Summary

• Version 2.0 of Honkai: Star Rail will be released in February, introducing new story content and three playable characters.
• Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 will feature Penacony, a colorful planet controlled by The Family, known for its festivities and alignment to the Path of the Harmony.
• The update will also include new events, Relic sets, quality-of-life updates, and additional unit slots.

The Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 livestream has occurred, revealing more details about the Version’s release date, information about Penacony, and highlights on some of the playable characters. Version 2.0 is set to kick off a new year of content for the popular turn-based RPG, taking Trailblazers beyond the reach of Jarilo-VI and the Xianzhou Luofu, now off to the colorful and long-mentioned planet of Penacony. This move will accompany a set of new main story quests, which will see the Astral Express dealing with the repercussions of defying Duke Inferno and his Ever-Flame Mansion.

The first encounter with this new villain occurred in Version 1.6 in a story mission involving Ruan Mei and Dr. Ratio in Honkai: Star Rail. Duke Inferno posed a temporary threat to Herta Space Station, but was subdued before his plans could go any further. Despite this, it was enough to set up the encounter in the future. HoYoverse had already announced some of the new characters arriving with Version 2.0 but has also revealed some gameplay details about them with the special event. Luckily, it should not take long to start experiencing this new adventure with new heroes.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 - Release Date

Revealed during the special livestream held on the official Honkai: Star Rail channel on YouTube, Version 2.0 is bound to arrive on all platforms on February 6. This is in line with the game’s regular six-week schedule for every update and indicates that, despite the massive new load of content being added with the patch, there were likely no internal delays. With the official confirmation of a date, it is unlikely the update will be postponed at this point.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 - Details About Penacony

The most significant part of the update is the introduction of Penacony, a completely new destination for the Trailblazers that is known as the Planet of Festivities. The place is controlled by The Family, which extends an invitation to the Astral Express crew so that they may attend the Charmony Festival. This place follows the Path of the Harmony, which is reflected in its acceptance and ideal search for peace. In fact, the Stellaron Hunters were also invited to attend the special event. Penacony in Honkai: Star Rail is a flashy place inspired by a Jazz Age aesthetic.

This place, however, exists on two different planes: the real one and the Dreamscape. As the Land of Dreams, Penacony residents and visitors can enter a collective dreamland, where rules are bent and allow for curious new gameplay mechanisms. One of the most notable ones is the ability to climb up walls and explore locations vertically. There will also be optical illusions and jigsaw puzzles to solve, which can open up new paths and reveal hidden treasures. The Dreamscape in Honkai: Star Rail is represented by an abundance of gravitational anomalies and references to the deep sea.

Penacony’s release will be featured in the Trailblaze Mission known as Long Day’s Journey Into Night. According to the developers during the livestream, this will be an easygoing mission. In the story of the Trailblazer, there is currently no crisis to solve or threat to subdue, so it should feel like a vacation episode – of course, Penacony’s Trailblaze Missions will occur from Version 2.0 to Version 2.2. As such, problems will likely arise during the first Trailblaze Mission that will be resolved during the patches in Honkai: Star Rail.

HoYoverse has promised that Penacony has the largest destination story in the game so far.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 - New Characters & Banners

Three new playable characters are being added with Version 2.0, all of which had been previously revealed by posts on Honkai: Star Rail’s on X. Now, however, HoYoverse has confirmed their arrival and went deeper into their gameplay abilities and how they operate on the battlefield. Black Swan is a 5-star Wind unit that follows the Path of the Nihility. This character wears an elegant purple and black outfit. In combat, Black Swan uses cards to apply status effects on opponents, which can stack and deal damage over time.

Black Swan should be a good character for teams that deal DoT, such as those with Kafka in it.

The other 5-star debut in the patch is known as Sparkle. She uses Quantum and follows the Path of the Harmony. As a unit, she will be responsible for increasing the team’s maximum Skill Points and restoring them during the fight. Sparkle also advances the actions of her allies, allowing them to strike more often – this ability is somewhat similar to Bronya’s skill. Both Black Swan and Sparkle will have exclusive companion missions added with Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 to further develop them as characters.

Misha will also make his debut, though he will be a 4-star unit. The character uses Ice and follows the Path of the Destruction in combat. Misha works at the main hotel in Penacony and his unintentional disastrous nature is what allows him to follow the Path of the Destruction. His attacks become stronger with the team’s usage of Skill Points. Out of combat, Misha can use his Technique in Honkai: Star Rail to throw a time-stopping bomb, which essentially freezes opponents in place, allowing the player to either escape or simply avoid a sneak attack.

The Phase 1 banners in Version 2.0, which will be available for half of the update, are composed by Black Swan and a rerun of Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae. Each hero will have their own banner. Their signature 5-star Light Cones, namely Reforged Remembrance and Brighter Than The Sun, will also be featured in special Light Cone banners during that period. Phase 2 will be composed of Sparkle and a rerun of Jing Yuan. Their signature 5-star Light Cones, Earthly Escapade and Before Dawn, will also be featured in Phase 2 of Honkai: Star Rail 2.0.

Misha will make his debut in Phase 1 banners and have an increased pull rate during that period. He will be added to the standard loot pool after his debut.

Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 - Events & Updates

Along with the story updates and new characters, there will also be some events in Version 2.0. One of them is called Hanu’s Prison Break. In it, Trailblazers will have to help a cartoon character and its friends escape from prison by solving different types of puzzles. Players who complete some requirements will be able to claim a free copy of Guinaifen, Sampo, Asta, or Yukong. The event also offers other rewards, such as Stellar Jade in Honkai: Star Rail.

Version 2.0 will also have the Dreamchase Bulletin, a small event that serves to introduce new types of enemies and encourage players to explore and fight throughout Penacony. Another event planned for the update is the Dreamjolt TV, in which they have to engage in various combat challenges to help restore the stolen TV signal from residents. A simple event called the Penacony Food Fest will have players collect raw materials from the new explorable planet in Honkai: Star Rail and submit them for rewards.

The patch will also introduce two new Relic sets for players to farm: Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters and Watchmaker, Master of Dream Machinations. The former focuses on intensifying the ’s damage output against enemies that are debuffed, making it a good fit for some Nihility characters or even Dr. Ratio. The latter is made to increase the Break Effect for the entire team, which will serve some units, such as Ruan Mei in Honkai: Star Rail quite well.

Other than the Cavern of Corrosion Relics, Penacony will have several new materials to obtain, including character Ascension materials and Trace materials. There will also be an update to the Light Cone Manifest Store, with brand new Light Cones to claim with in-game currency. HoYoverse is also bringing much-needed quality-of-life updates to Honkai: Star Rail 2.0, such as adding an interactive timeline to showcase the title's story so far.

Another notable update is the addition of two extra slots for units. Players will now be able to provide a total of three characters in the system, as opposed to only one. Relics will also get some quality-of-life updates, such as an improvement to the tagging system when discarding and the way they are leveled. HoYoverse is also giving out a total of 20 Star Rail Special es, with two events offering 10 es each. There is a lot to look out for with Honkai: Star Rail 2.0, from a new planet and heroes to valuable rewards.

Source: YouTube/Honkai: Star Rail, X/Honkai: Star Rail