HoYoverse promises Honkai Star Rail character reworks for Kafka and some old fan favorites in version 3.4

A set of Honkai Star Rail character reworks designed to bring popular, once-powerful characters back to some kind of relevance is coming in HSR 3.4, HoYoverse announced during the RPG’s latest livestream. Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, and Jingliu will get some kind of overhaul in response to fan requests that these specific characters be revamped, HoYoverse said, but the studio held back on what these changes might consist of.

Assuming the game’s update schedule remains uninterrupted, HSR 3.4 should go live in early July 2025.

Each of the four were considered among the best characters in Honkai Star Rail when they debuted in the game across 2023, and Kafka found new relevance in 2024 when Acheron swept into the game. However, their damage output and team compositions have faded over time. Jingliu requires heavy investment and still dishes out less damage than others in her class; Kafka hasn’t had any new damage-over-time characters to work with in months, and recent addition Mydei is essentially Blade 2.0.

Old characters fading into irrelevance, colloquially called “powercreep,” is nothing new for gacha games like Honkai Star Rail, though HoYoverse’s modern games typically don’t see their characters lose relevance so quickly. Some of Genshin Impact’s high performers from the game’s first few years still rank high on popular tier lists and can see players through endgame challenges without issue. Then there’s Zenless Zone Zero, where it’s feasible to tackle bosses and other tough opponents using the same three, free characters you start the game with. While both games have changed, they haven’t left their characters behind.

It seems unlikely that HoYoverse has similar plans for other characters, though. Time has left Bailu, Yanqing, Natasha, Hook, and Welt in the dust, so to speak, and there’s no suggestion that’ll change anytime soon.

Speaking of older characters, you’ll have a chance to pick one of two free 5-star characters once version 3.2 goes live, either Ruan Mei or Luocha.