Summary
Honkai: Star Rail’s roster of characters seems to be shaping up just as good or even better than Hoyoverse’s other games,Genshin ImpactandHonkai Impact 3rd. The latest update introduced5-star character Blade the Stellaron Hunter, who’s turned out to be a very well-liked and powerful character. The next 5-star character to appear on a limited-time banner is the Stellaron Hunter Kafka, who’s introduced in the beginning of the game and was responsible for the “birth” of the Trailblazer. However,Honkai: Star Rail’s following 5-star character is going to be someone special: Imbibitor Lunae, an alternate form of the Astral Express' Dan Heng.
According to the lore ofHonkai: Star Rail, Imbibitor Lunae is the title of the Vidyadhara (a draconic race of people) High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu. Dan Heng, one of the free characters players acquire in the beginning of the game, so happens to be the reincarnation of the previous Imbibitor Lunae, as revealed in the newest Trailblaze Mission inHonkai: Star RailVersion 1.2. Dan Heng’s base form is a 4-star Wind character following the Path of The Hunt, but Imbibitor Lunae will be a 5-star Imaginary character following the Path of Destruction.
RELATED:Why Immortality in Honkai: Star Rail is a Curse
Why Imbibitor Lunae Is a Unique Character in Honkai: Star Rail
Imbibitor Lunae is a special character inHonkai: Star Railbecause he’s not an entirely new character. Imbibitor Lunae is an alternate form of an already existing character. Currently, the only other character to havealternate forms is the main character, the Trailblazer, who can freely switch between their Destruction (Physical) form or Preservation (Fire) form, allowing for two unique styles of combat and weapons. In Hoyoverse’s other ongoing game,Genshin Impact, no characters have alternate forms aside from the Traveler, so Hoyoverse is trying do something different here.
Given the lore and potential story ofHonkai: Star Rail, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness Hoyoverse repeat a similar process of a 4-star character getting an alternate 5-star form. Although the game is still in its first year, there are plenty of characters yet to be added into the game, though there are already a few characters that could undergo a treatment similar toDan Heng being Imbibitor Lunae. Three characters that could acquire different forms could include Herta, Sampo, and March 7th.
Other Existing Honkai: Star Rail Characters That Could Get Alternate 5-Star Forms
Herta is the master of the Herta Space Station and Member 83 ofthe Genius Society. The Herta players are able to see and acquire in the game at the moment is not Herta herself but puppets she’s created in the appearance of her younger self. The real Herta is older and hasn’t appeared in the game so far. It’s possible that Hoyoverse could to create a character based on Herta’s actual self, being 5-star upgrade from her current 4-star version.
Sampo is one of the strangest characters inHonkai: Star Rail. A talkative mercenary/merchant from Jarilo-VI, Sampo’s always up to something every time he shows up in the game. His mysterious nature is quite perplexing for players, as he even has a very cryptic cutscene at the end of the Jarilo-VI Trailblaze Mission in which he seemingly talks to the players. There’s also rumors thatSampo might be the unknown Stellaron Hunter Sam, but there’s no solid proof at the moment. It’s entirely possible that Sampo could receive a 5-star alternate version of himself tied to his real identity.
March 7th is a fellow member of the Astral Express and the game’s most popular side character. March 7th’s backstory is that she was taken in by the Astral Express Crew after being found drifting through space encased in ice. She doesn’t have any memories of her past, so there are various possibilities Hoyoverse can take to make March 7th a special character like Dan Heng, resulting in a 5-star version of her for players to pull for.Honkai: Star Rail’s cast is growing with each update, and maybe Hoyoverse will surprise players with alternate versions of fan-favorites.
Honkai: Star Railis now available on Android, iOS, and PC. PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.
