Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.7 Release Date, Banners, And Events

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• Honkai Star Rail 3.5 Version New Characters And Events: How Does Knowing Them Ahead Of Time Help?

  In Honkai Star Rail 3.4, which was launched on July 1st, you can enjoy a unique gameplay experience with Fate/Stay Night crossover event and the accompanying new characters, but now's the time to start preparing for 3.5!

  Version 3.5, titled “Before Their Deaths,” also represents the game's seventeenth Trailblaze Mission chapter's arrival. The new story will take place in Amphoreus and feature new characters.

  So, what new characters can you obtain and what new gameplay experiences can you expect in Version 3.5? We'll explain below.

  

  When Will Version 3.5 Be Released?

  Based on the information currently available, Before Their Deaths is expected to release on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. The exact release date may vary depending on your time zone. Please see the following for details:

  • West Coast US: Tuesday, August 12, 8pm (PT)
  • Central US: Tuesday, August 12, 10pm (CT)
  • East Coast US: Tuesday, August 12, 11pm (ET)
  • Japan: Wednesday, August 13, 12pm (JST)
  • Australia: Wednesday, August 13, 1pm (AET)
  • UK: Wednesday, August 13, 4am (BST)
  • Europe: Wednesday, August 13, 5am (CEST)

  What Characters Can You Obtain In Both Phases?

  As in the past, Version 3.5 will release over two phases, each with different banners and playable content. Each banner will offer two five-star characters: one brand new and one returning classic.

  To ensure you don't blindly consume too many Honkai Star Rail Oneiric Shards in Phase 1 so that miss out on valuable Phase 2 characters, it's essential to be aware of all the new characters' abilities coming in Version 3.5 in advance.

  Phase 1 Banners

  The 5-star characters joining this phase are Hysilens and Kafka. Hysilens makes her debut in the game via Winedark Swansong Banner. As a physical attacker, her Nihility path excels at dealing DoT damage and applying debuffs to enemies.

  Returning 5-star Kafka is part of Nessun Norma Banner. Also part of Nihility path, she's a lightning-type attacker. If you missed out on drawing her before, Version 3.5 is the perfect time!

  In addition, Honkai Star Rail will also release the following 4-star characters based on the two banners mentioned above:

  • Asta (Fire, Harmony)
  • Arlan (Lightning, Destruction)
  • Hook (Fire, Destruction)

  In addition to the characters, the game will also release Light Cone banners in the new version, giving characters exclusive or more powerful equipment. Light Cones expected in Version 3.5 are:

  Brilliant Fixation Banner:

  • Why Does the Ocean Sing (5-Star, Nihility, Hysilens's signature)
  • Eyes of the Prey (4-Star, Nihility)
  • Poised to Bloom (4-Star, Harmony)
  • Indelible Promise (4-Star, Destruction)

  Bygone Reminiscene Banner:

  • Patience Is All You Need (5-Star, Nihility, Kafka's signature)
  • Eyes of the Prey (4-Star, Nihility)
  • Poised to Bloom (4-Star, Harmony)
  • Indelible Promise (4-Star, Destruction)

  Phase 2 Banners

  This phase's new 5-star character is Cerydra from Iron Tamer of Tides Banner. She's a wind attack character on Harmony path, providing benefits to a single ally during combat.

  The returning 5-star character in Phase 2 is Silver Wolf from Contract Zero Banner. She's a quantum attack character in Nihility path, specializing in lowering enemy defenses and creating additional weaknesses. She also received a buff in Version 3.4.

  Based on this, the 4-star characters released in Phase 2 of Version 3.5 include:

  • Sampo (Wind, Nihility)
  • Qingque (Quantum, Erudition)
  • Dan Heng (Wind, Hunt)

  Of course, Phase 2 will also feature corresponding Light Cones' banners, giving you the opportunity to enhance your available Phase 2 characters:

  Brilliant Fixation Banner:

  • Epoch Etched in Golden Blood (5-Star, Harmony, Cerydra's signature)
  • The Birth of the Self (4-Star, Erudition)
  • Swordplay (4-Star, Hunt)
  • Good Night and Sleep Well (4-Star, Nihility)

  Bygone Reminiscene Banner:

  • Incessant Rain (5-Star, Nihility, Silver Wolf's signature)
  • The Birth of the Self (4-Star, Erudition)
  • Swordplay (4-Star, Hunt)
  • Good Night and Sleep Well (4-Star, Nihility)

  Happily, HSR x Fate UBW Banner introduced in Version 3.4 will still be available in 3.5! If you missed most of 3.4 or haven't drawn the crossover characters you're looking for, you still have time to work on them.

  What New Events Will Version 3.5 Bring?

  First and foremost, the new Trailblaze Mission chapter, Before Their Deaths, will be available. This story takes you to Okhema, ruled by Cerydra, and allows you to embark on a new cycle of Eternal Recurrence with Cyrene.

  In addition, 3.5 will add a new area, Styxia, City of Infinite Revel; Ascension material Sea Siren's Torn Fin for ice-type characters; and a new boss, Lygus, with two combat forms.

  Limited-Time Events

  Version 3.5 is expected to offer six playable limited-time events, some of which will focus on giving out rewards, while others will offer fun and relaxing mini-games where you can earn in-game items while relaxing.

  • Chrysos Maze Grand Restaurant: A business simulation mini-game where you manage a restaurant. Playing this mini-game earns you a new 4-star Light Cone, Self-Modeling Resin, Stellar Jade, and Tracks of Destiny.
  • Old Brews and New Friends: Return to Dreamjolt Hostelry and serve customers as a bartender. Event rewards include weapon level-up materials, Stellar Jade, and Tracks of Destiny.
  • Space Station Task Force: Complete quests to train Herta AI, which will earn you Stellar Jade, credits, and level-up materials.
  • Gift of Odyssey: Rewards you with Star Passes after logging in for a certain number of consecutive days.
  • Planear Fissure: Doubles the drop rate of Planar Ornaments for a limited time.
  • Garden of Plenty: Doubles the drop rate of Calyx for a limited time.

  The above is the main content about the new characters and events in HSR Version 3.5. You can use this information to prepare yourself before entering the new version! I wish you happy playing!

• Honkai Star Rail 3.4 Version New Character And Events: What Surprises Will Crossover Characters And New Plot Bring?

  Honkai Star Rail 3.4 is about to start, and this version is bound to make players excited! Not only because FATE collaboration brings two new characters to players, but also because after the foreshadowing of the previous chapters, the story is about to usher in a major turning point at this stage.

  Release Date

  • Pacific Time (UTC-7): 8:00 PM, July 1, 2025 to 3:00 PM, August 12, 2025
  • Mountain Time (UTC-6): 9:00 PM, July 1, 2025 to 4:00 PM, August 12, 2025
  • Central Time (UTC-5): 10:00 PM, July 1, 2025 to 5:00 PM, August 12, 2025
  • Eastern Time (UTC-4): 11:00 PM, July 1, 2025 to 6:00 PM, August 12, 2025
  • British Summer Time (UTC+1): 4:00 AM, July 2, 2025 to 11:00 PM, August 12, 2025
  • Central European Time (UTC+2): 5:00 AM, July 2, 2025 to 00:00 AM, August 13, 2025
  • UTC+5:30: 8:30 AM, July 2, 2025 to 3:30 AM, August 13, 2025
  • UTC+8: 11:00 AM, July 2, 2025 to 6:00 AM, August 13, 2025
  • UTC+9: 12:00 PM, July 2, 2025 to 7:00 AM, August 13, 2025
  • EST (UTC+10): 1:00 PM, July 2, 2025 to 8:00 AM, August 13, 2025

  

  Banners

  First, the character banners that most players are concerned about. Version 3.4 is divided into two stages as always. The first stage is three new characters, including two crossover characters, and the second stage is rerun characters. Version 3.4 has a lot of content, but the accumulated rewards alone are not enough for you to return with a full load in 3.4. You may also need Honkai Star Rail Top Up to get all the characters and Light Cones you want.

  • Stage 1: Phainon, Saber, Archer
  • Stage 2: Tribbie, Sparkle, Sunday, Firefly, Jingliu, Blade

  Version 3.4 New Light Cones

  • Thus Burns the Dawn
  • A Thankless Coronation
  • The Hell Where Ideals Burn
  • The Story’s Next Page
  • A Dream Scented in Wheat
  • A Trail of Bygone Blood
  • The Flower Remembers
  • In Pursuit of the Wind
  • Unto Tomorrow’s Morrow
  • Journey, Forever Peaceful
  • See You at the End
  • Holiday Thermae Escapade

  Version 3.4 Rerun Light Cones

  • If Time Were a Flower
  • Earthly Escapade
  • A Grounded Ascent
  • Whereabouts Should Dreams Rest
  • I Shall Be My Own Sword
  • The Unreachable Side

  Phainon

  Version 3.4 The core secret of Omphalos will be revealed, and the other form of Phainon shown in the PV makes players imagine, and they can’t help but look forward to and be curious about the changes that this “savior” will soon usher in.

  Of course, besides the plot, Phainon’s own strength has also exceeded the expectations of many players. Phainon can not only use the second form shown in the plot in battle, but also gain a set of new skills and cool new special effects after transformation.

  Whether it is a knife to cut open a space crack, wield a giant sword to split the earth, or summon a meteorite attack on the full screen, Phainon’s skills not only show players what “one man makes an army”, but also his strength is truly top-notch in all senses.

  Such a character can actually become a playable character, which really makes players full of expectations. I wonder if you have saved enough Honkai Star Rail Oneiric Shard for it?

  Phainon is the Physical DPS of Destruction path. The most suitable affixes for it are critical hit rate and critical hit damage. The best critical hit rate should be 100%, and the best critical hit damage should be over than 150%.

  Recommended Light Cone:

  • Best: Thus Burns the Dawn (five stars)

  Alternatives:

  • On the Fall of an Aeon (five stars)
  • A Trail of Bygone Blood (four stars)
  • Something Irreplaceable (five stars)
  • Under the Blue Sky (four stars)

  Recommended team: Phainon, Sunday, Bronya, Tingyun

  Saber And Archer

  Saber is one of the three heroines from Fate/Stay Night. She is the servant of Shirou Emiya (Archer), also known as Artoria or Altria. In this collaboration, she also belongs to the Destruction path and uses Wind element.

  Archer is Shirou Emiya, the future form of the male protagonist of Fate/stay night. He follows The Hunt in the game and uses the element Quantum.

  The crossover plot and activities will be themed around Holy Grail War and will try to restore the settings of Fate such as Noble Phantasm, class, Command Spell, etc., so that players can fully experience the charm of the Holy Grail War. As crossover characters, Saber and Archer, in addition to the 3D image, the iconic Noble Phantasm such as Excalibur and Unlimited Blade Works have also been accurately reproduced.

  It is worth mentioning that the official has made special optimizations for these two crossover characters. You can set the voices of these two characters to Japanese, which can be said to be very sincere for this crossover.

  Events And Benefits

  Version 3.4 will open a new area, Aedes Elysiae, and a new main quest For the Sun is Set to Die and Sweet Dreams and the Holy Grail. This means that the plot will enter the next stage.

  New Events:

  • Fate/stay night: crossover activities.
  • Origami Bird Clash: Online match-3 arcade game
  • Novaflare: Enhanced character trial event
  • 3.4 Gift of Odyssey: Daily login event
  • 3.4 Planar Fissure: Double Planar Ornament drop event
  • 3.4 Realm of the Strange: a double Cavern Relic rewards event.

  Since Version 3.4 has three new characters, it is still a bit stressful to train them. The official also gave a lot of welfare activities. The crossover character Archer will be given away for free, and the crossover banner will be open for a long time. Players can also receive free materials to upgrade Archer to level 60.

  In addition, after the 3.4 banner is drawn 200 times, you can also get the exclusive Light Cone of Archer for free. Finally, in the second half of this year, the official will also give away a limited five-star character for free to reduce the burden of Top Up for players.

  The above is the general content of Version 3.4. The new characters and new plots of Honkai Star Rail are exciting. I hope you can reap a lot in the next version.

• Honkai Star Rail 3.3 The Fall At Dawn's Rise: What Will This Version Bring To You? - New Characters, Plot And More

  Honkai Star Rail will release a version update about every 1-2 months, and these updates will not only fix existing problems, but more importantly, they will bring more new gameplay and new characters that can be obtained in the corresponding banners.

  After the 3.2 version was launched on April 9, 3.3 version, The Fall at Dawn’s Rise, will also be available to you. 3.3 will continue to advance the game progress based on the second half of 3.2, and bring new banners and characters, plots and experiential tasks. Let us introduce them to you one by one!

  

  When Will 3.3 Be Released?

  According to the previous new version live broadcast and other information, it is expected that Honkai: Star Rail 3.3 The Fall at Dawn’s Rise will be available on major platforms on May 21. Players in some countries and regions may be able to experience it on the evening of the 20th due to time differences.

  Before that, 3.2 version will last until May 20, after which the game will enter a maintenance period until the 3.3 is launched. All you need to do to prepare is to complete the remaining tasks in 3.2 as soon as possible and ensure that your device can download the new version in time.

  What New Characters Can Be Obtained?

  One of the biggest features of these turn-based RPGs represented by Honkai Star Rail is that new characters will be introduced continuously. To be honest, this does have disadvantages, because too many new characters will gradually make old characters ignored, but new characters are indeed the main source of freshness in the game.

  Usually Star Rail will release two banners in the new version, each with a main character, you can draw them with the existing Stellar Jade, then exchange more Stellar Jade by Honkai Star Rail Oneiric Shard to make sure your inventory.

  The first phase of the banner of version 3.3 will bring the five-star wind character Hyacine, and the second phase will focus on the five-star quantum character Cipher. In addition, The Herta and Aglaea will be rerun as old characters in the two banners, respectively.

  Hyacine

  Hyacine is the main healer in the team. Through skills and ultimate skills, she summons Memosprite Ica and restores health for all teammates. The ultimate skill will cause Hyacine to enter a three-round Petrichoric Clear Skies state to increase the maximum health of teammates.

  In addition to healing, Hyacine can also cause more damage to enemies through Ica according to the amount of healing she provides, or adjust skills according to the maximum health. Since another game character, Tribbie, will increase her maximum health according to the maximum health of teammates, it can be inferred that there will be a good synergy between them.

  

  Cipher

  Although this is a new character, you should be familiar with her - in fact, Cipher has already appeared as an NPC in version 3.2. Through the plot of 3.2, I believe you will be able to better utilize her abilities in 3.3 - provided that you can obtain her with enough Oneiric Shards.

  In battle, Cipher will mark the enemy with the highest maximum health. When the enemy is damaged, she will record the damage and make a follow-up attack. The ultimate skill allows her to cause True DMG to the marked enemy. This makes Cipher a reliable sub-DPS or DPS in the future Honkai Star Rail.

  

  New Main Plot

  In version 3.2, the game introduced Castorice and Anaxa as new characters and fully expanded the relevant plot of Amphoreus. Version 3.3 will continue to advance the plot on this basis.

  After gathering with Chrysos Heirs, you need to travel to a new map together, where you will encounter Aquila, the Sky Titan. At the same time, the story of Amphoreus continues, and Flame Reaver behind it is brewing a new conspiracy.

  It is worth noting that Aquila, the Sky Titan is also a new boss added in version 3.3. You can farm Daythunder Anamnesis through it. This trace material can help the new character Cipher upgrade.

  New Playable Activities

  In order to fully enrich the playability of version 3.3, in addition to major updates such as new characters, The Fall at Dawn’s Rise also brings a series of new small activities.

  Among them, “Trace ‘n’ Drift” is a kart mini-game built into Honkai: Star Rail. During the race, you can utilize and pick up props to avoid obstacles to get better scores and unlock different new cars. In addition, winning the race can also get Stellar Jade, Tracks of Destiny, and other items as rewards. Other new events include:

  • Legend of the Galactic Baseballer: Demon King
  • Gift of Odyssey
  • Planar Fissure, and Garden of Plenty

  Another new event that needs to be introduced is Stagnant Shadow: Shape of Deepsheaf. It is expected that playing this event can get Invasive Cloth as a reward, which is likely to be the physical Ascension material for the new character Phainon that will appear in version 3.4.

  

  Another event added to Honkai: Star Rail in 3.1, Divergent Universe: Protean Hero, will bring 6 new unlockable schools in 3.3, as well as new Relic sets Warrior Goddess of Sun And Thunder and Wavestrider Captain.

  The above is Honkai Star Rail all the information about the major new content in 3.3. As the release date is just around the corner, please be sure to prepare for it as soon as possible!

• Honkai Star Rail 3.0 Update Overview: What Content Will Players Experience? - Characters And Events

  Honkai Star Rail 3.0 is about to go online, and a new planet, a new adventure is waiting for you. Players will experience a lot of activities, new gameplay, and various benefits in version 3.0!

  Players will be able to get 20 free Special Star Rail Passes and March 7th costumes for free in this version! There are also various materials, Relics, weapons, and a lot of Honkai Star Rail 3.0 Stellar Jade! At the same time, several 5-star characters have returned and 2 new 5-star character login banners. Players don’t miss your favorite characters!

  Version 3.0 players will come to the planet Amphoreus and start their Trailblaze quest. Trailblaze will be divided into two parts, and the entire quest will cover version 3.0 to version 3.7. This is the biggest story chapter of Honkai Star Rail 3.0 so far.

  

  Dates:

  Honkai Star Rail 3.0 will be released worldwide on January 15, 2025. Due to time differences, the exact launch time varies by region:

  • US East Coast: Tuesday, January 14, 10pm ET
  • US West Coast: Tuesday, January 14, 7pm PT
  • Central US: Tuesday, January 14, 9pm CT
  • UK: Wednesday, January 15, 3am GMT
  • Europe: Wednesday, January 15, 4am CET
  • Japan: Wednesday, January 15, 12pm JST
  • Australia: Wednesday, January 15, 2pm AEST

  Banner Characters

  Honkai Star Rail 3.0 will feature two new characters: The Herta and Aglaea. The entire Honkai Star Rail 3.0 will be divided into two phases, and will bring six returning five-star characters to players.

  Five-star characters in the first phase:

  • The Herta: Erudition path. Uses ice attribute attacks.
  • Feixiao: Hunt path, Uses wind attribute attacks.
  • Lingsha,: Abundance path. Uses fire attribute attacks.
  • Jade: Erudition path. Uses Quantum attacker.

  Phase 1 4-star characters

  • Asta: Fire attribute, Harmony path.
  • Moze: Lightning attribute, Hunt path.
  • Natasha: Physical attribute, Abundance path.

  Phase 2 5-star characters:

  • Aglaea: Lightning attribute, from Remembrance path.
  • Boothill: Physical attribute, from Hunt path.
  • Robin: Physical attribute, from Harmony path.
  • Silver Wolf: Quantum attribute, from Nihility path.

  Phase 2 4-star characters:

  • Hanya: Physical attribute. Harmony path.
  • Sushang: Physical attribute. Hunt path.
  • Tingyun: Lightning attribute. Harmony path.

  Honkai Star Rail The first phase of 3.0 is expected to start from January 15th to February 5th, and the second phase is expected to start on February 5th. Honkai Star Rail 3.0 has a total of 6 new five-star characters, two of which are debuting and the other four are returning. If you like characters among them, be sure to prepare enough Honkai Star Rail Oneiric Shard.

  Events

  The major update of Honkai Star Rail 3.0 brings many new events and new tasks, including:

  • Free outfit for March 7th and new avatar.
  • Mem’s Gift: 10 Special Star Rail Passes and one Variable Dice.
  • Gift Of Odyssey check-in: 10 Special Star Rail Passes.
  • Cosmis Lucky Prize: From January 27th to February 2nd, you can choose to get 100 Stellar Jade every day or you can choose to gamble. It is up to 500,000 Stellar Jade.
  • Amphoreus: New Trailblaze quest
  • New regions open: Okhema, Castrum Kremnos, Janusopolis, Vortex of Genesis.
  • Planar Fissure event: Double Planar Ornaments drops from January 27 to February 3.
  • Garden of Plenty event: Double Golden and Crimson Calyx drops from February 14 to February 21.
  • Trailblaze Power Cap increased to 300.
  • Levelling Guide: Calculate quick upgrade materials and recommended Relics.

  Limited-Time Events:

  • Illia Travelogue: Event time is January 15 to February 24. Rewards include Stellar Jade, points, and character and Relic upgrade materials. You need to be at least Trailblaze level 21 to participate. You need to explore Amphoreus region.
  • Hypogeum Enigma: The event will run from January 22 to February 24. You need to be at least Trailblaze Rank 21 to participate, and rewards include a free 4-star character selector. The content is a puzzle and platform mini-game event in Amphoreus.
  • Enscrolled Crepusculum: The event will run from February 3 to February 24. Rewards include Tracks of Destiny, Stellar Jade, Relic, and character and weapon upgrade materials. You need to be at least Trailblaze Rank 21 to participate. You need to participate in a combat event in Amphoreus.

  During your participation in Honkai Star Rail 3.0, you can get a lot of Stellar Jade, which can help you get the character you want. However, relying solely on Stellar Jade given by the game may only help you get one of them, because the probability of Honkai Star Rail extracting a character is really low, unless you are very lucky. If you want to gain something in version 3.0, you may need Honkai Star Rail Top Up to get more 5-star characters.

  The above is most of the content of Honkai Star Rail 3.0 version update. You still need to experience and obtain the specific rewards of yourself. The more you experience in this version, the more you will get. I hope the above information can help you plan your own game plan.

• Honkai Star Rail 2.4: Which Characters Are Worth Pulling? - Yunli, Sparkle, Huohuo & Jiaoqiu

  Here we go, let’s talk about the new characters brought in Honkai Star Rail 2.4 update, Yunli, Sparkle, Huohuo and Jiaoqiu, and who you should pick! All of these characters have a lot of skills, and we’ll discuss everything you need to know about them in detail in this guide to help you decide which character might be the best choice for you to pick.

  Yunli Overview

  Let’s start with Yunli, as she will be our first new limited character in the 2.4 update. Yunli will be a Physical Destruction character, who focuses on launching frequent counterattack follow-up attacks on enemies and dealing tremendous damage with counterattacks after entering her ultimate.

  

  Recapping Yunli’s kit, her basic attack will deal a small amount of damage to a single enemy, while her skills will deal physical damage to enemies and adjacent enemies, while also restoring 30% of her attack damage + 200 health at level 10. This is a great way to keep Yunli sustainable, since she’ll be getting attacked a lot and will want to get hit as often as possible.

  As for Yunli’s counterattack, let’s look at her talent. Yunli’s counterattack deals damage to the enemy and its adjacent ones. And what’s really great is that when she’s hit by an enemy, she’ll recover an additional 15 energy, which helps her use her ultimate more often.

  As for Yunli’s ultimate, she’ll cost 120 energy, but she can actually have up to 240 energy. This allows her to use two ultimates in a row after one trigger, or allows you to effectively schedule when to use her ultimate without worrying too much about overflowing on energy.

  And Yunli’s ultimate will put her into a Perry state, which will taunt all enemies until the end of the enemy’s turn or the end of the ally’s turn. Once Perry state ends, Yunli will unleash a large amount of damage. In addition, her ultimate will increase her critical damage to this counterattack by 100%.

  Yunli can actually unleash two attacks from her ultimate. The first is Intuit: Cull, which occurs when Yunli is attacked by an enemy target. She will launch a counterattack on the enemy and around her and deal 6 extra damage.

  When Yunli is not hit, or assuming you use Ultimate during an ally’s turn and the enemy does not hit Yunli, she will instead release Intuit: Slash. This is similar to Cull, however, you will lose the extra damage output since you will not deal an extra 6 damage.

  Yunli’s Demon Quell will allow her to ignore all Crowd Control Debuffs in Perry state of her Ultimate and reduce the damage she takes by 20%. This makes her immune to Crowd Control in Perry state and has extra survivability by reducing the damage she will take.

  All in all, she is definitely a very strong physical damage dealer and very valuable to those who lack strong physical DPS. Additionally, since Yunli’s Ultimate counter attack is so powerful, it feels good to use in multiple game modes.

  

  Jiaoqiu Overview

  As for the second character in Honkai Star Rail 2.4, we have Jiaoqiu.

  Jiaoqiu is a Fire Nihility character that focuses on debuffing enemies with Ashen Roast. Jiaoqiu’s skill will hit one enemy and an adjacent enemy with a chance to inflict Ashen Roast, which increases the damage dealt to enemies by allies.

  It seems likely that Ashen Roast stacks will be capped at 5 stacks, as the developer livestream showed the maximum number of stacks.

  As for Jiaoqiu’s ultimate, he will be able to set the number of Ashen Roast stacks for all enemies to the highest number present on the battlefield. His ultimate will create a field that increases the ultimate damage taken by enemies, and every time an enemy’s turn starts, they have a chance to take damage from Ashen Roast.

  Jiaoqiu will be a great addition to Acheron’s team, as he can help Acheron get ultimate stacks faster, which is valuable for those who main Acheron.

  Beyond that, I do feel like you could use a character like Pela or Guinaifen as your regular debuffer, who are 4-star options, but we’ll have to wait and see.

  

  Sparkle & Huohuo Overview

  As for our replay characters, we have Sparkle and Huohuo. Both are pretty good choices, depending on what your Honkai Star Rail Account is lacking.

  Huohuo

  Among them, Huohuo excels at purifying allies, providing good healing, as well as providing energy and attack through her ultimate, which can be very useful for your team to use their ultimate more often, especially when you pair Huohuo with Tingyun.

  Huohuo is great for characters and teams that highly value the extra attack damage or energy from their ultimate, such as Damage over Time (DoT) teams. Argenti benefits from energy, as does Yunli, as her high energy cap allows her to recover a lot of energy from Huohuo’s ultimate.

  If you’re short on premium sustain options, Huohuo is an excellent choice. But keep in mind that we’re also getting Lingsha in the 2.5 update, and she’s a new Abundance Character, so if you’re on the fence about Huohuo, that’ll be something to consider.

  

  Sparkle

  As for our second replay, that would be Quantum Harmony character, Sparkle. Sparkle is excellent at making Hypercarry-oriented characters more powerful, as you can easily use Attack Boots on your main DPS, and Sparkle will have them push forward, as she will be the fast character on the team.

  Sparkle can provide huge critical damage to her skills and can also allow allies to push forward. Critical damage makes character creation easier, as now you can focus more on getting high critical hits, benefiting from the huge critical damage Sparkle can provide to team characters. What’s more, the buff will last until the start of the ally’s next turn, meaning that subsequent characters can still receive the critical damage buff from Sparkle Kit.

  Sparkle can also provide more skill points to the team with her ultimate skill. She can increase the damage dealt by team characters to enemies and enhance the attack power of Quantum character on the team.

  Sparkle is a very good support character that can provide great utility to the crit-based DPS characters in your account. I will say, though, that if you already have other high-level sustains like Robin or Ruan Mei and are lacking a damage dealer, then your need for Sparkle isn’t as high as it should be since you have great alternatives to use.

  As for which option is best, honestly, it depends a lot on what your account has or lacks. If you don’t have a good physical DPS, I highly recommend Yunli because she feels really good to play and is very powerful. In my opinion, she’s one of the stronger DPS options you could consider, especially if you use her ultimate correctly.

  

  Overall, I think there's a pretty good variety of characters you can choose from, and ultimately it depends on what your account might be lacking. I’d love to hear which character you guys are going to pick, or if you’re planning on skipping Honkai Star Rail 2.4!

  Personally, I’m looking forward to Yunli the most because she’s super fun to play and is super powerful once you use her ultimate! See you in-game!

• Honkai Star Rail 1.2: The Newest 5-Star Lightning Nihility Unit Is Coming! - Kafka Pre-Release Analysis & Builds

  Kafka is almost out. And I thought I’d put my take on some talking points the community has been discussing, like Crit Kafka and Break Kafka, as well as talk about some important points Kafka mains will be needing to think about for her release and building her and her teams. 

  We’ll review her kit real quick and check out her revealed traces, and discuss these new off meta builds people are talking about, as well as other topics. Then, I’ll give out a safe build path and teammates you can prepare for even if she’s only a few days away. 

  

  Quick Kit Overview 

  Let’s quickly look at her kit revealed on Hoyolab. 

  Her basic attack is nothing special. Her skill is a blast skill and will detonate the central target’s DoT effects. That goes for any ally DoTs and break DoTs. Remember that Freeze, Entanglement and Imprisonment are not DoT effects. 

  Her ultimate is an AOE damaging ultimate that will detonate all enemies’ DoT effects, rather than just the target in the middle. It will also apply Shock. And as a 5-star limited unit with a shock on her ultimate, we can assume this Shock will hurt a whole lot. 

  Her talent is a follow up when an ally uses a basic attack, and will inflict Shock, too. Just like Serval’s kit shocks, these will not be stacking with each other. 

  Her technique is an attacking one, and will also apply a shock equal to the ultimate’s one. 

  Her traces make her ultimate detonate all dots, give her energy on enemies being defeated with shock, and give all of her Shock base chances a buff. 

  So, Kafka’s main role is a main DPS. And her secondary role is a DoT enabler. Without knowing kit numbers, ultimate and skill will be levelled first, and then talent and then basic. Her first passive is OP, her third is a must get too, and her second is nice. 

  Kafka’s Scalings 

  So, with her kit, what will she scale on? 

  DoTs cannot crit, and she will thus scale primarily on ATK%. She will not need much effect hit rate due to her third trace. And then she will scale heavily on speed because of the nature of her damage. The way her damage will scale on speed is because of the way she double dips in damage. 

  Taking more turns is, of course, good for any DPS. If you do a little less damage than usual, but take many more turns, you’ll overall be doing a bunch more damage. 

  Kafka follows the same concept. Every turn she takes, she can skill and do some damage. But then, she will also detonate her DoT effects, and any ally dot effects. 

  What this means is that speed is even more important for her than usual. Your DoT damage will happen at the start of every enemy turn, but also on your own turns. Getting more instances of those is always good. You also have to, of course, stack ATK%. 

  Kritka (Crit Kafka) Discussion

  So, that’s two lines in your relics’ possible 4. And that is why people are going to Crit and Break Kafka. If I only need attack and speed, why not add crit. 

  The problem is we don’t have infinite substats or possible substat rolls. We need those attack% rolls, and we need those speed rolls. 

  If we use my Sampo sheet, and insert 10 crit rate and 10 crit damage subs, and a crit rate chest, his damage naturally comes out ahead versus normal attack%. This is losing effect hit rate, which means a lot less debuffs.

  

  But since we compared with Kafka and Kafka won’t be needing effect hit rate, so we can follow the same concept. 

  So, in a solo case, the crit will be doing more damage if you’re just considering a DoT effect, and a damage effect. Then comes in the detonations. 

  The DoT scales on ATK%, the kit damage scales on attack%, and the detonations scale on ATK%. Only one of these scales on crit. The more you remove speed for crit on Kafka, the fewer detonations you’ll get. The more you remove ATK% on her for crit, the less damage her overall kit does, before one third of it being multiplied by crit. 

  Foregoing speed also means potential allies’ DoTs also suffer, but Crit Kafka would be running stuff like Tingyun and Asta, so that wouldn’t matter. 

  Of course, just like Serval is primarily a crit DPS, with a nice DoT, Kafka will be a DoT DPS, with a nice amount of crittable damage. So, you can still run the crit, and it will still work and be viable until MOC gets beefier and beefier. Though the nice part about not running crit, is all those pieces without crit can finally be used.

  Breakfa (Break Kafka) Discussion 

  As for break Kafka, her break effect scalings were removed from CBT2, which is a bit sad. But breaking is still a ton of damage when you focus in on it. And since she can detonate, going all in on speed and break effect will do decent damage. 

  It will need you to be breaking, and/or bringing Serval, and being against Lightning Weak, but it can work. Remember, break shocks stack with normal shocks, and can even stack on other teammates’ break shocks. 

  If you’re daring, you can stack Serval and Kafka’s 4 shocks all on one poor boss, with Serval’s ultimate infinitely extending these Shocks. 

  At the end of this though, you can ask why bother, and just run attack% and speed. Of course, you can play how you want, and I’m excited to see all three builds post release. They’re all going to be great and will probably be beating the late game Memory of Chaos. 

  Teammate Discussion 

  As for teammates, she is a DoT enabler, as her second role. 

  Remember, she is foremost a main DPS, and she can therefore run your standard team setups you’ve been building for. 

  She doesn’t need those dot friends if you don’t want to build them. She can run your Tingyun, your Bronya, your Yukong if you’re going to Critka. She can be the focus of your team. She doesn’t need Sampo or Serval or Luka to perform, like some people are stating. 

  Just like Serval main DPS is doing excellently, and Sampo solo DoT is working, Kafka will be fine just by herself. You can, of course, use those DoT units you’ve been building up, and they’ll be best with her due to her detonation playstyle.

  But if you just want to get her and play her cause you love her, then go ahead. You’ll see plenty of showcases within the first week of her popping off as a solo DPS. 

  Also Read: Mechanics Explained You Need To Know In Honkai Star Rail! - DOT, Debuff & Break Effect

  Safe Relic Build

  So for a safe build, 4-piece Band of Sizzling Thunder will, of course, be excellent on Kafka. 

  Space Sealing Station for the planar ornaments. Pan Galactic will most likely be a DPS loss due to her third trace. You’ll also be able to run 2 piece combos, such as musketeer, messenger, and the lightning set again. There’s also the possibility of Quantum set. 

  For main stats and substats, you’ll want ATK%, SPD, lightning DMG% and ATK%. 

  For subs, you’ll be chasing attack% and speed, getting to whatever effect hit rate needs she has, and then plopping the rest into your desired stats. 

  Light Cone Discussion 

  For Light Cones, her signature will be incredible for her, due to it being stackable with her base kit shock, just like the Resolution light cone defense shred stacks with Pela’s ultimate, since they are two different sources or named debuffs. 

  Good Night and Sleep Well is broken and will be amazing for her, too. You’re looking at a permanent 72% damage boost if you have 3 debuffs on the enemy. 

  Fermata as a free to play option is nice, and Welt’s light cone works because of its high base ATK%, DMG%, and skill damage buff, which will be boosting her DoTs during the detonation. 

  Best Friends And Teams 

  Her best sub DPS will be Sampo and Luka, and Serval, and break DPS will also work great with her. 

  Her best supports will be Asta, Pela and Silver Wolf. But remember, she can use other harmonies, too. Don’t feel restricted. 

  A standard team comp for her will include one of your desired sub DPS, combined with a buffer or debuffer, and then a solo sustain. 

  Pick your poison. Triple DoT will be a bit risky to run with lack of survivability, and not best in damage, due to Asta, Pela and Silver Wolf boosting the damage of two DPS a ton. 

  I hope that helps for any Kafka wanters. It doesn’t matter if you can’t pull her when Kafka is online, you can directly buy a Honkai Star Rail Account with this character. Hope you all become Kafka havers.