HoYoverse just wrapped up a big Honkai: Star Rail Special Program. We’ve been waiting for this one for a couple of weeks now thanks to a delay, but the developer has finally delivered all the news on Version 4.0, which will arrive February 13.
The upcoming major release is dubbed No Aha at Full Moon for a very good reason. Aha’s Planarcadia is the big new world headlining Version 4.0.
Planarcadia is a place whose description sounds a bit like a Warhammer 40,000 Eldar homeworld, and is quite open about its cyberpunk inspirations. In-universe, however, it was born out of the pages of an art canvas, and it’s a world where pleasure is king.
The squad’s host in this chapter is Madam Pearl, who will oversee the the Astral Express’ return to the place where they first began their journey. Duomension City is where you’re going to land, and meet the creatures that dwell in this world.
The imagenae of Planarcadia require attention to survive, and they feed off people’s Wishpower. If they don’t get any attention, they perish, which does tie into the general themes of the place. Duomension City has other interesting locations that you’re going to visit, such as the Graphia Academy art school, the commercial district of Dovebrook, and a few other places hidden behind mysterious entrances.
The Phantasmoon Games is another highlight of Planarcadia, a competitive spectacle where you’ll have a chance to compete to become Aeon for a Minute. If you make it to the final stages, you may earn an audience with The Laughter.
Much like the world where the games take place, the whole point of the competition is to attract the most attention, so rules are a bit loose as to how you manage to do that. The event will bring together several of the game’s factions, though not everyone is there for the competition.
As you explore Planarcadia, if you have characters on your team who are on the newly-playable Path of Elation, you’ll earn Punchlines. The more you accumulate, the closer you get to catching Aha’s attention, which triggers Aha Instant.
Version 4.0 introduces two new 5-Star characters to Honkai: Star Rail. General Yao Guang (Madam Yao) is one, a Seer Strategist from the Xianzhou Alliance’s Yuque. If you’ve been playing the game, you may already be familiar with her voice, as she’s previously been in touch with our heroes via radio link. But V4.0 marks her first on-screen appearance, as well as her playable debut.
General Yao Guang is a Physical character on the Path of Elation whose specialty is using Weal and Woe Lots in battle, which she uses to increase Elation for allies, and grant everyone Punchline any time she uses a Skill. If an Aha Instant is triggered, she casts Woe Lots, which debuff enemies, causing them to take increased damage, all while regenerating Skill Points for the rest of the team.
Her aptly named Certified Banger buff adds one extra instance of Elation to teammates’ attacks. And her Ultimate grants the team Punchline, and triggers an extra Aha Instant.
The other new arrival is likewise a Path of Elation devotee. Sparxie is a suspiciously familiar streamer who uses her influencer skills in combat. When she fights, she turns the fight into a battle for attention, as she forces enemies to engage in a race for upvotes.
When you consume Skill Points, Sparxie will get gifts, which in turn cause her to regenerate Skill Points and Punchlines for the team. You can continue doing this to increase your damage. When Aha Instant is triggered, Sparxie unleashes a lucky draw that deals damage to enemies with each bounce.
She also benefits from the Certified Banger state, which causes the gifs she receives to deal more Elation damage to a random enemy target. Her Ultimate also deals more Elation damage.
Version 4.0 will see a few re-runs, too. Black Swan, Evernight, and Hysilens will be part of the first half’s Warp events. The second half will see the return of Sparkle, Cerydra, and Rappa — that’s right, HoYoverse have finally remembered Rappa exists, after one of the longest rerun waits in the game’s history! Both Black Swan and Sparkle are getting a few tweaks to their kit with this version, too, so the timing works.
If you log in after launch, you’ll get 20 free pulls and a new free outfit for Ruan Mei. If you play while the Yao Guang fortune event is active, you could earn 1,600 Stellar Jades. You can also expect a free 5-Star character selector to arrive at some point after launch, giving you a free choice between popular (but admittedly a bit old for the meta these days) limited-banner characters Jing Yuan, Kafka, Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, Jingliu, Sparkle, Acheron, and Aventurine.
Finally, the other major news is a Fortnite collaboration. Starting February 26, Kafka and Blade will join Epic’s battle royale shooter. On that day, you’ll find skins of the two Stellaron Hunters in the Fortnite Item Shop, and the new outfits are even compatible with Fortnite’s LEGO styles. You can also expect other customisation bits like Back Bling, Pickaxe, and more to be part of the package.
If you download the game on the Epic Games Store, and take part in Honkai: Star Rail-themed activities, you’ll also get the Blade character outfit in Fortnite for free. Event schedule and timing will be announced at a later date.
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