Node 2: Elation team into Paramount Bliss Inverted
This is the node the phase is designed around. Silver Wolf, Yao Guang, the Elation Trailblazer and Huohuo generate Punchline constantly, which keeps Grit climbing and puts Aha Instant on the field far more often than a standard team could manage.
Wave 3 against Paramount Bliss Inverted is where the banked tide pays off. Entering the boss wave with the counter close to full means the 50% vulnerability window opens almost immediately, and the node finished at 32,760.
Node 3: Himeko team into Borisin Warhead: Hoolay
Himeko with Robin, Sunday and Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae took the node to a perfect 40,000. Wide follow-up damage clears the Rocking Rebel wave fast, and every one of those kills is a 3% true damage tick on Hoolay in the final wave, so the boss bar falls without needing to be targeted much at all.
Confirming the clear and claiming rewards
After the third node ends, the results screen shows each node’s score and the combined total. Once that total reads 99,000 or higher, the Prismatic Star appears alongside the star rating, and the extra Starward Mode rewards unlock in the Pure Fiction reward menu. Rewards are not automatic, so open the menu and claim them.
Node scores are saved individually, so you can retry a single weak node instead of running all three again.
The Domain Genesis phase resets on a Monday at 04:00 server time and runs through 10/19/2026, which leaves plenty of attempts to rebalance teams between nodes. If one node is stuck in the mid-20,000s, the fastest gain is usually a faster wave 1, since 20 kills at 400 points each is the one segment you can reliably max every attempt.
