HoYoverse’s hit space-faring RPG Honkai: Star Rail is all about the Trailblazer, an intergalactic explorer who travels from planet-to-planet solving problems and kicking ass. With the release of update v2.0, the ever-industrious developer will add an entire new location to the game, named Penacony. This former penitentiary turned exotic cosmic hotel will serve as the backdrop for the main story – and introduce several new characters along the way.
The environment itself is a lush, BioShock-esque retro hotel, with a dream-like aspect that will allow you to walk on walls and solve perspective puzzles. As with the other three main locations already in the game, there’ll be tons of puzzles to solve and side-quests to complete. The developer says this will be its largest story yet, and the plot will span multiple updates, including v2.1 and v2.2. In other words, you’re going to be spending the next three or four months here.
“After pioneering various worlds such as the Herta Space Station, Jarilo-VI, and Xianzhou Luofu, the Crew has received an invitation in the name of The Family to visit Penacony as honoured guests for a grand event called the Charmony Festival,” the blurb explains. “Once entering the hotel, Trailblazers will utilise Dreampool, a unique sleep device to visit the Dreamscapes.”
Three new playable characters will debut as part of the update, including Black Swan, the mysterious five-star Nihility subscriber. “When Black Swan uses Basic ATKs or Skills to attack enemies in combat, there is a certain probability of applying a special stackable DoT effect called Arcana to the enemies. Under the Arcana state, Black Swan triggers additional effects based on the number of Arcana stacks the target is under. Moreover, as the stacks accumulate, the DoT inflicted on the enemy will correspondingly increase.”
Black Swan will headline the first half of the update, and will be followed by five-star Erudition follower Sparkle. “In battles, Sparkle’s presence will provide an additional increase to the team’s maximum Skill Point. Moreover, her unique Skill not only boosts the CRIT DMG of a designated teammate but also Advance Forwards that teammate’s Action, providing more strategic options in battle. After Sparkle unleashes her Ultimate, she can restore multiple Skill Points for the team in one go.” If that’s not enough, Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae and Jing Yuan will also get reruns during the update.
And, if you’re looking for a new four-star, porter Misha will make his debut. “In combat, the more Skill Points the team uses in battle, the more DMG Misha’s Ultimate will inflict. Additionally, when Misha uses his Ultimate, there is a chance to Freeze the target, making him a reliable companion worth entrusting.”
With so many cool new characters to pull for, HoYoverse is giving away a whopping 20 free Star Rail Special Passes in v2.0, which should help you work your way towards your pity. It’s also plotting a variety of in-game events throughout the update, some of which involve mascot character Clockie, who will be getting his own spin-off cartoon episode in the coming weeks. Are you looking forward to arriving on Penacony? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source youtube.com, via youtube.com]
Comments 14
Always fascinated by this game and yet cannot imagine my limited time consumed by one game with no end in sight.
Humongous what?
@ErrantRob it's actually not too bad, I mean it's definitely designed around logging in once a day but in terms of actually doing stuff in it I'd say unless it's events or story quests I don't play for more than 30 minutes a day. I do play on my phone though, since I never could get used to the transition to ps5, so YMMV.
@ErrantRob I felt the same way, until I played it, and now I absolutely love it. If you haven't tried it, give it a go! I think you will be surprised by how compelling it is.
Was actually fairly intrigued… until I read turn-based, oh well 😔
@colonelkilgore I actually prefer the turn-based here to the character action in Genshin.
@get2sammyb I’ve just never been able to click with turn-based for some reason. I continue to try one every now and then… but fairly quickly realise it ain’t for me. Maybe one day I’ll connect with one though 🤞
Been waiting for Penacony. I'm so tired of the Luofu by now. I play the game for like 20 minutes a day but I'm sure I'll be back to putting down a couple hours exploring the new planet.
@starnivore @Jake3103 you both have convinced me. I may wrap up my current game then devote my 45 mins Saturday night to checking it out. My phone may be the better place to play as two little ones keep me busy most of the day
Looking forward to Penacony and 2.0. But there are too many characters I want coming up. Especially Fu Xuan and Jingliu reruns, I might have to save. I did want DHIL, but with Dr Ratio I have a strong imaginary damage dealer for now, even if DHIL is more multi target he also has skill point issues which limits his team comps.
@themightyant That's why I'm looking forward to getting Sparkle. Her SP refunds might make DHIL and Bronya team ups viable. This might even make QQ worth building.
@colonelkilgore - I'm not a fan of turn based games myself but I gave Honkai a shot and it really clicked for me. Battles are short with 1 to 3 waves and you get an auto battle option very early on so you can just enjoy everything else it offers and let the game do the fighting for you if need be.
@z0d15g0d Sparkle + DHIL definitely good synergy. He’s a hungry beast unless you can reliably 2 turn ult.
Jingliu & Fu Xuan probably more useful for my account… but I still want him. Whether I fold will probably depend on the 4-stars on the banner.
What free 4-star will you take? Asta, Gui, Sampo or Yukong? I’ll probably get E4 Asta which helps with her energy issues! But another Yukong Eidolon is tempting.
@themightyant - Asta for my free pick, I have her at E5 and my Sampo is E6. I've almost finished building Kafka so those 2 are next up for my DoT team. Roll on Penacony and a new BP, I need resources badly!
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