Honkai Star Rail 1.2 brings incredible content add-ons, as well as a continuation of the main campaign. In the midst of all of these exciting additions, players are also given the choice of rolling for their favorite units - including the likes of Blade and Kafka. Rolling for these characters involves the consumption of Stellar Jades, the game’s primary currency for said summons.
As such, while at first glance it may seem that Honkai Star Rail 1.2 is pay-to-win, the truth is a bit more complicated.
Note: This article is subjective and represents the author’s opinions.
No, Honkai Star Rail 1.2 is not inherently pay-to-win
While Honkai Star Rail 1.2 does feature a sizable portion of microtransactions, including a dedicated battle pass section, it still can provide a “fair” experience to even “pure” free-to-play gamers.
Developer HoYoverse has ensured that players will not need to spend and build a team of exclusively 5-star units consisting of multiple unlocked Eidolons to clear content.
All content in the game can be cleared using starter characters such as Asta and the Trailblazer (Fire) - provided you invest time into building them properly. Additionally, no content has been blocked via a paywall either.
As far as the free-to-play title goes, HoYoverse provides a free 10-pull every patch, coupled with various sources of Stellar Jades from in-game events and campaign missions.
Thus, obtaining multiple 5-star characters is definitely possible as a free-to-play player. Players can easily farm enough Stellar Jades to guarantee a 5-star drop in version 1.2 alone.
The pay-to-win aspect is unfortunately highlighted as part of game progression, however. Players can choose to strengthen their characters via fusing duplicates (Eidolons), granting them additional abilities over a standard base version of the said character.
Furthermore, being able to directly purchase Stellar Jades and bypass a huge portion of the farming process is a noticeable advantage. In particular, the battle pass offers easy access to in-game materials that otherwise require spending Trailblaze Power to procure.
Thankfully, the game does not feature any PvP modes, and players can progress at their own pace without the heat of a competitive environment.
Compared to other gachas, Honkai Star Rail 1.2 is quite free-to-play friendly, much like HoYoverse’s other title, Genshin Impact.
Honkai Star Rail 1.2 was released worldwide on July 19, 2023. The free-to-play, turn-based RPG is available for PC, Android, and iOS devices. A PlayStation 5 port is in development, set for a Q4 2023 release.
Version 1.3 of the game is set to release sometime around August 30 and should be largely the same, with the addition of new characters and certain limited-time in-game events.
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