Kafka will soon be released in Honkai Star Rail, here's why you should be excited

Kafka wanters, rejoice! Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse has finally confirmed that the femme fatale of the Stellaron Hunters will be an upcoming playable 5-star character that wields the Lightning element and follows the Path of Nihility.

HoYoverse posted the teaser for Kafka on Wednesday (24 May), revealing that she will be the featured banner character for version 1.2 alongside fellow Stellaron Hunter Blade. The order by which the teasers were posted also suggests that Blade will be featured in the first half of version 1.2 while Kafka will take the spotlight in the second half.

Going by the thumbnail for the upcoming version 1.1 preview livestream, we know that the new characters debuting in version 1.1 will be Silver Wolf, Luocha, and Yukong. With that, it’s safe to assume that Kafka and Blade will be released in version 1.2.

Who is Kafka?

The mysterious Kafka is the (beautiful) face of the Stellaron Hunters. While the group’s leader is Elio, also known as ‘Destiny’s Slave’, Kafka often leads their operations in person and is one of Elio’s most trusted members.

The teaser posted by HoYoverse said that the Interastral Peace Corporation’s wanted list entry for Kafka only lists her name and the fact that she “likes collecting coats.”

Kafka is one of Honkai: Star Rail’s most featured characters, both in-game in and in promotional material, even if she isn’t playable yet.

At the start of the game, players will be able to play as Kafka and fellow Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf as they infiltrate the Herta Space Station during an attack by the Antimatter Legion. There, they summon the protagonist and implant them with the Stellaron, with Kafka telling the main character that they “won’t remember a thing except me” before leaving.

The next time we encounter Kafka is during the Xianzhou Luofu storyline, where she appeared alongside Blade during the sudden and chaotic appearance of a Stellaron in the worldship.

Aside from her in-game appearances, Kafka is also featured prominently in many of Honkai: Star Rail’s trailers, including the ‘Witness’ and ‘Interstellar Journey’ trailers.

Should you pull for Kafka?

At the start of the game, players will be able to play as Kafka and test out her kit, which focuses on dealing huge damage-over-time. As a Lightning Nihility character, Kafka is able to constantly inflict the Shock debuff on enemies to deal damage-over-time, though she can unleash all that damage within a single turn.

Kafka’s skill, Caressing Moonlight, deals Lightning DMG to a single target as well as any adjacent enemies. If the target is already inflicted with Shock or any other damage-over-time debuffs, then they will immediately receive all of the damage that debuff would have inflicted over its duration.

Kafka’s ultimate, Twilight Trill, deals Lightning DMG to all enemies as well as inflicting the Shock debuff on them and additional damage based on how much damage they received. This ability also boosts the damage dealt by the Shock debuff by inflicting an additional instance of Lightning DMG based on Kafka’s ATK.

Meanwhile, Kafka’s Talent, Gentle But Cruel, further boosts her damage output against Shocked enemies by dealing an instance of Lightning DMG based on her ATK whenever that enemy received a normal attack from Kafka and her allies.

Kafka’s kit is looking to be very strong, as she can deliver tons of damage both during her turn and over time. When paired with other characters that also focus on damage-over-time – especially Sampo, who increases the damage-over-time received by enemies with his ultimate – then there’s not much that can stand in Kafka’s way.

With her insane damage output, Kafka can be reasonably slotted into any team that needs more firepower. Even if your other party members don’t deal much damage-over-time, Kafka’s own damage output should be more than enough to carry you to victory.

When will Kafka be released?

As we mentioned earlier, it is safe to assume that Kafka will be one of the banner 5-star characters for version 1.2 alongside Blade.

Honkai: Star Rail version 1.1 is expected to release on 6 June, and assuming it will last the usual 40 days, version 1.2 and hopefully Blade will be released in mid-July.

Honkai: Star Rail is currently in the second half of version 1.0, featuring the Lightning Erudition character Jing Yuan as the banner 5-star.

Honkai: Star Rail officially launched on 26 April on PC, Android, and iOS. The game will also be made available on PlayStation some time after release. You can download the game here.

If you're still just starting with Honkai: Star Rail or want to try the game out for yourself, we've got you covered! You can check our beginner's guide, guide to building the starter characters, and guide to its gacha system.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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