HoYoverse has confirmed that Version 4.4 of Honkai: Star Rail, titled In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound, will be released on 15 July 2026, continuing the game’s ongoing storyline as the region of Planarcadia faces a threat to its survival.
The new version picks up the narrative following the end of the previous chapter, in which the Lord Ravager Asat Pramad revealed his true identity and disrupted a peace that had held in Planarcadia for fifteen years. During the resulting conflict, the character Himeko disappeared while confronting Asat Pramad, though she left behind a clue connected to the Express before vanishing. In Version 4.4, the Trailblazer works to track down and interpret that clue in an effort to locate her, while Asat Pramad’s fixation on Himeko’s identity and events from fifteen years earlier is expected to shed light on his motives. The story builds toward a confrontation between the Trailblazer and Asat Pramad, with the fate of Planarcadia hanging on the outcome.
As part of this storyline, Himeko will take part in the battle in a new form known as Himeko • Nova. She is a 5-star, Fire-Type character who follows the Path of Erudition, and her banner will run for the entirety of Version 4.4. On entering battle, she deploys a Territory and summons a mech called Starblazer to assist her side. Her Ultimate allows her to lead teammates in piloting Starblazer to attack enemies, and while the Territory is active, all teammates gain an Assist Skill that lets them call on Starblazer to strike all enemies at will. Characters belonging to the Express Crew gain additional effects under this system. Outside of combat, using her Technique during overworld exploration lets Himeko • Nova pilot her mech and attack enemies from the air.
Planarcadia will also be the setting for the second phase of the collaboration between Honkai: Star Rail and Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]. According to the release, Rin Tohsaka arrives in Planarcadia after travelling to another world following the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War, her magical energy depleted. She borrows the Holy Grail featured in the Star Rail FEST collection showcase in an attempt to summon a Servant and use its power to return home. The Grail is restored by the abundance of Wishpower present in the land, an event that scatters the treasures of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, across the arcadia and causes widespread disruption. At the request of the Department of Aberration Defense, the Trailblazer joins Rin Tohsaka to recover the scattered treasures and investigate the circumstances behind what is being called the Imagenae: Holy Grail War. This special chapter and the second collaboration phase are scheduled to begin on 24 July 2026.
Both Rin Tohsaka and Gilgamesh will be added as playable characters alongside the new collaboration content. Rin Tohsaka is a 5-star, Quantum-Type character following the Path of Erudition, built around the use of gems in combat. During battle she accumulates “Gem Energy,” which she can consume to deal several instances of additional damage to a random target, with the amount of damage scaling based on how much Gem Energy is used. When teammates consume or recover Skill Points, her CRIT DMG increases and she gains further Gem Energy. Gilgamesh, meanwhile, is a 5-star, Lightning-Type character following the Path of Destruction. Each ally that takes action in battle builds up “Interest” for him, which regenerates Energy and boosts the damage of his Ultimate. Once Interest reaches a set threshold, Gilgamesh’s Skill unlocks, allowing him to unleash Gate of Babylon and fire multiple weapons from his treasury at enemies. His Ultimate summons Enuma Elish, dealing heavy damage to all enemies.
From the start of the collaboration on 24 July 2026 until before Version 4.6 concludes, players will be able to log in and claim either Gilgamesh or Archer as a free limited 5-star collaboration character, along with a portion of the relevant upgrade materials. Both the characters and their associated Light Cones will remain available on a long-term basis, and guarantee counts will be shared between the Collaboration Character Warps and Collaboration Light Cone Warps across both phases of the event. Players who spend a total of 200 Star Rail Special Passes during Version 4.4 will be able to choose and claim one of two limited 5-star collaboration Light Cones, “I Am As You Behold” or “The Hell Where Ideals Burn,” once the collaboration begins.
Elsewhere in Version 4.4, the limited 5-star characters Sparxie, Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae and Evernight will return for a limited time during the first half of the update, while Cerydra, Anaxa and Aventurine will return to Warp banners in the second half. A new outfit for Sparxie, called “Candy-Coated Waves,” will also be introduced during this period, alongside a new pet named “Pentaflavor Emoti” and a new Trailblaze Fashion item called “Fan-Made Lygus.”
The update will additionally bring a number of new events and modes. Players will be able to claim a 10-pull reward simply by logging in once the version goes live. Following the update, the “Fate/Star Rail Night” collaboration event will unfold alongside the main story, in which the Trailblazer and Rin Tohsaka search for the king’s scattered treasures and work to uncover the truth behind the Imagenae: Holy Grail War. A separate version event, “Antigraft Brickbuster,” will see the Trailblazer take on a request from Aventurine to investigate corruption within the IPC by stacking data bricks. The existing permanent mode “Currency Wars: Zero-Sum Game” will also be expanded and updated, with additional system features set to be optimised as part of the release.
