Honkai: Star Railhas been making waves with its 5-star character releases, which have shifted the meta a number of times. What’s unexpected is howHonkai: Star Railchanges certain aspects of the gameplay, including 5-star banners.
Recently,Honkai: Star Railannounced some temporary changes to its Warp banners for its upcoming updates.Version 2.5 will have a new rerun banner formatfeaturing three 5-star characters: Kafka, Black Swan, and Robin. Meanwhile, Version 2.6 is releasing only one new 5-star character named Rappa, which might actually be a good move forHonkai: Star Rail.
Honkai: Star Rail May Be Slowing Down Character Releases
Since launching over a year ago,Honkai: Star Railhas consistently released two 5-star banner characters, and eventually introduced rerun banners. It’s even come to a point where the number ofHonkai: Star Rail’s 5-star characters has overtaken the 4-stars. Version 2.6 will be the first time that there will be only one new 5-star banner character, which might mean thatHonkai: Star Railis possibly slowing down its releases.
Star level, element, and Path
Estimated release date
Version 2.6 (May 10, 2025)
The game is currently in a transition period as it’s preparing to launch thenext major planet in Version 3.0. This means more new characters will be on the horizon, and they’re rumored to have Greek-inspired designs. WithHonkai: Star Railpossibly having three more updates left for this year, it’s probably a smart move to slow down banner releases for a bit to avoid fatigue.
Honkai: Star Railhas a total of 37 playable 5-star characters so far – this includes Trailblazer’s three forms and upcoming releases: Feixiao, Lingsha, and Rappa. This number is expected to go up even more once Version 3.0 launches, and there are alreadyrumors about the likes of Aglaea, an alleged Ice-type Destruction character, and Herta’s true form as the Emanator of Erudition. Character fatigue is a real concern for ongoing games likeHonkai: Star Rail, which introduces new content every update to keep things fresh, because people could get tired of constant releases as time goes by. Of course, this could also be an opportunity for the devs to keep coming up with more creative content and characters with unique abilities and designs that could attract more eyes toHonkai: Star Rail.
Will Single-Unit 5-Star Banners Become the Norm in Honkai: Star Rail?
AlthoughHonkai: Star RailVersion 2.6 will seemingly be the first and possibly only time that the game will feature a single 5-star banner character, this also begs the question of whether or not this will be a recurring feature. There’s no official confirmation yet about this, especially since it’s rumored thatHonkai: Star RailVersion 2.7 will release two 5-star characters, namely Sunday and Tingyun in her new form. But it’s also clear that HoYoverse has been experimenting with different banner formats in the next couple of updates. Version 2.5’s three-character rerun banner, for example, is supposedly for a special event. If it’s successful, though, there’s a possibility that it might come back in future updates.
The single-unit banner format could also be an indication ofHonkai: Star Rail’s story for that specific update. Version 2.6’s story is still under wraps, but hints suggest that the Trailblazer might return to Penacony to help out Rappa as part of a side quest or main story mission. Since the game is preparing for a major update that’s coming next year, it’s only right to keep the story tight and character releases to a minimum to focus on more 5-star reruns in future updates. Perhaps this could also be a model that HoYoverse could adapt in futureHonkai: Star Railversions.
Honkai: Star Rail
WHERE TO PLAY
Board the Astral Express and roam the universe in search of myths and legends. From global interactive entertainment brand HoYoverse comes a new space fantasy RPG. Harness the spirirt of the Trailblaze in a cel-shaded space fantasy adventure where you’ll embark on an unforgettable intergalactic odyssey. You and your fellow Astral Express passengers will hop from world to world, resolve conflicts, form friendships and uncover a wealth of mysteries. In this exciting new free-to-play game, you’ll journey through immense worlds of the unknown and bond with a series of memorable characters. Choose your companions and arrange the ultimate four-person combat team to help you take down a looming threat to the universe.
