Previous chapter synopsis: The Trailblazer made a promise to Phainon and took up the mantle of the Deliverer. In return, Phainon unleashed their blazing wrath upon Nanook, once again forcing Irontomb’s advance to a halt. Yet the journey is far from over, rescuing Amphoreus remains an unavoidable challenge. In the new Trailblaze Mission, the Trailblazer will accompany Cyrene into another cycle of Eternal Recurrence, traveling back a thousand years to the ancient Okhema. This was the age when Imperator Cerydra, the holder of the Law Coreflame, ruler of Okhema, Aglaea’s predecessor, still sat upon the throne of Okhema.

Hysilens

Hysilens is the first of the two new characters, a follower of the Path of Nihility, a commander of the holy city’s knights and a 5-star Physical-Type character.

Here is the description of her powers:

Hysilens excels when paired with characters who specialize in DoT. Upon using her Ultimate, Hysilens creates a Zone. While the Zone is active, each instance of DoT inflicted on enemies will trigger an additional DoT from her. At the same time, all enemies will suffer reduced ATK and DEF. Moreover, her Basic ATK, Skill, and Ultimate each have a chance to apply a random type of DoT. Her Skill also increases the DMG enemies take, boosting the team’s overall DMG output.

Imperator Cerydra

Imperator Cerydra is a follower of the Path of Harmony and a 5-star Wind-type character. She is the holder of the Law Coreflame and the initiator of the first Flame-Chase Journey. She’s described as a master strategist who was raised on the principles of chess and excels in long-term planning and command.

Imperator Cerydra’s power description:

In combat, her Skill grants an ally a special upgradable buff known as “Military Merit,” increasing the ally’s ATK and dealing additional DMG. As the battle progresses, Military Merit levels up. The affected ally will gain increased CRIT DMG and All-Type RES PEN when using Skills and can even replicate their Skill effects, boosting the team’s overall DMG output. Her Ultimate deals DMG to all enemies and obtains Charge for herself, providing sustained support for the team.

Stellaron Hunter Kafka and Silver Wolf are returning as limited 5-star characters in the first and second halves of the Version 3.5 warp event.

There will also be a new map, where players can get a peek at Styxia, the City of Infinite Revelry. Other events join in on the fun, including the “Chrysos Maze Grand Restaurant” event, where players will work as a restaurant manager. In the “Old Brews & New Friends” event, you are the bartender and will reunite with returning characters at the “Dreamjolt Hostelry.”

Honkai: Star Rail is now available on PC, iOS, Android, Epic Games Store, and PS5.

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Note that there are spoilers for 3.4, so if you haven’t completed the “For the Sun is Set to Die” trailblaze mission, you’ve been warned!

Moderated by Trash Taste, a group of Tokyo-based content creators, Joey (The Anime Man), Garnet (Gigguk), and Connor (CDawgVA) had a lively panel discussion with the voice actors:

• Hayden Daviau: Voice actor of Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon, the three remaining fragments of Tribios, the first demigod of the Chrysos Heirs
• Gabriel Warburton: Voice actor of Mydei, Chrysos Heir and Crown Prince of Kremnos
• Joshua Waters: Voice actor of Phainon, Chrysos Heir, and the newest pullable character of 3.4
• Aiden Dawn: Voice actor of Cyrene/Mem, a childhood friend of Phainon and a floating cute fairy

All of them were fans of the game before joining and talked about how excited they were to be part of the cast officially. While I was sitting in the press and industry section during the panel, I came to realize that other HSR voice actors, such as Clara and Anaxa, among many others, surrounded me. They were really warm, supportive, and loudly cheering for their teammates on stage.

Notable Moments from the Panel

The actors discussed their approach to character development, and particularly for Daviau, who had to voice three characters. She focused on what their personalities were to hone in on how to distinguish them. 

“Tribbie was more energetic, the face and leader of the group,” said Daviau. “Trianne was a little more scrappy and kind of bratty at times. Trinnon was quite reserved. So it started from taking what her personalities were and then finding where that sat in my body for me.”

When asked which was her favorite, she picked Trianne with almost no hesitation, because of her scrappy energy, but would also choose Tribios as the older, whole form.

For Phainon, the 3.4 character of the moment, Waters explained his character’s progression. 

“Phainon is the mediated football coach, and we’re the Amphoreous squad,” Waters said. “He doesn’t want anyone to be mad or upset. He’s always quick to make them feel better. But as we got to 3.4 and his friends started passing away, he progressively got worse and became more Flame Reaver. So, if you look at the beginning of 3.4 and then the end, it is night and day, which I’m really pleased with.”

And how he voiced the Flame Reaver, who was revealed to be Khaslana, the Phainon of the previous Eternal Recurrence, elicited horrified gasps from the VAs sitting behind me. Waters explained that he pinches his larynx a little to get that growly voice. A no-no since it can lead to vocal cord damage.

Mydei’s Vulnerability

Warburton, while wearing the Phainon convention bag around his neck, talked about how he balanced Mydei, explaining that the toughest, most battle-hardened character can be the most emotionally vulnerable in private. He connected to Mydei by relating to his deep love for his mother, saying that if his mother were ever in pain, it would break his heart. That emotional connection helped him bring out the softer, more sensitive side, creating a natural balance between war, aggression, and vulnerability.

Cue back to the moment in 3.1 where Mydei first met his mother in the nether realm, telling him that the bloodline of Gorgo flowing within him will guide him home, and then later in his final cutscene, when he announces, “Mother, I’m home.”

Dawn talked about finally being able to reveal that Cyrene is Mem, a physical manifestation of Cyrene’s lost memories. As someone who hasn’t caught up to the latest patch, because I was busy building Phainon and grinding for his relics, this was a surprise to me. 

With Mem’s language, though, the team decided that every single syllable was still going to have to mean something, even if all you hear is “mem, mem, mem.” The tone and inflection still need to convey what she actually means.

“I had a lot of fun being this bratty little flying thing and being that character that’s always got some fun commentary on her,” Dawn explained.

Live Voice Acting and Surprise Song

It wouldn’t be a panel with voice actors without some voice acting, so the audience got to experience live performances with the most entertaining ones being Hayden voicing her chaotic character trailer, “Children Know Nothing,” along with Joshua and Gabriel voicing the Mydei and Phainon bathhouse scene where they had a “sauna battle.” Complete with sauna stools and privacy towels as props!

Another bonus? We were treated to a musical performance of the animated short “Hark! There’s Revelry Atop the Divine Mountain” with vocals by YMIR, who kind of looked like the Flame Reaver, with his hooded cloak. Joshua also voiced Phainon as he fought his way to Nanook.

Overall, the official Honkai: Star Rail panel was full of energy, and the voice actors are obviously huge fans of each other, making the in-game moments even more tight-knit. As a regular Honkai: Star Rail player, I was thrilled that everyone who attended received an exclusive Phainon metal card, an amazing memento to commemorate the panel, a temporary stop for the Astral Express. 

As Pom-pom would say, rest up, Trailblazers, your next adventure is right around the corner!

Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in North America, will return next year at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2nd to July 5th. You can play Honkai: Star Rail, currently on version 3.4, on PlayStation 5, iOS, Android, GeForce Now, and Windows.

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