Honkai: Star Rail Added A Feature Every Live-Service Game Needs

Screenshot: HoYoverse

Honkai: Star Rail released its first major update this week in the form of version 2.0 It adds a cornucopia of new content for trailblazers to explore, including a continuation of the main quest, new characters, and the new Penacony area. I’ve only spent a short amount of time with version 2.0 but things are looking really good so far. And one of the less flashy features added in version 2.0, Fate’s Atlas, has completely won me over.

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Live-service games like Honkai: Star Rail require a lot of task management on the part of the player. On top of keeping up with Trailblaze Missions (the game’s main quests) players need to balance a number of tasks ranging from completing daily missions to farming upgrade materials for characters. Version 2.0 also marks the first new Trailblaze Mission since August of 2023, so most players could probably use a refresher ahead of diving into Penacony. That’s where Fate’s Atlas comes in. Fate’s Atlas is essentially a visual guide to the story of Honkai: Star Rail, accessible in the bottom left of the Missions menu at all times. Every Trailblaze Mission is represented by a card on the timeline, and each card contains a short description of the key plot points at that point in the game. This helps demystify some of the more complex plot points and is a perfect refresher for returning players.

Screenshot: HoYoverse / Kotaku

What takes Fate’s Atlas to the next level is that it’s not only a display of Honkai: Star Rail’s main story. Each Trailblaze Mission also displays relevant side-content like Companion Missions below the main card on the timeline. These sub-cards list the requirements you have to meet to unlock content, so literally anything you need to know is contained in the Atlas. HoYoverse’s goal is to present the important events of Honkai: Star Rail in one easy to reference place, and this definitely succeeds— Hell it made me aware of quests I had accidentally been ignoring for months!

Honkai: Star Rail’s story isn’t nearly as complex as Genshin Impact’s but that’s because the sci-fi RPG is still in its first year. If all goes to plan, we will be playing Honkai: Star Rail for years to come. The addition of the Fate’s Atlas this early into the game’s life span makes it easier for players to stay up to date, and should continue to as it expands in the future. This will also be a helpful feature for new players whenever they start their journey with the Astral Express. The only downside of Fate’s Atlas is that it isn’t also in Genshin Impact. Yet! A girl can dream.