Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 “Into the Yawning Chasm” is nearly here, and there are a ton of events and quality-of-life changes coming to the game very soon. If you’re excited about upcoming characters like Acheron and Aventurine, then there’s a lot to look forward to in this update.
Version 2.1 also marks the one-year anniversary of Honkai Star Rail, so there will be a ton of free rewards that can be earned by completing special anniversary activities. The anniversary rewards include a bunch of free pulls, so make sure to log in and participate in the festivities so you can try to pull one of the three new characters (or returning 5-stars) in this patch.
Honkai Star Rail Version 2.1 Release Date
Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 will officially be released on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. If you’re located in the United States, then you’ll actually get to jump into the new update around 8 PM PT/11 PM ET on Tuesday, March 26. Honkai Star Rail’s maintenance periods usually only take a few hours, so the servers typically come back online before the clock strikes midnight in the west.
As always, there will be an opportunity to preload the patch before it goes live. The Honkai Star Rail launcher will notify you when the download becomes available. On mobile, you’ll need to visit the App Store or Play Store to start downloading the update. If you’re on PlayStation, then the patch will automatically start to download when the preload period begins.
Honkai Star Rail 2.1 Banner and Rerun Schedule
The first phase of Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 will feature the Words of Yore banner for Acheron, a new 5-star Lightning character on the Nihility Path. A Brilliant Fixation banner will also be live with Acheron’s signature Light Cone “Along the Passing Shore.” Luocha’s banner will be getting a rerun alongside Acheron in the first phase of version 2.1 as well. The new 4-star Fire Abundance character Gallagher will also debut on these banners. All of these banners will be available from Wednesday, March 27 through Wednesday, April 17.
In the second phase of Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 beginning on Wednesday, April 17, Acheron’s banner will be swapped out for Gilded Imprisonment featuring Aventurine. Aventurine is the game’s first Imaginary Preservation character. His signature Light Cone “Inherently Unjust Destiny” will also debut on the Brilliant Fixation banner, and Jingliu will be getting a rerun banner alongside Aventurine. These banners will last from Wednesday, April 17 through the release of the next Honkai Star Rail update on Wednesday, May 8.
Honkai Star Rail 2.1 Event Schedule
There are three major events taking place during Honkai Star Rail version 2.1.
- Cosmodyssey
- Vignettes in a Cup
- Tides of War: Untainted Childhood Memories Passionate-Heart Burning-Soul Ultimate Collection
As per usual, we’re getting one fun event in the form of Vignettes in a Cup and a second combat-focused event in the form of Tides of War. The Cosmodyssey event will celebrate Honkai Star Rail’s first anniversary, so there are a ton of free rewards waiting to be claimed.
Cosmodyssey Anniversary Event
The main attraction of Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 is the Cosmodyssey event, which commemorates the game’s one-year anniversary. This event lets you play a board game with daily dice rolls that move you around the board to earn Trailblaze Funds which can be exchanged for rewards. The Cosmodyssey board also contains multiple minigames and events to discover, so make sure to check in daily to see what happens.
The Honkai Star Rail anniversary event will also dole out some free rewards just for logging in. A Festive Gifts event will be live during the anniversary period, granting you a total of 20 Star Rail Special Passes as a log-in bonus. On the game’s anniversary on April 26, everyone will also get 1,600 Stellar Jades in their mailbox. That’s enough for a 10-pull!
On top of all that, the Oneiric Shard first-time top-up bonuses will be reset with the release of version 2.1. Plus, Trailblazers can enjoy triple Relic rewards from Caverns of Corrosion and triple Planar Ornament rewards from the Simulated Universe during the anniversary period as well.
Vignettes in a Cup Event
The next major event taking place during Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 is Vignettes in a Cup, which gives you a free 4-star character. During this event, you’ll mix drinks and earn revenue to receive free rewards like Stellar Jades and enhancement materials. Eventually, you’ll be able to choose a free 4-star character from this list:
- Gallagher
- Misha
- Xueyi
- Hanya
- Guinaifen
- Luka
- Lynx
- Yukong
Tides of War Event
The next event (starting later during version 2.1) is Tides of War: Untainted Childhood Memories Passionate-Heart Burning-Soul Ultimate Collection. That’s a mouthful. This is a combat event where you battle through a series of challenging fights with special buffs and rules. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before.
New Features in Honkai Star Rail 2.1
In addition to new Trailblaze Missions and some small new areas, Honkai Star Rail version 2.1 is adding some much-appreciated quality-of-life changes and other new features. Firstly, World 9 of the Simulated Universe is opening up with new Planar Ornament sets.
The first is Sigonia, the Unclaimed Desolation and the second is Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm. The full effects haven’t been revealed just yet, but we do know that Sigonia will be great for DPS characters and Izumo Gensei will provide bonuses to characters when their allies are on the same Path as them.
New Ascension and Trace materials are being released in version 2.1 as well, and these will be obtained from a new boss called Ten Stonehearts: Aventurine of Stratagems. As you grind for new materials, Relics, and Planar Ornaments, you’ll be happy to know that version 2.1 is also increasing the maximum relic inventory capacity to 2,000.
For lore nerds, there are new changes coming to Fate’s Atlas that will provide more details on the storyline and world of Honkai Star Rail. You’ll be able to see every character’s perspective at each stage of the story, and a new feature called Fate’s Ensemble will let you see the stories of characters that are not currently involved with the main Astral Express crew.
Finally, there are some more minor tweaks like the ability to claim assignment rewards and immediately redeploy all of them with just one button press instead of multiple. New Dream Ticker puzzles and Dreamscape Pass pages are also being added for the new zones in version 2.1, and Hanu transformation puzzles will get a destructive new twist with the addition of a rocket launcher.