The Honkai Star Rail Version 1.6 Special Event Livestream revealed the banners, featuring the three new characters Dr. Ratio, Ruan Mei, and Xueyi!

Honkai Star Rail 1.6 First Half Banners

The first half of Honkai Star Rail 1.6 banners will include two new characters – Ruan Mei (5-star Ice Harmony) and Xueyi (4-star Quantum Destruction). A rerun of Blade will join them. (5-star Wind Destruction).

Ruan Mei is a 5-star Ice character on the Path of Harmony. Her Skill can increase the SPD and Weakness Break Efficiency of all of her allies while her Ultimate can buff All-Type RES PEN and inflict a unique debuff. Her Talent is straightforward – buffing her allies' DMG passively and dealing more damage against Weakness Broken enemies.

Blade is a 5-star Wind Destruction character whose whole kit revolves around his Talent which earns stacks every time Blade's HP decreases. Once it hits the maximum amount of stacks, Blade does a follow-up attack which heals him. This Talent synergizes with his Skill, which enhances his Basic Attack to deal more damage in exchange for a bit of HP.

Xueyi is a new 4-star Quantum character on the Path of Destruction. As such, she is a damage-focused unit. Her Ultimate has a unique aspect – it can ignore Weakness Types and can instantly deplete the target's Toughness. Like many Honkai Star Rail units, Xueyi has a stacking mechanic on her Talent wherein she gains “Karma” stacks when an enemy's Toughness is depleted. When she has enough stacks, she will inflict a follow-up attack.

Honkai Star Rail 1.6 First Half Light Cone Banners

Past Self in Mirror: Increases CRIT DMG for the wearer by 20/23/26/28/32%. Deals an additional 6/7/8/9/10% CRIT DMG to the enemy target for each debuff sustained, up to a maximum of 3 stacks. Grants Debate effect when attacking the target with an Ultimate, increasing DMG dealt by 36/42/48/54/60% while follow-up attacks ignore 16/18/20/22/24% of the target's DEF. This effect lasts for 2 turns.

The Unreachable Side: Increases the wearer's CRIT rate by 18/21/24/27/30% and increases their Max HP by 18/21/24/27/30%. When the wearer is attacked or consumes their own HP, their DMG increases by 24/28/32/36/40%. This effect is removed after the wearer uses an attack.

Honkai Star Rail Version 1.6 Second Half Banners

The second half will have Dr. Ratio as the only new character, and this will also mark the start of the duration where players can start receiving their free Dr. Ratio via the mail. He will be joined by a Kafka rerun.

Dr. Ratio is a 5-star Imaginary character on the Path of The Hunt. He has a Single Target-focused kit that also has some follow-up attacks weaved into it thanks to his Talent. His Talent also gives him a random buff that increases his offensive stats.

Kafka is a 5-star Lightning Nihility character who is the cornerstone of most Nihility teams. Her powerful synergy with any and all DoT effects makes a lot of Nihility characters viable in even the game's most difficult stages.

Honkai Star Rail 1.6 First Half Light Cone Banners

Baptism of Pure Thought: Increases CRIT DMG for the wearer by 20/23/26/28/32%. Deals an additional 6/7/8/9/10% CRIT DMG to the enemy target for each debuff sustained, up to a maximum of 3 stacks. Grants Debate effect when attacking the target with an Ultimate, increasing DMG dealt by 36/42/48/54/60% while follow-up attacks ignore 16/18/20/22/24% of the target's DEF. This effect lasts for 2 turns.

Patience is All You Need: Increases DMG dealt by the wearer by 24/28/32/36/40%. After every attack launched by wearer, their SPD increases by 4.8/5.6/6.4/7.2/8%, stacking up to 3 times. If the wearer hits an enemy target that is not afflicted by Erode, there is a 100% base chance to inflict Erode to the target. Enemies afflicted with Erode are also considered to be Shocked and will receive Lightning DoT at the start of each turn equal to 60/70/80/90/100% of the wearer's ATK, lasting for 1 turn(s).

The Honkai Star Rail Version 1.6 update is scheduled to go live on December 27, 2023.