Honkai: Star Rail closed out its Planarcadia arc with a livestream that quietly turned the audience into the joke. Instead of the usual Owlbert greeting, the broadcast opened with Asat Pramad standing in his place, hosting the show next to Himeko and Pom-Pom. It looked like a bit of stagecraft. It was not.
Quick answer: During the HSR 4.4 livestream, Asat Pramad captured Owlbert and posed as the host, and later it became clear that “Himeko” and “Pom-Pom” on the broadcast were also under his control the whole time. The gag lands because Asat Pramad is a master impersonator, and viewers only realized it after a line about him being able to copy “anyone.”
How the livestream twist actually worked
The stream began with Asat Pramad apprehending Owlbert and stepping into the host seat himself. When the change in appearance came up, the Lord Ravager only offered half-truths and deflection. Himeko and Pom-Pom traded banter with him, and most viewers read the whole thing as a playful character showcase.
The reveal is that Himeko and Pom-Pom in that segment were never really there. Asat Pramad was controlling both from the very first minute. The tell was hiding in plain sight, in a throwaway line where Himeko noted he could be impersonating “anyone.” Almost nobody flagged it while it was happening, which is exactly why the stunt worked so well.
Why the impersonation gag fits Asat Pramad
Asat Pramad is a Lord Ravager of the Antimatter Legion and an Emanator of Nanook the Destruction. His entire method is deception. He studies civilizations, moves his forces slowly, and traps whole worlds in cruel, drawn-out games before finishing them. The Xianzhou Alliance compares him to a chess player for that patience.
Disguise is one of his signature powers. He can shapeshift, duplicate himself, and hold a false identity for years. In the Planarcadia story he already killed Himeko’s father, Ryusuke Murata, and took his place, having secretly adopted Graphia much earlier. He can also appear in multiple places at once, so putting three “characters” on a livestream at the same time is well within his range.
That history is why the twist has fans nervous rather than just amused. If he can fake a whole broadcast, the obvious worry is that he has already slipped somewhere into the Astral Express. Welt and Pom-Pom are the usual suspects in fan speculation, though nothing about that has been confirmed in the story itself.
The 4.4 story: Trailblaze versus Asat Pramad
Version 4.4 is the final chapter of the Planarcadia saga, picking up from the 4.3 cliffhanger where Asat Pramad raided the whole region. The teaser shows Planarcadia in full turmoil, with the stakes raised sharply. Himeko sits at the center of it, tied to the Muratas, a secret from fifteen years ago, and Asat Pramad’s own past link to the Astral Express.
Asat Pramad also arrives as the new Weekly boss. He has three separate forms, uses dice rolls to hand out buffs, and can grab and throw the entire Astral Express at your team during the fight.
Himeko Nova joins as a new DPS
The version’s headline unit is Himeko Nova, a Skill-based DPS with dedicated Astral Express synergy and a new Assist Skill mechanic. She pilots a mech and is built to perform well in free-to-play setups.
4.4 banner schedule
Himeko Nova runs as a full-version banner, meaning she stays available across both phases for the entire 40 days. The rerun lineup splits across the two phases.
| Phase | Banners |
|---|---|
| Full version | Himeko Nova (both phases) |
| Phase 1 | Sparxie, DHPT, Evernight |
| Phase 2 | Cerydra, Anaxa, Aventurine |
Fate collab part 2 with Rin and Gilgamesh
The second Fate collaboration continues its story in Planarcadia. Rin is stuck in the Star Rail world after her dimension-hopping and wants a way out. The Holy Grail souvenir can be powered up with “Treasures of the King” to free her, and the King is Gilgamesh, who is not keen on parting with his fortune.
| Character | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Rin | Limited | Skill-point unit with Archer synergy and sub-DPS output |
| Gilgamesh | Free | Destruction DPS that rewards frequent ally actions and Ultimates |
Gilgamesh’s Light Cone is free if you complete 200 total pulls during version 4.4, and that count is not limited to the collab banner. The new collab banner shares pity with the earlier Saber and Archer banner and has no listed deadline, so there is no rush to pull. The event itself uses Noble Phantasms as active cards in Master and Servant duels, with some enemies wielding Fate abilities of their own.
Livestream redeem codes
Three codes dropped during the broadcast, each worth 100 Stellar Jades plus extra materials. They expire on July 4th, 2026 at 23:59 (UTC+8), so redeem them quickly.
| Code | Rewards |
|---|---|
| WAK84U29VLYP | 100 Stellar Jades, 50,000 Credits |
| HT3QMCJ9U4JB | 100 Stellar Jades, 5 Traveler’s Guides |
| XTJ9MV38DL3X | 100 Stellar Jades, 4 Refined Aether |
Enter them in-game through the redemption menu, or use the official code page while signed in to your account. A “redemption successful” confirmation and the rewards arriving in your in-game mail tell you it worked.
Version 4.4 release date
Version 4.4 launches on July 15th, 2026. The Fate collab part 2 arrives a little later, on July 24th. Alongside the update, Currency Wars raises the level cap to 170, adds new difficulty tiers, and folds in Himeko Nova, Mortenax Blade, Rin, and Gilgamesh, with a Fate-only Bond for the collab units.
The doppelganger stunt was short, but it reframed the whole broadcast. If a Lord Ravager can host a livestream in disguise without anyone noticing, the lingering question heading into 4.4 is simple: how much of what players think they know about Planarcadia was staged all along?
