Applicable version: 4.6 "Before the Moon Rises, Dance with Beasts" (launched 2026-09-28)
Honkai Star Rail 4.6 overview: Pearl and Planar Fission
What 4.6 added
Version 4.6 launched on 2026-09-28 and added Pearl, a five-star Elation-path character whose banner runs the length of the version .
Planar Fission double drops
The Planar Fission event during 4.6 doubles planar ornament drops for a limited window . Community discussion around the 4.6 tier list keeps landing on the same pair: one decides who you build, the other decides when you farm.
Honkai Star Rail Pearl role: sustain plus action advance
How strong the passive is
Pearl's passive gives the whole team 60% damage reduction and 50% effect resistance, and every time she takes a turn she heals the team and removes one group debuff . That is enough to hold a team's health bar even on auto-battle.
Skill and ultimate split
Her Elation skill makes the team's next attack deal extra Elation scaling: with one, two, three or four Elation characters the bonus is 10%, 15%, 20% or 40% Elation damage. Her ultimate designates one ally as the Aesthetic Draft and advances that ally's action by 10%, 20% or 30% based on how many Elation-path characters are on the team. On a four-Elation team it simply grants an extra turn plus 60 Joke Points and 30 Good Acts for that turn only .
Why she starts the system
The reason to treat her as the starting point rather than a patch is that both the Elation bonus and the action advance scale with how many Elation characters you field, so a short roster never reaches the top tier . That gap is exactly why four-Elation teams pull ahead of two-Elation ones. Honkai Star Rail best teams are built on that count rather than on raw stats.
Honkai Star Rail Pearl relics and stats
Set choices
| Piece | Choice | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Planar two-piece | Wavestrider's Life | 40% action advance at battle start, use defence orb and energy rope |
| Cavern four-piece (with signature) | Eagle of the Twilight Line | Two turns per ultimate, frequent self advance |
| Cavern four-piece (no signature) | Actor of the Dreamstar | 6% speed, plus 16% Elation for one ally and 12% crit damage team-wide |
Stats and speed breakpoints
Run a healing body and speed boots. Defence only needs to reach 2,400 points, because conversion above that is poor and a healing body is worth more . Speed breakpoints split by set: about 162 speed with the eagle set and Wavestrider's Life, about 187 with Actor of the Dreamstar and Wavestrider's Life.
The 2,400 defence line matters because returns flatten after it, so extra investment is better spent on speed and healing .
Honkai Star Rail Pearl light cone options
What the signature brings
Pearl's signature light cone gives 48% defence, applies 22% vulnerability to enemies when the Elation skill is used, restores 10 flat energy, and heals the team for 10% of her defence . Community team guides keep returning to one point: that flat energy restore is what locks in a two-turn ultimate.
Without the signature
The free four-star light cone applies a stackable 10% vulnerability when the Elation skill fires, which makes it a reasonable stand-in . In testing, the rotation slips without the signature, so speed substats have to make up the difference, and if your speed rolls are thin the cheaper fix is to finish the cavern set before chasing better rolls.
Honkai Star Rail Pearl teams: building four Elation
Three common lineups
Run Wolf King plus Yaoguang plus Pearl plus either Spark or the Elation Trailblazer; Feiying plus Yaoguang plus Pearl plus the Elation Trailblazer; or Spark plus Yaoguang plus Pearl plus the Elation Trailblazer . All three share one goal: reach the four-Elation tier so the ultimate grants its extra turn.
Eidolon pull order
Start at zero eidolons, then consider one or two, then two plus one, and finally six plus one; the second eidolon is the biggest single jump and suits players who already hold a two-eidolon Silver Wolf or Feiying . Pearl's place on community tier lists never comes from solo damage but from whether the team reaches four Elation.More Honkai Star Rail coverage at gghubs.com guides.
Honkai Star Rail FAQ
How much defence does Pearl need?
A: 2,400 points is enough; conversion above that is poor, so switch to a healing body .
What are the speed breakpoints?
A: About 162 speed with the eagle set and Wavestrider's Life, about 187 with Actor of the Dreamstar .
Is the signature mandatory?
A: For a stable two-turn rotation it effectively is, since it restores 10 flat energy; the free four-star works as a stopgap .
How many Elation characters do I need?
A: Four. Both the bonus and the advance scale with count, and only the four-person tier grants the extra turn plus 60 Joke Points and 30 Good Acts .
Which eidolon should I stop at?
A: Zero to start, one or two next, then two plus one; six plus one is the high-investment tier .
Honkai Star Rail 4.6 action list
- Farm planar ornaments during the Planar Fission double-drop window.
- Stop defence at 2,400 and move the budget to speed and healing.
- Pick the set by signature: eagle with it, Actor of the Dreamstar without.
- Field four Elation characters to unlock the extra turn.
- Hit 162 or 187 speed exactly rather than landing between them.
Game Guides
- Palworld 1.0.5 Breeding and Base Guide: Passives, Ranch and Work Splits
Palworld 1.0.5 guide covering the breeding power rules and special combos, how to filter mutated passive skills, which Pals belong on the ranch, how to reshuffle base Work Suitability after Ancient Bark dropped to level one, and the v1.0.4 Pal Critic exchange changes and build cap.
- Reverse: 1999 4.0 Dongzhi Team Guide: Lineups and Red Arrow Build Order
Reverse: 1999 4.0 guide covering how the Dongzhi system actually runs and why execution matters, Red Arrow's level and Psychube build order, which Insight upgrades to take first, three Dongzhi lineups, the execution mistakes that cost turns, and the free pulls in the 4.0 cruise celebration.
- Love and Deepspace Core Farming Route: Hunts, Stamina and Shop Priority
Love and Deepspace progression guide covering the three Core Hunt zones and their open days, difficulty thresholds, the daily and weekly activity gift boxes, exchange priority at the Heart Sand shop and the interstellar market, and which spare cores to dismantle.
- Genshin Impact 7.1 Escoffier Build and Skirk Freeze Team Guide
Genshin Impact 7.1 guide covering Escoffier as a Cryo polearm sub-DPS and healer, which of the two artifact sets to run, main and sub stat priorities, weapon options and talent costs, and how the two Skirk freeze teams split their roles.
- Wuthering Waves 3.7 Xin Build Guide: Echoes, Teams and QoL Changes
Wuthering Waves 3.7 guide covering Xin as the first playable Sentinel, her dual-form kit and Resonance Liberation, Echo and substat priorities for an Electro Rectifier unit, the team preset and Echo stacking quality-of-life changes, and how to choose between Suoming and the four re-run Resonators.
- Zenless Zone Zero 3.3 Severian Build: Drive Discs and Team Preview
Zenless Zone Zero 3.3 preview covering Severian's Aero Attack role, his signature W-Engine and drive disc stat priorities, how the two banner halves split the cast, and how to settle your resources before the version ends.
- Arknights Yesterday Sea Operator Guide: Pull Clementha or Farm Core Tactician
Arknights Yesterday Sea guide covering the Side Story schedule and the Labor Ration Exchange shopping order, Clementha's role and pull threshold, the free five-star Core Tactician, Del Toledo's low general value, and how the new base Recycle Station and Activity Room change your rotations.
- Palworld 1.0.5 Awakening Guide: Radiant Gem Farming and Holy Water Costs
Palworld 1.0.5 (2026-09-15) leaves Awakening as the only system that permanently raises a single Pal's ceiling: at an Ancient Workbench, 50 Radiant Gems of one element plus 10 World Tree Holy Water yields one Awakening Crystal, and consuming it permanently boosts that Pal's base HP, Attack and Defence. Finish the specimen first, reach level 80 and lock in the passives before spending gems .