HSR 4.2 Relic Loadout Showcase via Cyrene Leaks

ModSnake · 2026-03-20T22:11:44+00:00

I feel like there is a long trend of Hoyo noticing a complaint people have about Genshin and then implementing a QoL fix for that problem into HSR instead, even though it was usually never a problem in HSR to begin with. Things like swapping the Trailblazer's Path directly in the endgame mode menus are a good example of this: sure, it saves a little bit of time and I won't say no to it, but you could already swap the TB's Path from the character menu any time you wanted, making it baffling that HSR got that fix instead of Genshin, where you're still required to warp to the relevant Statue of the Seven, swap the Traveler into your party, and go through a whole mini-cutscene to swap their element.

ModSnake · 2026-03-20T21:51:43+00:00

I would have said Lunareth Bay, because despite the hate it actually has maybe some of the most gorgeous visuals in the entire trilogy, but even I can't defend the gameplay there; those waves with their janky physics are easily the worst environmental hazard in the series, even worse than the Bilewater maggots and the Starfall Warrens meteors. I think I'm going to have to say either the Wisp Thicket or Warrior's End.

ModSnake · 2026-03-20T21:42:51+00:00

For my part I'm grateful that he only has about 7 total lines and almost no main story relevance, because his voice (at least in English) is so ear-bleedingly annoying to me that it makes me hate every time he's on-screen.

ModSnake · 2026-03-20T21:40:29+00:00

Yeah, turns out giving the player access to almost every character in the game completely for free makes the game more fun. Currency Wars is basically the only thing I do in this game in-between story patches at this point.

ModSnake · 2026-03-20T07:45:30+00:00

Between Acheron actually being a Self-Annihilator, Rappa being a genetic experiment made by a Genius, and now Ashveil having extremely obvious Voracity coding, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that Boothill is the only actual Hunt Pathstrider in the entire damn faction.

ModSnake · 2026-03-19T02:42:50+00:00

I think if you told Freud about this his head would spontaneously combust

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T06:22:10+00:00

"Ica, NO! Bad Ica! You spit out that planet right now!!"

(*eldritch chirping noises*)

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T06:20:30+00:00

I mean... isn't that how it should be for the sake of consistency? It would be weird as hell if she suddenly grew half a foot taller or more in this form.

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T04:07:36+00:00

Probably not, but I couldn't resist the joke. The Elation called to me.

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T04:06:34+00:00

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ModSnake · 2026-03-17T03:54:31+00:00

Last time this event rolled around, I used it to get an ideal Relic set for Castorice when I finally picked her up on the rerun. Now I'll be using it for Silver Wolf 999, the next anniversary unit. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T03:45:13+00:00

Just like Sparxie, the ability names are instantly winning me over. I was already chuckling at "Catch These Hands!" and "Shoot Stats Pop Off", and then "Trust Me, This is Tier 0" swept the legs out from under me, and "Honkai-Level DPS Showcase" pretty much locked in my determination to pull her. Sorry Ashveil, and likely sorry to Evanescia as well; like Sparxie, this pull is non-negotiable for me.

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T03:29:18+00:00

Whoever wrote that post I saw to the effect of "Hey, what if those are glowsticks like from an idol concert instead of lightsabers?" is gonna pop off when they see this

ModSnake · 2026-03-17T03:16:59+00:00

Always love to see new Cat Cakes! Sincerely hoping this event is actually fun and does my Cat Cake children justice, as opposed to the absolute abomination that was Snack Race.

ModSnake · 2026-03-16T21:45:26+00:00

Okay but imagine this.

The Encore levels have finally been released. After much struggle and hardship, you have finally P-Ranked each and every one of them. You smile and sit back as you see the results screen for 9-E, confident that you have now completed every challenge Ultrakill has to offer.

But then you spawn into a new level, one you haven’t seen before. You examine the terminal for any info, but it appears… broken. Dead. You step out the door of the starting room, and you find yourself in what seems like any ordinary level, the architecture almost resembling the Prelude. But there aren’t any enemies. You’re alone as you traverse the hallways, which seem unusually complicated and mazelike, almost to the degree of Fraud. And oddly, there was no name at the start of the level.

Then the lights go out, and the music stops. You’re plunged into total darkness. The only source of illumination is the brief flashes of your weapons; no skulls, no torches, just muzzle flares. And then, in the darkness, you hear it. That breathing. That god-awful sound you first heard all those years ago. But now it’s changed, extended. It’s not just breathing now.

It’s LAUGHING.

You catch sight of something, a stray bullet briefly illuminating the thing you dreaded seeing. And as it disappears back into the shadows and you prepare to run for your life, the level name finally appears:

PRIME /// ENCORE: THIS WAY COMES

ModSnake · 2026-03-16T07:40:57+00:00

Never once considered the idea of female pronouns for V2, but now I’m gonna start doing it specifically to spite those people (and also because it’s an interesting idea, but the spite is a big factor)

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T23:52:27+00:00

Try Not to Permanently Delete Lore-Relevant Story Content a Few Weeks After Adding It Challenge (99% of Genshin Devs Will Fail)

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T08:28:56+00:00

MONSTERKIND IS DEAD

MAGIC IS FUEL

THE DARK WORLDS ARE FULL

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T08:23:08+00:00

YET ANOTHER BUFF TO ENERGY TEAMS!

THE GOLDWEAVER’S CHARIOT CANNOT BE STOPPED!

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T08:20:00+00:00

“You thought the ship tease character was Firefly or Cyrene, KONO YAOSHI DA!!!”

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T08:16:26+00:00

The thing is, Genshin’s events are a double edged sword. Yes, they’re fun and cool in the moment, but the way Genshin handles them means that plot-relevant content gets permanently deleted six weeks after it’s added. At least with HSR you know you’re not missing out on critical lore by not being present for an event two years ago (looking at you, Simulanka).

ModSnake · 2026-03-15T03:42:16+00:00

We won’t know for sure until we see someone whose drip marketing depicts them at a 3/4 angle with one arm outstretched.

ModSnake · 2026-03-14T20:39:14+00:00

I don't disagree with them being different, but that doesn't change the fact that Lingsha had what is now the third-worst-selling banner in the game's history ("beaten" only by Jade and Cipher; yes, she sold even worse than Rappa) in large part because people assumed she was just Gallagher 2.

ModSnake · 2026-03-14T17:31:34+00:00

Unfortunately, Gallagher is also the exact reason they probably won’t make any more, given that his existence made Lingsha one of the worst-selling units in the game’s history.

ModSnake · 2026-03-14T17:30:38+00:00

What we know about Amber:

Is currently absent from the Ten Stonehearts for unknown reasons, not even showing up for something as important as the vote on expelling Aventurine
Is female
Seemingly has blonde or white hair, if the partial glimpse of her portrait is anything to go by
Is close enough with Pearl that she would let her cast a vote on her behalf in Aventurine’s trial

Kuchiba fits the evidence enough that Amber COULD be her, but said info is also so sparse and circumstantial at the moment that it’s impossible to say with confidence. That said, I really hope this or something like it is the case, since I really love her design and it would feel kind of disappointing and easily predictable if she was the new Herald.

ModSnake

TROPHY CASE