Honkai: Star Rail has revealed one of the next characters set to join the game during a future update, the mysterious Stellaron Hunter Blade. The launch of the newest RPG from Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse has already seen a plethora of characters for players to acquire and add to their teams. The game's debut brought nine unique playable five-star characters, along with the Trailblazer, and a selection of thirteen four-star characters. Now, HoYoverse is teasing one of the next members planned to join the game's roster.
Honkai: Star Rail's story introduces the Stellaron Hunters as a mysterious organization traveling the universe in search of the rare and powerful Stellarons. Players have already been introduced to multiple members of the organization throughout the opening portions of the game, including Silver Wolf, Kafka, and Blade. Each character has been teased to be playable in a future update with leaks suggesting Silver Wolf will become the first to join the roster in Version 1.1 and Kafka in 1.2. Now, Star Rail has officially revealed Blade to be coming in one of the game's next updates.
The official Honkai: Star Rail Twitter account revealed Blade late Monday night with his splash art and a short blurb detailing the new character. Blade is introduced as a mysterious character who has hidden his real name, simply going by Blade and "possessing a terrifying self-healing ability." The post reveals Blade to be a five-star Wind element character in the Destruction Path, suggesting he will be a bruiser-type character providing both offensive and defensive capabilities. Blade is currently rumored to be releasing in Version 1.2 with the reveal seemingly confirming his launch window.
Blade's early reveal comes as the first from Honkai: Star Rail in a trend that Genshin Impact fans have coined "drip marketing." HoYoverse will typically reveal new characters at the start of the patch preceding their official release, building excitement from fans about the next update's characters. The developer has released similar teaser images showing off characters' splash arts for Genshin Impact, most recently teasing new character Kirara at the start of Version 3.6. Honkai: Star Rail's Version 1.2 update is currently expected to launch in mid-July with Version 1.1's Special Program coming later this week.
With HoYoVerse preparing to reveal more about the first post-launch update to Honkai: Star Rail, fans already have plenty in store from the coming patch. The developer is reportedly set to introduce multiple new features including a highly-requested chat system to the game. The update is also rumored to bring several new playable characters to the game with Silver Wolf, Luocha, and Yukong believed to be joining the roster. Star Rail's first update will look to keep up the momentum from the RPG's highly successful launch.
Honkai: Star Rail is available now for PC and mobile devices. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.
