All images courtesy of HoYoverse
After spending their time in the Xianzhou Luofu in the past couple of versions, the Astral Express Crew now heads back to Penacony for version 2.6.
Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse has announced that the game's version 2.6 update, “Annals of Pinecany's Mappou Age”, will be released on October 23 with a new 5-star character in Rappa, a new Simulated Universe game mode, a new area in Penacony, and more.
But before we break down everything coming in the next Honkai: Star Rail update, here are the livestream codes! Make sure to redeem them before they expire.
- 3BKGPPN4VJN3 - x100 Stellar Jade, x50,000 Credits
- 2T3Z77PLCK67 - x100 Stellar Jade, x5 Traveler's Guide
- WB3H6664CK9T - x100 Stellar Jade, x4 Condensed Aether
And if you're in need of more Stellar Jade for your pulls, check our list of all active Honkai: Star Rail redemption codes here.
Rappa arrives with reruns for Imbibitor Lunae, Acheron, and Aventurine
Rappa
Rappa is a member of the Galaxy Rangers, making her the second member of that faction to become a playable character after Boothill. She calls herself a ninja, attributing everything she does to the art of "ninjutsu", reciting ninja mantras, creating Dazzling Ninja Seals, and following the Way of the Ninja through ninja scrolls, blending rap, graffiti, and comics.
As a playable character, Rappa wields the Imaginary element and follows the Path of Erudition. In battle, after unleashing her Ultimate, she will enter Sealform and unleash Ningu: Demonbane Petalblade in a special first-person view. While her ultimate is active, Rappa is able to deal damage to groups of enemies efficiently, and can even reduce the Toughness of enemies without Imaginary Weakness.
Rappa will be featured in the first half banners of version 2.6 alongside a rerun for Imbibitor Lunae. The second half banners will then feature reruns for the top-tier Nihility DPS Acheron and the premier Preservation unit Aventurine.
Return to Penacony
With the conclusion of the Astral Express Crew's adventure back in the Xianzhou Luofu in version 2.5, the upcoming update will now see them return to Penacony. There, they will visit a new area in the planet called the Paperfold University, a prestigious cosmic institution in the midst of preparing for a new semester and its anniversary celebrations.
For this special occasion, the university is hosting an exclusive academic seminar and the Astral Express has been invited as distinguished guests to partake in the festivities. In the version 2.6 Trailblaze Continuance mission, Banana Outrage: Battles Without Ninja and Humanity, the Trailblazer will step into Paperfold University as a student and immerse themselves in the joys of campus life. They will be joined by peers like March 7th and Dan Heng, so no need to worry about first day of school jitters.
The addition of Paperfold University as an area in Penacony also brings with it a new set of enemies in the Wonder Forest's Banacademic Office Staff. These foes sport similar body types to the Dreamjolt Troupe, just with monkey themes and new hijinks to be wary of in battle.
The new area will also play host to a new Stagnant Shadow, “Shape of Timbre”, for Rappa's ascension material as well as a new Cavern of Corrosion: Path of Uncertainty. The Path of Uncertainty features two new relic sets: the 4-piece Sacerdos' Relived Ordeal and the 4-piece Scholar Lost in Erudition.
Sacerdos' Relived Ordeal is a support set that increases a single ally's Crit DMG when its wielder uses their skill and ultimate on them. Meanwhile, Scholar Lost in Erudition is a DPS set that increases its wielder's Crit Rate as well as ultimate and skill DMG.
New Simulated Universe update: the Unknowable Domain
Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 will also introduce the much-anticipated third Simulated Universe DLC following Swarm Disaster and Gold and Gears: the Unknowable Domain. This time around, a massive void has emerged within the Simulated Universe as it was initially simulating the Scholars' Strife, a post-Second Emperor's War event where scholarly factions battled for control of Emperor Rubert II's legacy — the Scepter system.
The Scepter, a cluster of inorganic bionic neurons, served as Rubert II's external thinking unit with immense processing power. In this Simulated Universe update, Trailblazers will start by collecting Scepters and enhancing them with Components to strengthen their abilities. As the game progresses, players can strategically combine multiple Scepters and Components to further enhance their power in order to face a formidable final boss.
The Unknowable Domain's release also comes with an expansion to the Simulated Universe's Herta Store, which will now allow players to purchase previous event-exclusive Light Cones from events they may have missed. This is for you all, players who couldn't get the ‘Before the Tutorial Mission Starts’ Light Cone from all the way back in version 1.1.
Also, HoYoverse even teased what is likely the design of the “true” Herta. As you know, the 4-star character Herta we're all familiar with are just puppets created by the actual Herta, who we've yet to see in-game. If HoYoverse is teasing the true Herta's design now, then maybe a 5-star version of Herta may be coming sooner than everyone thought?
New events
The main event for Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6 will be "Sound Hunt Ninjutsu Inscription." In this event, Trailblazers will be invited as a guest and step in as the band manager for the Dreamlight Anniversary music party, teaming up with Rappa and leading the band’s electrifying
performances in the music party.
Aside from the usual Stellar Jade and Self-Modeling Resin rewards, completing the version 2.6 main event will also let players acquire and superimpose the 4-star Light Cone ‘Ninja Record: Sound Hunt’ for free.
We're also getting another Boothill-focused event in “Shadow of the Ranger” and making a quick stop back in Belobog for “Mr. Cold Feet's Pop-Up Shop”. And, of course, there will be reruns for the “Gift of Odyssey” log-in event for free Star Rail Special Passes as well as the “Planar Fissure” and “Garden of Plenty” events for acquiring more relics and enhancement materials.
For more details on what's to come in Honkai: Star Rail version 2.6, check the full preview livestream 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.