HoYoverse Announces Character Revamps for Kafka and Beloved Classics in Honkai Star Rail Version 3.4

In an exciting announcement from HoYoverse during their latest Honkai Star Rail livestream, fans were thrilled to hear about a set of character reworks planned for update HSR 3.4. The upcoming tweaks aim to reignite interest in some beloved, yet slightly forgotten, characters such as Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, and Jingliu. While the developers kept the details of these enhancements under wraps, they assured players that the changes are in direct response to community feedback requesting updates to these specific characters.

If everything stays on track, we can expect the HSR 3.4 update to roll out in early July 2025.

Back in 2023, these four characters were top-tier choices in Honkai Star Rail, quickly earning their place in the hearts of players. Kafka, in particular, enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in 2024 with the arrival of Acheron. However, over time, their effectiveness has naturally waned. Jingliu, for instance, demands significant investment yet still falls short in damage compared to her peers. Kafka has been lacking any fresh damage-over-time companions for a while, and the recent arrival of Mydei hasn’t helped much, serving mainly as a Blade 2.0.

This phenomenon of “powercreep,” where older characters gradually lose their edge, is quite common in gacha games like Honkai Star Rail. However, it’s worth noting that HoYoverse’s contemporary games usually manage to keep their characters viable for longer periods. In Genshin Impact, some of the standout characters from the game’s early days remain competitive in high-tier lists and are perfectly capable of tackling challenging endgame content. Similarly, in Zenless Zone Zero, you can still face tough opponents effectively using the original three free characters. Both games have evolved, but they’ve managed not to obsolete their characters.

That said, it seems HoYoverse may not be planning the same revivals for all characters. Some like Bailu, Yanqing, Natasha, Hook, and Welt have unfortunately been left behind, with no signs of change on the horizon for them.

On a brighter note for those craving a bit of nostalgia, players will have the opportunity to choose one of two free 5-star characters with the release of version 3.2—either Ruan Mei or Luocha. So, keep an eye out as these old favorites might just surprise you!