Stella Sora by Yostar invites players into a rich, visually stunning sci-fantasy world where exploration and combat intertwine. You play as an amnesiac protagonist joining the New Star Guild, a group of Trekkers journeying across mystical Monoliths in search of forgotten Artifacts.

The game blends real-time action combat, roguelike runs, and strategic customization, rewarding precision, planning, and persistence. This guide explains every major mechanic you’ll need to understand before your first climb — from the fundamentals of Ascension Mode to advanced systems like Potentials and Affinity.

Understanding the Story and Your Role

The story begins with your character awakening in the desert — confused, disoriented, and rescued by the New Star Guild. The guild’s members, including Amber, Iris, and Noya, bring you into their ranks to help them ascend mysterious Monoliths scattered across the world. These towering structures are both dungeons and narrative pillars, each holding fragments of memory, hidden Artifacts, and powerful enemies.

The Main Story unfolds through cinematic cutscenes and interactive dialogue sequences. Each chapter introduces new Trekkers, deepens the lore, and unlocks new game systems. As you progress, you’ll uncover the truth behind your amnesia and the celestial energy driving the world’s fate.

You can access the Main Story anytime from the main menu, allowing you to alternate between narrative chapters and other game modes like Ascension or Trials.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Core Gameplay: Ascension Mode and Exploration

Ascension Mode forms the backbone of Stella Sora’s gameplay loop. It’s a roguelike dungeon system where each run plays out differently based on the Potentials and upgrades you collect. You begin each Ascension by assembling a team of Trekkers, then enter a procedurally designed Monolith floor to defeat waves of enemies, gather resources, and select rewards.

The uniqueness of this mode lies in its Record system — every time you complete an Ascension run, your accumulated Potentials and Disc abilities are saved as a Record. These Records strengthen your account and Trekkers permanently, allowing even short runs to yield lasting progress.

The higher your Authorization Level, the more Ascension features you’ll unlock, such as the Bounty Trial (a timed mode for resources) and Tier-up Trial (which raises level caps). Each new mode adds more replayability and rewards to the Monolith climb, encouraging both strategy and endurance.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Combat System and Controls

Stella Sora uses real-time combat, giving players full control over movement and skills. Every battle takes place in a circular arena or Monolith chamber where precise timing and positioning matter.

You control your active Trekker with a virtual joystick on the left and use four skill buttons on the right:

  • Attack / Main Skill: Executes your primary offensive ability.
  • Support Skill: Summons your secondary Trekker for a coordinated attack or buff.
  • Ultimate Skill: A powerful, cinematic finisher that deals massive damage.
  • Dodge: Grants temporary invulnerability, letting you avoid incoming attacks.

Enemies broadcast their strongest attacks through visual indicators on the ground — red circles or lines — giving you a small window to dodge. This system rewards reflexes and tactical skill rather than pure stat upgrades.

As you progress, mastering dodge timing and combo rotation becomes vital in higher-tier Monoliths and boss encounters.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Trekkers: Your Playable Heroes

Trekkers are the backbone of your team — each with distinct elements, weapons, and personalities. You can recruit new Trekkers through banners and develop them using in-game resources.

Your starting roster includes:

  • Amber (Ignis – Vanguard): A dual-pistol marksman specializing in fast-paced, high-accuracy attacks. Her skills rely on managing magazine capacity and reload timing.
  • Iris (Aqua – Versatile): A spellcaster wielding a red tome. She excels at ranged combat and elemental control, often applying wide-area damage or support buffs.
  • Noya (Ventus – Vanguard): A frontline fighter with a balanced stat spread, ideal for early-game tanking and stable performance.

Each Trekker features a unique Affinity system, detailed backstory, and growth path. New recruits like Ridge, a plant-themed researcher from the United Harvest faction, add elemental variety and story connections beyond the New Star Guild.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Potentials and Build Customization

Potentials define your Trekker’s gameplay identity. These are ability cards that can be mixed and matched to create personalized builds. Each Potential belongs to a theme or role, such as offense, defense, or support.

For example, Amber’s Potential list includes:

  • Dominant Firepower: Increases magazine size and auto-attack damage after using the Main Skill.
  • Bullet Storm: Enhances AoE potential, ideal for crowd control.
  • Confident Mode: Boosts attack damage during reload windows.
  • Echo of Hospitality: Enhances supportive or team-based bonuses.

Potentials are unlocked as you progress in Ascension Mode or through events. Building synergy between Potentials — such as chaining skill-boosting cards with ammo modifiers — allows complex tactical setups. Each Trekker can save multiple builds, letting you adjust for different Monolith bosses or event trials.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Talents and Emblems

The Talent System serves as a Trekker’s personal mastery tree, representing their innate growth beyond levels or gear. Unlocking new Talents permanently raises stats or adds passive bonuses to attacks, cooldowns, or elemental resistances.

For Amber, the early Talents such as A Dance with Bullets and Barrel is Still Hot improve her offensive consistency, while deeper nodes like Ethereal Memory may enhance survivability or utility. Each Talent node feels meaningful, contributing to a Trekker’s identity rather than offering redundant stat padding.

Later in progression, players gain access to Emblems — special loadout badges unlocked at Levels 70, 80, and 90. These offer late-game customization options, functioning similarly to artifact systems in other RPGs. Players can use them to further refine playstyles, such as amplifying specific Potentials or scaling Ultimate damage.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Affinity and Trekker Stories

Beyond combat, Affinity adds emotional depth to Stella Sora’s world. Each Trekker has a personal storyline revealed through bonding interactions and side quests. Increasing Affinity unlocks rewards such as special voice lines, lore entries, and exclusive items.

Amber’s backstory, for example, describes her as a cat lover who spends her time investigating lost pets, tying into her skill of “locating lost cats.” Her lighthearted personality contrasts with Iris’s intellectual curiosity and Noya’s cheerful courage.

Raising Affinity is done by fighting alongside a Trekker, completing Affinity Tasks, and unlocking milestones on their profile screen. It’s more than a cosmetic feature — it builds a sense of connection that enriches the game’s atmosphere.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Authorization Level and Player Progression

The Authorization Level is your account-wide progression metric. Instead of a simple player rank, it unlocks key features and rewards across the game.

Each level milestone provides significant bonuses — premium currency, Vigor refills, and access to new trials. For instance:

  • Level 2 grants resource bundles and Stellanite Lumina.
  • Level 3 unlocks the Tier-up Trial, raising the level cap of Trekkers and Discs to 20.
  • Higher levels open up endgame content like Boss Trials and advanced Monolith modes.

Progression is tied to missions and daily activities, encouraging consistent play rather than grind-heavy farming. It’s a system designed to reward both new and veteran players at a steady pace.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Currencies and In-Game Shop

Stella Sora features multiple currencies, each serving a specific function:

  • Stellanite Lumina: Premium gem used for gacha banners and bundles.
  • Tickets (Cerulean / Sprout): Summon currencies for Trekkers.
  • Discs (Gold / Silver): Summon currencies for equipment and Record skills.
  • Gold: Universal upgrade currency.
  • Vigor: Stamina consumed in battle stages and trials.
  • Permit Tokens: Used in the Permit Exchange for valuable resources.

The Shop houses various sub-menus, including event bundles, top-up options, and the Everbright Wishes pass, which offers daily rewards over 30 days. This pass is ideal for players looking for sustainable premium progression without high spending.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Recruitment and Banners

Recruitment drives Stella Sora’s hero collection system. The banners are visually distinct and divided into categories:

  • Opening Act (Beginner Limited): Up to 200 free pulls where players can lock one final result — perfect for rerolling.
  • Blades Beneath the Moon: A limited Trekker banner highlighting high-rarity characters like Chitose.
  • Moon Upon Still Waters: A Disc banner with exclusive 4 Star equipment.
  • Boss’s Regulars: The standard permanent Trekker banner.
  • Memories Rewind: The permanent Disc banner for equipment recruitment.

Each pull type consumes a specific resource — Tickets for Trekkers and Discs for gear. Certain banners also reward bonus materials like Gold Discs during the first 10x pull.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Permit Exchange and Item Management

The Permit Exchange is one of the most useful systems for free-to-play progression. Using Permit Tokens earned through events and gameplay, players can purchase crucial materials such as:

  • Recruitment Tickets (Cerulean / Sprout)
  • Gold & Silver Discs
  • Star Emblem Polishers
  • Travel Journals for Trekker leveling

Each item has limited stock, refreshing periodically. This ensures balance between grind and reward, allowing players to prioritize essential upgrade materials over random pulls.

A Beginner’s Guide to Stella Sora

Stella Sora’s charm lies in its balance between accessibility and depth. It offers a layered system of customization, rich storytelling, and fluid combat that rewards both reflexes and long-term planning.

For beginners, focusing on Ascension Mode, Trekker development, and Authorization Level progression will provide the smoothest start. As you grow, experimenting with Potentials, raising Affinity, and optimizing team synergy will reveal the game’s full strategic potential.

For the best performance, visuals, and control precision, play Stella Sora on PC using BlueStacks!