As a 2026 player logging into Honkai: Star Rail, I feel like I'm at a fancy party where everyone is wearing designer clothes, and I'm trying to make a statement with a cleverly accessorized, slightly frayed suit from three seasons ago. The game has been pumping out dazzling limited 5-star characters at a rate that makes my head spin, while my beloved 4-star roster is starting to feel like a forgotten relic. The numbers don't lie—we've got over 34 five-star units strutting their stuff, compared to a paltry 22 four-stars. Back in the ancient times of version 1.0, the gap was much more reasonable. Now, it feels like MiHoYo is putting all their creative juice and mechanical genius into the premium units, because let's be honest, that's where the money is. But as a player who enjoys building teams without selling a kidney, this focus leaves the game's designers, and us, in a real pickle.

The Widening Gulf: Quantity AND Quality

Let's talk about the release schedule, or should I say, the 4-star release drought. For a long time, the pattern was steady: two shiny new 5-stars and one humble 4-star per update. But then, versions 2.2 and 2.3 rolled around like a pair of bullies and delivered... zero new 4-stars. The gap isn't just growing in numbers; it's a chasm in quality. Every new limited 5-star, from the earth-shattering Acheron to the break-focused maestro Firefly, seems engineered to redefine the meta. They arrive not just as characters, but as events, complete with synergies that make older units look like they're fighting with pool noodles.

Take Firefly. Her kit was so meticulously crafted to work with the Harmony Trailblazer's Superbreak mechanics it was less like a character release and more like a corporate merger. Meanwhile, trying to make an older 4-star DPS keep up is like asking a tricycle to compete in the Tour de France. The power creep is real, and if the previous generation of 5-stars are getting left in the dust, you can imagine where that leaves our 4-star friends—feeling as relevant as a fax machine in a world of instant messaging.

The Niche Survivalists: 4-Stars Hanging On by a Thread

Now, it's not all doom and gloom. A few 4-star heroes have carved out essential niches, clinging to relevance like a determined barnacle on a speeding ship. They've become the indispensable tools in specific, high-end toolboxes.

4-Star Character	Niche Role	The 5-Star Shadow Looms
Gallagher	Fire Weakness/Break Specialist for Superbreak teams.	The perfect partner for Firefly... for now.
Pela	DEF Shred & Debuff queen for Acheron teams.	Soon to be challenged by the likes of Jiaoqiu.
Xueyi	Break-focused DPS substitute.	Requires max investment to even glimpse Firefly's heels.

These characters are valuable precisely because a 5-star hasn't come along to do their job better yet. Gallagher is a staple because he punches fire-weak enemies so hard their toughness bar cries. Pela is Acheron's best friend with her debuffs. But their value feels precarious, a temporary lease on meta-relevance. The moment a limited 5-star Nihility unit like Jiaoqiu drops with a better debuff package, Pela might be looking for a new job. It's a tense existence!

The Investment Imbalance: A Fair Trade-Off?

Here's the core of the issue: 4-stars need immense investment to compete. Getting a character like Xueyi to rival Firefly's output is like trying to tune a rusty moped to beat a Formula 1 car—you'll need every single Eidolon, maxed Traces, and god-tier relics, and even then, you're just hoping to see the champion's taillights. This is often justified by the fact that 4-stars are easier to get. You're guaranteed one every 10 pulls, versus the 80+ needed for a limited 5-star. It's the classic free-to-play trade: accessibility for raw power.

But the problem is the opportunity cost. Why pour all those precious resources—Stellar Jades, Trace materials, weeks of relic farming—into a 4-star DPS who will be objectively outperformed by the next big 5-star release, when you could save for the guaranteed powerhouse?

A Path Forward: More Than Just Power

So, what's the solution? If MiHoYo is terrified of making a 4-star so good it overshadows their cash-cow 5-stars (a fear as palpable as a ghost in a haunted house), then they need to get creative elsewhere. We don't just need stronger 4-stars; we need more of them, spread across under-served Paths and Elements. The game's roster is lopsided!

• The Preservation Path is screaming for a new 4-star shielder. Where are our affordable, reliable defensive options?

• We need more 4-star Harmony units that offer unique buffs, not just weaker versions of 5-star kits.

• Elemental coverage for support roles is crucial. Having a 4-star healer or buffer for every element would open up so many team-building possibilities for budget-conscious players.

The goal shouldn't be to make 4-stars beat 5-stars. It should be to make them uniquely valuable and versatile. Give us tools that enable new strategies, fill crucial gaps in element/Path coverage, and remain relevant through utility, not just raw numbers. My 4-star roster shouldn't feel like a collection of spare parts; it should feel like a well-stocked, affordable toolkit that lets me tackle any challenge the game throws at me, even if I have to work a little smarter to do it. After all, sometimes the most satisfying victories come from the underdog story.