Honkai: Star Rail 1.4 banners: Jingliu, Topaz, and Guinaifen debut

Every new and returning character coming with the update

Author:
Marco Wutz
Updated:
Oct 10, 2023 4:51 AM EDT
Original:
Sep 29, 2023

Version 1.4 of Honkai: Star Rail is coming soon and will feature a couple of brand-new banners to pull additional playable characters from. If you’re not familiar with how HoYoverse is usually doing this, here’s a quick breakdown: Each version of Honkai: Star Rail has a duration of six weeks and contains several banners that each run for half of that time, so three weeks.

We don't know why, but update 1.4 will only last five instead of the usual six weeks, so each phase is a little shorter than usual.

Each of these banners features one 5-Star character and three 4-Star characters with boosted drop rates. Alongside these character banners run Light Cone banners with one 5-Star Light Cone and three 4-Star Light Cones, which usually are very good options for the characters being available at the time.

Version 1.4 introduces rerun banners to Honkai: Star Rail, which means that there will be three time-limited character banners per version instead of two.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Honkai: Star Rail 1.4 character and Light Cone banners.

Honkai: Star Rail Jingliu. — Jingliu finally makes her debut as a playable character in update 1.4.
HoYoverse

Honkai: Star Rail 1.4 banners: Phase 1

Starting on October 11, 2023, with update 1.4’s release, you’ll be able to call upon one new character:

Jingliu (5-Star character, Ice, The Destruction), Tingyun (4-Star character, Lightning, The Harmony), Qingque (4-Star character, Quantum, The Erudition), and Sampo (4-Star character, Wind, The Nihility).
I Shall Be My Own Sword (5-Star Light Cone, The Destruction), Memories of the Past (4-Star Light Cone, The Harmony), Make the World Clamor (4-Star Light Cone, The Erudition), and Eyes of the Prey (4-Star Light Cone, The Nihility).

Jingliu

Jingliu is an offensive powerhouse, but will require sustain in her team, because she eats away at her allies’ HP to boost her own attacks.

Tingyun

Tingyun is still one of the best support characters in the game. She boosts the attack power of her allies and can refill their Energy, enabling them to activate their Ultimate quickly.

Qingque

Qingque is a bit of a lazy gambler, which is reflected in her playstyle and sometimes makes her a little less reliable than you need her to be. She can be great fun to use for the same reason as well, if you’re into the idea of using a character with gacha mechanics in your gacha game.

Sampo

Sampo is a solid support character for teams built around the use of DoT effects, the damage of which he can boost. Outside of such compositions, there is little space for him at the moment.

Honkai: Star Rail 1.4 banners: Phase 2

Phase 2 will begin on October 27, 2023, and run up to the release of update 1.5. You’ll be able to get two brand-new characters in this time period in addition to a returning 5-Star character:

Topaz (5-Star character, Fire, The Hunt), Guinaifen (4-Star character, Fire, The Nihility), Sushang (4-Star character, Physical, The Hunt), and Luka (4-Star character, Physical, The Nihility).
Seele (5-Star character, Quantum, The Hunt), Guinaifen (4-Star character, Fire, The Nihility), Sushang (4-Star character, Physical, The Hunt), and Luka (4-Star character, Physical, The Nihility).
Worrisome, Blissful (5-Star Light Cone, The Hunt) and three 4-Star Light Cones.
In the Night (5-Star Light Cone, The Hunt) and three 4-Star Light Cones.

Topaz and Numby

Topaz fights alongside her trusty Trotter Numby and focuses on increasing the damage of her follow-up attacks. The duo can also generate Credits in the overworld and Simulated Universe by using their technique, which is pretty fun.

Seele

Seele is a powerful single-target damage dealer, who can skip turns after defeating enemies.

Guinaifen

Guinaifen specializes in causing the Burn effect, making her a potent member for DoT-focused teams. In addition to that, her passive ability allows her to further debuff any target affected by Burn. Anyone looking to complement their Kafka should keep an eye on her.

Sushang

Sushang is a very solid single-target damage option. She completely lacks any splash damage, but can skip a turn thanks to her Ultimate, enabling her to unleash devastating attack chains.

Luka

Luka is another DoT-focused character, though he specializes in causing Bleed against his foes. Again, if you have Kafka and need more support units for her, this banner sure is looking juicy.

Two weeks after the second phase of version 1.4 begins, update 1.5 will be out. This, in turn, will bring about the release of Huohuo, Argenti, and Hanya.