Honkai Star Rail 4.0: Sparxie & Yao Guang Leaks!

If you thought HSR couldn’t get wilder after Penacony… yeah, Honkai Star Rail version 4.0 is about to prove you wrong.

HoYoverse has dropped hints about Sparxie and Yao Guang, and the buzz is we’re getting a brand-new combat style centered on the Elation Path.

Also, expect fresh systems, Relics, Light Cones, and an all-new map to explore. We’ve got the scoop on everything HSR 4.0, straight to the point.

Honkai Star Rail 4.0 Release Date

So, when can you actually play it?

Based on the current schedule and multiple reliable leaks, the Honkai Star Rail 4.0 release date is expected to land on February 13, 2026, right after Version 3.8 wraps up its extended run. 

Since 3.8 lasts longer than usual, HoYoverse is clearly taking extra time to prepare something bigger, which honestly makes sense considering how massive 4.0 looks.

If the timeline follows the standard six-week patch cycle, pre-download should open a couple of days earlier, with maintenance happening the night before launch.

That means you can likely get straight into the new banners, story quests, and events the moment servers go live.

HSR 4.0 Banner Phases Schedule

• Phase 1: February 12 – March 6, 2026
• Phase 2: March 6 – March 26, 2026

That gives you plenty of time to plan… or panic-farm Jades. Your choice, guys.

See Also: Honkai: Star Rail Currency Wars: Complete Guide to the New Auto-Chess Mode

Honkai Star Rail 4.0 Sparxie and Yao Guang Banners Leaks

After locking in the Honkai Star Rail 4.0 release date on February 13, 2026, the next thing most people care about is the banner schedule. And honestly, this version is stacked from start to finish.

Based on current leaks and internal build info, Honkai Star Rail 4.0 Sparxie and Yao Guang banners will be split into the usual two phases, each lasting roughly three weeks

 But unlike filler patches, both halves feel like must pull territory because they introduce two brand new five-star Elation units alongside high-value reruns, signature Light Cones, and even relic sets designed specifically for them.

If you’re low on Stellar Jades, this might be one of the hardest patches to survive.

Phase 1 Yao Guang Banners in HSR v4.0 Update

Phase 1 is expected to run from February 13 to March 6, 2026, kicking off immediately when Version 4.0 goes live.

This first half features Yao Guang, a five-star Physical character on the Path of The Elation who plays more like a meta-defining support than a traditional damage dealer.

• Rarity: 5 Star
• Element: Physical
• Path: Elation

Instead of chasing personal numbers, her entire kit revolves around enabling the team through Punchlines, bonus Elation damage, and extra turn mechanics.

Her Skill creates a three-turn Zone that boosts allies’ Elation scaling while generating Punchlines over time, essentially setting up your whole rotation.

Then her Ultimate triggers an Aha Instant that grants the team an additional turn and applies All Type RES Penetration, which can completely snowball boss fights or Memory of Chaos clears. 

Add in her Talent that converts teammates’ attacks into follow-up Elation damage, and suddenly every ally feels stronger just by existing near her.

Simply put, she’s the kind of support that quietly doubles your team’s output.

Phase 1 reruns are also expected to include Hysilens, Sparkle, and Black Swan, making this half especially friendly for players who prefer stable comps, Skill Point efficiency, or DoT setups.

If you like consistency and long-term value, this banner window is hard to skip.

Phase 2 HSR 4.0 Sparxie Banners

Once Phase 1 wraps up, Phase 2 takes over from March 6 to March 26, 2026, and this is where things get chaotic in the best way possible.

Enter Sparxie, a five-star Fire Elation DPS and a new Sparkle variant who trades stability for explosive burst damage. Where Yao Guang carefully sets the stage, Sparxie just lights the whole thing on fire.

• Rarity: 5 Star
• Element: Fire
• Path: Elation

Her Skill upgrades her Basic Attacks and activates Engagement Farming, a mechanic that repeatedly generates Punchlines and sometimes even refunds Skill Points.

This creates a semi-random chain attack style where lucky rotations can snowball into nonstop actions.

Her Ultimate deals AoE Fire damage scaling with both ATK and Elation while feeding even more resources back into her loop, and her Talent stacks extra Fire hits the longer she keeps attacking.

The result is a fast, aggressive, and slightly unhinged DPS that rewards risk-taking. When she pops off, she really pops off.

Reruns in this half are rumored to include Cerydra, Feixiao, and Yunli, which lean more toward aggressive or burst-oriented playstyles.

Perfect if you want to build a full hyper carry squad around Sparxie.

See Also: Phainon Honkai Star Rail Guide: Skills, Relics, Banner Date & Build Tips

Honkai Star Rail v4.0 Light Cones Banners

Just like the characters, the HSR 4.0 Light Cones banners are clearly built for the new Elation meta.

Each phase comes with a signature five-star cone for Yao Guang and Sparxie, and surprisingly, even the 4-star and 3-star options are actually useful this time.

In Phase 1, Yao Guang’s signature When She Decided To See focuses on Speed and team buffs.

It boosts SPD, helps her regenerate Energy faster, and increases the whole team’s CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG. Simple idea. More turns, more Ultimates, more Punchlines. Perfect for a support like her.

• SPD +18%
• Team CRIT Rate +10%
• Team CRIT DMG +30%
• Energy Regen +12%

Then Phase 2 features Sparxie’s Dazzled By A Flowery World, a pure DPS cone. It gives big CRIT DMG, increases the Skill Point limit, and lets her ignore enemy DEF when spending points.

Since Sparxie constantly burns resources for damage, this cone basically pushes her burst potential through the roof.

• CRIT DMG +36%
• Increases Skill Point limit
• DEF ignores when consuming SP
• Team Elation scaling.

On the other side, the 4-star cones are solid too. Mushy Shroomy’s Adventure boosts Elation and makes enemies take extra Elation damage, while Today’s Good Luck adds CRIT Rate and more Elation stacks for steady damage.

Even the 3-star options are usable. Sneering gives extra Elation during Aha Instant turns, and Lingering Tears boosts CRIT DMG when Punchlines stack high. Great budget picks if you’re saving pulls.

So, either you’re a whale or F2P, HSR 4.0 actually gives you plenty of workable Light Cone choices. But yeah, if you want peak performance, those signature cones are still the real prize.

HSR 4.0 New Relics

It’s not just the characters and Light Cones getting special treatment this patch. HSR 4.0 new Relics are clearly built around the Elation playstyle, too, and they might be the real reason Elation teams suddenly spike in power.

Two brand new sets are coming, and both feel tailor-made for Yao Guang, Sparxie, and future Elation units.

Instead of generic stat boosts, these Relics directly reward Punchline stacking, speed breakpoints, and Elation damage scaling, which makes them way more synergistic than older sets.

Ever-Glorious Magical Girl

This set screams “main DPS.” The two-piece bonus gives a straightforward CRIT DMG increase, which is already solid for any carry.

• CRIT DMG +16%
• Elation damage ignores DEF
• Scales with Punchlines.

But the real value kicks in with the full set. Elation damage from the wearer starts ignoring a portion of the enemy DEF, and the more Punchlines your team generates, the more DEF shred you get. The effect stacks multiple times, meaning longer fights actually make you stronger.

For someone like Sparxie, who constantly farms Punchlines through repeated actions, this scaling feels kind of unfair.

The more she plays, the harder she hits. It turns her into a snowball machine that melts tanky bosses without needing extra debuff supports.

Even future Elation DPS units will likely default to this set, since DEF ignore is one of the strongest damage multipliers in the game.

Diviner of Distant Reach

If Magical Girl is for carries, this one is basically made for supports. The two-piece bonus grants extra Speed, which already helps with turn cycling and faster rotations.

• SPD +6%
• CRIT Rate thresholds
• Teamwide Elation boost at battle start.

Then the four-piece effect rewards hitting specific Speed thresholds by giving free CRIT Rate before the battle even starts.

On top of that, the first time you use an Elation Skill each fight, the entire team gets an Elation boost. It’s subtle, but extremely efficient.

For Yao Guang, this set fits perfectly. She wants high Speed anyway to generate more Punchlines and spam her Ultimate faster, and now she also buffs the team just by doing her normal opener.

It’s low effort, high value, which is exactly what you want from a support Relic set.

See Also: Cipher Honkai Star Rail: Banner Date & Abilities

Rerun & Other 4 Star Characters in HSR 4.0

If Sparxie and Yao Guang weren’t already dangerous enough for your Stellar Jade stash, the HSR 4.0 rerun characters make this update even harder to skip.

According to current leaks, Version 4.0 won’t just focus on the new Elation duo. Multiple fan favorite five-star characters are also coming back across both phases, and some of them are still extremely relevant for endgame content like Memory of Chaos and Pure Fiction.

During Phase 1, the rerun lineup is expected to feature Hysilens, Sparkle, and Black Swan alongside Yao Guang. This half feels very support and utility-heavy.

Sparkle remains one of the best Skill Point batteries in the game, while Black Swan is still a top-tier DoT enabler.

If you’re building flexible teams, this phase alone already offers insane value even without pulling the new unit.

Then Phase 2 shifts gears with Cerydra, Feixiao, and Yunli joining Sparxie’s banner. This side leans more toward offensive options and hybrid playstyles, giving players more DPS choices if they decide to skip the Fire Elation carry. It’s basically the “damage dealer” half of the patch.

And yes, there’s also a notable rerun outside the main spotlight. Rappa, the 5-star Imaginary Erudition Break specialist, is reportedly getting her first comeback as well.

Her Sealform state, extra turns, and weakness break focused damage still make her a strong niche pick, especially for players who like break comps.

As for the 4-star characters, while the exact rate-ups may rotate per banner, expect a mix of older Elation-friendly and general utility units to support the new mechanics.

HoYoverse usually pairs new Paths with synergistic four stars, so don’t be surprised if some underrated picks suddenly become solid budget teammates for Punchline or Skill Point heavy teams.

Overall, Honkai Star Rail 4.0 feels less like a normal patch and more like a stacked festival banner.

Between two brand new five-star, multiple meta reruns, and useful supports, almost every phase has something worth pulling for.

Hold on, guys, saving is going to be rough this time.

Another Exciting Update in Honkai Star Rail 4.0

This version also feels like a soft refresh for the whole game. Leaks point to a brand new explorable area called Planarcadia, a larger city-style map with multiple districts, fresh story chapters, and more immersive environments compared to the usual compact zones. You can expect more exploration, not just back-to-back battles.

At the same time, the Elation Path system itself looks like a major gameplay shift. With new mechanics like Punchlines, extra turns, and teamwide skill bursts, combat feels faster and more chaotic in a fun way.

It’s less “press skill and wait” and more combo-heavy, which honestly makes fights way more satisfying.

Add in new events, farming stages for the latest relics, and some small UI quality-of-life tweaks, and 4.0 starts to feel less like a regular patch and more like the start of a new chapter.

See Also: Hyacine Honkai Star Rail: Banner Release, Light Cone & More!

Alright, with a brand new world to explore, fresh relics to farm, and two meta-defining units like Sparxie and Yao Guang, it’s pretty clear that Honkai Star Rail 4.0 is not the kind of patch you casually skip. This is the version where your pull plans actually matter.

If you don’t want to miss their banners or lose pity halfway, it’s smarter to prep early with an Honkai Star Rail top-up Oneiric Shard or Express Supply Pass.

You can safely recharge at Lapakgaming, with discounts up to 41%, fast delivery, and a 10x Money Back Guarantee. So before 4.0 goes live, stack your shards and let Sparxie or Yao Guang come home stress-free!