The departure to Planarcadia and Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.0 are almost upon us. What better time to learn more about the brand-new Path of Elation, the first two characters that belong to it, Yao Guang and Sparxie, new Light Cones, Relics, and more?
Elation characters can gain “Punchline” after performing specific actions. Aha is drawn by them and appears in the action bar. When THEY take action, it triggers “Aha Instant”, leading Elation characters to use their Skills in sequence and deal Elation Damage. After each Aha Instant ends, Aha will bestow THEIR authority, allowing Elation characters to continue dealing Elation damage in subsequent actions.
Yao Guang – 5-star Physical Elation
Yao Guang, our dedicated support, specializes in using “Weal and Woe Lots” to control the flow of battle. Weal Lots increase ally Elation and grant the team “Punchline” stacks when Yao Guang uses her Skill. During an “Aha Instant,” Yao Guang casts Woe Lots, causing enemies to take increased DMG while regenerating Skill Points for the team. Yao Guang’s “Certified Banger” buff allows teammates’ attacks to deal 1 instance of Additional Elation DMG; if that attack consumes a Skill Point, the DMG is further increased.
Furthermore, her Ultimate not only provides “Punchline” for the team but also immediately triggers an extra “Aha Instant,” increasing All-Type RES PEN for all allies.
Sparxie – 5-star Fire Elation
Bearing a striking resemblance to the familiar Masked Fool Sparkle who is about to get her Novaflare, she is the hottest streamer in Planarcadia. In combat, acting as a streamer, Sparxie opens a livestream room to engage in a live upvote showdown with enemies. Players can continuously consume Skill Points to send random “Gifts” to Sparxie, regenerating varying amounts of Skill Points or “Punchlines” for the team. The more Skill Points consumed, the more Punchlines the team gains, and the
higher the DMG dealt at the final settlement.
During “Aha Instant,” Sparxie kicks off a boisterous lucky draw, dealing massive DMG to all enemies with multiple bounces. While in the “Certified Banger” state, every Gift triggered during the live showdown will deal additional Elation DMG to a random enemy target upon settlement. Furthermore, Sparxie’s Ultimate also deals extra Elation DMG.
New Path means new Light Cones. Naturally, both Yao Guang and Sparxie will get their 5-star Signature LCs, but what about those who are too Stellar Jade-poor or unwilling to commit? The game will introduce 4 more available LCs:
- Mushy Shroomy’s Adventures (4-star) – can be acquired through the MoC store;
- Today’s Good Luck (4-star) – new paid Battle Pass reward;
- Sneering (3-star) – can be acquired through gacha;
- Lingering Tear (3-star) – can be acquired through gacha;
- Hopefully, Herta’s Store and Light Cone Manifest will provide more options over the course of the expansion as well.
Two new sets of Cavern realics are also targeting the Elation characters. Ready to go back to the mines?
“Ever-Glorious Magical Girl”: 2-pc Set: Increases CRIT DMG by 16%, 4-pc Set: The Elation DMG dealt by the wearer and their memosprites ignores 10% of targets’ DEF. For each 5 accumulated Punchline allies gain, the Elation DMG dealt additionally ignores 1% of targets’ DEF, which stacks up to 10 time(s).
“Diviner of Distant Reach”: 2-pc Set: SPD increases by 6%; 4-pc Set: Before entering combat, if the wearer’s SPD is greater than or equal to 120/160, increases the wearer’s CRIT Rate by 10%/18%. When the wearer uses an Elation Skill for the first time in each combat, increases all allies’ Elation by 10%. This effect cannot stack.
