The 1.2 Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Missions started to close out the Xianzhou Luofu storyline and, in so doing, also called more attention to Tingyun. The Foxian has been following alongside the Trailblazer and Astral Express members throughout their time in the area. Even if she wasn’t speaking up, she was a steadfast guide always there to assist her “Benefactors.” Not to mention, her utility as a four-star unit made her popular in other ways. Now that we’ve seen HoYoVerse’s latest insight into her character, it makes the story even more fascinating.
Editor’s Note: There will be Honkai: Star Rail Tingyun spoilers based on the 1.2 Trailblaze Mission below. This includes screenshots from the storyline.
Once the “Topclouded Towerthrust” Trailblaze Mission “Desolate Depths of Despair” begins in Honkai: Star Rail, Tingyun’s part seems rather small. She’s essentially performing the same role she has throughout this leg of the story. She follows alongside the Trailblazer, March 7th, and Welt, offering guidance and insight into the Xianzhou Luofu.
However, once Fu Xuan tasks us with taking care of the Evemist Mansion’s elixir crucibles, things get weird. Only short-life individuals can safely be around them, as ones who qualify as a long-life one would be inflicted with mara by being in their presence. But when we go to remove the danger, Tingyun accompanies us. Even when March 7th and Welt beg her to stay back for her safety, she strangely dismisses them.
It’s once we eliminate the threat and face Dan Shu and her Disciples of Sanctus Medicus minions, characters part of the Trailblaze Mission storyline dealing with a group attempting to ensure immortality that truths are revealed. Tingyun, as we know her in Honkai: Star Rail, isn’t the real Tingyun. Or, perhaps, not anymore. She’s the Antimatter Legion Lord Ravager Phantylia and the one behind the Stellaron trouble on the Xianzhou Luofu. And, honestly, it’s all handled really well.
Screenshot by Siliconera
For starters, it doesn’t draw out the fact that Tingyun is acting strangely. Since she’s new to us, there is no baseline for whether or not she is or isn’t out of character. Prior to this, we’d seen in past Trailblaze Mission that anyone could secretly be supporting the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. So the seeds of suspicion were there. However, we never had any reason to suspect someone really close to us could be taking part. The storyline really did seem to suggest it was only Dan Shu.
Once it does start to tease that something is awry, however, it does so in a way that you’d only catch if you’re paying attention. Fu Xuan really sets up how dangerous mara is for the long-life species. We’ve seen past main and side quests that showed the degradation. So Tingyun being so intent on staying by our side during what should be extremely hazardous to her sets off major red flags in Honkai: Star Rail. Yet, because she has been so dedicated in assisting us until now, there’s still a chance she could be genuine.
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- Screenshot by Siliconera
There’s also the matter of the reveal. Tingyun is always sort of in the background, barely visible, when the Trailblazer and Fu Xuan are confronting Dan Shu. Once she drops the mask, we get these amazing visual shots of her new person. More importantly, we get this moment when she turns to face us that is so jarring that it immediately changes everything. It sets the tone for what’s next in a shocking manner. The “vessel” that may or may not be the real Tingyun is absolutely dead in Honkai: Star Rail. It’s quite effective.
It’s also smart that HoYoVerse acknowledged the question “is Tingyun dead” in the Honkai: Star Rail Trailblaze Mission. It very strongly hints that “our” Tingyun very likely isn’t the real one. This is a question people probably would have had for quite some time. Due to Welt being on-hand during the events and there to offer an explanation, the developer is basically letting us in on the secret. Yes, in all likelihood Tingyun is still safe and sound. Sure, there’s a doubt at the moment to offer a little extra pressure. However, those seeds sown do help provide a little cliffhanger and tease to go on.
Honestly, it also provides a good excuse for an additional Tingyun. The one we’ve met is a four-star Harmony Lightning character. When you think about it, it suited her role in the Xianzhou Luofu Trailblaze Missions rather well. She was a supporting figure who was always “there.” Unassuming. Guiding. Knowledgeable. Until things got weird and Phantylia revealed herself. But since that one is sort of based on the someone else, it could provide an excuse for a five-star Tingyun with an alternate version.
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- Screenshot by Siliconera
We’ve already seen this happen with another character. A Dan Heng variant also appears in the 1.2 Trailblaze Mission quests. His original release was a four-star who joined our party for free. So who’s to say that, should the real Tingyun show up somewhere down the line, she doesn’t then get a five-star version? Her four-star version is already one of the most popular and highly-ranked four-star characters in the game, due to her nature as an energy battery, and recent events are only likely to make her more popular.
It’s just an interesting turn of events for Honkai: Star Rail and Tingyun. The twist came out of nowhere, considering how helpful she’s been. It folded the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and Dan Shu storyline into the main Trailblaze Missions. It also set things up well to provide an additional cliffhanger to wait on, as well as maybe hopes for another alternate character. However, given how long it could be for the next part of the Honkai: Star Rail storyline, it will likely be some time before we learn whether or not Tingyun is really dead and get to meet her again.
Honkai: Star Rail is available for PCs and mobile devices, and a PS5 version will arrive in 2023.
