New leaks aboutHonkai: Star Rail3.4 have emerged, hinting at a free character giveaway that, while exciting in its nature, may be a terrible reward considering the game’s current circumstances. The turn-based RPG by HoYoverse is going through Version 3.3, and it will take it a couple of weeks to reach Version 3.4. Even so,the Version 3.4 beta tests are occurring, leading to a series of leaks about its contents. There have beenmultiple leaks aboutHonkai: Star Rail3.4, like details about the kits for Phainon, Saber, and Archer, all of whom will be new playable characters.
These leaks have also provided more information about the buffs that will be applied to the kits of older characters, as was previously announced by the developer. Based on what has been reported so far,the buffs will make Kafka, Blade, Jingliu, and Silver Wolf much more effective in combatand, possibly, even bring them up to the current character standard set by the Amphoreus characters.Blade’s leaked buffs inHonkai: Star Rail3.4, for instance, should make him scale solely on Max HP rather than a split between health and ATK. This, in turn, should make him much stronger.
Honkai: Star Rail 3.4 May Feature A New Free Character Giveaway
The Leak Says The Giveaway May Be Pushed Into A Later Update
Most of the leaks in any given patch are centered around new characters, banners, and updates to characters, but some leaks often share insight into other aspects of the patch. According to information provided by the leaker known as HomDGCat, who has a track record of being reliable,Version 3.4 may have an event with a free 4-star character selector for players to choose from. The leak was shared by user United-Focus 2723 in a now-deleted post tagged as “Reliable” onReddit. According to the leaker, this free character giveaway inHonkai: Star Railmay occur in a later update.
There is currently an ongoing free 4-star character giveaway event in Version 3.3, as part of the Legend of the Galactic Baseballer: Demon King event. The giveaway features Gallagher, Misha, Hanya, and Xueyi.
The leak highlights that, via this alleged reward,players will be able to select a free 4-star character to join their roster, between the options of Gallagher, Hanya, Luka, and Sampo. Because it’s uncertain if the event will happen in Version 3.4, it’s also unclear if this lineup of characters will remain until the release of the event that offers it. As reported by the leaker, there is a chance that the free 4-star giveaway may truly be pushed into a later update, since HoYoverse has already announced the free giveaway of the 5-starArcher inHonkai: Star Rail3.4.
Honkai: Star Rail’s Free Character Giveaways Are Starting To Get Problematic
The Character Selection Is Getting Repetitive & Players Aren’t Getting Too Much From The Reward Options
The biggest concern with this leak, however, isn’t related to whether or not it will occur in Version 3.4 or a later patch. Instead, the biggest issue with the free 4-star giveaways is that the selection is often poorly made or simply restricted in too many ways. It’s fantastic to be able to acquire a new 4-star character that you don’t have in your roster, or possibly even expand the Eidolon levels of some 4-star units you already own. However,these giveaways inHonkai: Star Railare starting to get repetitive, and HoYoverse seems to be running out of options.
As reported by the leaker, at least half of the selectable characters from the leaked giveaway may be the same options featured in the current Version 3.3 free 4-star character giveaway.Gallagher and Hanya are currently up for claims and, if the leak is accurate, they may be character options once again in the next update. These characters have been in the game for quite some time, and the most recent 4-star release, Moze, isn’t among the options. If the rumored giveaway featuredMoze inHonkai: Star Rail, players could have a chance to get him for the first time.
Considering he’s the most recent 4-star character, the odds of players not having Moze or at least not having his complete Eidolon track are larger than the odds applied to older 4-star units. However, with the way these giveaways are occurring, players aren’t really getting much out of them.Veteran players and some of those who pull frequently from banners may have not only obtained the featured 4-star units, but fully upgraded each of their Eidolon progressions. These players, instead of getting a new character, are essentially getting a free pull from banners inHonkai: Star Railvia Undying Starlight.
Honkai: Star Rail Desperately Needs To Improve Its 4-Star Roster
There Haven’t Been New 4-Star Units Since Moze, Almost A Year Ago
The essence of this problem doesn’t lie with the giveaway events, but the selection of 4-star characters that HoYoverse has to choose from. There is a seriousproblem with 4-star characters inHonkai: Star Rail: there are few releases of units in this category, so the developer doesn’t really have too many options to hand out when giveaways occur. As was mentioned, Moze was the last 4-star unit to be released. This happened back in Version 2.5, in September 2024, nearly a year ago.Since then, players haven’t even been teased about the prospect of a new 4-star character release.
The lack of more frequent 4-star character releases has been an ongoing issue with the game for quite some time, and has gotten worse over the past year – as exemplified by the absence of more units in this category after Moze.This is extremely detrimental to the game’s very structure, especially for F2P (free-to-play) players who rely on free giveaways to form their team compsand progress through the campaign and its other events. There’s no doubt HoYoverse has been preparing an impressive lineup of 5-star units, as exemplified byPhainon’s leaks inHonkai: Star Rail3.4.
Nevertheless, players who spend less in the game or don’t spend at all will have a hard time obtaining 5-star units. HoYoverse is often generous with its players, as it’s already given Dr. Ratio for free and, more recently, offered players the chance to choose between Luocha and Ruan Mei. Even so, the game desperately needs to increase its 4-star character roster. This will not only improve the experience for F2P players but also enhance the 4-star character giveaways that occur every so often, providing players with new options to choose from inHonkai: Star Rail.
