The day before yesterday, Honkai: Star Rail's version 4.4 updated with the Phase 2 banners, which include many excellent returning characters. But how should one choose among these characters? Today let's talk about pull advice for the banners.

Himeko • Nova

Recommended to pull.

Himeko • Nova's banner lasts throughout the entire version, and she can still be pulled in the Phase 2 banners. Himeko • Nova has performed well in both Currency Wars and Anomaly Arbitration modes since her release, and she may receive additional teammates in the future, so she is recommended for pulling. Depending on your Stellar Jade reserves, her signature Light Cone, E1, and E2 also provide improvements. On a side note, in the third stage of Pure Fiction a few days ago, Himeko • Nova with double action advance could also clear it — the benefit is that it frees up multi-target attack supports like Tribbie and Mortenax Blade for the other two stages.

Cerydra

Players who are true fans of Phainon, Anaxa, or Rin Tohsaka main DPS can pull.

Cerydra's versatility is average. Her trait is to let the DPS duplicate their Skill. DPS units that particularly need Cerydra include Phainon, Anaxa, and Rin Tohsaka main DPS. There are also some DPS who can use Cerydra, such as Himeko • Nova and Seele, but she is not a must-pull for them. Therefore, she is only recommended for players who are true fans of Phainon, Anaxa, and Rin Tohsaka main DPS. Pulling purely for power is not necessary, as these DPS are no longer the most mainstream or strongest in the current version. Cerydra's E1 > signature Light Cone. E1 lets the DPS ignore a certain amount of enemy DEF, while the signature Light Cone increases the DPS's Skill damage. However, sometimes you might want to equip Dance! Dance! Dance! for team-wide action advance.

Anaxa

Pull for true fans.

Anaxa focuses on ricochet damage and is suitable for single-target scenarios. But there are fewer pure single-target scenarios nowadays; most require both multi-target and single-target capabilities. Anaxa is already a character from the last major version, with numbers that can't match new characters, and his system is not mainstream. Pulling purely for power is not necessary — pull if you're a true fan. Anaxa can use The Herta's signature Light Cone, so he doesn't need his own. If you don't have The Herta's signature Light Cone, then pull for Anaxa's own signature. Anaxa's E1 is not particularly strong.

Aventurine

No need to pull.

Nowadays, for shield sustain slots, the free Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae is usually used. His survival capability is sufficient, and he can also increase the main DPS's ATK. His mechanics also synergize with Sunday and the inner-set Relics. Players who like Aventurine also don't need to pull for him — you can pull for the next version's Aventurine SP character, Aventurine • Waveflair.

Future Pull Planning

The two new characters in version 4.5 are Robin • Summeretto of the Remembrance path and Aventurine • Waveflair of the Elation path. Robin • Summeretto may be a Remembrance team character, bringing more team comps and playstyles to Remembrance teams, or she could be a universal support. Aventurine • Waveflair may be after-sales support for the Elation team, or he might fit into other teams as well.

Compared to the rerun characters in the Phase 2 banners of version 4.4, the new characters in version 4.5 are clearly more attractive, and their power also has more future potential. To summarize the Phase 2 banners of version 4.4, it is recommended to pull for the new character Himeko • Nova. None of the three rerun characters are must-pulls; you can wait for the new characters in version 4.5. So how do you plan to pull in this banner?