The most exciting part of every new update is the collection of characters that are available in the banners, letting you build out your team with powerful new additions. The Honkai Star Rail 1.6 banners are shaping up to be the best yet, with leaks revealing the full lineup before the official reveal. So, stock up on Stellar Jade, Trailblazer, as the latest HSR banners are perfect for PS5 players.
The Honkai Star Rail 1.6 livestream will showcase all the exciting new content heading to Honkai Star Rail, one of the best RPG games out right now. With new missions, events, and more, there’s a lot to dive into, though the leaked Honkai Star Rail banner schedule could be the best yet for PS5 players.
The Honkai Star Rail 1.6 banners will reportedly feature the following characters:
- Ruan Mei – new five-star (phase one)
- Blade – returning five-star (phase one)
- Xueyi – new four-star (phase one)
- March 7th – returning four-star (phase one)
- Tingyun – returning four-star (phase one)
- Dr. Ratio – new five-star (phase two)
- Kafka – returning five-star (phase two)
- Natasha – returning four-star (phase two)
- Hook – returning four-star (phase two)
- Sushang – returning four-star (phase two)
Leaks by reputable leaker ‘Meow’ support The Loadout’s estimates for the upcoming featured units as well as months of community prediction and forecasting, though these HSR banners will be officially confirmed in the Version 1.6 Special Program on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 4:30 am PDT/7:30 am EDT/11:30 am GMT.
With two new characters and two incredible returning characters, the HSR 1.6 banners are absolutely stacked, especially for PS5 players that missed out on the first run of the returning five-stars. In other words, it’s the first time PS5 players are able to add Blade and Kafka to their party. Though we’re still waiting for Luocha to have a rerun so PS5 players can get their hands on this meta healer, both Blade and Kafka are exceptionally strong damage dealers that have been dominating endgame content, so it’s only fair that PS5 players finally get a chance to unlock them.
Though we predicted Blade and Kafka would return just in time for PS5 players to pick them up for the first time, we weren’t expecting quite a well-rounded set of banners, with no weak four-star offerings to drag either phase of the HSR 1.6 banners down.
As for the new characters Ruan Mei and Dr. Ratio, these are great additions for PS5 players as well as mobile and PC Trailblazers. Supposedly available in phase one of the HSR 1.6 banners, Ruan Mei is an Ice Harmony character. This means they’re an offensive support character, arguably one of the most important roles to fill. Similarly, Ruan Mei is the first Ice unit to belong to the Harmony Path, with this niche already giving her great value. However, it’s worth remembering that Ruan Mei will be up against some stiff competition from the likes of Tingyun and Bronya, the former of which is available in the same banner as Ruan Mei.
On the flip side, Dr. Ratio is expected to headline phase two of the HSR 1.6 banners. As an Imaginary Hunt character, Dr. Ratio is a DPS unit focusing predominantly on single-target damage. Like Ruan Mei, however, Dr. Ratio has a lot to live up to, particularly from the meta DPS units like Blade, Imbibitor Lunae, and Jingliu that, despite being Destruction Path units, offer great single-target damage.
Phase one is also expected to debut the new four-star unit Xueyi to accompany Ruan Mei and the Blade rerun. Xueyi is a Quantum Destruction character so she should slot well into a sub-DPS role. Given she’s a four-star though, Xueyi will have to punch well above her weight to make all that much impact on the meta, especially as the current best DPS characters are five-star Destruction units.
Overall, the Honkai Star Rail 1.6 banners are shaping up to be arguably the best yet, at least for PS5 players who missed out on two meta units. Phase one of the HSR 1.6 banners features two new characters, a great rerun, and a solid selection of four-star characters generally, so it’s a safe bet for any player looking to add offense and utility to their team. Likewise, while phase two of the Honkai Star Rail 1.6 banners isn’t quite as exciting, with only one new character, Kafka’s rerun is a treat, alongside a great opportunity to get stellar DPS Sushang and Eidolon levels for Natasha.
Whether you’ve got your eyes on phase one or two of the HSR 1.6 banners then, you’re in store for some of the strongest characters in the Honkai Star Rail tier list. Hopefully, luck is on your side, otherwise, you could end the update empty-handed, without these stellar units to build the best Honkai Star Rail team comp in the galaxy. If you need a helping hand, be sure to check out the Honkai Star Rail codes to get bonus Stellar Jade before the HSR 1.6 banners roll around.