How Tingyun’s Rumored New Form Stacks Up to the Original

Ever since Tingyun was seemingly killed off in Honkai: Star Rail, many fans have been wondering about HoYoverse’s plans for the Foxian character, especially since her physical body is nowhere to be found. There have been much speculation about Honkai: Star Rail coming out with a 5-star variant for Tingyun, following the trend of characters like Dan Heng and March 7th getting alternate versions.

Now, it seems like the Tingyun speculations are slowly coming true as Honkai: Star Rail teases her return at the end of Version 2.5’s main story. There have also been rumors that Honkai: Star Rail will allegedly release a 5-star variant of Tingyun in Version 2.7, and she’s said to be completely different from her original 4-star form.

Tingyun’s Rumored 5-Star Form Takes a Different Direction

What Happened to Tingyun in Honkai: Star Rail’s Story?

Tingyun is a member of Xianzhou Luofu’s Sky-Faring Commission and an Amicassador of the Whistling Flames merchant guild. During the Astral Express Crew’s first trip to Xianzhou Luofu to quell the Stellaron crisis, they encounter the boss enemy Phantylia, one of the seven Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion, who possesses Tingyun in order to infiltrate the planet and later snaps the Foxian’s neck before leaving her body.

Later in the story, it’s revealed that Tingyun’s physical body disappeared after Phantylia revealed herself. However, she is presumed dead because Yukong held a funeral for her fallen colleague. Honkai: Star Rail‘s story has not made any mention of Tingyun’s status since then, and it’s only during the Xianzhou Wardance arc that players get to hear her voice again during an epilogue cutscene.

From a 4-Star Support Character to a Rumored 5-Star Damage Dealer

Tingyun’s current playable variant in Honkai: Star Rail is a 4-star Lightning character following the Path of Harmony, which makes her a support unit. Her kit mostly focuses on buffing the stats of the strongest DPS character in a team, turning them into a viable hypercarry. She can also use her Ultimate ability to fill up allies’ energy bars, helping them execute their Ultimates quicker.

For Tingyun’s rumored alternate form, she will allegedly be a 5-star Fire character following the Path of Nihility. This would mean that she might become a unit that deals burn damage over time (DOT), possibly turning her into a viable DPS similar to other 5-star Nihility characters like Jiaoqiu and Acheron. Additionally, other leaks suggested that her abilities might focus on Break Effect and Super Break Effect. In terms of Tingyun’s new appearance, there are also rumors that she will allegedly have pink hair and six tails, which is completely different from her original look.

As a support, many players consider Tingyun a top-tier 4-star Honkai: Star Rail character because they believe her buff abilities are overpowered. She’s also a regular fixture in many team compositions because she can enhance any DPS unit. If Tingyun does become a 5-star Nihility character, she could become a main DPS or a good sub-DPS based on her rumored Break Effect-focused kit. This would be interesting because Honkai: Star Rail‘s meta has been focused on toughness reduction and Break Effect, and 5-star Tingyun’s rumored kit could help strengthen DPS characters that ignore elemental weaknesses, like Acheron and Feixiao.

There seems to be a trend within Honkai: Star Rail where some of the alternate versions are the complete opposite of the characters’ original forms. Tingyun’s case might be similar to March 7th, who was originally a 4-star Ice Preservation character that provides shields, who became a 4-star Imaginary The Hunt variant, turning her into a DPS unit. The Trailblazer also counts as they started out as a Physical Destruction character, and turned into a Fire Preservation and an Imaginary Harmony character, which both have support abilities. This trend might persist if Honkai: Star Rail decides to release more alternate versions of existing characters in the future.