"Good grief, a Honkai: Star Rail and Lanyue crossover!"
Just two days ago, the official Star Rail account posted an update hinting at the collaboration, complete with two silhouettes.
Instantly, the topic trended across all major platforms, shooting straight to the number one spot on search rankings.
Recalling the ending of the Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.2 special program, Misha had spoken with a playful air of mystery: "Actually, there's even more exciting content in store! According to reliable sources, two mysterious swordsmen are about to visit Luofu Xianzhou. Why don't you all try guessing who they might be?" Two silhouettes flashed across the giant screen.
"Oh? Could these be the reinforcements Jing Yuan has called in?" Welt joked with a laugh.
"Haha, reinforcements aren't the main point, but the arrival of these two is bound to stir up quite a storm! If you want to know more, keep a close eye on the future updates of Honkai: Star Rail. Misha won't reveal too much just yet—after all, this is heavy-duty news that mustn't be leaked," Misha said with a playful shake of his head.
"Wow, hearing you say that makes me look forward to it even more!"
Over on a certain video-sharing platform:
"??? Are you kidding me? I hope my eyes aren't deceiving me. How is this even a crossover? There's a bizarre beauty in such totally mismatched art styles."
"Yay! So happy! My youth is back, I'm crying!"
"To the person above: actually, they've just anthropomorphized the martial artists. You'll see them once the version updates. I checked the official leaks, and I think they look pretty cool. Wonder if they'll be playable characters."
"Duh, they already have official character art. Do you really have to ask if they'll be playable?"
"Holy crap, seriously? I hope someone knocks me out until the 1.2 update drops. Star Rail, take my money!"
"Guess I have no choice but to log in now."
"(Stands up) (Bows) (Straightens tie) Yes, I play Honkai: Star Rail!" ×99
"Wait, was this collaboration decided on the spur of the moment? There wasn't a peep about it when the game first launched," someone questioned. "These two universes have nothing to do with each other. Star Rail is dealing with cosmic-scale stuff now. Not to mention, isn't this Lanyue a bit too small-time to hitch a ride on Star Rail's coattails?"
"To the person above, hold your horses. Believe whatever you want, but this collaboration is set in stone. If you don't believe me, just look at the official announcement."
True enough, the post the official team had just dropped racked up tens of thousands of comments in a mere five minutes, with hundreds more popping up with every refresh. Most expressed surprise, joy, and the pure bliss of a dual- fandom fan, while a few adopted an indifferent attitude. Some left sarcastic remarks, claiming that Lanyue wasn't even worth a fraction of Star Rail, and that the collaboration was one-sided with zero commercial value. Meanwhile, a few younger users asked: "What's Lanyue? Never heard of it. Is it really that famous?"
"Streamer, what's your take on this collaboration?" Hearing the news, a viewer rushed over to a streamer's channel to ask.
"What's my take? Pure ecstasy, obviously! If they become playable characters, I'm maxing them out to E6S5 immediately!" a goofy bear-themed streamer declared boldly. "Good grief, Star Rail! You really hit us with a surprise attack. You sure know how to make money! Timing the collaboration right as we explore the Xianzhou, which already has classical elements—though the wuxia vibe wasn't quite pronounced enough. Well, now they complement each other perfectly! My childhood is back. Back in the day, I was just a kid glued to the television waiting for new episodes!" As the bear waxed poetic, a viewer burst his bubble: "Wake up, streamer! Lanyue started back in 2006. How old were you then? Stop pretending to be a kid!"
"Ahem, let's not sweat the small stuff, okay? Besides, I'm still very young!" the bear scolded playfully, though he couldn't help grinning.
"True enough. Star Rail gets the hype, Lanyue's creators probably get a boost in traffic, the audience gets joy, and the streamer gets broadcasting material. Talk about a win-win-win!"
Someone summarized it neatly: apart from the version of Baihong appearing in the overworld, rumor has it that the official team might also introduce two 5-star limited light cones in subsequent version updates. One is the Hunt light cone "Swords Crossing the World," with a speculated effect that grants the wearer 50%/60%/70%/80%/90% Break Effect, stacking with other effects. Every time the wearer uses their Technique to enter battle, it provides an additional 30/40/50/60/70 speed bonus. Every time they use a Skill or Ultimate, it inflicts a "Blazing Flame" effect on the enemy; consuming "Blazing Flame" deals Fire DMG to the enemy based on Baihong's own ATK.
The other is the Destruction light cone "Wind and Rain in Dongting," with a speculated effect that grants the wearer a shield bonus equal to 100%/120%/140%/160%/180% of their own Max HP for a certain number of turns. Additionally, every time the wearer attacks an enemy, there is a fixed probability of inflicting a "Bewildered" effect. Upon reaching a certain stack count, the enemy falls into a Frozen state for a certain number of turns, and grants speed and defense bonuses based on the ATK of party members. There are also two event 4-star light cones, though their effects remain unknown for now.
"Really? The numbers look pretty generous, but it doesn't seem like many existing characters can actually use them. That Destruction light cone is okay, though," one user commented. "Maybe they'll release tailor-made characters for them later. Let's wait and see."
"No idea which version they're coming out in, I can't wait!"
"Hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry! I'm the king of impatience!"
"Will the person above please wait, let me be impatient first!"
"Is it just me, or does this anthropomorphized version look worse than their original animal designs?"
"Wait, we have the swordsman, but where is the princess? There isn't a trace of Princess Lanyue anywhere in the Luofu Xianzhou map. HoYoverse, are you playing favorites?!"
"Uh, according to unreliable sources, she won't show up until later version updates."
"I'm so mad! Why aren't the swordsman and the princess together?! What are the developers thinking?!"
However, once players finally experienced Version 1.2, their reaction was basically: Is that it? Aside from the interactions between Baihong and Yanqing, and participating in the battle against Phantylia, there was nothing else.
And even more exasperatingly: the swordsman had amnesia.
"Hold on, HoYoverse, pulling this stunt is just cheap. Don't you know how much damage Princess Lanyue's amnesia caused the swordsman back then?! Have some heart."
"What? HoYoverse wrote the crossover plot like this? What on earth was the Lanyue team doing? Did they just hand over the copyright and wash their hands of it? I'm speechless. If you don't know how to do a crossover, don't do one at all. Can you just leave the last pure land of my childhood alone?"
Seeing the swordsman's bewildered expression in the story, players immediately lost their cool and let loose a barrage of complaints on HoYoLAB.
"Such a perfunctory effort... And to think I looked forward to it for so long. The plot is thin, the characters serve no real purpose, and they ruined it like this. Sigh, so disappointing."
"Turns out it's just this? We would've been better off without a crossover!"
At this point, certain shady figures started stirring up trouble. Someone started a thread on a forum: What is even the point of this Honkai: Star Rail collaboration?
Replies instantly flooded in: Exactly. The plot is fragmented, the characters are useless, and their presence makes zero narrative sense. My verdict is that they're even worse than the High-Cloud Quintet.
"But HoYoverse wouldn't do a random crossover for no reason! The official team just said there's more to come, so stop popping champagne halfway through!"
Another user chimed in.
"Maybe it's laying groundwork, who knows? The official team understands what the Lanyue IP means; they wouldn't do a careless crossover or phone it in like this," someone analyzed rationally.
"Oh, please! Back in its day, Lanyue had plenty of good Chinese-style animations, but it wasn't the absolute best. Star Rail threw them a bone just to be polite—do you actually think the two are on equal footing? If so, Star Rail would have to collaborate with every childhood cartoon out there! Know your place and stop pushing your luck!"
"The person above speaks raw truths. Upvoted."
"No way, don't be so harsh! Lanyue might not be the best, but it shaped a generation's values. Besides, Star Rail takes place in a vast universe where encountering anything makes sense. I genuinely didn't expect this crossover, and I'm not demanding perfection from the developers—I just appreciate the gesture. Maybe they'll collaborate with more childhood animations in the future!"
"You forgot who HoYoverse is! The odds of them collaborating with Evangelion are higher than any of your so-called childhood cartoons! Wake up from your dream!"
"Exactly, be grateful! Don't embarrass yourselves with a franchise that couldn't even produce a sequel! It doesn't belong on the big stage."
"Ah, the trolls with the question marks are at it again!"
"Why is telling the truth considered wrong these days? Isn't it true? Everything I said is facts! You people just don't get it."
"Damn it, even if it's a fact, do you have to blurt it out? Must you rub it in? This is a lifelong scar for Lanyue fans—can't you read the room?"
"Refusing to face reality, are we? How pathetic. You finally managed to scrape together some traffic using version hype, and you're just gonna squander it like this? I don't understand your logic at all."
...
"Sigh, this outcome was to be expected. After all, the popularity gap between the two is just too massive. This collaboration didn't just bring Lanyue attention; it brought controversy too. Star Rail's player base is enormous, and plenty of people are just here to watch the drama or deliberately stir the pot. Honestly, this crossover was a bit ill-considered," a top-tier content creator commented.
By now, public opinion had shifted. While fans of both sides were still thrilled, many felt the collaboration was ill-suited—at least for now. Complaints about severe tonal dissonance and forced pairings filled the air.
"Let childhood memories stay in the past. They're really hard to handle nowadays, and Star Rail painted themselves into a corner. I just don't get this move."
Rational netizens chimed in one after another, arguing that the collaboration felt awkward and forced.
However, the classic HoYoverse boomerang never fails. Soon enough, those netizens found themselves eating their words. The official team dropped the preview for the Version 1.3 special program, revealing two mysterious guest voice actors whose voices sounded awfully familiar.
"Holy cow, could those be the original voice actors? Yan Ting and Fu Yi-lin?! Oh my god, is this heaven? Hurry up, Version 1.3! Someone knock me out so I wake straight up on August 18th!"
"To all those people earlier: how does that slap to the face feel? Stings, doesn't it?"
"Wait, and Imbibitor Lunae is dropping too. Who am I supposed to pull for?"
"To the person above: that's a single-choice question. Go for the swordsman; Imbibitor Lunae can wait for a rerun, but if you miss the swordsman, he's gone for good."
"So who's on the banner schedule this time?"
"First half is Imbibitor Lunae, second half is Fu Xuan. The schedule hasn't changed, which means no characters are dropping this version."
Shortly after, the official team released two character posters: Baihong, a Fire-element character on the Path of the Hunt; and Lanyue, an Ice-element character on the Path of Destruction. The announcement instantly surged to the number one spot on the trending list. Before long, everyone seemed to have forgotten the previous minor uproar.
"Holy moly! What a pleasant surprise! When are the characters actually coming out? Stop just posting posters and do something! The suspense is killing me."
"Lanyue is Princess Lanyue, right? That's a great name."
"I've made up my mind: saving up my Stellar Jades for the swordsman and the princess."
"Wild guess about their skills, just waiting to get proven wrong. First, the Basic ATK can apply Fire Weakness. The Skill is 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun,' dealing Fire DMG to a single target while applying Fire Weakness for a certain number of turns; this damage scales with the enemy's HP—meaning the higher the enemy's HP, the higher the damage. This skill also applies a 'Rupture' effect to the enemy; upon stacking to a certain threshold, it ignores enemy Weaknesses and deals Fire DMG. The Ultimate is 'Fire Dance Whirlwind': Baihong charges up and deals Fire DMG to all active enemies. If the enemies are afflicted with 'Rupture,' it deals Fire Break DMG on top of that, and increases allies' Speed and Crit DMG. When Baihong enters battle using his Technique, team DMG increases by 150% for 2 turns and randomly applies Fire Weakness to an enemy..."
The chapter continues below—click the next page to read the exciting content ahead!
"Hold on, buddy, are you an insider leak? That sounds entirely too plausible! It's like the real deal—marking this comment to verify later."
"E6S5 the moment they drop, I'll whale if I have to!"
"Is this HoYoverse's signature toothpaste-squeezing strategy? They're stingy even with crossovers. Still, dropping the posters means the characters aren't far off. We'll see if you're a real insider then."
"I call this a toothpaste-tube style crossover."
"Haha, let's hope they don't dump a massive pile of content all at once like taking a laxative."
"Sigh, you can doubt HoYoverse's character, but when it comes to crossovers, they never skimp. Just look at their past Honkai Impact 3rd collaborations."
"Even so, I'm still a bit worried..."
Amidst the heated discussions, restless players flooded HoYoverse's customer service to verify the rumors, but support remained tight-lipped, only advising players to look forward to future updates.
"Damn it, this feels like a fever dream. I heard the next planet is Penacony—saw that in the insider leaks. No idea what kind of planet it'll be, but this crossover must have taken a ton of time. Can the quality of the next planet even be guaranteed?"
"Should be fine, there are still several versions to go! Who knows how many versions this crossover will span."
"Who knows? Right now, apart from those two character art pieces, the official team hasn't posted anything else—not even a crossover PV."
"Heh, earlier people were saying HoYoverse didn't care about this crossover. Where did those people go now?"
All in all, regardless of what the internet thought or how certain mysterious entities tried to stir up drama, the crossover began just like that—steady and unhurried.