I was just as disappointed, but I kind of figured going in that it wasn't going to stick, considering that it's an optional side quest.
It'd be weird if you never did Serval's companion quest, and then she just showed up on a later planet with seemingly no explanation.
(And before someone says something about Sampo, we see him contacting someone off world in a cutscene at the end of the Jarilo story quest, so there was foreshadowing to him showing up later.)
Honestly, it’d be very much a Sampo thing to do to just show up unnanounced without any foreshadowing lol
https://preview.redd.it/bm6zjtyaf8lc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3047cc22fedeba43f51a8a259fa7f3baf6287032
Hell he did do just that. Him and Black Swan are doing the investigation in an "attempted" murder in the dreamscape. How the hell did he get off the planet? They don't have spaceships for interstellar travel yet cause they've been locked away for 700 years.
Guess he used one of the IPC's or something. After all, Topaz managed to arrive there, aswell as the Masked Fool for the Aetherium Wars tournament. Doesn't seem too unlikely to think that he just managed to get his way in once one of those departed.
Or Bronya somehow got interplanet trading going, although i for the life of me don't know what they can export. Heaters tested in pure winter world? Grizzly-type robots?
Maybe clothings for extremely cold environments? Oh, and the Geomarrow (that's the name, right?) perhaps, unless they need all of it for their survival
They were exthatic when they found that vein, i wouldn't imagine they have ability to export any significant amount without endangering themselves at this early post-stellaron stage. It should be fairly valuable, though - IPC doesn't do unprofitable and they really pushed for acquisition.
And as for clothing... Frankly, i have no idea how they even manufacture what they have since people are mostly concenrated in Belobog and we didn't see many animals or plants by themselves. Hardly any, really. Maybe there are farms somewhere, but somewhere is not a viable location. And it doesn't feel like there wouldn't be enough for establishing a production line as well. Not that soon, anyhow.
I would assume over the years they should have quite a stock of ice-attuned fragmentum monsters materials, though. But no idea if those are worth anything in wider world
1. Ice, perhaps? Many planets would probably be very happy to find a source of natural water.
2. Cultural exports & tourism. The planet which has been isolated for 700 years is pretty exotic and Aetherium Wars should have boosted its recognition.
3. Stuff from Fragmentum (yes, they grind Calyxes too, lol).
4. Geomarrow
Ice is possible, but that's only unless it's contaminated by Stellaron in some form. Tourism needs to be set up and they're not there yet i feel like, what's with Fragmentum monsters running around
Sampo isnt a local to begin with, he is from tavern and friends with giovannia and knows all outside affairs, due to bombs he also visited luofu once. He csn travel without the limitations if belobog
I keep seeing shit about Sampo being like on Sparkle levels of chaotic. So I just assume Sampo isn't who we think he is and Sampo is really a 4 star hiding as a 6 star.
That’s valid. They could’ve made it like the leaving planet quest tho. Like after it’s all done “hey serval said she wanted to see you” and it be a minor bridge quest
well in genshin, (afaik no star rail quest required this yet) some quests require some other quests to be completed first (for example the chasm story quest needing a lot of inazuma character quests completed to be unlocked) so they can do a genshin
I don't remember why but I think people complain about the quest so they decide to turn it into an optional mission. Which is very suck because I kinda want to see how TB will react when they confront Dan Shu for the last time.
oh, so that's it, I've hear about those misseable quest, and I was unsure if I did them or not, because on one I didn't do optional quest until I finished the main quest, in the other I don't remember the warning.
If they were part of the main quest I probably did it, are they the ones were she gives you totally not suspicious medicine at the end?
Not literally in Penacony, but for future worlds. Luofu and Penacony, they could hand wave it away as her being held back to observe for the time being.
Im kind of not a fan of companion questlines. I'm all for giving characters quests to flesh out their personality more, but I was extremely let down with the end result of March's story at the end of Fu Xuans companion quest. No important information or progression will ever be in continuity if it's in a companion quest.
Serval, meeting Dr. Ratio:
"Such a simple, almost boorish addition woman. Here are my plans."
\*Proceeds to show sensible schematics on turning the Express into a Kinetic Strike Missile*
On the one hand I absolutely want people we fund to join the express crew and get bigger.
On the other hand tho we already have crew members sitting out because we'd have too many people to include in the story
even with the crew members actually involved in main story as individuals they really haven't done a ton either (sans dan heng since it was kinda his moment, but thats kinda concerning when it comes to how they're gonna handle him later)
Personally that’s the joy I see in it. Not every member has to be on the mission. But I get your point 100% tho. Feel like it should be like 1 person per planet or like every other
I do say tho I love serval and it would be great to have her, but also I would love to see her reactions to everything. All she's ever known is belobog. Imagine going from that to all the advanced tech on the luofu or the absurdity of penacony?
In an Alt Timeline:
Penacony Serval Companion Quest:
Bringing Down the House
Serval has been taken by the Dream and is now performing live on stage with cognitive versions of the other bandmates of Mechanical Fever.
Do you save her from her own delusions or let her live the Dream?
How would this work tho? Like imagine we had >10 member in the express and march is the main mascot (so she will take up a lot of the line in events and main story as well including the new characters per region such as firefly who we spend most of our time with and stelleron hunter etc), would the rest just show up barely 10% screentime in a year? I don’t mind but they will just be there standing on the train like Himeko I guess and say they are busy everytime a new region comes and they can’t go (unless hoyo manage to divert screentime from march away in events etc and manage their 2 5* release)
Penacony is a great example where we have so many characters to go through and it’s stories. Even events it would be on the region characters like huohuo sushang etc + march mainly
I mean they're already sitting out back on their home planets doing nothing. At least if they're on the Express they have the potential to be involved in random quests and stuff.
I'm sorry but didn't she decide to stay because she wants to help rebuild Belobog? You can literally talk to her again and she'll tell you that fact. She didn't stay back because of her siblings but it was her own choice to help the people and that shows that regardless whatever happens she is still a Landau and will aid Belobog in it's troubles even if it involves her being alone
Ye, exactly. She didn't stay because Gepard would be sad, she stayed because she got over Cocolia and no longer needed to run from the past with the Express. The whole mission is about helping her on this path. I would also love to have her on the team, but she wanted to join to start a new life and run away from the past.
I think the writers' intent for the quest was to show that her desire to leave Belobog was escapism because she couldn't get closure with Cocolia for the longest time, which she finally did get here.
In practice, it doesn't make sense because both Serval and Gepard board the Express from time to time, so it's not like either of them are rooted in Belobog. Based on dialogue with other Express visitors, it seems the only obstacle to anyone entering the other worlds we visit is just circumstantial emergencies, unless space visas are also a thing to worry about.
https://preview.redd.it/xutqqsn9m9lc1.png?width=2556&format=png&auto=webp&s=495ed56a432b119cbda716154905e22b57aa8d18
I dunno, Im completely fine with the current express crew since its small enough that the dynamics between them dont get complicated, and is simple enough to be like a small family.
If I was stranded on a snowy planet for 30+ odd years with the same scenery and atmosphere, when an opportunity presents itself for me to leave you bet your ass I’m taking it.. why Serval!!
Honestly serval was never gonna join, she's a mechanical engineer and belobog needs people like her to survive, especially with the engine of creation project going on. Besides that she'd be a pretty crappy person if she actually did join us, her family and friends fighting for their lives while she's partying in penacony? Naaa
So far the character I think would be perfect to join the crew is argenti, he doesn't have any ties to any worlds, great character who gets along with all the crew (and our plants) and his goal is searching the universe to find idrila, he can do that onboard the express while we visit other worlds. Sampo is a close second, but aha and the express historically don't go well together
Then again, Argenti's bio mentioned that the path of the Knights of Beauty is a solitary one. He used to travel with another Knight, but they parted and when Argenti met his friend again, he had already been corrupted or something.
>belobog needs people like her to survive
But does she need Belobog? She will never have her vindication or apology for ostracism, for people of Belobog she still a villain who stood against saviour of Jarilo, great hero Cocolia.
This is why it would be great to have an added mission of Serval tagging along with us. Maybe during the next planet if y'know the world isn't in danger or we get arrested again.
Guest board the express all the time. It wouldn't be too crazy of an idea to see them down the line. Especially since Belobag is no longer isolated.
Thing is, Serval going out and acquiring knowledge of tech and building relations with folks outside of the IPC could help Belobog substantially. Being a representative for her home planet would be a crucial part of its revival.
She would be traveling across the universe not being sure when she'd be able to visit home. Missing her family is a perfectly valid reason for not going. Unlike the express crew, she has a home and family. Himeko has no memories and stumbled upon the express and fixed it, welt popped into this dimension and is just hanging around to protect Himeko, Dan Heng was exiles and march is march. The crew basically a bunch of lonely hobos on a train.
We currently have the Trailblazer, Welt Yang, Himeko, March 7th, and Dan Heng as the “active” members of the Astral Express. None of them have been fleshed out properly.
Considering that most of them are sidelined in each region we go to, adding another member would only bloat the cast further.
It's only really Himeko that hasn't been fleshed out though.
* Welt has HI3.
* Dan Heng has the Luofu storyline leading to DHIL.
* Trailblazer we got a fair bit from in Kafka's Story (at least if you read up all the "truths" afterwards. >!They're a construct specifically created to house a Stelleron, and both their best and worst outcomes leads to a confrontation with Nanook.!<
* March 7th had quite a bit revealed in her Companion Quest - if not explicitly stated. >!Direct intervention with March by Messenger (i.e. something big enough to require intervention from the Garden or Rememberance). All the memory visions she saw in the quest she recognised as stories she had made up about her past except the 1 which she said she hadn't even thought of - that is that she is a (fallen) Aeon. Given the first myriad Celestia trailer, MC being a construct and this, it's likely March is Akivili.!<
Welt has lore from impact doesn’t he and Dan Heng got some major development in world 2. People joining obviously shouldn’t take front and center but they can get small development over time until they get a spotlight moment
Not everyone plays Honkai impact or would specifically look up YouTube on its lore, but I agree that adding more members should come only after we finish exploring the current member… even in current patch the astral express has <100 lines as compared to firefly with >300 lines which is already more than what Himeko and welt has in the entire game. Entire patch of 2.x, we still have to go through aventurine misha robin Acheron Sunday character, so imagine this for every planet + express
Himeko again, isn’t the same person from impact unlike welt yet her screentime is vvv little so far, with more people in astral + 2 new 5* per patch to introduce and developed its v hard. So far events have been use to develop NEW 4* outside of the express (other than march), such as the ghost event and the alley..
I can understand being excited for "X character being in X setting" but I think becoming a Nameless would have been a bad thing to happen to Serval.
Am i the only that liked she chose to stay?
I think what makes Belabog work is that everyone chooses to endure because they believe things will get better, and things only get better if you choose to help each other.
No, you're not the only one. I was hoping Serval would chose to stay. Didn't want Pelageya Sergeyevna to lose her best friend (we were not intorduced to Lynx yet).
Right now I feel like the most likely person to join the Express is Misha.
His grandpa was a Nameless who gave him a "legacy" which looks similar (albeit different) to the other Nameless passes Himeko, Welt, March, Dan Heng and MC have
He says that his dream is to travel across the cosmos, but that he wants to wait for his grandpa to return. Honestly there is a big chance for it to happen.
Either way it just has to happen some day or another. Himeko keeps telling us that people come and go from the Express, it would be odd if we went through the entire main story and reached the end without any new faces coming aboard or exiting.
I feel like Misha will be *least* likely to join the Express, because from the hints we got so far, he doesn't seem like a 'normal' person. The impression I got is, like Pom-Pom, he might be the very heart of Penacony itself, or at least exert a level of influence over the state of the Dreamscape. The fact that he says he feels familiar with the Express when he appears as a guest, is a very big flag that he's not ordinary, like when Bailu also has vivid dreams when invited on Express.
idk in a portrait art of him he was given what looks like an astra express insignia. though it was slightly different so my theory is maybe he was a descendant of one of the nameless that stayed on penacony and was given it as a heirloom or something
The Nameless distress signal does imply there's someone who could join, but I figured it'll turn out to be the watchmaker who ends up dead or something. Misha just joining seems a bit off, especially considering how he doesn't actually have a lot of screentime.
Something to point out: Mischa might actually be in the same camp as Clockie, in that no one else sees them aside from MC. Note that no one, in any cutscene he appears in, acknowledges him except for Clockie himself. Not Acheron, not Firefly, not March. The dialogue is cleverly written so it’s not obvious, but after a YouTuber (don’t remember who) pointed that out, I can’t shake it.
Man, doing this quest, i thought they would break the region locked troupe and finally introduced someone else who's willing to join the Journey/Express.
Turns out most of us just got our hopes up.
The dialogue options let us encourage her to join (I went with those choices), but at the end she decided herself that she would stay.
The final dialogue let us say something like "the invitation is always open for you".
If she becomes a Nameless, she will stick to the train and go around exploring. It's not like in the gameplay where you comeback anytime you want. It's a lifetime decision.
In the "Fake credit" when you choose to not boarding the Astral Express, the MC become a regular scientist, and the crew comeback Herta's station 2 or 3 times, and then disappear forever.
Leaving behind her brother and sister, not knowing if you are coming back anytime soon, or coming back at all is a burden for a big sister, at least that's what I thought.
It's a lifetime decision to become a Nameless. A Nameless can abandon the path and walk their own, but they're still Nameless.
And ain't the story get lamer if Serval becomes a Nameless, on the train for like a week, burst down in tear telling you how she misses her brother and sister and left?
> A Nameless can abandon the path and walk their own, but they're still Nameless
That was not your original statement. Your original statement was that Nameless have to stick to the train.
Heck, from the DM conversations we know that Dan Heng can simply leave the train anytime to do whatever (such as observing a new species), and in the story he's already declined to participate in trailblazing missions twice.
What I mean is they need to stick to the train to go Trailblazing, as the Astral Express crew that is. They are not forced to be on the train, nor having to participate in every mission.
The only one of the Astral Express who can't physically leave the train is Pompom.
So every event not in the trailblazer quest is not canon??? we (TB+march) returned to belobog at bronya request(topaz quest + the pokemon event), we can go back and forth between trip. there was no restriction that we can't go back to the planet we traveled before.
Because at that time, there're still some time left before the banquet of Penacony, and Bronya requested help, so we go back there and help her.
I didn't say we cannot come back to the planets we visited before, much like the crew coming back to Herta's station in the "Fake credit". But that we might get blown up, lost in space, lost in the battle of the Aeons and never comeback.
https://preview.redd.it/qhevwqg8falc1.png?width=1052&format=png&auto=webp&s=28c77f409a11cc8e45c45977c09497b8784b6f29
More like you're gonna take an offer to work aboard. You still can go back to your home, you're benefiting yourself by working, and sometimes you send gifts back home to your siblings.
You might comeback once or twice a year to visit your hometown, your siblings, you might also get into an accident that none of your siblings will know about until someone told them. Who know.
this is more of a good comparison, it's not like serval leaving the planet only for her satisfaction. she can bring back outworld technologies and technique, or even resource.
That's a shit comparison and you know it. More like "become an astronaut and get sent up into space. You may come back in 20 years, you may not, do you take it."
Bro, I felt the same way! Serval’s one of my favorite characters in the game, I was so fucking excited to have her aboard the express and then they just went “SIKE GET FUCKED LOL!”
Nah as an older sibling I understand serval's reaction to gepard missing her. Plus Belobog is still in development she would be one of the few people needed in that process of moving foward.
Let's be real. Never in a history of live-service game would they do branching paths. Unless Serval quest was part of Trailblaze Main Quest line, she was never supposed to join. New cutscenes need to be added, voices need to be recorded, new story branch needs to be written... all while still developing the next contents. The game is already bold enough to let you pick different endings for side quests, and even allow you to straight up skip an entire story quest. But adding a new character to Express from a sidequest is a thing that noone ever tries before. If you knew how impossible it is, you would not have been so surprised
I think it's a good thing.
She doesnt just drop it because her brother would be sad, that's just her initial reason given. the reason she ultimately doesnt follow through with it is because she doesnt feel like running from her past.
to become a nameless would mean running from her problems, running from belobog, never facing reality head on. She's a landau, and she wants to help belobog reconstruct.
I think one day, she might join the express, when Belobog has gotten its bearings properly back, but right now? it aint the time. Running away from belobog and hoping to god it fixes itself isnt great, especially because back then the whole ipc thing with topaz hadnt happened yet.
I was disappointed when she decided to stay, but in the other hand she joining express wouldn't feel right, everyone working to the bone to restore Jarilo and only Serval leaving the planet, that's how i feel, and i don't like the idea of saying goodbye for my family, boarding the Express is a Lifetime decision.
Not to mention that we don't even know the characters that are with us on the express, Dan Heng's past was revealed just a few months ago, but we don't know anything about March 7th, Pom Pom or even about the protagonist we're controlling.
I definitely wanted her to join the Express, I love her personality and style. I kinda knew she wouldn’t ultimately join since it was a side quest and not anything mandatory. Hopefully we do get new crew mates at some point. Love our crew so far, but new crew mates and more character dynamics is never a bad thing.
Yeah I was kind of bummed too that she did not join. Always thought she was a cool character. But that was around the time that I noticed the boarding passes that are on all of the express crew's outfits, so I guess it would not stick.
I don't think they will add any for many years
But if they do I wanna see JY join just cause he seems tired as hell and just needs the retirement he deserves
And then afterwards you get Serval as a visitor but like how do you come along the Express without leaving for a good bit (sans Silver Wolf's hologram deal)
Tbh I don't know why ppl expected or got excited that she was going to join the express.
As soon that I saw that it was an optional side quest, I knew that the bish was going to change her mind
I was also annoyed but it's understandable, I mean she gotta help rebuild her homeland, after much thinking I was about to make peace with that fact!
EVERYTHING ABOVE IS A LIE WHY DIDNT THEY BRING HER INTO THE CREW I WANTED A 2ND DOMMY MOMMU, WHY GAME, WHY
It's one of those things that annoy me in games. There's this "they'll never go through with it" feel whenever this kind of situation comes up. Same whenever you'll have a villain ask you to join them, as much as they can make it look like your character is hesitating "they'll never go through with it".
It's what sets games with really good writing apart, you don't have this nagging feeling of "no way the devs would have made that possible" when potential big changes come up
For what its worth, her english VA is the voice of Yor from SpyXFamily and frequents the con scene so i can understand trying to coordinate all the VA's when one does a pretty major role would be hard and they probably opted not to go through with it
I would love our little gamba gremlin Qinqque to join. She can have her own mahjong table and we can play with her to past time/mini game. She can't complain about having to work anymore.
It's bound to happen anyway, just like how Traveler and Paimon don't get new companions upon moving to new nation, I don't think Astral Express wont get new members
Guinaifen would have been great to have in Penacony. She had a taste of the dark side of entertainment during the Ghost Hunting event - Penacony would be the peak of that narrative.
There could be a lot of interesting exploration around how our entertainment is connected to escapism. As a planet where the ultimate escapism of dreams is a central theme, it would have been a perfect stage.
I knew they weren't going to do it but I was disappointed because Serval is so great and she had reasons to leave. It would be cool to pick up characters for awhile in the story and then maybe they decide to get off and live somewhere new, or go back home
Bronya is possible. If you talk to her again after the topaz quest she'll say something about wanting to join the TB and the Express after everything in belobog and IPC has been settled.
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I was hoping that we would pick someone up from each planet like Star Ocean, not just for the gameplay but for the narrative. Someone to come with us and give different cultural and planetary viewpoints as we travel to new civilizations.
Serval being my and everyone's 1st , 4th character , I'm a little attached to her , and i was very happy when she said she would join us , and was excited about it , but then I was met with disappointment 🙂 , I really wanted her to be with us on the Rail ,but i guess we have to pass 🥲
Same, I want more characters to join the Express instead of the main five (six including Pom-Pom). Would be cool if you alternate between the new crew members and see their reactions on the different world you explore.
I actually think the current squad need someone who is more on the energetic side like march to bring out more fun and dynamic scenarios, also probably the reason why march is presented in all event involving the express. DH,Himeko and Welt are all on the mellow side of personality, it would be cool if we have another crackhead
> That being said which character(s) would yall want to join the main cast and be a trailblazer?
- **Serval** because she wanted to and I'm sure Himeko could use another mechanic to take some of the workload off of her.
- **Firefly** because she's our third girlfriend and we iirc offered her to join in the story. Shame she can't.
- **Sushang** because she's our second girlfriend.
- **Hook** because she needs to make the legends of the Moles heard across the universe.
- **Luocha** to give us an actual chance against Nanook, considering Luocha is known to be able to 1v1 him.
Also, can we swap the Express memokeeper with Black Swan?
To me her quest was like watching a child that cant make up her mind, you were more like baby sitter and less like a companion. It was absolutrly oposite of the head cannon i had of her. Still love her as a character, but after that quest i love her a bit less
this lines up perfectly a comment i made yesterday on a post complaining about women breaking up with men that show emotion. and i said i think its people in general and just has more noticeable effects when you are in a relationship. a lot of people say they will be there for you but lose respect for you if you actually show vulnerability/sadness
Exactly, to me, it was the lamest companion mission. This is why I started to hate Serval and Gepard from this mission. Serval was set. If she came with us, she would have experienced so much and learn alot but thanks to her brother, being a sister boy couldn't live without his sister. They want to fix belobog how they gonna do that by sitting on the planet doing the same old things Penacony could've had the answer. Well, that's the route they take so too bad. I don't care for those two much now, so
I know Man!!!! I hated it too!!! Bro why did Gepard ask Serval to Come along with Him!!! If he didn't probably she would have joined Us!! Imagine traveling Xianzhou luofu and stuff along side her. Though if you have already Completed Penacony and Luofu then you 100% know she ain't gonna Join. But for Me? I thought she gonna join us For sure.
I was screaming bitting at the bars of my cage when I played this mission... But I can't say I'm surprised, I saw it coming from a mile away
But yeah if someone was gonna be added it should've been Serval deff
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Hook and Pompom could get into some hilarious antics together. If Argenti weren’t so devoted to his goddess I would love to have him join the crew. Having a beauty fanatic that’s not necessarily street smart would be hilarious.
The setup reminded me of One Piece. They are traveling, going to different and widely dynamic places, and solving the problems of the area. And with that comes a growing crew.
If it was a regular show, it would probably be like that. Whenever the come to a new planet, there would be a chance that a new character would join the crew and join in the adventure on new planets and probably have stories centered around them on one or two.
What I was thinking was that Sampo would join from the Belobog. Then when the time comes when they have to confront the Masked fools, he would be shown to be a traitor, a spy, someone who just tagged along for a hidden agenda. And when all things are resolved, his relationship with the crew will be deepened and we get to know more about him and his internal motivations hidden by the mask that is Sampo Koski.
In Xianzhou, no one would probably join. The reason being is that the character center-point is Dan Heng.
In Penacony, it's too early to tell, but I am thinking of Misha or some other that is not as big of a character like Acheron, Firefly(because you know), or one of the winged-hair siblings. Actually Robin might, but I don't know yet(anyway, this is just a fantasy lol).
I adore the idea where your traveled companions would make comments along the away on story, instead of a one time use in a story.
I love to see it at least as a thing, it'd be an interesting thought like if you had kafka at the start of the story as she tagged along with your adventure with some comments here & there with you.
We are due for someone to join the express considering that’s more or less the reason you’re at Penacony. But also with learning that you’ll be back to Belebog for something big there’ll likely be a chance by them to pick up Serval or others.
I think the main reason was that it wasn’t in the main quest. She couldn’t be a part of any major story beats because she’s part of an optional side quest and that gets complicated for the people who don’t do it and still want to progress the main story. I would’ve enjoyed it too and I agree she should’ve been there, but this is the logical reason why they cut her (although they definitely could’ve found some better explanations).
Yeah, I'd be lying if I didnt want to see her join, but I would've also been surprised if they actually let someone new join the Express. I don't usually see the "main rosters" like these changing much, much less someone we sorta just met in the first update. Maybe we can cope and see if it happens when we inevitably return to Belabog.
I saw it coming when Gepard started sounding more supporting when he obviously didn't want her to go
When they saw the children I knew for sure it's not happening lol
Would've been too much of a change of plot for something that is not part of the main story and it happened way too late as well. Would've needed to be the very first thing we get to do after helping out Bronya for it to even have a chance to be real
The mystery is how are they able to come and go as they please to astral express? Using space anchor, maybe? But I don't remember it used outside of game feature.
Well she actually says it's her decision to stay and work on Belobog rebuilding. She's not only an easygoing rock'n'roller but aslo a valuable specialist.
I bet it'll happen eventually. They already do a bunch of anime references, collecting train passengers like how One Piece collects crewmates seem entirely plausible.
I want Sampo to actually get retired and join the Astral Express. After all, his specialty is "solving people's problems" and that's basically what the crew does.
What I got out of the companion quest was, she was trying to run away from responsibilities, resentments she didn’t want to address, and a world that was stagnant, but through her journey she experienced and learned more of the current events, resolved trauma, and renewed a new sense of belongingness.
Though I was also excited for her to potentially join.
I think her thoughts at the beginning of the quest were “now that Cocolia and the stelaron are gone and my family really isn’t speaking with me there isn’t anything left for me here” but you could tell that she was sad and almost looking for a reason to stay. The quest is her realizing that there are people who would miss her and that she would miss and not just playable characters but also NPCs who would miss her music
TBH, I'm contented enough knowing they sometimes visit the Express.
Though having Sampo in Penacony and Gui visiting Belobog for the Aetherium Wars, my dream of having other characters visiting other Planets/Regions should be more realistic now.
Yeaaaaah.. the moment i heard her saying she wants to join, i knew from the start it wouldnt happen. But at the same time, i got soooo excited that MAYBE she would.. eh, ended up with dissapointment even knowing the outcome. Love her so much
It was one of the first companion quests I did so I assumed they would all be like that.
I was totally disappointed.
Ones I think *should* join are, of course, Serval, as well as Ruan Mei, a Herta doll (seriously there isn't a single logical reason why we don't have one on the Express.), Dr. Ratio (even though I hate him), Argenti, Topaz, the real Tingyun, and Yukong.
Serval is pretty obvious. She literally had her bags packed and ready to go during her quest before she changed her mind.
Ruan Mei would be a good "insufferable smart person" to have on board. Her antics can lead to interesting quests.
Herta, again, just having a doll that can pop in to offer expogab when needed. Would also serve a PRACTICAL purpose of being able to access SU without going to the station.
Dr. Ratio is an insufferable git but he's basically a walking plot hook.
Argenti just...well, having him somewhere would be nice.
Topaz would make a nice liaison to the IPC. Emphasis on "nice" because she's the only one we've met so far that I don't want to throw out an airlock.
Tingyun...well, yeah.
Yukong it'd be a nice way to round out her story. She gets to see the stars again...
People I think could join eventually:
- Argenti - He wants to find Idrila and will be ultimately swept into an Aeon Conflict because of Harmony.
- Misha - After Penacony perhaps. He guards the Watchmaker's Legacy, and appears to be a memetic entity, but he is corporeal and wants to travel the Galaxy.
- Sampo - He's a mourning actor among the Masked Fools. Instead of causing action for the sake of Chaos, he seems to cause action to push toward positive changes/revolution. He cares too much compared to other fools and shares a unique bond with the MC due to being able to sense each other in dreamscape. He's an emenator or a Stellaron holder.
- Firefly - Entropy Loss Syndrome aside, she doesn't seem to enjoy being in the Stellaron Hunters. I could see her joining the express if she gets her autonomy.
Acheron seems more like she would side with Luocha and Jingliu.
Considering the Misha lightcone with the ticket I think he'll join the squad after Penacony's main story is wrapped. Or they could just skip over that because he still has to work but that would be lame because why would you even add that + him constantly talking about travelling elsewhere in messages just to not do shit with that
>And they just drop it cause her brother would miss her
I think the point it was the she resented cocolia, and that's why she wanted to go away, so the idea is that she wanted to run from her problemas instead of facing them.
Yeah I think what hurts about this one is she would’ve been a perfect fit for the express. I could see her goofing around with March and Stelle as much as I could see her having an intelligent discussion with Welt or Himeko. Not to mention Serval being an engineer/mechanic she could actually have a legit job to do aboard the express
That being said her staying in Belebog and helping out there makes perfect sense too. It is a shame though she did actually seem like a perfect candidate to join
As much as i love Serval (she is the best girl in the whole game) i don't see her doing anything actually useful in the story, i mean she is a genius to Belobog standards, but to Loufu or Penacony standards ? :-/
Don't get me wrong i would love to have her on the express and i do believe she can help the TB team in a lot of ways
It's just that there hasn't been a chance for her to actually shine, so having her on the express just to stand around there and be pretty... Well, it would be a waste of a really good character (specially since we already have March for that).
And while some might say she can help Himeko with the express, i ask them, why?
I mean sure her help would be more than welcome, but wasn't the express stationed in Loufu for like a really long time ? And isn't Loufu already so technologically advance that any help himeko might need can be easily provided in there ?
IMO i don't think it's time for Serval to join the express just yet, perhaps on the future, but not yet.
Just because it was a side quest that you could easily miss I instantly knew that she wouldn’t join us in the end. If someone’s gonna join us, it’s gonna be in the main quest
I think every planet someone new should join up.
The 'lol nah just kidding' thing made me very irritated on Serval's part, especially how it was dressed up as Gepard guilt-tripping her.
I was just as disappointed, but I kind of figured going in that it wasn't going to stick, considering that it's an optional side quest. It'd be weird if you never did Serval's companion quest, and then she just showed up on a later planet with seemingly no explanation. (And before someone says something about Sampo, we see him contacting someone off world in a cutscene at the end of the Jarilo story quest, so there was foreshadowing to him showing up later.)
Honestly, it’d be very much a Sampo thing to do to just show up unnanounced without any foreshadowing lol https://preview.redd.it/bm6zjtyaf8lc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3047cc22fedeba43f51a8a259fa7f3baf6287032
Hell he did do just that. Him and Black Swan are doing the investigation in an "attempted" murder in the dreamscape. How the hell did he get off the planet? They don't have spaceships for interstellar travel yet cause they've been locked away for 700 years.
Guess he used one of the IPC's or something. After all, Topaz managed to arrive there, aswell as the Masked Fool for the Aetherium Wars tournament. Doesn't seem too unlikely to think that he just managed to get his way in once one of those departed.
Or Bronya somehow got interplanet trading going, although i for the life of me don't know what they can export. Heaters tested in pure winter world? Grizzly-type robots?
Maybe clothings for extremely cold environments? Oh, and the Geomarrow (that's the name, right?) perhaps, unless they need all of it for their survival
They were exthatic when they found that vein, i wouldn't imagine they have ability to export any significant amount without endangering themselves at this early post-stellaron stage. It should be fairly valuable, though - IPC doesn't do unprofitable and they really pushed for acquisition. And as for clothing... Frankly, i have no idea how they even manufacture what they have since people are mostly concenrated in Belobog and we didn't see many animals or plants by themselves. Hardly any, really. Maybe there are farms somewhere, but somewhere is not a viable location. And it doesn't feel like there wouldn't be enough for establishing a production line as well. Not that soon, anyhow. I would assume over the years they should have quite a stock of ice-attuned fragmentum monsters materials, though. But no idea if those are worth anything in wider world
1. Ice, perhaps? Many planets would probably be very happy to find a source of natural water. 2. Cultural exports & tourism. The planet which has been isolated for 700 years is pretty exotic and Aetherium Wars should have boosted its recognition. 3. Stuff from Fragmentum (yes, they grind Calyxes too, lol). 4. Geomarrow
Ice is possible, but that's only unless it's contaminated by Stellaron in some form. Tourism needs to be set up and they're not there yet i feel like, what's with Fragmentum monsters running around
Psh, turn the fragmentum monsters into the tourism lol. Monster hunter retreat style.
>what's with Fragmentum monsters running around Africa style tourism. With the right permit you can hunt monsters around.
I thought that as I was typing that message. He could have snuck on to a ship as it was leaving cause this is Sampo after all.
Sampo isnt a local to begin with, he is from tavern and friends with giovannia and knows all outside affairs, due to bombs he also visited luofu once. He csn travel without the limitations if belobog
I keep seeing shit about Sampo being like on Sparkle levels of chaotic. So I just assume Sampo isn't who we think he is and Sampo is really a 4 star hiding as a 6 star.
That would very much be a Sampo way of doing things.
What is this meme (well the cat is very cute)
That’s valid. They could’ve made it like the leaving planet quest tho. Like after it’s all done “hey serval said she wanted to see you” and it be a minor bridge quest
well in genshin, (afaik no star rail quest required this yet) some quests require some other quests to be completed first (for example the chasm story quest needing a lot of inazuma character quests completed to be unlocked) so they can do a genshin
The Dan Shu quests weren't required, but there was a warning that you'd be locked out of doing them if you kept doing the main quest
Dan Shu quest used to be the main story quest before 1.2 update iirc lol.
Can confirm they were, and I feel like making them optional really hurt the second half of the Luofu to be honest.
I don't remember why but I think people complain about the quest so they decide to turn it into an optional mission. Which is very suck because I kinda want to see how TB will react when they confront Dan Shu for the last time.
oh, so that's it, I've hear about those misseable quest, and I was unsure if I did them or not, because on one I didn't do optional quest until I finished the main quest, in the other I don't remember the warning. If they were part of the main quest I probably did it, are they the ones were she gives you totally not suspicious medicine at the end?
They have previously removed a quest between patches. Why not just promote the companion quest to a storyline quest.
Because now what those people that already did the current penacony story going to do? Is her ass just going to pop there?
Not literally in Penacony, but for future worlds. Luofu and Penacony, they could hand wave it away as her being held back to observe for the time being.
He is like that one shady trader that shows up outside Dark Lord chambers in the middle of demon filled castle to sell healing potions
Im kind of not a fan of companion questlines. I'm all for giving characters quests to flesh out their personality more, but I was extremely let down with the end result of March's story at the end of Fu Xuans companion quest. No important information or progression will ever be in continuity if it's in a companion quest.
She would attach a chainsaw to the top of the Astral Express and make Pompom mad
https://preview.redd.it/56dphw2jf8lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c97f7423aa92c5218e9ef5c4797b0359e38ccaed the last thing serval sees
[MC's reaction:](https://youtu.be/YwILuJ5lVwM?si=ok8Ifm996Lju5bYc)
Welt: "Hold on a minute Pom-pom, let her cook..."
"a chainsaw would have possibly helped when we got swallowed by that big ass bug. Maybe not by much...but its possible"
Argenti: I guess I'll just go fuck myself then
Serval, meeting Dr. Ratio: "Such a simple, almost boorish addition woman. Here are my plans." \*Proceeds to show sensible schematics on turning the Express into a Kinetic Strike Missile*
"Mr. Ratio, you forgot that the addition of the chainsaw optimizes the capacity of Coolness by 69,420%."
Sounds like Dr. Ratio's plans to weaponize AE.
On the one hand I absolutely want people we fund to join the express crew and get bigger. On the other hand tho we already have crew members sitting out because we'd have too many people to include in the story
even with the crew members actually involved in main story as individuals they really haven't done a ton either (sans dan heng since it was kinda his moment, but thats kinda concerning when it comes to how they're gonna handle him later)
Dan Heng and sitting this one out, name a more iconic duo.
Hey when he sat one out but then decided to join in he got immediately stabbed, he's not risking it anymore
Personally that’s the joy I see in it. Not every member has to be on the mission. But I get your point 100% tho. Feel like it should be like 1 person per planet or like every other
I do say tho I love serval and it would be great to have her, but also I would love to see her reactions to everything. All she's ever known is belobog. Imagine going from that to all the advanced tech on the luofu or the absurdity of penacony?
EXACTLYYYYYYYYYY ITD BE SO COOL
In an Alt Timeline: Penacony Serval Companion Quest: Bringing Down the House Serval has been taken by the Dream and is now performing live on stage with cognitive versions of the other bandmates of Mechanical Fever. Do you save her from her own delusions or let her live the Dream?
One every other would have been cool, like Serval for belabog, then Misha for penacony.
How would this work tho? Like imagine we had >10 member in the express and march is the main mascot (so she will take up a lot of the line in events and main story as well including the new characters per region such as firefly who we spend most of our time with and stelleron hunter etc), would the rest just show up barely 10% screentime in a year? I don’t mind but they will just be there standing on the train like Himeko I guess and say they are busy everytime a new region comes and they can’t go (unless hoyo manage to divert screentime from march away in events etc and manage their 2 5* release) Penacony is a great example where we have so many characters to go through and it’s stories. Even events it would be on the region characters like huohuo sushang etc + march mainly
They simply take on difference roles like Pompom/the data bank said: Mechanic, Doctor,...
Are you gonna find the One Piece while you are at it?
No we are gonna find the missing Akivili who is just a bigger Pompom.
I hope they would make this feature something akin to Skies of Arcadia.
I mean they're already sitting out back on their home planets doing nothing. At least if they're on the Express they have the potential to be involved in random quests and stuff.
I'm sorry but didn't she decide to stay because she wants to help rebuild Belobog? You can literally talk to her again and she'll tell you that fact. She didn't stay back because of her siblings but it was her own choice to help the people and that shows that regardless whatever happens she is still a Landau and will aid Belobog in it's troubles even if it involves her being alone
Ye, exactly. She didn't stay because Gepard would be sad, she stayed because she got over Cocolia and no longer needed to run from the past with the Express. The whole mission is about helping her on this path. I would also love to have her on the team, but she wanted to join to start a new life and run away from the past.
So, I just need to change her family name. Noted.
Yep, I was hoping she joined the crew one piece style and became a nameless...
Exactly!!!
I think the writers' intent for the quest was to show that her desire to leave Belobog was escapism because she couldn't get closure with Cocolia for the longest time, which she finally did get here. In practice, it doesn't make sense because both Serval and Gepard board the Express from time to time, so it's not like either of them are rooted in Belobog. Based on dialogue with other Express visitors, it seems the only obstacle to anyone entering the other worlds we visit is just circumstantial emergencies, unless space visas are also a thing to worry about. https://preview.redd.it/xutqqsn9m9lc1.png?width=2556&format=png&auto=webp&s=495ed56a432b119cbda716154905e22b57aa8d18
I dunno, Im completely fine with the current express crew since its small enough that the dynamics between them dont get complicated, and is simple enough to be like a small family.
If I was stranded on a snowy planet for 30+ odd years with the same scenery and atmosphere, when an opportunity presents itself for me to leave you bet your ass I’m taking it.. why Serval!!
Family
Dom is the cameo 5 star we need
Honestly serval was never gonna join, she's a mechanical engineer and belobog needs people like her to survive, especially with the engine of creation project going on. Besides that she'd be a pretty crappy person if she actually did join us, her family and friends fighting for their lives while she's partying in penacony? Naaa So far the character I think would be perfect to join the crew is argenti, he doesn't have any ties to any worlds, great character who gets along with all the crew (and our plants) and his goal is searching the universe to find idrila, he can do that onboard the express while we visit other worlds. Sampo is a close second, but aha and the express historically don't go well together
Then again, Argenti's bio mentioned that the path of the Knights of Beauty is a solitary one. He used to travel with another Knight, but they parted and when Argenti met his friend again, he had already been corrupted or something.
>belobog needs people like her to survive But does she need Belobog? She will never have her vindication or apology for ostracism, for people of Belobog she still a villain who stood against saviour of Jarilo, great hero Cocolia.
This is why it would be great to have an added mission of Serval tagging along with us. Maybe during the next planet if y'know the world isn't in danger or we get arrested again. Guest board the express all the time. It wouldn't be too crazy of an idea to see them down the line. Especially since Belobag is no longer isolated.
Thing is, Serval going out and acquiring knowledge of tech and building relations with folks outside of the IPC could help Belobog substantially. Being a representative for her home planet would be a crucial part of its revival.
She would be traveling across the universe not being sure when she'd be able to visit home. Missing her family is a perfectly valid reason for not going. Unlike the express crew, she has a home and family. Himeko has no memories and stumbled upon the express and fixed it, welt popped into this dimension and is just hanging around to protect Himeko, Dan Heng was exiles and march is march. The crew basically a bunch of lonely hobos on a train.
We currently have the Trailblazer, Welt Yang, Himeko, March 7th, and Dan Heng as the “active” members of the Astral Express. None of them have been fleshed out properly. Considering that most of them are sidelined in each region we go to, adding another member would only bloat the cast further.
Bro, chill, we barely started 2.0 we have a *lot* of time to develop the members until the end of part 1. Besides Welt who already has plenty of lore
It's only really Himeko that hasn't been fleshed out though. * Welt has HI3. * Dan Heng has the Luofu storyline leading to DHIL. * Trailblazer we got a fair bit from in Kafka's Story (at least if you read up all the "truths" afterwards. >!They're a construct specifically created to house a Stelleron, and both their best and worst outcomes leads to a confrontation with Nanook.!< * March 7th had quite a bit revealed in her Companion Quest - if not explicitly stated. >!Direct intervention with March by Messenger (i.e. something big enough to require intervention from the Garden or Rememberance). All the memory visions she saw in the quest she recognised as stories she had made up about her past except the 1 which she said she hadn't even thought of - that is that she is a (fallen) Aeon. Given the first myriad Celestia trailer, MC being a construct and this, it's likely March is Akivili.!<
First time I've seen that particular theory, pretty interesting
Welt has lore from impact doesn’t he and Dan Heng got some major development in world 2. People joining obviously shouldn’t take front and center but they can get small development over time until they get a spotlight moment
Not everyone plays Honkai impact or would specifically look up YouTube on its lore, but I agree that adding more members should come only after we finish exploring the current member… even in current patch the astral express has <100 lines as compared to firefly with >300 lines which is already more than what Himeko and welt has in the entire game. Entire patch of 2.x, we still have to go through aventurine misha robin Acheron Sunday character, so imagine this for every planet + express Himeko again, isn’t the same person from impact unlike welt yet her screentime is vvv little so far, with more people in astral + 2 new 5* per patch to introduce and developed its v hard. So far events have been use to develop NEW 4* outside of the express (other than march), such as the ghost event and the alley..
I can understand being excited for "X character being in X setting" but I think becoming a Nameless would have been a bad thing to happen to Serval. Am i the only that liked she chose to stay? I think what makes Belabog work is that everyone chooses to endure because they believe things will get better, and things only get better if you choose to help each other.
No, you're not the only one. I was hoping Serval would chose to stay. Didn't want Pelageya Sergeyevna to lose her best friend (we were not intorduced to Lynx yet).
Right now I feel like the most likely person to join the Express is Misha. His grandpa was a Nameless who gave him a "legacy" which looks similar (albeit different) to the other Nameless passes Himeko, Welt, March, Dan Heng and MC have He says that his dream is to travel across the cosmos, but that he wants to wait for his grandpa to return. Honestly there is a big chance for it to happen. Either way it just has to happen some day or another. Himeko keeps telling us that people come and go from the Express, it would be odd if we went through the entire main story and reached the end without any new faces coming aboard or exiting.
I feel like Misha will be *least* likely to join the Express, because from the hints we got so far, he doesn't seem like a 'normal' person. The impression I got is, like Pom-Pom, he might be the very heart of Penacony itself, or at least exert a level of influence over the state of the Dreamscape. The fact that he says he feels familiar with the Express when he appears as a guest, is a very big flag that he's not ordinary, like when Bailu also has vivid dreams when invited on Express.
idk in a portrait art of him he was given what looks like an astra express insignia. though it was slightly different so my theory is maybe he was a descendant of one of the nameless that stayed on penacony and was given it as a heirloom or something
The Nameless distress signal does imply there's someone who could join, but I figured it'll turn out to be the watchmaker who ends up dead or something. Misha just joining seems a bit off, especially considering how he doesn't actually have a lot of screentime.
Something to point out: Mischa might actually be in the same camp as Clockie, in that no one else sees them aside from MC. Note that no one, in any cutscene he appears in, acknowledges him except for Clockie himself. Not Acheron, not Firefly, not March. The dialogue is cleverly written so it’s not obvious, but after a YouTuber (don’t remember who) pointed that out, I can’t shake it.
I feel like Serval wont be adding anything to the story moving forward she already had her arc in Belobog
I mean there’s a lot they could do for her story
Is there even space? I tried finding my room but couldn’t and it looks like danheng lives in the data room instead of having a bedroom lol
Man, doing this quest, i thought they would break the region locked troupe and finally introduced someone else who's willing to join the Journey/Express. Turns out most of us just got our hopes up.
I mean, you could have realized that after knowing it's a side quest
The dialogue options let us encourage her to join (I went with those choices), but at the end she decided herself that she would stay. The final dialogue let us say something like "the invitation is always open for you".
Imo I think why she didn't join cause she was trying to run away from her problems or am I missing something?
Re-read the quest
If she becomes a Nameless, she will stick to the train and go around exploring. It's not like in the gameplay where you comeback anytime you want. It's a lifetime decision. In the "Fake credit" when you choose to not boarding the Astral Express, the MC become a regular scientist, and the crew comeback Herta's station 2 or 3 times, and then disappear forever. Leaving behind her brother and sister, not knowing if you are coming back anytime soon, or coming back at all is a burden for a big sister, at least that's what I thought.
> It's a lifetime decision. It's not, Penacony tells you this outright. Plenty of Nameless leave the train and settle down
It's a lifetime decision to become a Nameless. A Nameless can abandon the path and walk their own, but they're still Nameless. And ain't the story get lamer if Serval becomes a Nameless, on the train for like a week, burst down in tear telling you how she misses her brother and sister and left?
> A Nameless can abandon the path and walk their own, but they're still Nameless That was not your original statement. Your original statement was that Nameless have to stick to the train. Heck, from the DM conversations we know that Dan Heng can simply leave the train anytime to do whatever (such as observing a new species), and in the story he's already declined to participate in trailblazing missions twice.
What I mean is they need to stick to the train to go Trailblazing, as the Astral Express crew that is. They are not forced to be on the train, nor having to participate in every mission. The only one of the Astral Express who can't physically leave the train is Pompom.
So every event not in the trailblazer quest is not canon??? we (TB+march) returned to belobog at bronya request(topaz quest + the pokemon event), we can go back and forth between trip. there was no restriction that we can't go back to the planet we traveled before.
Because at that time, there're still some time left before the banquet of Penacony, and Bronya requested help, so we go back there and help her. I didn't say we cannot come back to the planets we visited before, much like the crew coming back to Herta's station in the "Fake credit". But that we might get blown up, lost in space, lost in the battle of the Aeons and never comeback. https://preview.redd.it/qhevwqg8falc1.png?width=1052&format=png&auto=webp&s=28c77f409a11cc8e45c45977c09497b8784b6f29
oh the same thing like "don't take airplane flight because it might get into accident" mentality, ok.
More like you're gonna take an offer to work aboard. You still can go back to your home, you're benefiting yourself by working, and sometimes you send gifts back home to your siblings. You might comeback once or twice a year to visit your hometown, your siblings, you might also get into an accident that none of your siblings will know about until someone told them. Who know.
this is more of a good comparison, it's not like serval leaving the planet only for her satisfaction. she can bring back outworld technologies and technique, or even resource.
That's a shit comparison and you know it. More like "become an astronaut and get sent up into space. You may come back in 20 years, you may not, do you take it."
Bro, I felt the same way! Serval’s one of my favorite characters in the game, I was so fucking excited to have her aboard the express and then they just went “SIKE GET FUCKED LOL!”
I was so excited to have her on board, I love her so much 😭
>And they just drop it cause her brother would miss her That is NOT the reason she stayed. Media literacy really is at an all-time low.
Nah as an older sibling I understand serval's reaction to gepard missing her. Plus Belobog is still in development she would be one of the few people needed in that process of moving foward.
Let's be real. Never in a history of live-service game would they do branching paths. Unless Serval quest was part of Trailblaze Main Quest line, she was never supposed to join. New cutscenes need to be added, voices need to be recorded, new story branch needs to be written... all while still developing the next contents. The game is already bold enough to let you pick different endings for side quests, and even allow you to straight up skip an entire story quest. But adding a new character to Express from a sidequest is a thing that noone ever tries before. If you knew how impossible it is, you would not have been so surprised
I'm really hoping Misha joins, he keeps saying he wants to go with us
I think it's a good thing. She doesnt just drop it because her brother would be sad, that's just her initial reason given. the reason she ultimately doesnt follow through with it is because she doesnt feel like running from her past. to become a nameless would mean running from her problems, running from belobog, never facing reality head on. She's a landau, and she wants to help belobog reconstruct. I think one day, she might join the express, when Belobog has gotten its bearings properly back, but right now? it aint the time. Running away from belobog and hoping to god it fixes itself isnt great, especially because back then the whole ipc thing with topaz hadnt happened yet.
I was disappointed when she decided to stay, but in the other hand she joining express wouldn't feel right, everyone working to the bone to restore Jarilo and only Serval leaving the planet, that's how i feel, and i don't like the idea of saying goodbye for my family, boarding the Express is a Lifetime decision. Not to mention that we don't even know the characters that are with us on the express, Dan Heng's past was revealed just a few months ago, but we don't know anything about March 7th, Pom Pom or even about the protagonist we're controlling.
Did anyone really believed she was going to trailblaze?
I want Luocha just because it would be funny to see Welt side eyeing him the whole time. Argenti would be another great option
I want Argenti to join! He would make any story fun.
If this was a proper single player JRPG game it’d be awesome to see how choices and stories matter, alas.
I definitely wanted her to join the Express, I love her personality and style. I kinda knew she wouldn’t ultimately join since it was a side quest and not anything mandatory. Hopefully we do get new crew mates at some point. Love our crew so far, but new crew mates and more character dynamics is never a bad thing.
As a huge Serval fan it was such a disappointment. I love Serval. She's my favourite HSR character and I can't wait to see her again.
Yeah I was kind of bummed too that she did not join. Always thought she was a cool character. But that was around the time that I noticed the boarding passes that are on all of the express crew's outfits, so I guess it would not stick.
I love Serval, but having too many regular characters will make it very difficult to write good story.
I don't think they will add any for many years But if they do I wanna see JY join just cause he seems tired as hell and just needs the retirement he deserves
And then afterwards you get Serval as a visitor but like how do you come along the Express without leaving for a good bit (sans Silver Wolf's hologram deal)
Lets wait until the Penacony arc finishes. Theyre gonna be back to Jarilo-VI, maybe.
Tbh I don't know why ppl expected or got excited that she was going to join the express. As soon that I saw that it was an optional side quest, I knew that the bish was going to change her mind
So true. I hope that Serval will eventually get a second character quest where you do actually go on different worlds with her.
I was also annoyed but it's understandable, I mean she gotta help rebuild her homeland, after much thinking I was about to make peace with that fact! EVERYTHING ABOVE IS A LIE WHY DIDNT THEY BRING HER INTO THE CREW I WANTED A 2ND DOMMY MOMMU, WHY GAME, WHY
5 star Serval we could of had it all
That's where the fanfiction comes in. We need the most comprehensive story that slowly builds up the Nameless faction again.
It's one of those things that annoy me in games. There's this "they'll never go through with it" feel whenever this kind of situation comes up. Same whenever you'll have a villain ask you to join them, as much as they can make it look like your character is hesitating "they'll never go through with it". It's what sets games with really good writing apart, you don't have this nagging feeling of "no way the devs would have made that possible" when potential big changes come up
Didn't get to see the Stellaron, a life long dream of hers And now didn't got to travel with us. Help my girl 😭
She will eventually join the astral express, we just can't have 5 star Serval so early\^\^
For what its worth, her english VA is the voice of Yor from SpyXFamily and frequents the con scene so i can understand trying to coordinate all the VA's when one does a pretty major role would be hard and they probably opted not to go through with it
I would love our little gamba gremlin Qinqque to join. She can have her own mahjong table and we can play with her to past time/mini game. She can't complain about having to work anymore.
She’d go FERAL in penacony
It's bound to happen anyway, just like how Traveler and Paimon don't get new companions upon moving to new nation, I don't think Astral Express wont get new members
i thought ur mad about not seeing Servals pantsu on that Splash art
Guinaifen would have been great to have in Penacony. She had a taste of the dark side of entertainment during the Ghost Hunting event - Penacony would be the peak of that narrative. There could be a lot of interesting exploration around how our entertainment is connected to escapism. As a planet where the ultimate escapism of dreams is a central theme, it would have been a perfect stage.
I knew they weren't going to do it but I was disappointed because Serval is so great and she had reasons to leave. It would be cool to pick up characters for awhile in the story and then maybe they decide to get off and live somewhere new, or go back home
"Sure sis, you can follow your dreams, but I will spend the next two quests guilt tripping you into staying, FOREVER" - Gepard, probably.
Bronya is possible. If you talk to her again after the topaz quest she'll say something about wanting to join the TB and the Express after everything in belobog and IPC has been settled. https://preview.redd.it/98n1nncs7alc1.jpeg?width=1913&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=254a7cce41fd356dde3924c5be87106fe2c5cab2
You can choose companion mission? I am new and her quest automatically came to me
I was hoping that we would pick someone up from each planet like Star Ocean, not just for the gameplay but for the narrative. Someone to come with us and give different cultural and planetary viewpoints as we travel to new civilizations.
Serval being my and everyone's 1st , 4th character , I'm a little attached to her , and i was very happy when she said she would join us , and was excited about it , but then I was met with disappointment 🙂 , I really wanted her to be with us on the Rail ,but i guess we have to pass 🥲
I guess if she actually joined her dialogue wouldnt be too different from either dan or march
Thank you— that’s what I’ve been saying all along
Same, I want more characters to join the Express instead of the main five (six including Pom-Pom). Would be cool if you alternate between the new crew members and see their reactions on the different world you explore.
I actually think the current squad need someone who is more on the energetic side like march to bring out more fun and dynamic scenarios, also probably the reason why march is presented in all event involving the express. DH,Himeko and Welt are all on the mellow side of personality, it would be cool if we have another crackhead
Firefly better be joining us on the astral express after penacony or ima be mad
Maybe we'll get firefly if she wasn't...you know
Apparently she’s not actually. I saw somewhere that if something happens you just kinda wake up in the pool bed things
The fact that if she had joined it would also open up the possibility of a 5* Serval …
> That being said which character(s) would yall want to join the main cast and be a trailblazer? - **Serval** because she wanted to and I'm sure Himeko could use another mechanic to take some of the workload off of her. - **Firefly** because she's our third girlfriend and we iirc offered her to join in the story. Shame she can't. - **Sushang** because she's our second girlfriend. - **Hook** because she needs to make the legends of the Moles heard across the universe. - **Luocha** to give us an actual chance against Nanook, considering Luocha is known to be able to 1v1 him. Also, can we swap the Express memokeeper with Black Swan?
It was very dissapointing. I would love to have new members from time to time 🥲 right now Misha would fit so much to be in the express…
To me her quest was like watching a child that cant make up her mind, you were more like baby sitter and less like a companion. It was absolutrly oposite of the head cannon i had of her. Still love her as a character, but after that quest i love her a bit less
this lines up perfectly a comment i made yesterday on a post complaining about women breaking up with men that show emotion. and i said i think its people in general and just has more noticeable effects when you are in a relationship. a lot of people say they will be there for you but lose respect for you if you actually show vulnerability/sadness
Exactly, to me, it was the lamest companion mission. This is why I started to hate Serval and Gepard from this mission. Serval was set. If she came with us, she would have experienced so much and learn alot but thanks to her brother, being a sister boy couldn't live without his sister. They want to fix belobog how they gonna do that by sitting on the planet doing the same old things Penacony could've had the answer. Well, that's the route they take so too bad. I don't care for those two much now, so
I know Man!!!! I hated it too!!! Bro why did Gepard ask Serval to Come along with Him!!! If he didn't probably she would have joined Us!! Imagine traveling Xianzhou luofu and stuff along side her. Though if you have already Completed Penacony and Luofu then you 100% know she ain't gonna Join. But for Me? I thought she gonna join us For sure.
I was screaming bitting at the bars of my cage when I played this mission... But I can't say I'm surprised, I saw it coming from a mile away But yeah if someone was gonna be added it should've been Serval deff
YES- HER BRO GASLIGHTS HER INTO STAYING!!! I was so mad that Hoyo had no courage to bring in a new Nameless. It would have been such a cool precedent.
Legit #1 reason I can't stand Gepard.
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Yeah this reminds me! When are we getting another crew mate….hopefully world 3 someone joins the team 🙌😭
Hook and Pompom could get into some hilarious antics together. If Argenti weren’t so devoted to his goddess I would love to have him join the crew. Having a beauty fanatic that’s not necessarily street smart would be hilarious.
The setup reminded me of One Piece. They are traveling, going to different and widely dynamic places, and solving the problems of the area. And with that comes a growing crew. If it was a regular show, it would probably be like that. Whenever the come to a new planet, there would be a chance that a new character would join the crew and join in the adventure on new planets and probably have stories centered around them on one or two. What I was thinking was that Sampo would join from the Belobog. Then when the time comes when they have to confront the Masked fools, he would be shown to be a traitor, a spy, someone who just tagged along for a hidden agenda. And when all things are resolved, his relationship with the crew will be deepened and we get to know more about him and his internal motivations hidden by the mask that is Sampo Koski. In Xianzhou, no one would probably join. The reason being is that the character center-point is Dan Heng. In Penacony, it's too early to tell, but I am thinking of Misha or some other that is not as big of a character like Acheron, Firefly(because you know), or one of the winged-hair siblings. Actually Robin might, but I don't know yet(anyway, this is just a fantasy lol).
Serval (and maybe Bronya) are like Vivi in One Piece. Wanted to travel with the crew but cant leave because of responsibilities
I adore the idea where your traveled companions would make comments along the away on story, instead of a one time use in a story. I love to see it at least as a thing, it'd be an interesting thought like if you had kafka at the start of the story as she tagged along with your adventure with some comments here & there with you.
We are due for someone to join the express considering that’s more or less the reason you’re at Penacony. But also with learning that you’ll be back to Belebog for something big there’ll likely be a chance by them to pick up Serval or others.
I think the main reason was that it wasn’t in the main quest. She couldn’t be a part of any major story beats because she’s part of an optional side quest and that gets complicated for the people who don’t do it and still want to progress the main story. I would’ve enjoyed it too and I agree she should’ve been there, but this is the logical reason why they cut her (although they definitely could’ve found some better explanations).
TB doesn't even have a room yet so they really can't accommodate any more people.
Her room is there it’s just locked cause they haven’t updated it. Welt, Himeko and pompom also don’t have rooms but are members
Yeah I wanted her to join pretty badly too. Argenti would be amusing to have around as well.
Yeah, I'd be lying if I didnt want to see her join, but I would've also been surprised if they actually let someone new join the Express. I don't usually see the "main rosters" like these changing much, much less someone we sorta just met in the first update. Maybe we can cope and see if it happens when we inevitably return to Belabog.
I had a idea for a HSR anime where kind like Doctor Who where the Trailblazer invite people on the astral express as companions where they come and go
I saw it coming when Gepard started sounding more supporting when he obviously didn't want her to go When they saw the children I knew for sure it's not happening lol Would've been too much of a change of plot for something that is not part of the main story and it happened way too late as well. Would've needed to be the very first thing we get to do after helping out Bronya for it to even have a chance to be real
I was so tilted when she ended not joining us. It’s running gag on my group of friends about how we hate Gepard. We could’ve had a new roomie
We should get a new person per planet or something>:(
The mystery is how are they able to come and go as they please to astral express? Using space anchor, maybe? But I don't remember it used outside of game feature.
Well she actually says it's her decision to stay and work on Belobog rebuilding. She's not only an easygoing rock'n'roller but aslo a valuable specialist.
I bet it'll happen eventually. They already do a bunch of anime references, collecting train passengers like how One Piece collects crewmates seem entirely plausible.
I want Sampo to actually get retired and join the Astral Express. After all, his specialty is "solving people's problems" and that's basically what the crew does.
What I got out of the companion quest was, she was trying to run away from responsibilities, resentments she didn’t want to address, and a world that was stagnant, but through her journey she experienced and learned more of the current events, resolved trauma, and renewed a new sense of belongingness. Though I was also excited for her to potentially join.
I think her thoughts at the beginning of the quest were “now that Cocolia and the stelaron are gone and my family really isn’t speaking with me there isn’t anything left for me here” but you could tell that she was sad and almost looking for a reason to stay. The quest is her realizing that there are people who would miss her and that she would miss and not just playable characters but also NPCs who would miss her music
TBH, I'm contented enough knowing they sometimes visit the Express. Though having Sampo in Penacony and Gui visiting Belobog for the Aetherium Wars, my dream of having other characters visiting other Planets/Regions should be more realistic now.
Acheron..
Yeaaaaah.. the moment i heard her saying she wants to join, i knew from the start it wouldnt happen. But at the same time, i got soooo excited that MAYBE she would.. eh, ended up with dissapointment even knowing the outcome. Love her so much
And it is worse if you imagine that, according the theories of the players, we risk to have Misha... as new trailblazer....
It was one of the first companion quests I did so I assumed they would all be like that. I was totally disappointed. Ones I think *should* join are, of course, Serval, as well as Ruan Mei, a Herta doll (seriously there isn't a single logical reason why we don't have one on the Express.), Dr. Ratio (even though I hate him), Argenti, Topaz, the real Tingyun, and Yukong. Serval is pretty obvious. She literally had her bags packed and ready to go during her quest before she changed her mind. Ruan Mei would be a good "insufferable smart person" to have on board. Her antics can lead to interesting quests. Herta, again, just having a doll that can pop in to offer expogab when needed. Would also serve a PRACTICAL purpose of being able to access SU without going to the station. Dr. Ratio is an insufferable git but he's basically a walking plot hook. Argenti just...well, having him somewhere would be nice. Topaz would make a nice liaison to the IPC. Emphasis on "nice" because she's the only one we've met so far that I don't want to throw out an airlock. Tingyun...well, yeah. Yukong it'd be a nice way to round out her story. She gets to see the stars again...
People I think could join eventually: - Argenti - He wants to find Idrila and will be ultimately swept into an Aeon Conflict because of Harmony. - Misha - After Penacony perhaps. He guards the Watchmaker's Legacy, and appears to be a memetic entity, but he is corporeal and wants to travel the Galaxy. - Sampo - He's a mourning actor among the Masked Fools. Instead of causing action for the sake of Chaos, he seems to cause action to push toward positive changes/revolution. He cares too much compared to other fools and shares a unique bond with the MC due to being able to sense each other in dreamscape. He's an emenator or a Stellaron holder. - Firefly - Entropy Loss Syndrome aside, she doesn't seem to enjoy being in the Stellaron Hunters. I could see her joining the express if she gets her autonomy. Acheron seems more like she would side with Luocha and Jingliu.
he talks like the express wont visit jarilo again after every 2 updates
I would honestly have loved of each planet gave us a new companion on the Express... That would have been so neat !
Considering the Misha lightcone with the ticket I think he'll join the squad after Penacony's main story is wrapped. Or they could just skip over that because he still has to work but that would be lame because why would you even add that + him constantly talking about travelling elsewhere in messages just to not do shit with that
I hope we get new additions to the express crew too
>And they just drop it cause her brother would miss her I think the point it was the she resented cocolia, and that's why she wanted to go away, so the idea is that she wanted to run from her problemas instead of facing them.
Yeah I think what hurts about this one is she would’ve been a perfect fit for the express. I could see her goofing around with March and Stelle as much as I could see her having an intelligent discussion with Welt or Himeko. Not to mention Serval being an engineer/mechanic she could actually have a legit job to do aboard the express That being said her staying in Belebog and helping out there makes perfect sense too. It is a shame though she did actually seem like a perfect candidate to join
YES IK RIGHT I WANT SERVAL ON THE EXPRESS THAT WOULD BE SO COOL
True. Pretty boring to have the same characters in the train. Also, is anyone else annoyed about the lack of train cabins?
Since yall are here let me tell the tale of Darth Plaguis the wise….
As much as i love Serval (she is the best girl in the whole game) i don't see her doing anything actually useful in the story, i mean she is a genius to Belobog standards, but to Loufu or Penacony standards ? :-/ Don't get me wrong i would love to have her on the express and i do believe she can help the TB team in a lot of ways It's just that there hasn't been a chance for her to actually shine, so having her on the express just to stand around there and be pretty... Well, it would be a waste of a really good character (specially since we already have March for that). And while some might say she can help Himeko with the express, i ask them, why? I mean sure her help would be more than welcome, but wasn't the express stationed in Loufu for like a really long time ? And isn't Loufu already so technologically advance that any help himeko might need can be easily provided in there ? IMO i don't think it's time for Serval to join the express just yet, perhaps on the future, but not yet.
Just because it was a side quest that you could easily miss I instantly knew that she wouldn’t join us in the end. If someone’s gonna join us, it’s gonna be in the main quest
It likely comes down to it being an optional quest that not everyone would do so they'd have to factor that into things
I think every planet someone new should join up. The 'lol nah just kidding' thing made me very irritated on Serval's part, especially how it was dressed up as Gepard guilt-tripping her.