Past events in Honkai Star Rail appeared to test out new mechanics for paths and kits coming to the game in the future, and now there's another - could this be our hints toward the Elation path and what characters following it may be able to do?
Star Rail devs sneakily showed us the Remembrance path before releasing it into the game in update 3.0 - the Friendship is Magic event laid out how the path would work before Trailblazer and Aglaea's respective releases with the new version. In the event, the Trailblazer brings out Trashcans that take a turn after the Trailblazer moves - very similar to HSR's Aglaea and her deployable Memosprite.
The current event, 'Try-Not-to-Laugh Challenge,' appears to be the same sort of test for an upcoming Elation path. This is speculation for now, but leaks have appeared in the past claiming that this event is for this exact purpose via Seele Leaks.
Characters involved include Sparkle (who leaks suggest will get an SP version in the future), Sampo (who we hope gets a five-star SP version in the future), Aventurine, Qingque, Feixiao, and Cerydra, among others.
Qingque and Sparkle have kits that involve the use or addition of multiple skill points, which could link to the use of skill points in the event. The 'Giggle Gauge' is gained through using them - then you get Sparkle Bomb Masks using the Giggle Gauge that deal damage. Where have we seen masks before? Oh yeah, the Masked Fools, an organization following the Elation, which includes Sparkle and Sampo.
Star Rail devs aren't shy about releasing five-star versions of four-stars, or a second five-star version of previous ones, so it looks like our dreams of a super Sampo on the path of Elation may be a reality soon enough.
We recommend you play this Honkai Star Rail event - not just for the jades, of course, but because it offers some fun combat. Then, use the new Honkai Star Rail codes to pull on your preferred banner. Please manifest that I get HSR's Anaxa before the banner times out.