- Honkai: star lane Version 40 launches on February 13.
- The update adds a new planet, new characters, a CCG, and new events.
- Plus, a chance to get a free limited five-star character and 1600 Stellar Jade.
Oh no, they already did it: a collectible card game is coming Honkai Star Lane in the next update 4.0.
Sure, there are two new playable characters, a handful of new or expanded events, a generous amount of gifts, and a whole new planet to explore, but I know where I am. In fact about to lose all my playing time.
Before I get lost in the excitement of another digital trading card collecting game, let me cover the actual key updates that are on the way in Version 4.0, ‘No Aha At Full Moon’, when it releases on February 13.
So, the characters. Joining the game when the update launches is Yao Guang, a five-star physical character in the new Elation path. As support, it causes allies to deal Elation damage and is about triggering additional triggers for the new Aha Instants mechanic that causes other Elation characters to trigger specific abilities. So, it’s a pretty vital piece if you’re building a team around the new path.
Following her in early March is Sparxie, a five-star Fire character who is also in Elation’s path. As a damage dealer, she’s the perfect partner for Yao Guang, with the ability to boost your team’s critical damage and unleash an avalanche of Elation damage by consuming skill points.
Of the two, I’m more drawn to Yao Guang, simply because we’ve seen how powerful supports can be throughout the entire lifecycle of Honkai Star Rail. However, without a proper Elation damage dealer to accompany her, she might find it harder to fit into teams without a Sparxie at her side, but perhaps patch 4.1 will help with that by providing more options.
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Of course, spending your saved money to get new characters is only part of the fun with a new update. Especially when it’s a flagship update that will add a huge new planet called Planarcadia to explore.
You will visit the vibrant metropolis of Duomension City with the main goal of entering the Phantasmoon Games, where the grand prize is an audience with a god and the chance to become an Aeon for one minute. I’m not super into Honkai Star Rail’s lore, but that seems like a pretty powerful blessing to me.
What catches my attention is one of the many new events coming in 4.0. Yes, I’m back in the GCC again. Called ‘Cosmicon Collective’, it looks like you can travel the world, challenge others to unlock new cards, and build your deck with iconic characters, monsters, and figures from across the game. This is what it’s about.
Other events revealed in today’s livestream include a magazine management game (perhaps too much like a waiter’s vacation for me), a 2D side-scrolling platformer, which should be a fun change of pace from all the turn-based combat, and an expansion to the much-loved Coin Wars mode.
Look
Since it’s a big 4.0 update, Hoyoverse is also offering some big freebies for this patch. The headline is that you can claim one of seven five-star characters from Jing Yuan, Kafka, Dan Heng’s group: Imbibitor Lunae, Jinglui, Sparkle, Acheron, and Aventurine.
A free outfit for Ruan Mei, 20 special Star Rail passes, and 1,600 Stellar Jade will also be awarded. With the latter, there is a 0.01% chance of additionally obtaining 100 special Star Rail passes. I don’t have much hope for that, given my luck with Gacha posters so far, but maybe the tide is turning.
Honkai: star lane Version 4.0 is released on February 13. The free-to-play RPG is now available on PC, mobile, and PlayStation 5.
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