Honkai Star Rail 2.1 release date and anniversary celebrations

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 pulls into the station soon, with new characters, more events, and some big celebrations for the RPG’s first anniversary. The HoYo team is giving out over two dozen free pulls, and there’s a new Monopoly-inspired mode in the works as well. That’s on top of the usual new events, new banners, and the continuation of Penacony’s already-excellent story.

We've outlined everything new coming to Honkai Star Rail 2.1 below, including a new Simulated Universe world and ornament sets.

Honkai Star Rail 2.1

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 release date

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 goes live on March 27, 2024, and it lasts the usual six weeks with two phases of banners and several events spread across the version update. Version 2.0’s events end a few days before the update, on March 24, 2024, so make sure you’ve wrapped up everything you want to do ahead of time.

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 banners

Acheron and Aventurine make their debut in version 2.1. Check out more about them in our Star Rail 2.1 banners roundup, including who the reruns are this time.

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 events

The update’s flagship event is Vignettes in a Cup, and as you might expect, it’s a drink-making event. You take the role of cosmic bartender and create the perfect concoctions for a bizarre range of clients eager to tell you all their problems. This one will stick around permanently, so there’s no rush to complete it all during the main update.

Tides of War is the version’s combat event, and like similar events in Genshin Impact, you’ll get a set of characters and buffs to augment your experience.

Finally is Cosmodyssey, a real-estate game with random events and rewards including a Light Cone. It looks like a cross between Fortune Street and Monopoly, though HoYoverse didn’t say much about what to expect from it other than that you can team up with friends in multiplayer mode.

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 anniversary celebrations

HoYoverse is throwing freebies at us left and right to celebrate Star Rail’s first anniversary. We’ll all be getting 20 free pulls through pass giveaways, similar to the Gift of Odyssey log-in rewards HoYoverse gives out with each new version update, and another 10 pulls will come in the form of a free round of 1,600 Stellar Jade.

While Planar Fissure and Realm of the Strange usually take place at the end of a version, HoYoverse is breaking tradition and frontloating 2.1 with them.

Finally, the shard top-ups are getting a refresh, so you’ll get first-time purchase bonuses for buying Oneiric Shards, which we don’t really recommend doing anyway.

Honkai Star Rail 2.1 map

Version 2.1 adds two new areas of Penacony, where the Devil in Velvet Trailblaze mission unfolds: the Clock Studios Theme Park and Dewlight Pavilion. HoYoverse only showed a little bit of those spots in the version trailer, so we’re not sure yet just how big they are.

Simulated Universe World 9

Herta finally got her act in gear and added a new world to the Simulated Universe. This one’s based on Penacony, so it should be a handy way to stock up on materials for the likes of Sparkle and Black Swan. It also comes with two new Ornament sets:

• Sigonia, the Unclaimed Devestation: Increases crit rate and crit damage
• Izumo Gensei and Takama Divine Realm: Increases attack. Also raises crit rate if at least one other ally is on the same path as the wearer

What else is new in Star Rail 2.1?

One interesting feature that I’m particular excited about is Fate’s Ensemble. This narrative tool lets you view story events from other characters’ perspectives. HoYoverse showed one mission from Acheron’s view and from Aventurine’s view, though it’s not clear just yet whether this is a limited thing or something we’ll see in every future mission.

Another nice update is one-touch assignments. It’s similar to Genshin Impact’s recent upgrade, where you can receive and dispatch assignments en masse instead of one-by-one.

If you're wondering who might work with version 2.1's upcoming characters, check out our Honkai Star Rail tier list, and head over to our Star Rail codes page for some freebies to help with your next pull.