The 2.0 Version's Top 5 New Features: What You Need to Know

It’s official – Penacony is finally the next destination in Honkai Star Rail, and here are the top 5 new features coming with the 2.0 version.

So, we finally got to take a first look at Penacony, and let me tell you – it feels quite different from the other worlds.

Image Source: Gacha Gamer

1. Penacony: A New World Awaits

In a nutshell, the Express Crew will receive an invitation from a mysterious faction called the Family. When you arrive at Penacony, you’ll enter a massive hotel, and then, in a special room, you'll need to fall asleep on a device called Dreampool to enter the Dreamscape. In these dreams, you'll encounter all sorts of wacky things.

The first dreamscape, called Golden Hour, features a Jazz Age environment with old-timey shops and casinos. One standout element is a popular drink called SoulGlad, which explains why this liquid was appearing in fountains – it's soda. There's also a companion named Clockie, a famous cartoon IP in Penacony. As you progress in this new world, you can upgrade its status to gain rewards.

Now, the biggest thing about this new world is gravitational exploration. Basically, you'll be able to walk on walls and explore maps not just from the ground level. To activate the gravitational walk, you'll need to pick up special charges. Two revealed puzzle types include an optical illusion where you navigate to reach the end of the path and a jigsaw puzzle assembly that can reveal new locations, items, and NPCs.

As for new enemies, there are plenty of them. First, there are SoulGlad-powered robots called Dreamjolt Troupe, featuring interesting soda drink moves. Then there's Lordly Trashcan, which doesn’t have HP, and you need to cause enough Weakness Break to defeat it or avoid conflict altogether. There's also Mr. Domescreen, a unique enemy that swaps between faces, either harming or helping your team. Additionally, there's a new type of enemy called "Something Unto Death," inflicting fatal damage to some party members when its red eyes open.

For a cool boss fight, we will go up against Sam, the last member of Stellaron Hunters. Sam will consume health to greatly increase combat capabilities and even set the battlefield on fire.

Now, when it comes to new Trailblaze missions, they will be included from 2.0 to 2.2 updates, with an epilogue mission on patch 2.3. Companion missions for both Sparkle and Black Swan will also be available.

Overall, there’s a ton of new content coming with this new world, including the ability to affect certain NPC emotions.

2. New Events

Now, let's talk about new events. In Hanu’s Prison Break, you need to break out your cellmates from prison by playing mini-games, and you can turn into a cute chibi character, Hanu, to solve puzzles. Another event called Dreamchase Bulletin requires reading a newsletter and doing exploration missions in the new world for extra rewards. There's also a new battle event called Dreamjolt TV featuring a funny Chef T-Rex with different mutations for enemies, rewarding points based on your team's performance.

Aside from fighting and solving puzzles, there's also a Food Fest event where you'll cook various dishes by submitting basic materials, unlocking new food recipes, and other rewards.

Now, for the serious stuff – the Light Cones shop for both Pure Fiction and Forgotten Hall will get updated. There's also an easy, free stuff section – with login events, you can claim 10 free pulls, and there's another check-in event for an additional 10 pulls, making it a total of 20 pulls.

3. New Characters

The new characters in the 2.0 update look interesting. Black Swan, a 5-star Wind Nihility unit, has a unique mechanic with a special Arcana debuff that stacks on enemies. Sparkle, a 5-star Quantum Harmony unit, increases the maximum skill points for the team and restores skill points with her Ultimate. A new 4-star character, Misha, an Ice Destruction unit, prefers Sparkle's company and has abilities that improve with more skill points.

Regarding the new banners, Phase 1 features Black Swan and Imbibitor Lunae along with Misha, while Phase 2 has Sparkle and Jing Yuan banners. Unfortunately, the remaining featured 4-stars haven’t been revealed yet.

4. New Relics

Now, save up that fuel because 2.0 introduces new relic sets. The Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters enhances damage to debuffed enemies, suitable for characters like Dr. Ratio. The Watchmaker, Master of Dream Machinations, increases Break Effect for the whole team, likely a support set.

5. Quality of Life

One of the highlights of the Blog is the quality of life changes for Star Rail. The Fate Atlas System gives a visual overview of all story and plot moments. The support system now allows you to add 5 more characters to your support roster, improving passive income. You can now auto-enhance relics to a designated break point, and improvements have been made to the sorting and filtering system for relics. The Relic Recommendation system is introduced, based on data from active players. Salvaging relics is also upgraded for a smoother experience.

In summary, the 2.0 update for Honkai Star Rail is massive, introducing a plethora of new content, characters, events, and quality-of-life improvements. I hope you found this Blog useful. Don't forget to Comment"