Lord of Mysteries Connections Guide: Historical Projections

What the Connections system is

The official design article frames Connections (人脉) as a system that encourages you to rely on powerful friends. Through the Historical Corridor (历史回廊), the strength of past figures is lent into the present as combat power — described officially as going beyond the limits of pathway and sequence.

The borrowed strength takes the form of a Historical Projection (历史投影): a figure from the past placed into the present time. The official article cites three projection skills — Old Neil’s debt attack, Susie’s cookie healing, and Frank’s mushroom detonation — each arriving as a usable skill rather than a stat line.

The official framing leans social too: projections can be invited on city strolls, affinity gifts unlock transforming into a connection’s appearance, and the article cites Audrey’s 20,000-Soli funding and Leonard’s referral into the Blackthorn as the leverage a well-chosen connection provides. The article page shows an odd date format (26/05/29), so its publication date is pending verification.*

Unlock and the Historical Lantern draw

The Connections interface opens from the lower-left of the main UI (结交人脉, per CN guides). Guides agree the system unlocks as the main story advances through the Tingen chapters — no source publishes a specific level number, so treat any level figure as unverified.*

The daily affinity loop

Affinity (好感度) is the relationship bar under every connection, and its economy is deliberately tight: three actions, once per day, each.

1. 01

   Stroll, invite, dance

   Every connection offers three daily affinity actions — the city stroll (城市漫步, the one the official article calls out), the invitation (邀约), and the shared dance (共舞) — each usable once per day.

2. 02

   The invitation economy

   The first invitation each day is free; beyond that, invites and letters draw on Memory Invitations (漫忆请柬), a weekly-limited currency. The monthly card adds 5 letters per day that consume the same invitations.*

3. 03

   Gifts

   Gift items raise affinity directly — community guides cite pipes, coffee, and books as the usual offerings for Dunn. Gift sourcing is summary-level only and marked accordingly.*

4. 04

   Cap, gold refund, rewards

   Affinity caps at level 7; a gold-quality connection returns one base card of itself upon reaching level 6 (返本体). Rewards along the way include exclusive furniture, expressions and social gestures, avatar frames, titles, and the Memory Treasure Box (记忆珍匣) that trades for appearances.*

Co-battle groups and community picks

Projections fight alongside you through 协战 (co-battle) relations, activated by hand once assembled. There are currently two co-battle group slots plus separate historical relations, and group level pays research points: a 3-person group earns 16 per level, a 2-person group only 5-6 — fill three-person groups first. The picks below are community meta, not official tiering.*

Bonds and fragments

羁绊 (bonds) are set bonuses for collecting specific groups of connections — and like co-battle relations, they do nothing until you flip them on.

Cultivation priorities

If the system feels bottomless, it is — the invitation economy is designed to make you choose. A working order, assembled from the CN guides:

1. 01

   Never miss the three daily actions

   Stroll, invite, dance cost minutes and never stack. Missed days are affinity you do not get back.

2. 02

   Fund one connection at a time

   Weekly Memory Invitations roughly cover taking one connection the full distance over 7 days. Splitting them strands every connection at a middling level.*

3. 03

   Wish before you draw

   Set the wish on your main target before pulling — 80% up with at most one miss is the strongest lever in the banner, and it costs nothing.*

4. 04

   One skill to rank 5 first

   Six duplicate points (seven copies) finish a projection skill; one finished skill beats three half-ranked ones.*

5. 05

   Treat it as a core system

   CN guides put the PVE and PVP power share of connections very high — no percentage is published, but the direction is consistent across sources.*

Three points in this system could not be pinned down. Both readings are presented; none is treated as settled.

Common mistakes

Five ways this system punishes spreading thin, from the CN guides.

1. 01

   Splitting invitations across everyone

   The weekly invitation budget covers one connection’s full climb. Split it and you finish nothing — see cultivation priorities.

2. 02

   Drawing without a wish set

   An unset wish forfeits the 80% up-weight. Always set it before pulling.*

3. 03

   Leaving bonds unactivated

   Collected is not active. A bond you never switch on contributes nothing.

4. 04

   Letting duplicates cap out

   Overflow stops converting at the fragment caps (4 purple / 50 gold).* Check before the next 10-pull.

5. 05

   Skipping the daily three

   The loop is the cheapest power per minute spent in the game. Skipping it to farm something else loses in the long run.

Frequently asked questions

Q1.What is the Connections (人脉) system in Lord of Mysteries?

A social system where you befriend characters and borrow their strength as Historical Projections (历史投影) — figures from the past placed into the present, lending combat power the official article describes as beyond pathway and sequence limits. It bundles a draw system (Historical Lantern), an affinity loop, co-battle groups, and bonds.

Q2.How do I unlock Connections?

By advancing the main story through the Tingen chapters; the entry sits at the lower-left of the main UI. No source publishes a specific level number, so any level figure is unverified.

Q3.What are the Historical Lantern pity rules?

Community guides (Kumalc lineage, 2026-08) report purple at a 5-pull pity and gold at 40, with gold resetting the counter and a 20-pull button after 40. Wishes run 80% up with at most one miss — 2 wishes per week plus 1 per 110 pulls. All figures pending in-game verification.

Q4.Which connections should I raise first?

Community meta as of 2026-08: Fors for PVE, Dunn for PVP, Audrey for healing (the 7-day quest grants one). Community testing, not official tiering.

Q5.How many copies max out a projection skill?

Rank 5 takes 6 rank points, one per duplicate card — the base card plus 6 duplicates, 7 copies of the same connection.

Q6.Is 'Connections' the official English name of the system?

The global client is unreleased, so “Connections” is the community translation of 人脉, and “Historical Projection” follows Fandom usage for 历史投影. Both are provisional.