A massive expansion of the game, titled Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 was released on February 29, 2024. Built upon the existing game, the update marks the start of the second major story arc of the game, with new characters, reworked UI, an updated engine, and a shift from a mission-based structure to a limited open-world structure.
In addition to the game, the storyline of Honkai Impact 3rd spans multiple supplementary media including a series of animated shorts, multiple manhua series, and promotional videos.
Etymology
The word "Honkai", based on the Japanese 崩壊 (ほうかい, "collapse" or "decay"), pronounced "hōkai", is a direct translation of the Chinese 崩坏 (bēng huài) used in the original Chinese title. The "Impact" part of the title is absent from both the Chinese and Japanese versions, and is only used in English marketing.
In-game, the term 'Honkai Impact' (also 'Honkai Eruption' or 'Honkai Outbreak') refers to a large-scale Honkai disaster that coincides with the birth of a Herrscher.
Gameplay
Honkai Impact 3rd has players control a team of up to three characters, known as Valkyries, in real-time combat against various enemies. During battle, players may freely switch between characters and move around the battlefield. Each Valkyrie has unique attack, evasion, switch, and ultimate skills, as well as a type. The three main types: Mecha, Biologic, and Psychic, are based on a rock-paper-scissors-based system, wherein types are advantaged and disadvantaged depending on both the enemy type and their own type. The two additional types, Quantum and Imaginary, are disadvantaged over each other, neutral towards the above three types, and advantaged over themselves. A third additional type, Stardust, is advantaged towards itself and neutral to all other types. Valkyrie stats and skills can be changed with various weapons and equipment, which can be improved by using in-game resources. New equipment (known as Stigmata), weapons, and Valkyries can obtained either through in-game crafting or through a gacha system.[citation needed]
Single-player game modes include the Story campaign, consisting of stages punctuated by dialogue in cutscenes and full motion videos (FMVs); Chronicles, a series of brief side stories that explore Valkyries' backstories or other aspects of the world; and Open World, allowing exploration of several large open-ended fields to gather materials and complete various challenge tasks, coupled with their own storylines.
The game features various multiplayer cooperative and competitive modes, such as Memorial Arena, where players compete against a set of bosses for the highest score across the server; Abyss, where players attempt to progress as far as possible through a gauntlet of battles to compete for high scores against others in a small group, etc. Players are able to join groups of other players, called Armadas, which allow for more opportunities for events and rewards. Armadas allow for limited requesting of materials and resources from other players in the Armada.
Outside of battles, Honkai Impact 3rd allows players to interact with the Valkyrie and Stigmata characters through the Dorm mode. Upon completing character-specific tasks, different characters may be able to move into the dorms, whereupon new character information and dialogues between those characters can be seen. Players can craft various pieces of furniture and design the layout of the dorm rooms to increase the "comfort" of the Valkyries and Stigmata therein. Greater comfort levels allow players to level up their dorm limits for more elaborate decoration. Players are able to visit and view each other's decorated dorm layouts.
Secondary gameplay mechanics include various minigames incorporating bullet hell, platforming, and shoot 'em up elements that allow players to gather various crafting and experience materials. Limited-time seasonal events may also include gameplay styles such as dungeon crawling and battle royale which are not normally seen in the main gameplay modes.
Weapons
Each Valkyrie can equip one type of weapon. The weapon types in the game are dual pistols, blades (katanas), heavy (cannons), greatswords, crosses, fists (gauntlets), scythes, lances, bows, chakrams, javelins, drive cores (yo-yos,) rapid-fire crossbows, rocket hammers, chained blades, and mechanical staffs.
Players can obtain weapons through shop purchases, crafting, and the gacha system, among other methods. After players obtain weapons, they can upgrade the weapons to improve their attribute effects.[citation needed]
After reaching player level 50 and weapon level 50, some weapons can be further upgraded into PRI-ARMs, changing their design, attributes, and effects. However, players will not be able to increase the maximum weapon level until reaching player level 81.
Stigmata
Each Valkyrie can equip three Stigmata. Players can increase their characters' attack, defense, critical chance, and other attribute effects while those characters wear various Stigmata.[2]
The Stigmata system can be divided into three types: top, middle, and bottom, which correspond to the types of attack, defense, and auxiliary. Players can also activate different set effects when wearing two or three Stigmata of the same set. Players can obtain Stigmata through the gacha, stage completion, events, and crafting. After players obtain a Stigmata, they can enhance, upgrade, and refine it to improve the Stigmata's stats and effects.[3]
Item enhancement
Players can enhance Valkyrie stats by enhancing (leveling-up) weapons and Stigmata. Stigmata level up requires a different EXP item type than weapons. Upon enhancement, the equipment can get a better attribute effect bonus.
Item upgrading
Players can improve the attribute effect of equipment by upgrading weapons and Stigmata. All weapons or Stigmata can upgrade the star level through an upgrade. After upgrading, the maximum level limit increases, allowing stronger effects. More advanced weapons and Stigmata require more advanced upgrade materials. Players can obtain upgrade materials by challenging stages, pulling in the gacha, and purchasing in stores.
Currency
The main currencies are crystals and coins, which have various non-premium obtaining methods. Asterite is a currency obtained from various miscellaneous sources throughout the game and can be exchanged for supplies in specific shops. Many of the game's gameplay modes and events each have their own corresponding currencies and shops.
Story
Setting
Honkai Impact 3rd is set in an alternate version of Earth, plagued by catastrophes resulting from the Honkai. The Honkai is largely viewed as a malevolent force with a will of its own. It has the ability to corrupt humans (ranging from mind manipulation and diseases to turning them into undead creatures), create various monsters, and imbue certain individuals with god-like powers, enabling them to trigger apocalyptic events. These super-powered humans are known as Herrschers. The Honkai is a cyclical phenomenon, returning to test civilization on Earth each time it gets too advanced.
The game takes place in the year 2015 of the Current Era, with the more technologically-advanced Previous Era having been destroyed by Honkai 50,000 years prior. In the Current Era, various global factions exist to combat or take advantage of the power of Honkai. These include Schicksal, a European-based peacekeeping organization that deploys human warriors known as Valkyries to combat the Honkai; Anti-Entropy, formerly the North American branch of Schicksal that objected to the use of human soldiers in favor of mechanized robots; and World Serpent, a shadow organization that has been manipulating world events since the end of the Previous Era.
Three Herrscher awakenings (or Impacts) have already occurred in the Current Era by the start of the series: the Herrscher of Reason, who became the leader of Anti-Entropy instead of fighting humanity; the Herrscher of the Void, who was defeated by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy in 2000; and the Herrscher of Thunder, who was successfully prevented from fully awakening and sent to train as a Valkyrie at Schicksal's St. Freya Academy.
The game's main protagonist and a recurring character in other miHoYo games. A homage to miHoYo's main character in their first game and second game. Also known as K-423, she is a clone of the original Kiana Kaslana mixed with genes from Sirin.
One of the three major main characters and a recurring one in miHoYo's games. She is featured as a kind and compassionate Valkyrie. She is the daughter of Massive Electric Corp’s CEO. However, due to unfortunate economic issues, her family has lost most of their wealth.
One of the three major main characters and a recurring one in miHoYo's games. She is a Russian orphan who lost her family during the Second Honkai War. She is a trained assassin who infiltrated St. Freya High School in the hope of saving her lost friend.
Teacher at St. Freya Academy, leader of Squad V and former Captain of the Hyperion. She was originally deployed to rescue Kiana, Mei and Bronya from Nagazora and acted as their squad leader and mentor after their enrollment. She is acquainted with Rita and Durandal through their former mentor, Ragna Lothbrok.
A shrine maiden from Yae village, she had a little sister named Rin. She met Kallen when Kallen fled from Schicksal forces to the Far East and fell in love with her. She shares a name and appearance with the Previous Era's SAKURA, codenamed "Setsuna", who is a member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 8th but is otherwise unrelated. SAKURA's younger sister, RIN, became the Herrscher of Corruption.
The founder and principal of St. Freya Academy. Although she defies him, she is closely tied to Otto, who created her from Kallen's genes. She was close friends with Kiana's parents, especially her mother. She can be considered the equivalent of Previous Era MANTISes, as her genes contain parts of the Honkai Beast Vishnu.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 12th, codenamed 'Vicissitude'. She was originally tasked with a mission to guide the Current Era, which caused the regions of her influence to deify her. Her backstory is recounted in multiple pieces of media, including manga and the visual novel Seven Swords. After meeting Otto and striking a deal with him, she was employed as one of his agents. Later on, she becomes host to the Herrscher of Sentience.
A medieval Kaslana family member and childhood friend of Otto. Known as the most legendary Valkyrie of Schicksal. She was executed after defying Schicksal and publicly declaring her love for Yae Sakura. Otto embarked on a quest to revive her.
Assistant of Durandal, one of the few current S-rank Valkyries (in game's world) and Maid of Schicksal. She is Durandal's second-in-command. Second-in-command of the Immortal Blades Valkyrie Squad.
An Estonian girl who grew up in the same orphanage as Bronya. She is a Stigma Awakened individual and shares her body with her Stigma persona, also named Seele (sometimes called Dark Seele or "Seele", quotation marks included). Her Stigma's symbol is similar to the Stigma of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Death.
The twin sister of Rozaliya. Unlike Rozaliya, she is much more serious and level-headed. She spent her childhood at Cocolia orphanage with Bronya and Seele, alongside Rozaliya.
The twin sister of Liliya. She is often seen as a very noisy and disruptive Valkyrie, but she shows her mature side when she looks after Liliya. Due to an accident, she features a modified body. She spent her childhood at Cocolia orphanage with Bronya and Seele, alongside Liliya.
An S-rank Valkyrie and the current strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, whose true name is Bianka Ataegina. Later in Part 1 of the story, it is revealed that she is the original Kiana Kaslana from whom the game's protagonist was cloned. She is the main character of the visual novel Durandal.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 2nd, codenamed "Ego." She is the owner of the Elysian Realm and one of the major main characters of the Elysian Realm story arc in the game. She was born as the Herrscher of Origin, but her actions in life earned her the title Herrscher of Humanity.
A member of World Serpent, nicknamed "Raven." A highly skilled mercenary who runs an orphanage called "The Roost", she is also a survivor of the Second Eruption in Siberia.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 10th, codenamed "Infinity." She is a scientist responsible for the creation of Stigmata and has assisted in the development of other projects.
A character from the futuristic open-world A Post-Honkai Odyssey. Daughter of Lewis Pepper, former Valkyrie who fought in the Second Eruption. Usually seen as an energetic troublemaker with a tendency to go AWOL. Despite all that, she values her place as a Valkyrie.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 13th, codenamed "Reverie." She acts as a merchant in the Elysian Realm along with her pet cat Can. Described as the weakest of the Flamechasers. She also has a sort of kleptomania, usually played for laughs. Able to use 'shortcuts', most likely referring to a sort of dimensional portals.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 3rd, codenamed "Discipline." She is a psychic MANTIS with the power to see into the future and decipher people's fates. She can also bestow Disciplines, mental seals, or commands that influence a person's will.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 4th, codenamed "Gold." She was a well-known singer and philanthropist in the Previous Era. She is often seen drinking alcohol, especially wine. There have been hints of a romance between her and Elysia, although their relationship status was never officially confirmed.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 11th, codenamed "Stars." The youngest of the Flamechasers, she is a painter with a beaming curiosity. She has taken on a Discipline (mental seal) to make her focus on painting and to not think about the tragedies all around her, which were common in the Previous Era.
A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era and ranked 5th, codenamed "Helix." She is an inventor, a magician, a chef, an evil mastermind, and a shy girl. This is due to her ability to split her own mind and partition those parts for specific tasks. She created multiple Divine Keys from the Cores of the Previous Era's Herrschers.
One of the protagonists of the Saga of the Shattered Swords visual novel. Her mother, Qin Suyi, is one of the Seven Swords of Taixuan (seven disciples of Fu Hua's School of Taixuan).
A character used for bridging the game world and the players (breaks the 4th wall). She is seen fixing bugs in the game with her three miniature copies, referred to as the "Ai"s in the Honkai Salvation Log event, where she acts as the administrator of Honkai Impact 3rd. She has the ability to concentrate all the Captain's willpowers throughout "parallel dimensions."
A Belarusian girl who became Current Era's Herrscher of the Void after suffering abuse at the hands of Schicksal's research. She is a main character in the manga Second Eruption. During the game's events, her leftover malice personified acts as the secondary antagonist, triggering another Eruption.
A native from Salt Snow Holy City who acts as Seele's, Susannah's, and Shigure Kira's guide in their search for Seele's other personality. She is a clone of Sa, the original Vita. Later, she received an invitation from Sparkle to join the Masked Fools, which she accepted.
Kevin Kaslana (Voiced by: Qin Qiege, Satoshi Hino). A member of the 13 Flamechasers of The Previous Era, ranked 1st, also the current head of World Serpent and the first Kaslana, codenamed "Deliverance." His strength allowed him to eliminate a lot of Previous Era's Herrschers. He acts as an antagonist throughout the majority of the story.
Otto Apocalypse (Voiced by: Zhao Lu, Akira Ishida). A 500-year-old human genius, head of Schicksal for most of that time. He acts as the main antagonist in the first part of the story. He had a strong affection for Kallen Kaslana and was primarily motivated by his goal to revive her.
Welt Yang (Voiced by: Dai Chaohang, Nuo Ya (young), Yoshimasa Hosoya, Mariya Ise (young)). The second Herrscher of Reason and the current head of Anti-Entropy, whose true name is Joachim Nokianvirtanen. He inherited his name from the first Herrscher of Reason, Welt Joyce. The events that occur in the aftermath of A Post-Honkai Odyssey Chapter 2 and the Alien Space manga eventually lead to his appearance in Honkai: Star Rail.
Frederica Nikola Tesla (Voiced by: Le Xiaotong, Ayana Taketatsu) and Lieserl Albert Einstein (Voiced by: Qin Ziyi, Mitsuki Saiga) are Anti-Entropy scientists that frequently help the main cast. They have been involved in Anti-Entropy leaving Schicksal and research on the 9th Divine Key. They age slower due to complications during the latter's events.
Su (Voiced by: Yang Chaoran, Takahiro Sakurai). A member of the 13 Flamechasers, ranked 7th, codenamed "Bodhi" and MOTH scientist/doctor. He is a friend to Kevin. He is the perceived antagonist of the manga volume Second Key, during which he sends Durandal through tribulations in a bubble universe called Seed of Sumeru.
Dr. MEI (Voiced by: Juhuahua (Jiang Jingju), Miyuki Sawashiro). A previous era scientist who led humanity's effort against the Honkai, creating various projects to combat the phenomenon. She bears a resemblance to the Current Era's Raiden Mei, but is otherwise unrelated. She had a romantic relationship with Kevin Kaslana.
Cecilia Schariac (Voiced by: Fumeng Ruowei, Yū Kobayashi). One of Schicksal's most powerful Valkyries and mother to Kiana Kaslana, she plays a significant role in the events of the Second Honkai War. She is a main character in the manga Second Eruption.
Siegfried Kaslana (Voiced by: Peng Bo, Tomokazu Seki). A Schicksal Knight and father of Kiana Kaslana. After the events of the Second Honkai War, he acted against Schicksal and World Serpent. Later, they captured him and kept him in the Kaslana Stigma Space.
Kalpas (Voiced by: Kinsen, Yūsuke Kobayashi). A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era, ranked 6th, and codenamed "Decimation." He has been fused with the Honkai Beast Asura. He is most likely not human but rather an alien humanoid.
Kosma (Voiced by: Chu Huazheng, Chiaki Kobayashi). A member of the 13 Flamechasers of the Previous Era, ranked 9th, and codenamed "Daybreak." He has been fused with the Honkai Beast Vishnu.
Development
The production team for Honkai Impact 3rd grew from a 7-person start to employing over 200 employees in 2018.[10] miHoYo offers small amounts of in-game currency to users that fill out surveys about their experience in the game, allowing the game's developers to adjust future events and tweak the game. As a result, Honkai Impact 3rd is under a continuous-update system, patchingbug fixes and changing or adding content multiple times per year. The game has had many significant changes since launch, including rewriting the entire first two chapters of the story in a December 2018 update.[citation needed] The developers stated that their decision to make Honkai Impact 3rd be in the free-to-playmonetization system (rather than a premium, or paid, game) with the purpose of making the game more available to players.[11]Devil May Cry and Bayonetta significantly affected the game makers' ideas for the fight system of Honkai Impact 3rd.[11]
After a few years of users emulating Honkai Impact 3rd on computers[12][13] and an update making emulation more difficult, the game's official PC version was developed, releasing to the public on December 26, 2019.[14] A massive expansion of the game, titled Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 was released on February 29, 2024. Built upon the existing game, the update marks the start of the second major story arc of the game, with new characters, reworked UI, an updated engine, and a shift from a mission-based structure to a limited open-world structure.[15]
Related media
Manga
Honkai Impact 3rd features an ongoing serialized manga of the same name in Chinese[16] and in English.[citation needed] The manga begins before Chapter 1 of the main game story arc that aims to supplement and flesh out the in-game plot, and often includes character origins. Several in-game battlesuits worn by the Valkyries are illustrated in the manga as well. The manga has three prequel titles and one main title.
Anime
Cooking with Valkyries (Chinese: 女武神的餐桌; pinyin: Nǚ Wǔshén de Cānzhuō), a non-canonslice of lifecooking television animated series of Honkai Impact 3rd featuring 19 short episodes, was released from July to September 2020. The bilibili releases are available in Mandarin Chinese, while the Japanese broadcast versions are in Japanese.[17][18]
ELF Academy (Chinese: 人偶学园; pinyin: Rén'ǒu Xuéyuán), another non-canon anime of Honkai Impact 3rd with 10 episodes, was released from July to September 2021, and also contains Mandarin Chinese and Japanese voice acting. This series is about ELFs (Equipment: Living Form), which are autonomous weapons created to replace living soldiers, going to school and interacting with each other.[19][20]
The game first attracted a large fanbase in Asia before spreading globally: first released in China in late 2016,[21] it reached 1 million downloads in Japan 11 days after release, and IGN reported that Honkai Impact 3rd gathered a total of 35 million downloads worldwide as of March 28, 2018.[22] The game has been released in Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia,[23] North America, and Europe,[24][25] and supports multiple languages including Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese,[26] English,[27] Japanese,[28] Korean,[29] Vietnamese,[30] Thai,[31] French,[32] German, and Indonesian, with voices in Chinese and Japanese.
In an article from 2017, Ungeek.com says that the game has some later-game systems that are unintuitive, and cites the large download size for a mobile game as a negative.[33] The review praised the game's visual quality and the ease of learning to play the game, as well as the overall quality of the game, and positively recommended it.[33] The article mentioned that the quality of the game was comparable to console games.[10][33]
Controversies
On April 22, 2021, as part of the 3rd anniversary of the game's global server, a music video titled "Brilliant Bright" in collaboration with Myth & Roid, was released on Honkai Impact 3rd's YouTube channel. While the video featured characters wearing bunny-girl outfits, none of the outfits were actually made available in-game - the cosmetics were solely for the purpose of the video. The backlash from the Chinese players was immediate and severe, with many considering it insensitive and unfair to release content for international players only.
The special video from Honkai Impact 3rd was removed from their channel, although the video itself is still available online, through fan reuploads. The Japanese band Myth & Roid have pulled out from the collaboration, and also had their special video single removed, but Brilliant Bright will still be available through streaming platforms and will be released as their digital single. In the game, any content related to 3rd-anniversary bunny girls, with the exception of the correlating event stigmata, are now removed as according to the game's official statement[34] and was instead given 500 crystals for every GLB player as compensation. Chinese server players were given greater compensation (10 focused supply cards = 2800 crystal), despite not actually having any content removed in the Chinese version.[citation needed]
^崩坏3. "《崩坏3》游戏纪录片——「最后留下了故事」". www.bilibili.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
