A new leak about Hoolay’s comeback via an endgame activity inHonkai: Star Rail3.2 has been shared and I’m particularly excited about his return as a challenging boss. Hoolay is one of the many bosses that players can face in their adventures through HoYoverse’s turn-based RPG.First introduced with Version 2.5, the same patch that added Feixiao to the game, Hoolay is the warhead and leader of the Borisin faction. He cannot be faced as an Echo of War boss, but Hoolay has been present in several endgame activities, such as theDivergent Universe inHonkai: Star Rail3.1.
In the aforementioned endgame challenge, Hoolay is somewhat nerfed, with a frail disposition that helps balance his incredible speed and damage output. Because of the structure of the Divergent Universe, which requires completion so as to unlock other farming activities, like Planar Ornaments,Hoolay’s underpowered self is not too surprising, but it is disappointing considering how well-designed of a boss he is. As thefastest boss inHonkai: Star Rail, Hoolay should always be seen as a menace, and, luckily, it seems like he will return to that status in the upcoming Version 3.2 update, according to a new leak.
Hoolay Has Been Leaked For Apocalyptic Shadow In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2
The Boss Will Allegedly Have New Mechanics
From what it seems, Hoolay will make a comeback in a fun endgame activity in Version 3.2. According to information provided by the leaker known as HomDGCat, which tends to share reliable leaks,Hoolay will be one of the featured bosses in the next Apocalyptic Shadow (AS) update, set to occur in Version 3.2. The leak was shared in a post tagged as “Reliable” onReddit. The leak not only mentions that the Borisin Warhead will make a comeback with the boss-centered activity, but that he may feature new mechanics that will increase the challenge for players in the game.
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This seems to be a trend, as there may also be new mechanics inMoC inHonkai: Star Rail3.2. These updates with new mechanics to activities, specifically endgame ones, are enforced to test players and make them try out different team comp strategies and see if they can rise to the imposed challenge.The presence of Hoolay in Version 3.2’s Apocalyptic Shadow is likely limited, as he should be replaced or at least altered with the following update to the activity. Players looking to face one of the best bosses with brand-new mechanics should do so in Version 3.2.
Hoolay Has New Mechanics In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2’s Apocalyptic Shadow
The Boss May Duel A Single Character In Your Team
According to the leak by HomDGCat,the new version of Hoolay in the upcoming Apocalyptic Shadow update will have a whopping 340 Toughness, which cannot be reduced by attacks. Alternatively, the boss will be accompanied by two wolf enemies, and, when each of them is defeated, Hoolay will lose 3% of his HP and 30 Toughness. When players defeat a total of five wolves (who should keep respawning during the fight), Hoolay is said to enter the Going Solo state. At this point, players will need to choose one character from theirteam inHonkai: Star Railto duel him.
While the leak does not mention what these “wolves” are, Hoolay is often accompanied by Wolftrooper enemies, which normally have 30 Toughness. The leak states that each of the summoned wolves in Version 3.2’s Apocalyptic Shadow has 87,991 HP and 70 Toughness.
As seen in the leak, Hoolay’s Going Solo state triggers the Duel: Fatal Clash of Swords combat. During this phase, Hoolay’s Toughness can be reduced.The leak states that the DMG taken is reduced to 25% and that the DMG dealt increases to 400%. Furthermore, Duel: Fatal Clash of Swords sees that the dueling character chosen by the player has their HP modified to become the sum of all team comp characters’ HP and the ATK becomes the sum of all playable characters’ ATK.
The leak does not specify if the other wolf enemies remain on the field and if the other characters can take action, even if not against Hoolay. However, there is reason to believe they continue to fight. This is because, according to the leak,for every wolf defeated, allies’ DMG increases by 5%, Break Effect increases by 5%, characters deal an extra 5 Toughness reduction of their Type, and heal 15% HP after every attack, up to five stacks. It’s likely that these buffs will be applied to the entire team so that thecharacters inHonkai: Star Railcontinue fighting.
Break DMG & Counters May Power Through Hoolay In Honkai: Star Rail 3.2’s AS
There Are Several Team Comp Possibilities For This Leaked Challenge
As seen in the comments in the post, there could be two possible strategies to face Hoolay considering the leaked mechanics. The first of them is with Break and Super Break DMG.While these team comps will likely take a while to reduce the Toughness of the regular wolf enemies and then defeat them, but afterward, the chosen Break DMG DPS unit will likely thrive when facing Hoolay. Not only will their damage be increased, but they will also get more Break Effect. I personally see Boothill andFirefly inHonkai: Star Railquickly powering through Hoolay in Version 3.2.
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The other proposed strategy is to use characters focused on counters like Clara.With Hoolay and a fixed amount of wolves on the field, counter characters can ensure that they are continuously attacked and, with it, they counter attack to quickly defeat the wolves. During the rumored duel with Hoolay, counterattacks can be a way of swiftly reaching Toughness Break, too. However, there is a major downside. Once Hoolay’s Toughness is broken, these counter characters likeYunli inHonkai: Star Railwill deal a lot less damage to the boss because counters are the core of their damage output.
Even a team comp centered around Blade could work well against Hoolay because of the HP and ATK modifiers that are applied once he enters the leaked duel mechanic.
For now, these leaks should be taken with a grain of salt, as the information may be incorrect, incomplete, or subject to change. Even so, the reports do hint at a promising new mechanic that should make Hoolay’s rumored challenge in the Apocalyptic Shadow update a lot of fun to deal with, especially when it comes to team comp strategies to face them and the other team that will be dedicated to the other boss in theHonkai: Star Railactivity.
