HoYoverse has recently announced an exciting development for Honkai Star Rail during their latest RPG livestream: several beloved characters are getting significant updates in the upcoming HSR 3.4 update. The characters set to receive these much-desired reworks include Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, and Jingliu. This overhaul comes in response to community feedback, as fans have been eager to see these characters regain their former prominence. However, HoYoverse has yet to provide specifics on what changes will be implemented.
According to the team’s projected timeline, if everything goes as planned, players can expect the HSR 3.4 update to launch in early July 2025.
Back in 2023, these four characters were among the top picks in Honkai Star Rail. Kafka even experienced a resurgence in 2024 with the introduction of Acheron. Despite this, they’ve since seen a decline in usefulness. Jingliu, for instance, demands significant resources but still lags behind her peers in terms of damage output. Kafka hasn’t seen any new characters to synergize with her damage-over-time abilities for several months now, and the latest addition, Mydei, is essentially a replica of Blade.
The phenomenon of older characters losing their edge, known as “powercreep,” is a common aspect of gacha games like Honkai Star Rail. Interestingly, HoYoverse’s other popular titles don’t usually see their characters falling behind so quickly. In Genshin Impact, some of the characters from its launch period are still highly ranked in tier lists and remain viable for tackling late-game content. In Zenless Zone Zero, you can contend with tough bosses using the same three starter characters. While changes have come for both games, their original rosters remain relevant.
Nevertheless, it seems that similar reworks won’t be happening for all characters. Figures like Bailu, Yanqing, Natasha, Hook, and Welt have been left behind, and there’s no indication that HoYoverse plans to revisit them anytime soon.
On a lighter note, the arrival of version 3.2 brings an exciting opportunity for players. You’ll be able to choose between two free 5-star characters—either Ruan Mei or Luocha—once the update goes live.
