Honkai Star Rail version 3.4 is packed with new characters, Light Cones, and events. This includes Phainon, who will be part of the main Trailblaze Mission. This version will also include the awaited Fate/stay night collaboration, which introduces characters Saber and Archer, who will have their own Light Cone and banners. The question is, will it be worth pulling for them?
If you're a fan of Honkai Star Rail and Fate/stay night, then I'm sure that it's a no-brainer for you to pull for these characters. However, if you're a player who just heard about them, you may have second thoughts. Take note that the collaboration warps' pity counts are separate from the featured banners.
Are Saber and Archer Worth Pulling For in Honkai Star Rail?
I would recommend spending your Stellar Jades and Star Rail Special Passes for Saber and Archer (whichever one of them you prefer) first, skipping all the other 5-Star characters like Phainon, Tribbie, and more.
Saber and Archer's character ("Excalibur Excelsior" and "I Am the Bone of My Sword") and Light Cone ("A Thankless Coronation" and "The Hell Where Ideals Burn") banners will be available from July 11, 2025, at 12:00 (server time), and will stay for a long time.
There is speculation that their banners will be available until version 3.6, which is estimated to be around two to three months in total (possibly longer). Unlike the regular 5-Star playable characters in Honkai Star Rail, like Phainon, it is highly unlikely that Saber and Archer's banners will have a rerun in the future. This is in line with the Evangelion collab with Honkai Impact 3rd, where Asuka Langley's banner did not have a rerun banner at all since the event ended.
This makes them quite exclusive characters, which in itself is a reason why you should definitely have at least one copy of each. You will at least have a guaranteed Archer, since the game will give you one for free through your mail.
Should You Pull For Saber?
If you lack Wind DPS characters or like her in the Fate franchise, you should pull for Saber.
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+ 3To help you decide further, Saber is a character who will follow the Path of Destruction and is a Wind character. She is a DPS character who can deal burst damage to enemies. Her main source of damage will be when she uses her Ultimate "Excalibur."
After using her ult, her next basic attack will be enhanced and will perform better if there are fewer than two enemies on the field. Her attacks are more AoE compared to Archer, which may be one of their main differences. Her kit also includes an Action Advance (AA), which allows her to attack more frequently.
I think it is worth getting her first Eidolon and Light Cone if you are thinking of trying to pull more than one copy. The second Eidolon doesn't make such a huge difference, so it's better to have her signature Light Cone. If you also have Sunday, then you already have the best Support for Saber (since she has a huge energy requirement for her Ultimate).
Should You Pull For Archer?
I won't recommend pulling for Archer's warp since you will receive him for free. However, if you want his Eidolons and don't have any decent Quantum DPS, then I say go for it.
click to enlarge+ 3Archer is a Quantum DPS character that follows the Path of The Hunt. Since Archer and Saber both have DPS potential, the former is focused on dealing high single-target damage. You have to keep in mind that Archer consumes a lot of Skill Points (SP) since you will be using his Skill a lot, so it is better to have him paired up with characters such as Sparkle, who are SP efficient, to unleash his full potential.
Since Archer will be given for free, there are a lot of players who believe Saber will be the better character, as she can only be acquired through gacha. This thinking is primarily because of collaboration characters under HoYoverse that were given for free, don't perform well, and are only seen as a "collectible," like Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn in Genshin Impact.
However, Archer may break that curse as his kit seems promising. He reportedly did well in the beta testing, and the fact that he has a gacha warp might mean that he won't be that bad. I recommend you try him out first, since you will get him at E0. You can get his first Eidolon if you want (giving you 2SP if you use his skill 3 times in the same turn), and E2 doesn't seem worth it. Prioritize getting his E1 instead of his Light Cone, since there are good alternatives such as Cruising in the Stellar Sea.
click to enlarge+ 3A huge factor that I consider when pulling for characters in a gacha game is if I like their design, since I'm not a gamer who follows the meta. I believe that all characters will eventually be power creeped, no matter how powerful they were during their release.
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