Honkai: Star Rail version 4.6, titled Dance With the Beast Before Moonrise, is now live after the scheduled maintenance window on September 28, 2026. The update brings playable Pearl — a 5-star Ice character on the Path of Elation — continues the Planarcadia Trailblaze story, and rolls out new banners, events, outfits, and the usual Stellar Jade maintenance mail.
If you were waiting on servers to reopen after the roughly five-hour downtime, this guide covers what went live, when your region came back online, and what to do first once you log in.
When did Honkai Star Rail 4.6 go live?
HoYoverse scheduled about five hours of maintenance before 4.6. For most Asia and Europe servers, that meant a start around 6:00 a.m. CST / UTC+8 on September 28, with the version targeted to return near 11:00 a.m. CST. In India, that lined up with roughly 3:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. IST. North America saw the same window a day earlier on the clock: maintenance from about 3:00 p.m. PDT on September 27, with 4.6 targeted around 8:00 p.m. PDT.
As usual, servers can return a little early or late depending on how the deploy goes, but HoYoverse typically lands close to the published end time. Preload sizes reported ahead of the patch were about 3.58 GB on PC and 2.21 GB on mobile.
What’s new in version 4.6
According to HoYoverse’s official 4.6 overview (also summarized by outlets such as Gematsu, Polygon, and Beebom), the headline additions are:
- New playable character: Pearl, 5-star Ice / Path of Elation, CEO of Planarcadia and one of the IPC’s Ten Stonehearts
- Signature Light Cone: Colors for Tomorrow (rate-up alongside Pearl through the version)
- Story continuation: Trailblaze chapter work around the Life Sciences Institute in Astropolis and the “weaponize the husk” scheme
- Phase banners: Pearl featured for the version; Evanescia rerun in the first half; Mortenax Blade rerun in the second half
- Events: Love, Ghosts & Robots; Interastral Peace Gala: One Take; plus new Astral Imagea gameplay and the Astral Slammers Squad challenge
- Outfits: Hyacine’s Warm Cotton Skies and Evanescia’s Lunar Blossoming
HoYoverse also used the 4.6 window to tease a Razer collaboration (Silver Wolf–themed peripherals) and confirmed that Zenless Zone Zero characters Ellen and Astra Yao are slated to board the Astral Express in version 4.8.
Pearl: what we know about the new Ice / Elation sustain
Pearl finally becomes pullable in 4.6 after featuring heavily in the Planarcadia arc. Official kit framing describes her as a DEF-leaning support who can spend Certified Banger to offset damage for the team, then enter a Deep Learning state to study a marked teammate and gain an Enhanced ATK tied to that ally’s combat data.
If the marked teammate is an Elation character, her Enhanced ATK can deal extra Elation damage. On a full Elation squad, that teammate can also gain an extra turn plus large amounts of Punchline and Certified Banger. In short: she is built to enable Elation teams rather than act as a traditional single-target DPS carry.
Whether you pull day one depends on your jade stock and whether you already run Elation cores. Her signature Light Cone, Colors for Tomorrow, is the rate-up pairing if you want the full premium kit.
Story: Dance With the Beast Before Moonrise
After the previous chapter’s reveal that Nihilux’s identity ties to Aha, the Aeon of Elation, version 4.6 pushes the Trailblazer — with Pearl’s help — into Astropolis’s Life Sciences Institute. Official copy frames Madam Yabuli’s “weaponize the husk” plan as a threat to everyone in Planarcadia, with Pearl using a Leviathan Essence recovery cover to send investigators while teaming with the Trailblazer and Nihilux to stop the conspiracy.
Expect more of Pearl’s “Preservation meets Art” theme both in cutscenes and in how her combat kit mirrors that identity.
Banners, events, and free rewards
Character rate-ups across 4.6 center on Pearl for the full version, with Evanescia returning in phase one and Mortenax Blade in phase two. Keep an eye on the in-game Warp schedule for exact phase flip times in your server region.
Events worth planning around include the Skott mechatron workshop event Love, Ghosts & Robots, the combat show Interastral Peace Gala: One Take, and the new Astral Imagea companion/co-op challenge content. These are the main jade and material sinks that do not require spending Oneiric Shards.
Maintenance compensation: players at Trailblaze Level 4 or higher before maintenance began are eligible for 300 Stellar Jades, typically mailed within several hours after servers reopen. Claim it before the version ends. Separate livestream codes from the 4.6 special program had their own earlier expiry (around September 21, 2026 UTC+8), so those are no longer a fresh source if you missed them.
What to do first after logging into 4.6
- Confirm the client finished updating (PC preload was ~3.58 GB; mobile ~2.21 GB).
- Claim the maintenance jade mail and any login / battle pass resets that start with the new version.
- Clear the new Trailblaze mission chain when you have time — story unlocks often gate map areas and events.
- Decide whether Pearl fits your Elation plans before dumping reserved jades on the first banner day.
- Park fuel/energy on the new Relic or Trace farms once the story opens those domains (new Relic sets called out in preview coverage include Dreamlit Actor and The Edacious Heretic).
Platforms
Honkai: Star Rail 4.6 is available on the same platforms as the base game: PC (official launcher and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android. Cross-save continues to follow HoYoverse’s existing account linking rules — check Settings if you play on more than one device.
Bottom line
Version 4.6 is a story-and-character patch first: Pearl’s long-teased debut, a deeper dive into Astropolis’s Life Sciences Institute, and a full slate of events to refill jades between Warps. If you only do three things today, make them claim compensation mail, start the new Trailblaze chapter, and decide whether an Ice/Elation sustain is worth your reserved tickets.
Want something lighter between Trailblaze missions? Browse free browser games on Gipcus.
