Honkai Star Rail 4.5 Overview: Thousand-Star City and Two New 5-Stars
Version 4.5 strengthens the Elation archetype, and the two new characters sit on two different axes: action frequency and total team attack count.
Patch timing and new areas
Version 4.5 "Wager of a Thousand Stars" launched on August 26, 2026, adding the Trailblaze Mission "Thousand-Star City: Wager of a Thousand Stars" and the Trailblaze Continuance "Thousand-Star City: How To Become A Billionaire, Starting From Not Wanting Money". Both are permanently available after the update and require Trailblaze Level 21 or higher.
New areas are Thousand-Star City Central District, the Pointer Tower and the Hollow Sound Court. The Pointer Tower is described as the backstage of Thousand-Star City, and the Hollow Sound Court floats at its top, functioning as the city's heart.
Robin Sunlit (Remembrance, Wind)
Sunlit is a support who summons the memosprite Clear-Sky Musician to fight alongside her. She advances a designated ally's action and restores their energy, while providing the team buffs including DEF ignore. The more often your team acts, the stronger some of those buffs get . She is an action-frequency amplifier: the faster the team moves, the more she returns.
Aventurine Surfing (Elation, Quantum)
Surfing is a damage dealer tied to how often the whole team attacks. Team attacks grant him Heat and joke points; Heat determines how often he casts an extra Elation skill and strengthens his next Aha Moment Elation skill. Casting the enhanced skill consumes Heat for higher damage.
Honkai Star Rail 4.5 Team Building for the New Units
Sunlit teams: max out action frequency
Because Sunlit's buffs scale with how often your team acts, the build is about squeezing more turns: speed boots and energy regeneration on the damage dealers, so their cycles come around faster. Her advance-forward plus energy restore is worth the most on units whose damage is gated by their ultimate.
Surfing teams: everyone provides attack count
Surfing's Heat comes from total team attack count, not his own output alone. Pair him with high-frequency attackers, follow-up attackers and multi-hit basic attack users to stack Heat quickly, then convert the window into an enhanced Elation skill.
| Team | Lineup | Light cone direction | Rotation notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-frequency Elation | Aventurine Surfing, high-frequency sub-DPS, buffer, sustain | Surfing on "Cast Summer Into the Waves" or the 4-star "Short Holiday" | Flood team attacks for Heat first, then fire the enhanced Elation skill |
| Frequency amplifier | Robin Sunlit, ultimate-dependent DPS, buffer, sustain | Sunlit on "You Shall Rise Singing" | Offset Sunlit's advance and energy with the carry's ultimate timing |
| Transitional mix | Surfing, Sunlit, generic support, sustain | Keep existing cones | Without signatures, protect the rotation and survival first |
Light cone choices
4.5 adds the 5-star "You Shall Rise Singing" (Remembrance) and "Cast Summer Into the Waves" (Elation) to their respective light cone event warps. The 4-star "Short Holiday" (Elation) is obtainable from the 4.5 light cone event warps and joins the Stellar Warp pool in 4.6, so there is no need to force a pull for it now if you only need a budget Elation cone.
Honkai Star Rail 4.5 Events and Deadlines
Super Limit: Grand Prix (ends September 28, 03:59)
The event runs from the 4.5 update to September 28, 2026 at 03:59, requires Trailblaze Level 21, and supports the Finality's Vision early access feature . With today being September 22, six days remain, so unclaimed rewards should come first.
Square Adventure and the dialogue speed-up
Square Adventure is the patch's second limited event . On the system side, 4.5 adds a dialogue acceleration toggle in the top right of the dialogue interface, covering all quests and scenes from 4.0 through 4.5 .
Honkai Star Rail 4.6 Preview: Pearl and the Elation Fix
Pearl (5-star, Ice, Elation, sustain support)
The 4.6 Special Program "Before the Moon Rises, Dance With Beasts" aired September 20, 2026. Pearl is a 5-star Ice Path of Elation sustain support, filling the Elation archetype's long-missing survival slot and completing the loop with existing Elation units .
4.6 timing and the new endgame
Version 4.6 is expected on October 7, 2026. The 4.5 patch notes already state that the next Forgotten Hall: Memory of Chaos rotation opens with 4.6, meaning the current endgame does not refresh again inside 4.5, so plan character investment around the new 4.6 environment.
4.6 shop and collaboration
4.6 adds outfits for Feiying ("Moonlit Bloom") and Fengjin ("Warm in the Clouds") to the in-game shop (source: official Weibo 4.6 preview), and the Fate collaboration content continues across the patch .
Honkai Star Rail 4.5 Resource Plan
| Priority | Target | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| High | Pearl (4.6) | The only clear sustain fix for Elation teams, so Surfing owners should bank pity |
| High | Aventurine Surfing | The Elation damage core, tightly bound to team attack count |
| Medium | Robin Sunlit | General-purpose support whose advance and energy help most teams |
| Low | 4.5 reruns | Fill roster gaps rather than chase new archetypes |
Stellar Jade and materials
- Collect 4.5 event rewards before September 28, 03:59.
- Cap your Trailblaze Power before 4.6, since the new Memory of Chaos will want stamina.
- Farm Elation trace materials for the damage dealer first and the support second.
Come discuss in the Gghubs comments.
FAQ
Q: Only one pull available. Surfing or Sunlit?
A: Pick Surfing if you want to play Elation, Sunlit if you need a general support. Surfing's value is tied to team attack count, so his returns shrink without high-frequency teammates.
Q: When do the 4.5 events end?
A: Super Limit: Grand Prix closes September 28, 2026 at 03:59.
Q: When is 4.6 live?
A: Expected October 7, 2026, with the new Memory of Chaos rotation opening alongside it.
Q: How do I get the 4-star "Short Holiday" light cone?
A: From the 4.5 light cone event warps, and it joins the Stellar Warp in 4.6 .
Q: Is Pearl worth waiting for?
A: Yes for Elation players. Pearl is the Ice Elation sustain support the archetype has been missing .
Action list
- Claim the Super Limit: Grand Prix rewards before September 28, 03:59.
- Confirm you own at least two high-frequency attackers before pulling Surfing.
- Build Sunlit around speed and energy regeneration, treating action frequency as the core stat.
- Bank pity for Pearl so the Elation team stops borrowing incorrect sustain units.
- Cap Trailblaze Power before 4.6 so you can farm the new Memory of Chaos immediately.
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