Even in 2026, I still think Vessel of Mediocrity is one of the most memorable Adventure Missions in Honkai: Star Rail. It is not required for the main story, but it gives you Stellar Jades, chests, achievements, and a creepy little story about a girl, boxes, and Belobog's frozen secrets. I first stumbled into it while exploring Backwater Pass, and I ended up coming back for three real-life days just to see how it ended. If you are doing the same, here is my complete walkthrough.
How I Unlocked Vessel Of Mediocrity
You find this quest in Backwater Pass on the surface of Belobog, on Jarilo-VI. But you cannot just walk there at the start. First, I had to finish the main story on Herta Space Station. That meant beating the Doomsday Beast and clearing the first beta of the Simulated Universe. After that, I boarded the Astral Express and went to the ice planet. During the Jarilo-VI main quest, you rest at the Goethe Grand Hotel for one night. When morning comes, Bronya chases you into Backwater Pass, and the area unlocks.
Once you meet those requirements, look for a blue quest icon near the middle Space Anchor in Backwater Pass. It will not show up in your quest menu until you talk to the Mysterious Girl. Do that, and the quest begins.
Vessel Of Mediocrity Part One
I talked to the Mysterious Girl, and the dialogue immediately made me suspicious. She talks about escaping, freedom, and the boxes nearby. When the conversation ends, enter the box area through the bottom entrance.
For the first puzzle, move the box on the right side upward. The trapped girl is facing that box, so moving it gives you an opening. Reach her, interact, and you free her. This gives you a Bountiful Chest.
After that, talk to the girl. She praises you and gives more lore. At some point, you will see two dialogue options with a message icon and one with an arrow pointing right. If you pick the message options, you get extra lore, but you eventually return to the same choice. To continue, pick the arrow option. This spawns a second box puzzle with two trapped girls.
Here is how I solved it:
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Move the box on the right further to the right. This lets you free the girl on the right.
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Move the top box to the left. This gives you access to the second girl, and you can free her.
After both puzzles, talk to the girl one last time. Then talk to Sampo and ask for his help. When you return to the spot with him, the girl is gone. You find a note on the ground. That note gives a lot of lore and ends Part One.
Vessel Of Mediocrity Part Two
Part Two starts after your server clock resets. The reset time depends on your server, and there is roughly a five-hour difference between servers. Once it resets, go to the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone.
You will see the blue quest icon on the bottom left side of the map. The fastest way there is to teleport to the bottom Space Anchor near Gunn. This time, the Mysterious Girl is grown up. She mentions Mr. Stefan, and you realize she is Cyrille. She asks you to solve more box puzzles, but the area and number of boxes are bigger.
For the first puzzle, I did this:
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Push the top box to the right once.
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Move the bottom left box upward once.
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Push the middle box to the right once.
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Free the girl on the left.
Cyrille's memory gets clearer after that, and another puzzle spawns. This one has boxes everywhere and three girls to free.
My steps:
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Move the bottom box to the right until it hits the puzzle wall. This box is to your right when you enter.
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Move the box to the right of the top right girl upward once.
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Free the top right girl.
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Move the box in front of the bottom girl downward once. Free her.
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Move the box in front of the top left girl to the left once. Free her.
Talk to Cyrille and Dunn at the end to finish Part Two.
Vessel Of Mediocrity Part Three
Part Three takes you to Everwinter Hill, near Cocolia's Echo of War. I will not spoil the emotional beats, but if you have been reading every note and dialogue, this part hits hard. You find one of the mage boss enemies, but you cannot fight it right away.
Here is how I solved the first box puzzle:
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Move the box that is just below the original position of the second box you moved, marked as three in the picture, upward once.
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Move the box in front of the bottom girl downward and free her.
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Move the box in front of the bottom right girl as well.
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Move this box to the top.
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Move the final box to the right to free both girls.
There is no second puzzle this time. Just finish the series of dialogues to end the quest and collect your rewards.
Quick Reference Table
| Part | Location | What I Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Part One | Backwater Pass | Mysterious Girl, two box puzzles, Sampo, note |
| Part Two | Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone | Cyrille, Dunn, bigger puzzles, three girls |
| Part Three | Everwinter Hill | Mage boss, emotional ending, final rewards |
My Final Tips
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Do not ignore the message icon dialogues if you love lore. They add context.
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Pick the arrow option when you are ready to move on.
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The quest spans three real-life days because of server resets, so plan around that.
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The chests from each puzzle count toward achievements, so open them all.
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If you are playing in 2026, the quest is still worth doing for Stellar Jades and the story.
Vessel of Mediocrity is weird, sad, and clever. I still think about that note on the ground. If you are working through Jarilo-VI, do not skip it. 🧊📦✨
Data referenced from HowLongToBeat can help set expectations for time-gated side content like Honkai: Star Rail’s “Vessel of Mediocrity,” since its three-part structure spans multiple real-life days due to server resets even if the actual puzzles and dialogue scenes are short. Checking community-sourced completion timing is useful for planning when to detour from the Jarilo-VI main path so you can still collect all chests, achievements, and Stellar Jades without feeling like the quest is “long”—it’s mostly the reset cadence that stretches it out.