Honkai: Star Rail’s most recent update impressed many players, featuring an intense story update and arguably one of the best events yet. But one of the most unexpected additions is a little bear cub, and it’s unequivocally adored.
Simply called the Plains Bear Cub, this bundle of fun sits right next to the Bud of The Hunt Calyx located in the Outlying Snow Plains. It is only discoverable following the completion of the latest Trailblaze Mission (Future Market), but once you’ve said hello, you can interact with it in a few ways. By far the best option is to feed the small creature with a magically appearing nut.
This is the splash of internet serotonin which made its way to the subreddit this morning, courtesy of user YoMikeeHey. It’s legitimately the best 15 seconds you will spend online today. “This was a pleasant surprise when farming the overworld,” commented izhie, “absolutely adorable.” Unfortunately, feeding the cub multiple times won’t give you any special power-ups, but an achievement can be unlocked during your first meeting. Not a lot of Stellar Jade attached to that, admittedly, but it’s more than nothing.
What’s more, the Plains Bear Cub isn’t even the only charming animal addition in Version 1.4. During the Aethereum Wars event, which will remain a permanent fixture of the game, you get to meet an Aether Spirit Trotter. After naming it from a selection of wonderful choices, it will pop up by your side through the heavily Pokémon-inspired narrative before joining the Astral Express permanently. Taking up residency in the cabin car, you can play with it to your heart’s delight.
Unfortunately for miHoYo, their actions might just have opened up the proverbial can of worms within the community. “We need a pet system fast,” demanded Chance-Location-425. Just how feasible a hypothetical pet system would be is up for debate, almost as much as how it would actually work. At no point does your Aether Spirit follow you around in the overworld; it is simply implied through cutscenes.
Perhaps one thing the developers could look to include in future updates is Express customization. We already have a rotating crew of personalities that we have met through Trailblaze and Companion missions, would it not make sense to be able to choose who visits you and when? The exceptions to this would be the established Nameless: Himeko, Welt, March 7th, Dan Heng, and conductor Pom-Pom.
Sounds like a guaranteed success to me. I’ll expect my royalties in the post, Hoyoverse.
