Version 4.4 brings the second part of the Fate/stay night collaboration to Honkai: Star Rail, and with it a giveaway that every player can grab. An event called Fate Contract: Renewal lets you pick one free collaboration 5-star, choosing between Gilgamesh and Archer, and the character arrives already stocked with enough materials to hit a usable level.
Quick answer: Log in during the Fate/stay night collaboration, open the Fate Contract: Renewal event, and select either Gilgamesh or Archer. The choice is claimable from the collaboration’s start on July 24, 2026 through the end of Version 4.6, and you can only pick one.
What Fate Contract: Renewal gives you
The event is a straight 5-star character selector. You choose one of the two Fate collaboration units, and the game hands it to your account for free. There is no pull, no pity, and no cost tied to the claim itself.
The reward goes further than the character alone. When you claim your pick, you also receive enough materials to raise that character to level 60 and to upgrade its Traces at the same time. That means the free unit is battle-ready the moment you claim it, without needing to farm ascension mats first.
Note: You get one character from this selector, not both. Picking Gilgamesh does not also grant Archer, and vice versa.
Claim window and how to know it worked
Version 4.4 launches on July 15, 2026 across all platforms, with some regions able to start on the night of July 14. The Fate collaboration itself does not open on day one. Like the first Fate crossover, it begins roughly a week into the patch, on July 24, 2026.
Fate Contract: Renewal goes live alongside that collaboration. Every player, on every server, can claim their free unit from the moment the collab opens until Version 4.6 ends. You will know the claim succeeded when the chosen character appears in your roster already sitting at level 60 with upgraded Traces, rather than at level 1.
| Event / phase | Timing |
|---|---|
| Version 4.4 release | July 15, 2026 (July 14 night in some regions) |
| Fate/stay night collaboration Part 2 opens | July 24, 2026 |
| Fate Contract: Renewal free claim | July 24, 2026 through the end of Version 4.6 |
Should you pick Gilgamesh or Archer?
For most accounts the answer leans toward Gilgamesh. When the first Fate crossover ran in Version 3.4, Archer was given to every Trailblazer for free, so a large share of the player base already owns him. If Archer is already in your collection, taking him again would only add an Eidolon level, while Gilgamesh would be a brand-new unit.
Gilgamesh is a 5-star Lightning character on the Path of Destruction. He is built as a DPS with an interest-stacking mechanic and a high-energy Ultimate that scales off ally actions, and he performs better with Saber on the team. Archer, from Part 1, remains a strong pick only if you skipped the earlier collaboration and never received him.
Use this simple rule. If you already have Archer, choose Gilgamesh. If you missed the first Fate collab and have neither, weigh which fits your teams, keeping in mind that a fresh unit generally beats a duplicate Eidolon.
The free unit versus the paid warp banner
Claiming your free copy is separate from pulling on the collaboration banners. Starting July 24, Trailblazers can use Star Rail Special Passes on the Collaboration Warp to recruit Gilgamesh, alongside a Rin Tohsaka banner running on the same timeline. The warp side matters only if you are chasing Eidolons or a signature Light Cone beyond the free E0 copy.
The collaboration warps launch with no announced end date, mirroring how the first Fate crossover kept Saber and Archer’s banners open-ended. Because these are licensed crossover characters, a future rerun is not guaranteed, so it is worth deciding early whether you want any duplicates or the weapon while the banners are live.
Whichever unit you settle on, the free selector is the low-risk part of Version 4.4. It costs nothing, delivers a fully leveled 5-star, and stays open through Version 4.6, so there is no rush to claim it the instant the collaboration opens.
