Aha Is The Ideal First Playable Aeon in Honkai: Star Rail, But Won’t Be The Last

The world of Honkai: Star Rail is set for a big change in the upcoming 4.7 update, with Aha arriving as the game’s first playable Aeon, but they won’t be the last.

Honkai: Star Rail’s regular slew of updates is familiar to fans of the title, though the move to add Aha to the playable roster is a big one, given that she is a higher-dimensional, godlike being, and balancing her addition has added challenges.

Naturally, the development team doesn’t want new additions to be overpowered, hence why Aha will be a support character, and while they are the first to make the move to join the playable roster, a significant hint was dropped indicating they won’t be the last.

Speaking to a group of reporters in Seoul, including Prima Games, Honkai: Star Rail Lead Game Designer Chengen An explained why Aha was a natural choice for the first Aeon to join the playable roster.

“They are quite an abstract construct for most people, but Aha is the most humanlike, so we think they are the most appropriate to become the first playable Aeon for players to enjoy,” he said.

“Our battle is way too tiny for Aeons to enter a war. With Aha, we kept some of the important factors in the combat design, and we certainly don’t want her to destroy battles with her power, and that doesn’t fit her personality,

“We do not intend to bring in a character with super-strength to overwhelm all existing characters. We already designed so many previous paths, and we want her to interact with a lot of characters.”

While Chengen was tight-lipped regarding the context that will lead Aha into entering the fight, he did tease the return of popular characters in the future following Aha’s introduction.

“We’ve already mentioned the settings; many of the characters of the franchise will come back, and Aha will have some unique moments to share with players. As for combat, Aha is a supportive character in combat, so she collaborates with others in battle,” he explained.

Moving forward, additional Aeons could join the Honkai: Star Rail roster, and while it wasn’t confirmed for sure who or when they would be added, Chengen’s comments made it clear there are plans for additional playable Aeons.

“It’s not only about skills or visual presentation, but we also want to show the appeal in personality and their role in the overall story. So when we design different Aeons, there will be different ways to showcase them.”