Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.4, titled In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound, launches on July 15, and yes, things are looking fairly apocalyptic.
As per the press release, HoYoverse’s next major update continues the Planarcadia storyline, throws the Trailblazer into battle against Lord Ravager Asat Pramad, and kicks off the second phase of the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collaboration. Rin Tohsaka and Gilgamesh are also joining the interstellar nonsense, because apparently one Holy Grail War was not enough.
Planarcadia Faces Lord Ravager Asat Pramad
Following the events of the previous chapter, Asat Pramad has dropped the disguise and revealed his true form. In doing so, he has shattered the fragile peace that Planarcadia managed to keep for fifteen years.
During the chaos, Himeko vanished while confronting Asat Pramad. Before disappearing, she left behind a hidden clue linked to the Express. In Version 4.4, the Trailblazer will track down that clue, decode it, and attempt to find Himeko before Planarcadia is dragged fully into disaster.
The mystery appears to tie into Asat Pramad’s obsession with Himeko’s identity, along with the truth behind events from fifteen years ago. Naturally, this all leads to a big showdown. Because when a Lord Ravager starts threatening an entire world, you do not solve it with a strongly worded email.
Himeko • Nova Joins Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.4
Himeko returns to the fight in a new form: Himeko • Nova. Her 5-star banner will run throughout the full Version 4.4 update.
Himeko • Nova is a Fire-Type character who follows the Path of Erudition. When battle begins, she immediately deploys a Territory and summons the mech Starblazer to assist the team. Her Ultimate lets her lead allies into Starblazer for a full-team assault, which sounds subtle in the same way a meteor strike is subtle.
While her Territory is active, all teammates gain an Assist Skill. This allows them to summon Starblazer at any time to attack all enemies. Express Crew members also gain extra effects.
She is not just flashy in battle, either. During overworld exploration, Himeko • Nova can pilot her mech high above the field, aim, and attack enemies within range. Sometimes the best scouting tool is, apparently, a giant flying death machine.
Fate/stay night Collaboration Continues On July 24
The second phase of the Honkai: Star Rail and Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] collaboration begins on July 24.
After the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin Tohsaka travels to another world and ends up in Planarcadia after running out of magical energy. In a very Rin move, she borrows the Holy Grail from the Star Rail FEST collection showcase and tries to summon a Servant so she can escape.
Unfortunately, Planarcadia’s overflowing Wishpower restores the Holy Grail. Then Gilgamesh’s treasures scatter across the arcadia, causing a massive commotion. The Trailblazer teams up with Rin at the request of the Department of Aberration Defense to recover the treasures and uncover the truth behind the Imagenae: Holy Grail War.
Rin Tohsaka joins Honkai: Star Rail as a playable 5-star Quantum-Type character on the Path of Erudition. She uses gems in battle and builds “Gem Energy” during combat. By consuming that energy, she deals multiple extra hits to random targets. The more Gem Energy she spends, the more additional damage she deals.
Rin also gains Gem Energy when teammates consume or recover Skill Points. At the same time, CRIT DMG increases, giving her plenty of room to turn gem management into battlefield bullying.
Gilgamesh also arrives as a playable 5-star Lightning-Type character on the Path of Destruction. After entering battle, ally actions build “Interest” for Gilgamesh, restore Energy, and increase his Ultimate damage.
Once Interest reaches its threshold, Gilgamesh unlocks his Skill and unleashes Gate of Babylon, firing weapons from his treasury at enemies. His Ultimate summons Enuma Elish to deal massive damage to all enemies. Subtle? No. On-brand? Absolutely.
From July 24 until before Version 4.6 ends, players can log in and claim either Gilgamesh or Archer as a free limited 5-star collaboration character. A portion of that character’s upgrade materials will also be included.
The collaboration characters and Light Cones will remain available long term. Guarantee counts are shared between both phases of the Collaboration Character Warps, and the same applies to the Collaboration Light Cone Warps.
Players who spend a total of 200 Star Rail Special Passes in Version 4.4 can select one limited 5-star collaboration Light Cone after the event begins. The options are I Am As You Behold and The Hell Where Ideals Burn.
Returning Banners, New Events, And Free Pulls
Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.4 will also bring back several limited 5-star characters. Sparxie, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae, and Evernight return in the first half of the update. Cerydra, Anaxa, and Aventurine return in the second half.
Sparxie will also receive a new outfit called Candy-Coated Waves. On top of that, Version 4.4 adds the new pet Pentaflavor Emoti, Trailblaze Fashion Fan-Made Lygus, and other new content.
Players can also log in once Version 4.4 goes live to claim a 10-pull reward. Always nice when the gacha gods at least open the door before slamming it shut.
The collaboration event Fate/Star Rail Night will unfold as the story progresses. In it, the Trailblazer works with Rin Tohsaka to track down the king’s treasures and uncover the truth behind the Imagenae: Holy Grail War.
Another version event, Antigraft Brickbuster, sees the Trailblazer take on a request from Aventurine and investigate IPC corruption by stacking data bricks. Meanwhile, the permanent gameplay mode Currency Wars: Zero-Sum Game will be expanded and updated, with various system optimisations also planned.
Honkai: Star Rail is currently available on PC, iOS, Android, Epic Games Store, and PS5. According to the press release, the game has passed 150 million total downloads across all platforms.
The game has also picked up several awards, including Apple’s App Store iPhone Game of the Year, Google Play’s Best Game, and Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards in 2023. In 2024, it received the Golden Joystick Awards Still Playing Award for Mobile and the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Partner Award.