Patch version 3.4 of Honkai: Star Rail has come and nearly gone, and with it Version 3.5 takes its place. Phainon’s big arc concluded and the Fate collab continues, so what are we moving on to? We’ll see two more Coreflame bearers, a new story arc as expected, and new events. We’ve even had upcoming characters teased, including new forms for March 7th and Dan Heng.
At the end of Version 3.4, Phainon unleashes his wrath upon Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction. In turn, Phainon manages to once again bring the Irontomb to a halt. Trailblazer, fulfilling Phainon’s final wish, takes up the mantle of deliverer to bring the cycle to its knees. This time, the Trailblazer is sent back one thousand years to the past, meeting with previous coreflame holders in Amphoreus’ next big challenge. What awaits the Trailblazer and their companions? Don’t worry, you don’t have to wait much longer to find out.
The big question on everybody’s mind is who is joining the journey this time? You may have seen the latest trailer, which features two new very powerful allies becoming playable in Version 3.5. First up is the 5-star Physical character Hysilens, who follows the Path of Nihility. Boasting an incredible kit centered around DoT, she’ll pair excellently with units such as Kafka and Black Swan to decimate enemies. Her Basic Attacks, Skill, and Ultimate all have a chance to apply a random DoT. Additionally, her Skill will cause opponents to receive increased damage. Not only does she have all of that utility, but her ultimate deploys a special Zone. While in this Zone, all enemies will suffer DoT twice as well as having shredded attack and defense stats. If you’ve been seeking another character excelling in damage over time, it doesn’t get any better than Hysilens.
Naturally, HoYoverse wouldn’t just let you off the hook with one powerful new ally. In addition to Hysilens, we see the introduction of 5-star Wind character Cerydra, specializing in the Path of Harmony. Cerydra is the holder of the Coreflame of Law as well as the initiator of the very first Flame-Chase Journey. As the commander of the military, she benefits from a special upgradeable buff known as “Military Merit”. This also buffs teammates, so she’s an incredible support unit. This “Military Merit” buff boosts the ally’s ATK and does additional damage, and grants the affected ally increased Crit DMG and All-Type RES Pen on skill activations, and Cerydra can even copy ally skill effects, boosting damage even further beyond. Her Ultimate deals damage and builds “Charge” for herself, further increasing her supportive capabilities.
Following Hysilens and Cerydra, we’ll see the return of two Stellaron Hunters on banner. Running alongside Hysilens in the first half of Version 3.5, Kafka makes her return alongside her signature Light Cone. Rounding up the second half with Cerydra is Silver Wolf, who just recently in Version 3.4 received a kit rework making her even more effective than before in combat alongside Kafka, so both characters are even better than you may remember. If you were waiting for these characters to return, there’s never been a better time than now to add them to your teams.
Version 3.5 of Honkai: Star Rail brings a new map, letting Trailblazers explore the city of Styxia, the city of Infinite Revelry. The story will reach a new turning point as we face off against Lygus, who will be switching between two forms. As his real motives and true form may become revealed, he becomes an even bigger threat than previously thought.
This new update will bring a couple events for Trailblazers to add those sweet, sweet Stellar Jades to their budget, including the brand new “Chrysos Maze Grand Restaurant” event. You’ll work alongside the Chrysos Heirs to manage your own restaurant, serving delicious food to the fairies of the Membrance Maze. In addition to this new event, a toggleable voice option for the collaboration characters will become available, allowing you to enable (if you’re playing on the English voice pack) the original voice actors’ dubbing for a more immersive experience.
Version 3.5 of Honkai: Star Rail, “Before Their Deaths”, releases on August 13th, 2025 on PS5, iOS, Android, and PC.