Honkai Star Rail developer and publisher HoYoverse has announced that the game’s Version 2.0 update will launch on February 6, 2024. The new update will finally introduce the game’s next major location, the planet of Penacony, and the next chapter of its main story.
According to HoYoverse, Penacony will be the destination for the game’s main story from Version 2.0 until 2.2, with an epilogue released in Version 2.3.
Here is a description of Penacony and what players can expect to experience when they arrive at the new world:
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 honored guests for a grand event called the Charmony Festival. The core of Penacony is a gigantic interstellar hotel named The Reverie, attracting countless interstellar celebrities seeking a lavish luxurious retreat. Centuries ago, Penacony was once a frontier prison utilized by the IPC for detaining criminals. However, over the years, and through various incidents, the control of this planet shifted to The Family. Presently, Penacony has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving into a renowned cosmic vacation spot.
Once entering the hotel, Trailblazers will utilize Dreampool, a unique sleep device to visit the Dreamscapes. The Golden Hour which players are about to step into isn’t merely the first dream in the series; it stands out as one of the liveliest and most popular among the 12 Dreamscapes. In this realm, celebration and pleasure take center stage in this city: joyous dances and songs never cease, and the festivities never end. While navigating this region, Trailblazers will come across the Dream’s Eye—a wondrous device that utilizes visual illusions to seamlessly connect previously disjointed paths with significant height differences in an incredible way. Moreover, in the subsequent stories, Trailblazers will unlock the ability to Dreamwalk, allowing them to enjoy a unique experience of defying gravity and walking on walls and ceilings.
Version 2.0 of Honkai: Star Rail will see the introduction of two new 5-star characters, Black Swan and Sparkle. Black Swan is a Wind character under the Path of Nihility. She is able to apply a stacking DoT effect called Arcana on enemies. Black Swan can then trigger different additional effects based on the number of Arcana stacks an enemy has. Additionally, the damage the DoT does increases as more stacks are applied.
On the other hand, Sparkle is a Quantum character under the Path of Harmony. She is able to increase the maximum number of skill points the team possesses during battle and is capable of advancing a teammate’s action forward while increasing their critical damage. Her ultimate ability is also capable of restoring the team’s skill points.
Version 2.0 will also add a new 4-star character named Misha, who is an Ice element Path of Destruction type whose Ultimate does more damage the more skill points the team uses in the battle while also being able to freeze enemies.
Those that missed out on Dang Heng – Imbibitor Lunae and Jing Yuan when their banners were first made available will get another chance at obtaining them when their rerun banners become available during the first and second phase of Version 2.o, respectively.
Lastly, Honkai: Star Rail is introducing several updates that are set to improve player experience, including a new feature called Fate’s Atlas that lets players catch up on all the events and plot lines that have occurred in the game’s story so far. Several changes to the Relic enhancement and salvaging system is also being introduced as well as an enhanced Relic set recommendation system.
Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.0 is scheduled for release on February 6, 2024. The game is currently available on PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5.