Prepare to enter the Dream again when Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.1 launches on March 26th. Hoyoverse just wrapped its 2.1 Special Program where we got to see a bunch of stuff coming to the game in the next few weeks, including a glimpse at the next major beat in the Penacony Trailblaze Story, what new characters are going to be on rate-up, several new locations we’ll get to explore, and all of the Honkai: Star Rail 1st Anniversary rewards and celebrations. There were also some juicy teasers of things to look forward to later in 2024.
Before we dive into what Version 2.1 has to offer, let’s quickly go over the free redemption codes Hoyoverse gave out during the livestream. By redeeming all three codes, you’ll net yourself 300 Stellar Jade for absolutely nothing. Based on the characters who will be on rate-up during 2.1, you’re going to need all the Jade you can get so redeem these codes before they expire on March 17th.
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The End of Penacony?
Firstly, the most important thing being added in Version 2.1 is the next step in the Penacony Trailblaze Mission. This will pick up directly from the end of 2.0 and heavily involve both Acheron and Aventurine. In fact, the Trailblaze Mission is going to have a multi-character format where you switch between multiple characters – namely the Trailblazer, Acheron, and Aventurine – to experience different parts of the story at the same time. For example, Acheron will be accompanied by Welt while the Trailblazer is playing detective with Gallagher and the other members of the Astral Express.
The Trailblaze Mission will take primarily in one of two new Penacony areas: Clock Studios Theme Park or the Dewlight Pavilion. The former is an otherworldly amusement park based on the animated characters of Penacony, with each of its distinct zones being based on a different strange mascot who has its own puzzles and narrative features to unravel. Meanwhile, the Dewlight Pavilion is a far more sombre and imposing locale. Owned by Sunday, a big shot in The Family, the Pavilion is described by the developers as a meticulously designed puzzle box where the size of objects will shrink and grow at a rapid pace.
Galaxy Ranger Acheron
In terms of new characters, 2.1 is pretty stacked with three new additions to the roster. Two of these are limited 5-stars whereas the third is a new 4-star addition who will enter the Standard Pool after 2.1 concludes.
The first new 5-star is the mysterious, and dangerous, Acheron, an Electric Nihility character just like Kafka. However, her playstyle is unlike anyone else in Star Rail. Acheron’s main gimmick is that she doesn’t use Energy to cast her Ultimate: instead, she uses a separate resource called Slashed Dream which is acquired when you perform her Skill or when any character, ally or enemy, applies a debuff. Once you obtain enough Slashed Dreams, her Burst will activate, draining the colour from the world and slowing down time. Her Burst deals damage four times, with you manually able to select your targets for the first three hits. Meanwhile, her Technique will instantly kill any regular enemy she uses it in.
Aventurine, the Gambler
The other new 5-star in 2.1 is Aventurine, the sly IPC high-baller we met several times during 2.0. He’s Honkai Star Rail’s first Imaginary Preservation character and he aims to protect his allies with his absorbent amount of wealth. His Skill applies a special stackable to all allies which generates Blind Bet points when protected allies get hit. Just like his IPC acquaintances Topaz and Dr. Ratio, Aventurine also has a Follow-Up Attack where he drops a ton of coins on the enemy acrewing enough Blind Bet points. His Ultimate will damage his enemies and give a random amount of Blind Bet points towards his FUA, embodying the playstyle of a true gambler.
The last new character in 2.1 is Gallagher, the broody bartender we encountered briefly during our first meeting with Firefly. He’s a 4-star and our first Fire Abundance unit, giving players another Elemental option for their healers. In combat, Gallagher’s healing scales off of his ATK and he’s capable of backing up that healing with several high-powered attacks. His Ultimate causes Gallagher to unleash the bloody energy trapped within his right arm, dealing high damage and inflicting a debuff on all enemies which heals allies. Once you’ve cast his Ultimate, Gallagher’s Basic Attacks will deal more damage and reduce enemy ATK.
Bloodhound Gallagher
Between Acheron’s PC-crashing animations and Aventurine’s powerful Preservation abilities, there are a lot of places to spend your Jade in Honkai: Star Rail 2.1, so let’s look at the upcoming Character and Light Cone Event Warps to help make up your mind.
In phase 1, Acheron will be the main featured 5-star on the Character Event Warp, whereas her Light Cone, Along the Passing Shore, will be available on the Light Cone Event Warp. Accompanying Acheron will be 2.1’s newest 4-star, Gallagher, as well as Luocha, another beloved Abundance character Trailblazers have been dying to meet again. Meanwhile, in phase 2, Aventurine and his Light Cone, Inherently Unjust Destiny, will take over alongside the ice-cold Jingliu, one of the strongest single units in Star Rail.
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- Phase 1 Event Warps
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- Phase 2 Event Warps
Between the expansion to Penacony and the 1st Anniversary celebrations, Honkai: Star Rail 2.1 has plenty of events and activities outside of the Event Warps or Trailblaze Missions to keep you occupied. First and foremost, Vignettes in a Cup is an interesting event where you will play barkeep and drink-smith for Penacony’s host of downtrodden monsters: you’ll need to mix the drinks to the customer’s liking, all the while making as many cosmetic adjustments as possible. This event will also award players with a special 4-star character selector including newer 4-stars like Gallagher and Misha.
Additionally, the Simulated Universe is set to receive an update which will bring the highly anticipated World 9. This new World will be populated with many of the new enemies we’ve encountered in Penacony and will have two new Planar Ornament sets to obtain – one which increases the damage against waves of enemies, while the other provides bonuses if you’re running multiple of the same Path on one team. Furthermore, the Star Rail team teased a big update to the Simulated Universe in 2.3 which should make farming Planar Ornaments a much simpler task.
Simulated Universe World 9
As for the Anniversary festivities, Honkai: Star Rail 2.1 will feature a new event called the Cosmodyssey. In it, you will explore a Monopoly-esque game board filled with memories and events from the past year. As you traverse this board-game galaxy, you will collect Trailblaze Funds which you will use to purchase famous properties from your journey or donate to Pom-Pom for exuberant rewards. This is alongside a special Anniversary version of the Planar Fissure and Realm of the Strange events where you will get 3x the rewards when spending Trailblaze Power on Relics.
Lastly, all players will be able to receive 30 pulls for free as part of the Anniversary. 20 of these summons will be given out over a week in the form of Special Passes, whereas the final 10 pulls will be given out as 1600 Stellar Jade on April 26th.
Cosmodyssey Event
Aside from the events and updates from 2.1, the Hoyoverse team also discussed some interesting points for the future of Star Rail. Firstly, when asked a question about when March 7th will “transform” similar to how Dan Heng did during the Xianzhou Luofu storyline, they responded that, at some point in 2024, March will gain the ability to switch to a different Path. This will be like how the Trailblazer can switch from Destruction to Preservation.
They have also posed a question regarding the Xianzhou Luofu narrative and whether it will continue. The team then confirmed that the Luofu will receive some kind of development or advancement during 2024. They also gave a somewhat coy answer about the fate of Tingyun, dangling hope in the face of many who wish her safety.
Anniversary Pulls
Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.1 launches on March 26th.
