Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 First Impressions – Planarcadia Story, New Characters, Elation, & More

After a short delay, the Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 update is now available! Developer HoYoverse announced the delay a few weeks ago. This update starts a new year of content for the game, sending the Astral Express crew to a new location called Planarcadia. Honkai: Star Rail 4.0 also introduces two new characters who both use a new gameplay style called the Path of the Elation.

As with all major updates, this one includes a wealth of new content to discover. The new destination introduces several maps that build upon the world of Planarcadia, along with a lengthy main story questline to guide you through it. You’ll also find fresh puzzles, mini-games, and new characters in Honkai: Star Rail, though not all of them are currently playable.

Planarcardia’s Story Starts Off Bland

I Hope The Upbeat Vibes Serve As A Contrast For Something Darker

Compared to earlier storylines, the new arc focusing on Planarcadia begins with a slower, more peaceful pace. Unlike the start of the Amphoreus arc, where the Trailblazer and Dan Heng were immediately ambushed upon entering The Eternal Land, the Astral Express crew is greeted warmly and treated like VIPs in Planarcadia.

Planarcadia is full of interesting mysteries. If you choose to compete, you’ll have the strange chance to become an Aeon, and with Aha being the most powerful Aeon, things are sure to get both bizarre and complex. However, while the setup is fascinating, I haven’t quite become invested in the story yet, possibly because the initial pace feels rather slow.

The story in Version 4.0 is consistently suspenseful, though it’s often subtle and doesn’t rely on typical jump scares or dramatic reveals. This creates a strong sense of anticipation for the events planned throughout the year.

Honkai: Star Rail frequently explores thought-provoking ideas like the meaning of life and the belief that life is meaningless. The seemingly overly cheerful world of Planarcadia might feel strange at first, but I think it’s intentionally designed to highlight how much darker the story could become later on.

I immediately became captivated by Cosmicon Collective, a card and dice game within the world of Planarcadia. You’ll discover it as you play through the story, and if you enjoy it like I did, you’ll probably find yourself playing against other characters in the game and collecting cards to build a stronger deck.

Elation Seems Like A Promising New Path

Honkai’s New Path Is Great For Fans Of Huge Explosive Numbers

The addition of Elation as a new Path is really promising. In Version 4.0, it appears to work simply: players using Elation characters build up something called “Punchline,” which then activates unique effects from “Aha.” Essentially, Elation feels like a fresh take on the follow-up attack system.

Unlike some games where characters automatically attack repeatedly, Elation’s Punchline features powerful, occasional follow-up attacks that deal a lot of damage. These aren’t constant, but happen less frequently for a significant impact.

Similar to how characters interacted in Version 3.X, I believe the new Elation characters will work closely together. They’ll likely boost each other’s Elation levels, and having a team with more of them will probably lead to better performance.

Okay, so if you’re a gamer who loves seeing massive damage numbers pop on screen after setting up a cool combo, the Elation Path in Honkai: Star Rail might be right up your alley. Right now, only two characters fit into this Path, but it’s got me wondering how different each Elation character will feel as more get added to the game. I’m really curious to see how diverse they become!

Honkai: Star Rail 4.0’s New Characters Are Nice Enough

I May Not Pull For Sparxie, & Am Conflicted About Yao Guang

I was really impressed with the new characters! The first one, Yao Guang, will be available in Phase 1. She’s a 5-star Physical character who follows the Path of the Elation and is designed to support teams built around that path. While she doesn’t perform as well with other team types, she truly shines when paired with her best damage dealer, Sparxie, adding significant strength to the team.

Yao Guang’s abilities greatly boost the damage Elation characters like Sparxie can deal, and it’s clear they help build up the Punchline effect. I believe Yao Guang will be a key part of most Elation teams for the time being, though past updates to Honkai: Star Rail have shown that powerful characters can quickly be surpassed.

Sparxie is a new playable character coming in the second phase of banners for Honkai: Star Rail, and I’ve had a chance to try her out. When paired with the right team – particularly Yao Guang and Sparkle – Sparxie is a powerful damage dealer. She’s enjoyable to play because her Basic Attacks are very effective, and she gets even stronger by using Skill Points.

I’m concerned that Sparxie relies too much on Yao Guang and Sparkle to be effective. Yao Guang’s boosts greatly affect Sparxie’s damage output, and Sparkle is essential for letting Sparxie reach her full power by providing a large number of Skill Points to use with her improved basic attacks.

Even though Sparxie seems fun, I wouldn’t recommend trying to get her in Honkai: Star Rail unless you’re in the early access build. While she’s currently a strong damage dealer in Version 4.0, I predict she’ll be surpassed by newer characters relatively quickly, just like Agalaea was after a few updates with the release of Mydei, Castorice, and Anaxa.

I’m really enjoying the turn-based RPG again, more than I have in a long time. While the core concept of Amphoreus is great, the story felt slow and wasn’t always engaging. I’m optimistic that things will be better this year, and I appreciate how positive Planarcadia seems. Elation looks like it will be a fun new character to play, but I’ll probably continue using my Remembrance and Acheron teams in Honkai: Star Rail for now.

2026-02-13 07:08