Honkai: Star Rail reveal Firefly as new 5-star Fire Destruction character coming in version 2.3 in June

Trailblazers, rejoice! Honkai: Star Rail has revealed on Tuesday (23 April) that fan-favourite character Firefly, clad in her fearsome mechanical armor known as "SAM", will finally become playable in version 2.3 in June.

Firefly will have a 5-star rarity, wield the Fire element, and follow the Path of Destruction. While HoYoverse has yet to reveal more details about her kit, we can expect Firefly to take the field as herself in combat before transforming into SAM with one of her abilities to wreak fiery destruction on enemies.

Players first laid eyes on Firefly in the Honkai: Star Rail version 2.0 "White Night" trailer before she quickly became a fan-favourite character during the emotional rollercoaster that was the version 2.0 Penacony Trailblaze Missions.

She first encountered the Trailblazer in the Golden Hour dreamscape while trying to run away from Bloodhound Family members looking for a stowaway. As thanks for saving her, Firefly then took the Trailblazer on a tour of Golden Hour.

That tour quickly turned into a date of sorts as Firefly whisked the Trailblazer away into the Dream's Edge dreamscape, where she also told them more about herself, including the fact that she was afflicted by the Entropy Loss Syndrome. They even took an adorable selfie together that certainly didn't raise any red flags about what's to come next.

The hearts of all Firefly fans were then broken soon after when the Trailblazer was on the trail of Firefly as he investigated the Hotel Reverie dreamscape. What was supposed to be an emotional reunion quickly turned into a tragedy as Firefly fell victim to the monstrous Memory Zone Meme "Something Unto Death", dissolving into a blue puddle as she fell into the Trailblazer's arms.

But in the climax of the dramatic version 2.1 Penacony Trailblaze Missions, one of the game's biggest twists so far was revealed when Firefly seemingly returned from her death in the dream and revealed her true identity as the Stellaron Hunter SAM.

As unbelievable as it may be, Firefly is indeed a member of the Stellaron Hunters, though no one really knew back then that the one behind the mechanical armor known as SAM was her. She joined the Stellaron Hunters in search of the meaning of life, relentlessly pursuing ways to defy her fate.

Firefly's playable character reveal also made it known that her Entropy Loss Syndrome was caused by her being "born as a weapon" from genetic modification. The armor known as SAM is actually the last remaining member of a group known as the Iron Cavalry.

The lore of the relic set Firmament Frontline: Glamoth describes an interstellar empire known as the Republic of Glamoth that fell victim to the Swarm Disaster caused by the Aeon of Propagation Tayzzyronth. In an effort to fight off the Swarm, Glamoth created an army of genetically-engineered warriors known as the Iron Cavalry.

Described as "knights clad in mechanical armor", the Iron Cavalry was commanded and controlled telephatically by the Empress Titania of Glamoth. While the Iron Cavalry was successful in fighting off the Swarm for a time, they could not stop Glamoth from ultimately falling to the Swarm Disaster.

So if you're wondering what the name SAM actually means, then we can guess that it's something along the lines of 'Swarm Annihilation Machine' or something. And to think that such a fearsome weapon of mass destruction is actually being piloted by a cute and sweet girl like Firefly...

Firefly and SAM will be voiced respectively by Analesa Fisher and Adin Rudd in the game's English dub, Tomori Kusunoki and Jun Kasama in the Japanese dub, Song Yuanyuan and Gan Zi Qi in the Chinese dub, and Yun Hye-ji and Jang Seohwa in the Korean dub.

We can expect at least one more new character coming in version 2.3 to be revealed in the coming days.

Aside from the new characters, Honkai: Star Rail version 2.3 will also see the release of two new game modes in Divergent Universe and Apocalyptic Shadow.

With Honkai: Star Rail currently in version 2.1, which was released back in 27 March, and assuming the typical 40-day duration for version 2.2, we can expect version 2.3 to be released some time in mid-June.

Honkai: Star Rail is currently in version 2.1, which saw the release of three new characters in Acheron, Aventurine, and Gallagher, reruns for Luocha and Jingliu, and two new areas in Penacony. Not only that, version 2.1 is also Honkai: Star Rail's first-year anniversary patch and as such will give players tons of rewards!

If you're still torn on whether you should pull for Aventurine or Jingliu in the second half's banners, then we can help you decide.

After version 2.1 comes version 2.2 in May, featuring two new 5-star characters in Robin and Boothill.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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