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Honkai: Star Rail 4.3 guide: Events, free Jades, & banner schedule
J
Jess Reyes
Here’s an overview of Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.3 and what limited-time banners and events you can still experience.
New Planacardia Chapter
The latest Honkai: Star Rail story takes place on Planacardia, the home of the Astral Express navigator, Himeko. At the time of writing, we still have many unanswered questions about the Planacardian Graphia family, the Phantasmoon Games currently happening on Planacardia, and Himeko herself, which are slowly becoming clearer with the information we learn in the new chapter.The past few chapters have acquainted the Trailblazer and friends with the storybook fantasies and over-the-top personalities in Planacardia. Little did they know they would be running into familiar faces like Sparkle, the Masked Fool, and Stellaron Hunters Silver Wolf and Blade. Version 4.3 continues that adventure in Planacardia with Mortenax Blade.
How to play The Lethe Below the Living
This story isn’t accessible until you play through previous Planacardia chapters. However, if you must jump ahead, you can experience Blade’s chapter quicker by skipping dialogue lines you don’t care about. If you plan on actually reading every line of the story from the beginning of Planacardia, it may take over two hours per chapter.5-Star Characters
The headlining character for Honkai: Star Rail 4.3 was Mortenax Blade. However, he and Xianzhou Commander Yao Guang, who also ran earlier in the update, are no longer available. Instead, Cyrene and Phainon are running for the second half of Version 4.3. However, you can still experience his story at any time after this update. You just can’t pull for him. The second half of Version 4.3 instead brings back two fan favorites from Amphoreus, Cyrene and Phainon.
Cyrene
Cyrene is a Remembrance Support character introduced in Amphoreus. She mainly benefits Amphoreus DPS teammates like Phainon, Castorice, and Evernight. However, her best team includes Castorice, Evernight, and Hyacine. If you’re new to the game or don’t have any other Remembrance characters, I wouldn’t bother pulling for her. If you do, you’d need at least one of the DPS characters I mentioned to make a competent team. That’s before getting into the nitty-gritty of Light Cones and Eidolons.Phainon
As for Phainon, he can work with a bunch of different supports that can trigger his Ultimate. His playstyle involves using a team of Support characters to buff him and trigger his Ultimate, and then using his Khaslana form (think “Super Saiyan”) to take out as many waves of enemies as possible. If you lack a Physical DPS but have many reliable stat-buffing supports, then Phainon would be a great addition to your team.Many players use Dan Heng Terrae, a free 5-star Support character from a previous update, as one of his main teammates in addition to a 5-star that can give him an additional turn like Bronya, Sparkle, Robin, or Sunday. Sunday is the premium option out of the four. Ruan Mei, whom you can also get if you have Stellar Convergence, is also a solid choice. Tribbie would be better, but there’s currently no way to get her.
4-Star Characters
As for the four-stars on the Cyrene and Phainon banners… don’t bother pulling just to get them. March 7th and Yukong are free, and Arlan is basically a bottom-tier DPS. Even getting to E6 for any of them isn’t worth the effort, though you may get there if you pull for Cyrene or Phainon.But just because Cyrene and Phainon are strong characters doesn’t mean you need to pull for them. Alternatively, you could save for Himeko SP, the featured 5-star coming in the 4.8 update. If you’re a Himeko fan or just want her new form for its combat benefits, then I’d recommend holding off on pulling for Cyrene or Phainon. They are “nice-to-haves,” not “must-haves.”
Combat Improvements
Besides the new characters, players can start farming for these two new sets of Relics. These descriptions should match the in-game and official text for reference.
As Navigator Isee Sees It
- 2-Pc Set: Increases ATK by 12%.
- 4-Pc Set: When the wearer enters combat or uses a Skill, the DMG dealt by their Skill and Ultimate increases by 18%, stacking up to 3 times. At the start of the wearer's turn or after using an Ultimate, removes 1 stack of this effect.
- Best for: Phainon, Archer, Seele (any character that uses a lot of skill points)
Divine-Querying Master Smith
- 2-Pc Set: Increases Max HP by 12%.
- 4-Pc Set: Increases the wearer's CRIT DMG dealt to enemy targets in the DEF reduction state by 28%. After the wearer inflicts the DEF reduction state on an enemy target, all allies gain "Comburent" for 2 turns. This effect cannot be stacked. DMG dealt by ally targets with "Comburent" increases by 15%. This effect can be triggered again after the wearer uses an attack.
- Best for: Mortenax Blade
Hardcore players should also check out the new Starward Mode for Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction, and Apocalyptic Shadow. This is an optional final level for all of these endgame challenges for players who want the most difficult combat experience possible—besides Apocalyptic Anomaly, of course.
Limited-Time Events
Limited-time events change with every Honkai: Star Rail update, and some even appear halfway through the update like new character banners. These are the current limited-time events and future ones for Version 4.3 that you should be aware of, starting with the new and “bigger” events with more rewards.Pixel Plane Rumble
This event rewards players with x1240 Stellar Jades. Pixel Plane Rumble puts the Trailblazer in the role of a “pixel plane pilot” who guns down other pixel plane owners in a shooting mini-game decided by power-ups. Its gameplay mainly involves shooting at enemy planes, but you don’t need to aim or control what direction the plane shoots.You simply need to strengthen your plane with equipment, which you can get from an in-game store using Gold Coins. These coins come from winning fights against other planes. In the opening level, NPCs guided me through making a combat-focused plane with damage-dealing accessories. However, the strategy may change depending on the opponent. I didn’t use defensive equipment, but I could have bought it from the store.
How to access Pixel Plane Rumble
Even without entering Planacardia, you can unlock this event early to earn all 1,240 Stellar Jades. If you complete all the limited-time rewards objectives, you also get a Self-Modeling Resin as a reward. If you need to complete any limited-time event, I would choose this one.Wispae Amusement Park
This event rewards players with x500 Stellar Jades. Wispae Amusement Park is a board game-like simulator where the Trailblazer creates amusement park exhibits for the Planacardian creatures called Wispae. Apparently, owners of the Star Rail FEST venue in Planacardia have pinpointed a demand for location-themed exhibits for these little ones.How to play Wispae Amusement Park
Wispae Amusement Park features four different worlds: Belobog, Xianzhou Luofu, Penacony, and Planacardia.
Your goal is to earn a quota over a set number of days for each one. Each park starts as a grid with multiple empty spaces for you to place exhibit items. You get three exhibit items to pick from each turn, each with special abilities that rack up more points depending on placement. For example, in the Belobog map, placing any tile within the radius of a Bonfire tile boosts its points by 20% whenever a Wispae walks by it on the board. Exhibit items also have specific shapes you need to place on the board without blocking pedestrian paths.
After placing items, you can start a business day by accepting Wispae into your exhibit. Your points come from Wispae passing through the clearly outlined walking route to admire your exhibit items. You can also move exhibit items after you initially place them. That way, if you get access to another item that needs more space, you can just move exhibit items around to make room.