Honkai: Star Rail is lastly going to assist characters which have fallen by the wayside due to energy creep, however in what methods? HSR has continued to be one of the vital in style and worthwhile gacha video games available on the market. Its continued success has led to the big 3.0 immersive expansion, a brand new planet, and a brand new playable Path. The hit title has additionally continued to minimize the tedious character-building grind with useful boons to grind extra typically or create customized relics.
Given the character of gacha video games, HSR has fallen into energy creep and is arguably the worst of the HoYoverse video games. Although one thing like Zenless Zone Zero can still avoid power creep, HSR is simply too deep to reverse it. That’s not to say that previous characters are pointless, as they’ll nonetheless be enjoyable and comparatively robust. Nevertheless, newer content material continues to be targeted extra on new characters and the ever-growing injury numbers they’ll produce.
Honkai: Star Rail Seems to be To “Buff” Previous Characters
An Acknowledgment Of Failings
In a weblog put up on the official HoYoLAB web site, the builders of Star Rail gave a brief replace on how they want to strengthen previous characters that really feel much less viable within the ever-increasing issue of the endgame content material. To some extent, this may be linked to the story, the place a few of the boss battles are extra tuned to newer characters moderately than previous ones. Nevertheless, this may be offset considerably by the current development of getting trial characters in story missions.
“As well as, points near Trailblazers’ hearts, together with issue deploying older characters on the battlefield and the strengthening of those older characters, are already on the schedule.”
That is changing into more and more wanted attributable to how energy creep has labored its method into Star Rail. The principle subject is that newer characters constantly dish out extra injury, which makes it exhausting for older characters to maintain up. Even somebody like Jing Yuan, who has been not directly buffed by new character releases a number of occasions, can not sustain. The opposite subject is endgame content material like MOC, Shadows, and Pure Fiction being tuned to the brand new launch specialties like Break or particular characters like The Herta and her best builds.
How Star Rail Might Study From Genshin Influence
A Earlier Answer
One avenue Star Rail may take for buffing previous characters has already been seen in Genshin Influence. The Imaginarium Theater has a set solid of “ongoing characters” for each replace that receives buffs of some sort. These buffs usually are not unique to the sport mode and carry into the common world.
![Genshin Impact's Mualani smiles and opens her arms.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/genshin-impact-55-leaks-absence-explanation-mualani.jpg)
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Star Rail may do one thing comparable the place sure older characters obtain a short lived stat buff each season to convey them in keeping with new characters. This can be a good possibility because it would not forestall HoYoverse from earning money, as newer characters will nonetheless be barely stronger and have extra longevity. Nevertheless, it nonetheless permits for previous characters to see some limelight on a rotational foundation.
How Star Rail Can Break The Gacha Buff Rule
Breaking The Mould
The opposite possibility, albeit extremely unlikely, can be for Star Rail to interrupt the gacha custom and begin buffing characters. These buffs are unlikely to be something main or have equipment reworks, however it could scale the numbers up. Even simply scaling the numbers would make previous DPS models really feel like they’ll compete with newer choices.
![Honkai Star Rail's Phainon put his hand on his chest, in front of the Xianzhou Luofu and Belobog.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/honkai-star-rail-maps-updates-flying-amphoras-amphoreus-phainon-op-ed.jpg)
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The issue right here is that gacha video games primarily by no means buff previous characters. The one time HoYoverse has accomplished it was with Zhongli, whose protect was comparatively weak on launch. Even then, the doubtless cause for this was that he was an Archon who would make them some huge cash the stronger he was. At this level, previous characters will not make HoYo any cash except the buff is aligned with a rerun date, so buffing them can be purely to sate viewers disappointment.
The doubtless end result of this announcement is one thing nearer to what Genshin Influence did. It is because it could be simpler for the builders for the reason that groundwork is already there, and it would not harm the enterprise facet of issues as a lot. No matter how HoYoverse finally approaches the endeavor, it needs to be an excellent factor that previous characters that gamers invested closely in will be capable of see beneficial utilization once more if Honkai: Star Rail buffs previous characters.
Supply: HoYoLAB