Source: HoYoverse
Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 is almost upon us, and we think players will be thinking long and hard about what to do with their hard-earned Stellar Jade in this update.
The first half of the upcoming version features a new character in Rappa as well as a rerun for Imbibitor Lunae. Following in the second half will be the first reruns for two top-tier characters in Acheron and Aventurine. Of course, we can't forget about Sunday and Fugue (aka 5-star Tingyun) in version 2.7.
Are you among those players still torn on whether you should pull for the featured characters in the first half of version 2.7 or save for future banners instead? Don’t fret, read on and we’ll help you decide on who you should spend your precious Stellar Jade on.
Need a Break Erudition DPS? Pull for Rappa
Rappa wields the Imaginary element and follows the Path of Erudition. On top of being an area-of-effect DMG specialist for content like Pure Fiction, she also makes use of the powerful Super Break mechanic and can reduce enemy Toughness regardless of weakness.
Rappa’s kit is built around her Talent and ultimate. Her Talent lets her deal DMG and reduce the Toughness of multiple targets whenever an enemy gets their weakness broken. Meanwhile, her ultimate gives her 1 extra turn, buffs her Weakness Break Efficiency and Break Effect, and enhances her basic attack to hit multiple enemies and reduce their Toughness regardless of their weakness. One of Rappa’s major Traces also gives her innate access to Super Break, which is just icing on an already delicious cake.
Rappa makes combat encounters like Pure Fiction a breeze, thanks in large part to enemies in that particular mode having smaller Toughness bars. But that’s to be expected of an Erudition character. With that said, she can still work fine in Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow if she’s up against high enemy count waves or Imaginary-weak targets.
Rappa is a strong character to be sure, but she’s not exactly someone we’d consider to be a high-value pull. If you are already clearing Pure Fiction with the likes of Jade, Argenti, Himeko, and Herta, then you don’t really need Rappa unless you’re having trouble against Imaginary-weak enemy lineups. And while Rappa can work in Memory of Chaos and Apocalyptic Shadow, other DPS characters do the job better there.
But if you don’t really care about the metagame and just like Rappa as a character, then there’s plenty to love about her. She does have some of the coolest animations in the game, with her ultimate essentially turning Honkai: Star Rail into a first-person shooter.
Need a strong Hypercarry? Pull for Imbibitor Lunae
The other 5-star featured in version 2.6’s first half banner is a fan-favourite in Imbibitor Lunae. Dan Heng’s true form as a Vidyadhara High Elder wields the Imaginary element and follows the Path of Destruction, wreaking havoc on enemies as long as you have the skill points to sustain his offensive.
Imbibitor Lunae’s kit is built around his skill, which lets him enhance his basic attack up to three times at the cost of one skill point per enhancement. His ultimate, on top of dealing DMG and looking cool, also gives him two extra skill points to help sustain his needs. While the requirements needed for Imbibitor Lunae to reach his full potential are quite steep, it’s well worth the effort once you see him unleash his might.
Imbibitor Lunae embodies the Hypercarry archetype to a tee, as he requires a full team of dedicated supports to maximise his damage potential. His two biggest needs include extra skill points and energy to allow him to use his fully-enhanced basic attack every turn. So, you will need the likes of Sparkle, Tingyun, and Huohuo if you want your Imbibitor Lunae to shine. While he can still work with other supports, the difference in performance will be very noticeable.
And while Imbibitor Lunae reigned atop the metagame during and immediately after his release, he has since been passed by other DPS characters like Acheron, Firefly, and Feixiao in terms of clear speed and versatility. Imbibitor Lunae won’t zero-cycle every Memory of Chaos rotation, but he will get the job done as long as you have the right team built around him.
So, is Imbibitor Lunae a high-value pull right now? If we’re only considering the current metagame, not really. But don’t let that stop you from getting the aloof dragon boy if you really like him as a character.
Should you save for Acheron and Aventurine instead?
We’ve talked about chasing the metagame a bunch of times in this article already, and that’s because it’s the biggest factor when it comes to deciding on which character you should spend your Stellar Jade on for version 2.6.
Both Rappa and Imbibitor Lunae are strong characters and are very much capable of helping you clear most content. But they aren’t as good as the two characters rerunning in the second half of version 2.6: Acheron and Aventurine.
Acheron and Aventurine are one of the strongest characters, if not the outright strongest, in their respective niches. Acheron is a top-tier DPS while Aventurine is the best sustain. We probably don’t need to explain why, as we’re sure players who already have these two readily talk about their strengths at every chance they get.
We’ll dive deeper into what makes Acheron and Aventurine high-value pulls once their banner comes around, but if you are solely focused on keeping up with the metagame then we strongly recommend you skip the first half of version 2.6. Those two have been at the top of everyone’s tier lists for good reason, so it’s best to get them sooner rather than later.
Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 will be released on October 23 with a new 5-star character in Rappa, a new Trailblaze Continuance Mission that sees the Astral Express Crew return to Penacony, a new Simulated Universe game mode, and more. For more details on what's to come in version 2.6, check out our breakdown here.
And after Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 comes version 2.7 in December, which will feature the release of two highly-anticipated 5-star characters in Sunday and Tingyun's ‘Fugue’ form.