Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 - Release Date, New Characters, Banners, Story Updates (2024)

All the details about Honkai: Star Rail 2.5, including the patch’s release date, new characters, banner structure (and a new banner type), story updates, and more have been revealed ahead of its arrival in September. Version 2.5 is the next big update for HoYoverse’s hit turn-based RPG. The patch will continue the story arc initiated with the quests from Version 2.4, which sees the Astral Express crew visiting the Xianzhou Luofu to attend the Wardance Ceremony and getting involved in a prisoner’s escape. The details, many of which had leaked, were revealed during the Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 livestream.

Three new characters will be released during the patch, two of which are 5-star units, whereas one is a 4-star character. Feixiao, Lingsha, and Moze have all been seen as NPCs in the game’s story quests, but will now be fully controllable. Additionally, the story on the Xianzhou Luofu should continue to develop as players now seek the escaped prisoner and his minions. In the meanwhile, players will also have some limited-time events to participate in, though the upcoming patch will be a little shorter than the usual six weeks most Honkai: Star Rail updates tend to last.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 - Release Date

The Update’s Release Is Scheduled For Early September

As was announced during the livestream, which was broadcast on the official Honkai: Star Rail channel on YouTube, Version 2.5 will be released on September 10. This means the game has not suffered any delays in schedule and that Version 2.4 is lasting its regular six weeks. There were Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 leaks about its duration, indicating it would last five weeks instead of the regular six, but HoYoverse has not addressed the rumors and has not confirmed whether or not the patch will be shorter.

Three New Characters Will Be Released

Three new characters will be released in Version 2.5. The first of them is Feixiao. The 5-star Wind character follows the Path of the Hunt, which makes her a specialist in dealing damage to enemies. General Feixiao uses powerful single-target strikes and excels at dealing follow-up attacks against opponents based on her own team’s attacks – when allies attack, Feixiao launches a follow-up attack. Additionally, she wields two weapons, one of which deals more damage to Weakness Broken enemies, while the other helps reduce Toughness, and players can choose which to use in Feixiao’s Ultimate in Honkai: Star Rail.

Feixiao’s Technique is also useful. With it, the 5-star Wind character can summon a whirlwind that gathers enemies in the overworld and, upon attacking and entering combat, Feixiao deals a devastating blow to all targets on the field. The next 5-star unit is Lingsha, a Fire character who follows the Path of the Abundance. Lingsha is a healer who operates by dealing follow-up attacks via a spirit. When Lingsha uses her follow-up attacks, she also heals the entire team and dispels one debuff from each ally. This gives Lingsha the potential to be the best healer in Honkai: Star Rail.

Moze is a new 4-star character in Version 2.5 who uses Lightning DMG and follows the Path of the Hunt. As such, Moze is a DPS character. Moze can enter the Departed state and, when allies deal damage to opponents, he is capable of launching follow-up attacks. Once Moze is released in Phase 1 banners, he will be incorporated into the standard loot pool across all banners.

Phase 1 will feature Feixiao’s debut, accompanied by a triple rerun set within a new banner type, where players will be able to select between Robin, Black Swan, and Kafka. This banner will also feature each of these three characters’ signature 5-star Light Cones. All Phase 1 character banners will have Moze, Asta, and Luka with increased drop rates. As appointed by the livestream, more Stellar Jades will be made available through the increased number of trial stages. Feixiao’s signature 5-star Light Cone in Honkai: Star Rail, Venture Forth To Hunt, will be available during the period, too.

In Phase 2, Lingsha will make her debut as a playable 5-star character. During the second half of the update, she will be accompanied by a rerun banner of Topaz & Numby. Both 5-star characters will have their signature 5-star Light Cones made available in Light Cone banners. The 4-star characters Mika, Natasha, and Guinaifen will have increased drop rates from the character banners in Phase 2.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.5 - Story Updates, New Boss, & Events

A New Boss & Several Materials Will Be Introduced

See Also

Honkai: Star Rail – Divergent Universe explained

The story will continue as the Trailblazer and their allies pursue Hoolay, who escaped from the Shackling Prison. This should have some serious implications in the story, which will culminate in a new boss fight against an opponent called Shadow of Feixiao in Honkai: Star Rail. This boss will have three phases and, starting in phase 2 of combat, Shadow of Feixiao summons Ecliptic Inner Beast. The boss will have several targetable parts and all of those that have not had their Weakness Broken will be enhanced – the strategy is to Weakness Break all parts as quickly as possible.

During the update, players will also unlock a new map called the Skysplitter. This is a ceremonial warship from the Xianzhou Alliance and the main stage for the Wardance Ceremony. In fact, the limited-time event, Luminary Wardance Ceremony, should be set within the many chambers and arenas of this vessel. This is the flagship event for the patch, so players will be able to obtain several rewards, including Stellar Jade, Tracks of Destiny, Self-Modeling Resin, and even a F2P (free-to-play) 4-star Light Cone in Honkai: Star Rail.

The event will be centered around coaching Luka through the Wardance Ceremony as he faces several trials against multiple enemies, including IPC agents, Topaz, Boothill, Argenti, and Yanqing. The player’s reputation during the battles will grant them increased buffs. The Luminary Wardance Ceremony will also grant players a pet tapir, which will follow Trailblazers around the map. To obtain it, they will have to complete activities related to the limited-time event.

In addition to the flagship event, multiple minor events will occur during Honkai: Star Rail 2.5. This includes Festive Revelry, a Luofu event focused on mini-games and puzzles from the Xianzhou Luofu maps and past events. There will also be an update to the Divergent Universe, the introduction of two new Planar Ornaments, two new Stagnant Shadows, and, therefore, two new Talent materials – one for Lightning characters and the other for Wind characters. Planar Fissure and Realm of the Strange also make a comeback in the patch.

The traditional Gift of Odyssey will also return, offering players 10 free pulls with daily logins. The update will also have Gift of Comet, a giveaway event granting 1,000 Stellar Jade, 10 Fuel, and 150 Tears of Dreams – this is rumored to be a way of making up for the lack of more limited-time events and their respective rewards. HoYoverse also announced a system optimization that allows players to select the difficulty of boss fights between Casual Mode and Normal mode – this should make farming weekly boss materials in Honkai: Star Rail a lot swifter.

Source: YouTube/Honkai: Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail

RPG

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:83/100 Critics Recommend:90%

Platform(s)

Android , iOS , PC , PS5

Released

April 26, 2023

Developer(s)

HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)

Publisher(s)

HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)

ESRB

T for Teen

Steam Deck Compatibility

yes

Cross Save

yes