The countdown has begun for the revolutionary 4.0 "No Aha at Full Moon" update in the Honkai Star Rail universe. This time, Trailblazers are headed to Planarcadia, a cyberpunk-themed entertainment planet and Aeon Aha’s playground.

Here are all the details you need about the highly anticipated update and its new characters, launching this Thursday (or Friday):

Honkai Star Rail 4.0: Planarcadia and the Path of Elation

This update introduces not only a brand-new region but also a fresh gameplay mechanic: the "The Elation" Path.

Release Date and Times

The update will go live based on server regions on 12-13 February 2026:

• North America: Evening of 12 February, Thursday.

• Europe and Turkey: Morning of 13 February, Friday (Maintenance usually starts at 01:00 Turkey time and ends around 06:00).

New 5-Star Characters

1. Yao Guang (Phase 1): * Element/Path: Physical / Elation

   • Role: Known as the Seer Strategist, Yao Guang is a powerful support character who boosts the team’s Elation damage and generates skill points (SP).

2. Sparxie (Phase 2): * Element/Path: Fire / Elation

   • Role: Sparxie, the “streamer” alter ego of Sparkle, is a main DPS character who consumes a lot of skill points for massive burst damage.

Rerun Banners

• First Half: Black Swan, Evernight, and Hysilens.

• Second Half: Sparkle, Cerydra, and Rappa.

4.0 Update Rewards

Since it’s the 4.0 version, Hoyoverse is going all out with rewards:

• Free 5-Star Character: Choose a free 5-star character (including Acheron, Kafka, Jingliu, and more) from a designated pool.

• Free Skin: A brand new outfit for Ruan Mei.

• Warps: Get a total of 20 limited Warps and 1600 Stellar Jade from login events.