Quick Decision: A Grounded Ascent delivers 12-15% team DPS improvement at 12,800 Jades worst-case, enabling 33% faster Memory of Chaos clears (4 vs 6 cycles). Time Woven Into Gold provides 22-28% personal damage boost for Aglaea but requires 51,200 Jades for S1-S5 optimization. Phase 3 F2P players earn 4,540-4,940 Jades—enough for one guaranteed light cone with planning.
Understanding the 3.8 Phase 3 Light Cone Decision
HSR 3.8 Phase 3 (January 28 - February 12, 2026) presents two signature light cones: Time Woven Into Gold (Aglaea) and A Grounded Ascent (Sunday). Light cone hard pity hits 80 pulls with 75% featured rate—worst-case requires 160 pulls (12,800 Stellar Jades).
F2P Phase 3 income breakdown:
Daily Training: 840
Memory of Chaos: 1,200
Pure Fiction: 600
Apocalyptic Shadow: 600
Events: 800-1,200
Nameless Honor: 500
Total: 4,540-4,940 Jades (28-31 pulls)—barely one-fifth of guaranteed light cone.
A Grounded Ascent's universal Harmony support benefits multiple DPS characters. Testing shows Sunday with signature reduces MoC 12-1 clears from 6 to 4 cycles (33% faster). Time Woven Into Gold specializes in Aglaea's Lightning Remembrance DPS—22-28% personal damage increase, minimal value elsewhere.
Investment divergence: A Grounded Ascent S1 provides 80-85% maximum potential. Time Woven Into Gold needs S5 (51,200 Jades) for +20 SPD and +15% CRIT DMG per stack—five-fold cost difference.
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Time Woven Into Gold: Complete Performance Breakdown
Base Stats (Level 80):
HP: 1,058
ATK: 635 (highest among Remembrance)
DEF: 396
Passive Mechanics: Brocade stacks build through Aglaea's actions, reaching max 6 stacks in 2-3 turns.
S1: +12 SPD, +9% CRIT DMG per stack (max 54%), +9% Basic ATK DMG at 6 stacks
S5: +20 SPD, +15% CRIT DMG per stack (max 90%), +15% Basic ATK DMG at 6 stacks
The 8 SPD difference (S1 to S5) minimally impacts action economy—Aglaea's 102 base SPD reaches 114 (S1) or 122 (S5), neither creating additional turns. CRIT DMG scaling provides tangible benefits but requires relic CRIT Rate investment.
Refinement Efficiency:
S1 to S5 cost: 51,200 Jades
Performance gain: 8-12% over S1
Cost per 1% improvement: 4,267-6,400 Jades
Optimal Pairing: Aglaea exclusively in current roster. Her 698 base ATK multiplies the light cone's 635 ATK effectively. Frequent Basic ATK follow-ups maximize +15% Basic ATK DMG bonus.
Testing Results:
Pure Fiction 4-1: 38,000 score (comparable to A Grounded Ascent teams)
MoC 12-1: 5-6 cycle clears (1 cycle reduction vs 4-star alternatives)
Apocalyptic Shadow 6: Only 4-5 Brocade stacks before enemy defeat, reducing effective CRIT DMG to 60-75%
Limitation: Ramp-up dependency hurts Pure Fiction wave-clear where enemies die before 6 stacks.
A Grounded Ascent: Comprehensive Analysis
Base Stats (Level 80):
HP: 1,164
ATK: 476
DEF: 529
Passive Mechanics: After Sunday uses Skill/Ultimate, regenerates 6 Energy to targeted ally (8 at S5), grants 1 Hymn stack.
S1: 6 Energy regen, +15% DMG per Hymn stack (max 45%), 1 SP recovery per 2 triggers
S5: 8 Energy regen, +24% DMG per Hymn stack (max 72%), 1 SP recovery unchanged
The 2 Energy difference per trigger accumulates to 6-8 additional Energy per rotation, enabling faster Ultimate cycling. The 27% total DMG bonus increase (45% to 72%) provides meaningful improvement—S1 delivers ~85% of S5 value.
Refinement Efficiency:
S1 to S5 cost: 51,200 Jades
Performance gain: 15-20% over S1
Cost per 1% improvement: 2,560-3,413 Jades (40-87% better than Time Woven Into Gold)
Synergy with Sunday's Kit:
Battle start: +25 Energy
Skill: 100% action advance for ally/summon, +30% DMG for 2 turns, costs 1 SP
Ultimate: 20% Max Energy restoration (min 40) to all allies, CRIT DMG buff
Talent: +20% CRIT Rate for 3 turns
Energy regeneration combines with Sunday's Ultimate for rapid cycling. Example: Jing Yuan (240 Max Energy) receives 48 Energy from Sunday Ultimate + 6 from light cone = 54 per rotation.
SP recovery reduces Sunday's net cost to -0.5 per 2 rotations—critical for SP-hungry DPS like Aglaea or Jing Yuan.
Best Users:
Jing Yuan: Advances Lightning-Lord simultaneously, accelerates 130-cost Ultimate
Aglaea: Maximizes turn frequency, enables frequent Ultimate casts
Future summon DPS: Universal benefit from action advance + Energy regen
Performance Benchmarks:
MoC 12-1: 4 cycles (vs 6 with 4-star alternatives) = 33% faster
Pure Fiction 4-1: 38,000 score (vs 35,000) = 8.6% improvement
Apocalyptic Shadow 6: 3,800 score with Sunday/Aglaea/Robin/Gallagher
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Stat Comparison:
Time Woven Into Gold: 1,058 HP | 635 ATK | 396 DEF A Grounded Ascent: 1,164 HP | 476 ATK | 529 DEF
ATK difference (635 vs 476) favors Time Woven Into Gold for personal damage, but only benefits the holder. A Grounded Ascent's lower ATK matters minimally—Sunday's value derives from buffs, not personal damage.
Damage Output:
Time Woven Into Gold: 22-28% personal boost for Aglaea = ~15,000-20,000 additional damage per Ultimate (assuming 70,000-80,000 base)
A Grounded Ascent: 12-15% team DPS improvement affects all damage sources. In teams dealing 200,000 total damage per rotation, this = 24,000-30,000 additional team damage.
Cumulative advantage shifts to A Grounded Ascent in extended encounters. MoC 12-1's 4-cycle vs 6-cycle clear demonstrates team-wide buffs outpace personal damage concentration.
Versatility:
A Grounded Ascent: Works with Jing Yuan, Aglaea, future summon DPS—universal support applicability
Time Woven Into Gold: Aglaea only in current 3.8 roster—single-character restriction severely limits account-wide impact
Refinement Value:
A Grounded Ascent S1→S5: 40-87% better cost efficiency than Time Woven Into Gold
Both function adequately at S1—refinement = luxury optimization, not necessity.
Account Power Impact
Measurable Improvements from A Grounded Ascent:
Clear Speed: MoC 12-1 from 6→4 cycles (33% faster), enables more attempts within refresh periods
Score Thresholds: Pure Fiction 4-1 from 35,000→38,000 (8.6%), crosses reward tiers consistently
Team Flexibility: Sunday viable for multiple DPS, reduces dependency on specific combinations
Time Woven Into Gold Impact:
22-28% personal damage for Aglaea creates concentrated power spikes but limited account-wide value. Alternative teams gain zero benefit.
Memory of Chaos:
4-cycle vs 6-cycle difference = 33% clear speed reduction. Fewer cycles mean:
Fewer enemy attacks, reduced sustain requirements
More experimental compositions within time constraints
Buffer against RNG variance
Sunday with A Grounded Ascent achieves this through Energy acceleration. Jing Yuan's 130-cost Ultimate benefits from 6 Energy per Skill trigger, cycling Lightning-Lord rapidly.
Time Woven Into Gold on Aglaea: 5-6 cycle clears—respectable but lacking transformative impact. 1-2 cycle difference = 16-33% longer clears with increased sustain pressure.
Pure Fiction:
A Grounded Ascent's +45% DMG bonus (S1) applies to all damage types—Skills, Ultimates, Basic ATKs, follow-ups. Benefits AoE DPS like Jing Yuan whose Lightning-Lord hits multiple targets.
38,000 vs 35,000 score crosses reward tier breakpoints—small performance improvements yield disproportionate Stellar Jade gains.
Time Woven Into Gold faces ramp-up challenges. Enemies die before 6 Brocade stacks, reducing effective CRIT DMG to 27-45% instead of max 54-90%. Performance gap widens in early waves.
Apocalyptic Shadow:
A Grounded Ascent's 6 Energy regen enables frequent Ultimates within strict turn limits. 12-15% team DPS compounds across multiple damage instances.
Time Woven Into Gold performance depends on combat duration. Longer phases allow full stacks; shorter phases limit building, creating inconsistent results.
Resource Investment Analysis
Expected Costs:
Zero Pity Start:
50th percentile: 70 pulls (5,600 Jades)
75th percentile: 85 pulls (6,800 Jades)
90th percentile: 120 pulls (9,600 Jades)
Worst case: 160 pulls (12,800 Jades)
40 Pity Start:
50th percentile: 30 pulls (2,400 Jades)
75th percentile: 45 pulls (3,600 Jades)
Worst case: 120 pulls (9,600 Jades)
Jade Efficiency:
A Grounded Ascent:
12,800 Jades for 12-15% team DPS
Single team: 853-1,067 Jades per 1% DPS
Two teams: 427-534 Jades per 1% DPS
Three teams: 284-356 Jades per 1% DPS
Time Woven Into Gold:
12,800 Jades for 22-28% personal damage
Aglaea only: 457-582 Jades per 1% DPS
Crossover occurs when Aglaea = 100% content usage while never using Sunday with other DPS—unlikely scenario.
Opportunity Costs:
12,800 Jade investment competes with:
Character banners: 14,400 Jades guarantees 5-star (more transformative)
Future banners: Version 3.9 new releases
Eidolons: Aglaea E1 grants +25% DEF ignore (18-22% personal damage)
F2P Planning:
Priority 1: Character acquisition (14,400 Jades worst-case) Priority 2: A Grounded Ascent if Sunday acquired + using multiple DPS (12,800 Jades) Priority 3: Future banner savings (10,000+ Jade buffer)
F2P can't acquire both characters + both light cones in Phase 3 without prior pity or exploration backlog.
Decision Framework
Choose A Grounded Ascent if:
Own Sunday, use him with multiple DPS
Prioritize team-wide improvements
Value MoC clear speed reduction
Plan to pull future summon DPS
Limited Jade budget requiring max efficiency
Choose Time Woven Into Gold if:
Main Aglaea exclusively across all content
Already own optimal support light cones
Prioritize max personal damage numbers
Have 51,200 Jades for S5 refinement
Accept limited future applicability
Skip both if:
Lack featured characters
Strict F2P budget prioritizing character acquisition
Possess adequate 4-star alternatives
Saving for Version 3.9 characters
Nihility DPS Players:
Time Woven Into Gold serves Remembrance, not Nihility. Kafka/Black Swan/Sampo gain zero value. Prioritize path-specific light cones instead.
Harmony Support-Heavy Teams:
Sunday + Robin + Jing Yuan + Huohuo benefits substantially from A Grounded Ascent. Energy regen enables Robin's frequent Ultimate, creating multiplicative buff stacking. Result: 5-cycle MoC 12-2 clears.
Break Effect Meta:
Neither light cone optimizes for Break teams. Sunday's CRIT buffs synergize poorly with Break Effect's non-CRIT scaling. Prioritize Memories of the Past (Ruan Mei signature) instead.
Hypercarry Compositions:
Aglaea Hypercarry: Time Woven Into Gold maximizes personal damage (22-28% boost)
Alternative DPS Hypercarry: A Grounded Ascent enables Sunday to support any carry (12-15% team improvement)
Versatility favors A Grounded Ascent for players rotating between carries.
Common Mistakes
Myth: Signatures are mandatory
Reality: 4-star alternatives provide 70-85% signature performance at fraction of cost. Sunday functions with Memories of the Past; Aglaea performs with Today Is Another Peaceful Day.
Performance gap matters for competitive leaderboards, not casual clearing.
Mistake: Prioritizing light cones over characters
Characters expand roster capabilities more than light cone optimization. 14,400 Jades (character) vs 12,800 Jades (light cone) = similar investment, vastly different returns.
Overlooking 4-Star Alternatives:
Phase 3 pool includes Geniuses' Greetings, Trend of Universal Market, Dance! Dance! Dance!—viable alternatives costing zero limited resources.
Refinement Trap:
S1→S5 requires 51,200 Jades (4 copies × 12,800).
Time Woven Into Gold: 8-12% additional DPS = 4,267-6,400 Jades per 1% (poor efficiency)
A Grounded Ascent: 15-20% improvement = 2,560-3,413 Jades per 1% (better but still questionable vs character acquisition)
Future-Proofing Analysis
Meta Trends:
Version 3.8 introduced Remembrance path (summon mechanics). Historical patterns suggest 2-3 additional Remembrance DPS within next 2-3 versions.
A Grounded Ascent (Harmony): Maintains relevance through universal buff mechanics. Harmony supports benefit any DPS archetype across meta shifts.
Time Woven Into Gold (Remembrance): Depends on Aglaea's meta positioning. Vulnerable to power creep from superior Remembrance releases.
6-12 Month Projection:
A Grounded Ascent: 85-95% value retention (universal mechanics, adapts to meta shifts)
Time Woven Into Gold: 60-75% value retention (single-character specialization, power creep vulnerability)
20-30% retention gap reflects A Grounded Ascent's structural versatility advantage.
Beta Information:
Version 3.9 suggests additional Remembrance characters with Energy-hungry Ultimates and action-dependent scaling—synergizes perfectly with A Grounded Ascent's Energy regen and Sunday's action advance.
Leaked Remembrance characters show diverse damage scaling (CRIT, Break Effect, hybrid), fragmenting light cone pool and reducing any single signature's universal applicability.
How to Get Stellar Jades Fast
F2P Income Sources (Phase 3):
Daily: 60 Jades × 14 days = 840 Weekly: MoC (1,200) + Pure Fiction (600) + AS (600) + Simulated Universe (225) Events: 800-1,200 Nameless Honor: 500
One-Time Sources:
Exploration: 50-100 Jades per area
Achievements: 5-20 Jades each
Character trials: 20 Jades per trial
Systematic completion pushes Phase 3 income toward 6,000-7,000 Jades including one-time sources.
BitTopup Quick Guide:
Visit BitTopup's HSR section
Select Stellar Jade package
Enter UID (Account settings)
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Complete checkout
Receive Jades in-game within 5 minutes
First-time purchasers receive bonus Jades on select packages. Secure payment processing protects financial information.
Calculate exact shortfall: Need 8,000 for guarantee, have 4,500 F2P = 3,500 Jade top-up secures chosen light cone before February 12.
FAQ
Which light cone provides better account progression?
A Grounded Ascent delivers superior progression through 12-15% team DPS improvement applicable to multiple DPS. 33% faster MoC clears and universal Harmony support benefit diverse compositions. Time Woven Into Gold's 22-28% personal boost applies only to Aglaea.
Is Time Woven Into Gold worth pulling for Aglaea mains?
Only if Aglaea = exclusive DPS across all content AND you possess optimal support light cones. 22-28% boost improves clears by 1-2 cycles vs 4-star alternatives, but competes with Aglaea E1 (18-22% damage) and character acquisition. Players using multiple DPS gain better value from A Grounded Ascent.
Should F2P prioritize light cones or save for characters?
Prioritize character acquisition. Phase 3's 4,540-4,940 Jades = only 28-31 pulls (insufficient for guarantee). Characters enable new team compositions; light cones offer incremental optimization. Save for Version 3.9 unless you own both Sunday and Aglaea with adequate 4-star alternatives.
How much does A Grounded Ascent improve Sunday?
12-15% team DPS through 6 Energy regen per Skill trigger and +45% DMG at 3 Hymn stacks (S1). Testing shows 33% faster MoC clears (4 vs 6 cycles) and 8.6% Pure Fiction score improvement (38,000 vs 35,000). SP recovery reduces Sunday's net cost to -0.5 per 2 rotations.
Guaranteed light cone cost?
Hard pity: 80 pulls, 75% featured rate. Worst-case: 160 pulls (12,800 Jades). Soft pity: 65-70 pulls. Average: 70-75 pulls (5,600-6,000 Jades). 40 pity start requires 120 pulls worst-case (9,600 Jades).
Can Time Woven Into Gold work on other Remembrance characters?
Optimizes specifically for Aglaea in current 3.8 roster. Future Remembrance characters may benefit, but requires speculative investment. Basic ATK DMG bonus synergizes with Aglaea's frequent follow-ups—mechanic may not appear in alternative kits. Avoid purchasing based on speculation without confirmed kit info.
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