Choosing between Castorice and Anaxa in new playable characters in Honkai: Star Rail 3.2, though each will be available for a limited time.

Castorice is a 5-star Quantum character on the Path of the Remembrance, while Anaxa is a 5-star Wind unit following the Path of the Erudition. These two characters will make their debuts during Version 3.2’s banners, but given their 5-star status, it could be difficult to pull both during the same patch. Even though there are extra rewards in Honkai: Star Rail 3.2 as a means of celebrating the turn-based RPG’s second anniversary, the pull rates and high pity counts could put a damper on acquiring both characters, especially if players are also aiming for their respective signature Light Cones.

Castorice & Anaxa Run In Different Banner Phases In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2

Castorice Runs In Phase 1 Banners, While Anaxa Appears In Phase 2

While these two characters do debut in the same patch, they will appear in separate banner phases during Version 3.2. Castorice is set to be available during Version 3.2’s Phase 1 character banners, which will run from April 9 through April 30. The 5-star Quantum character will run in the gacha system alongside a triple rerun banner dedicated to Acheron, Jiaoqiu, and Fugue. On April 30, Castorice’s banner – and her Light Cone’s banner – will be replaced by the Phase 2 banners. After this, it’s uncertain when we will see Castorice in Honkai: Star Rail’s banners again.

On April 30, the Phase 1 banners will be replaced with the Phase 2 banners. Effectively, Castorice’s banners will be substituted by Anaxa’s debut banner, while the triple rerun banner will be exchanged for the long-awaited Dr. Ratio rerun banner. Version 3.2’s Phase 2 banners, which contain Anaxa and Dr. Ratio, should be available from April 30 through May 20 if the patch sticks to the regular six-week schedule used in every update. At this time, Version 3.3 should be introduced, then introducing Hyacine and Cipher in Honkai: Star Rail, though the order of the next banners is still uncertain.

Pros & Cons Of Pulling For Castorice In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2

Castorice Has Heavy Damage, Fueled By A Huge Amount Of HP Drain

As a Remembrance character, Castorice’s kit revolves around her dragon-like memosprite called Netherwing. She operates as a main DPS, though Netherwing is responsible for the majority of the damage. Castorice’s Skill sees her deal damage to enemies and, simultaneously, drain the HP from her allies. The Quantum character keeps a tally of the HP lost by her allies, and upon reaching a certain amount, she can use her Ultimate to summon Netherwing. Castorice’s memosprite in Honkai: Star Rail consumes its own HP to deal damage to enemies and, as expected, the character and Netherwing scale off her Max HP stat.

With Netherwing on the field, Castorice can use her Skill to launch a powerful t attack against enemies. Aside from dealing an immense amount of damage, the memosprite can also tank lethal damage that allies would take in battle. Furthermore, Castorice herself has a broken revival mechanic that can restore a fallen ally in battle, even if she is not in the team comp. As a DPS, Castorice excels at dealing damage, but the price to pay is a high dosage of HP drain against herself and allies.

If you can build a team comp with powerful characters with high HP counts and a reliable healer, you should be set to run Castorice. Luckily, you can obtain a free Luocha in Honkai: Star Rail 3.2 if you’re missing a strong healer.

As strong as Castorice is, there are a few downsides to her kit. The first and most straightforward is the powerful HP drain. If you don’t have a way of healing through the team-wide HP loss, Castorice can be dangerous. Given how much HP she drains, your other characters could be at risk of being downed by stronger enemies with a single hit. If you are not comfortable with HP loss mechanics such as these, then Castorice may not be the ideal Remembrance DPS for you. Furthermore, Castorice’s build in Honkai: Star Rail can be a bit complicated.

As of Version 3.2, Castorice only really has two Light Cones she can effectively use: one of them is her signature 5-star, which caters to her needs, while the other is a 4-star weapon from the battle . As such, both of her best Light Cone options are locked behind systems. If you’re unable to obtain Make Farewells More Beautiful or Sweat Now, Cry Less, respectively, you’ll be forced to use a Remembrance Light Cone that doesn’t play into her regular kit’s rotation, making her much less effective in Honkai: Star Rail.

On the positive side, the rest of Castorice’s kit is pretty straightforward. You’ll be farming a single set of Relics and a single set of Ornaments, as these are easily her best-in-slot (BiS), and when it comes to stats, you’ll only be targeting CRIT and HP. This should make building her much easier than if you were searching for other stats like Energy Regeneration Rate, ATK, and Break Effect along with the aforementioned ones, for example. Castorice is a strong Honkai: Star Rail character to have, but you’ll need to provide her with a strict build to work with.

Pros & Cons Of Pulling For Anaxa In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2

Anaxa Can Inflict New Weaknesses On Enemies, But His Build Can Be Tough To Optimize

Alternatively, Anaxa is a different breed of Erudition characters. While he is still focused on targeting multiple enemies at once, his main activity isn’t dealing damage, per se, but inflicting new Weaknesses on enemies. Essentially, every part of Anaxa’s kit can inflict new Weaknesses on enemies, but he shines best with his Ultimate, which targets all opponents and inflicts all seven types of Weaknesses on them for a turn. Furthermore, Anaxa’s damage output against enemies scales based on how many Weaknesses they have in Honkai: Star Rail.

Compared to Castorice, Anaxa has many more Light Cone options – even less dedicated weapons like the F2P (free-to-play) 5-star Eternal Calculus work significantly well with him. Furthermore, there will be a special event that will give out a F2P 4-star Light Cone in Honkai: Star Rail 3.2 that serves Anaxa’s kit by playing around with his continuous Weakness infliction on enemies, so players have that covered. Additionally, Anaxa is a bit more flexible for parties because he can be treated as both a main DPS in a hypercarry team or a secondary DPS and for dual-DPS team comps.

Stat-wise, however, Anaxa’s build is somewhat more complicated, as he’ll need CRIT, ATK, and Energy Regeneration Rate. Furthermore, Anaxa may need some investment into SPD, depending on your team comp, something that Castorice doesn’t rely on – in fact, Castorice’s Relics require her to have no investment whatsoever into SPD.

Overall, there is not necessarily a better option between Castorice and Anaxa because it depends on your needs, desires, and willingness to work on their optimal builds. Castorice can be a bit tougher to build because of the Light Cone scarcity, and her HP drain mechanic requires a strong healer, which is also often a unit, but Anaxa can also be tough to build, especially when it comes to stat distribution. Both are great damage dealers, nonetheless, so whichever unit you choose in Honkai: Star Rail could elevate your gameplay potential significantly.