Should You Format Pascal in Honkai: Star Rail ‘Rarely Affectionate Part 2’

Clara’s “Rarely Affectionate Part 2” Companion Mission in Honkai: Star Rail is yet another that asks us, “How do you want to handle this?” This time, there’s a sentient robot at stake. Once you finally get to complete the quest, your actions will determine what happens to this NPC you met in the previous game and how you want to “help” them overcome a situation involving muddled data.

How do you unlock “Rarely Affectionate Part 2” in Honkai: Star Rail?

Okay, so I’m not sure if my experience will apply to everyone. The original “Rarely Affectionate Part 1” quest appeared almost immediately after I finished the second Trial of the Equilibrium, hit Trailblaze Level 2, and finished the Trailblaze Mission “In the Sweltering Morning Sun.” However, I didn’t get a text from Clara to start “Rarely Affectionate Part 2” in Honkai: Star Rail until I’d already had the Trailblaze Mission “Sinners Misled, Credence Falsified” finished for a few days, finished the third Trial of the Equilibrium, and hit Trailblaze Level 41. So you may need to both finish all of the available Trailblaze Missions in 1.0 and finish “Trial of the Equilibrium: Part Three” first. However, it could just be that you need to finish “Sinners Misled, Credence Falsified,” then wait until the new week begins to get the new text from Clara.

Should Svarog reformat Pascal or should he install a lock on the core at Clara’s request?

Must of “Rarely Affectionate Part 2” in Honkai: Star Rail is very straightforward! You’ll check in with Clara and Svarog at the Robot Settlement on Jarilo-VI. As in the first part, you’ll try and find a shell for Pascal. Going to get a Direwolf one will result in a fight. Pascal will run off and end up at Rivet Town after getting the new shell. This means another fight as you head to find and save Pascal from an Automaton Grizzly robot. At this point, you’ll learn more about who Pascal is and the problems their Fragmentum-contaminated components caused.

This leads to a decision. Svarog wants to reformat Pascal. This means they will lose their emotional intelligence, though they will be normal and the bad sectors will be fixed. Clara wants to add a “lock” on Pascal’s core alongside a “new suite of operational programs.” That would ideally preserve their emotional intelligence, but the robot could still go rogue and attempt to steal from humans.

If you go with Clara’s option, Svarog, Clara, and the Trailblazer will head to Rivet Town. Svarog will install the programs. The next day, Clara will send a text asking if the player wants to see Pascal again. The two of them will be in Rivet Town. The new programs from Svarog are working, though they don’t know how long they’ll be in effect. Pascal will also have made a flower out of machine parts as a gift to remember them by. You’ll get a Flower Made from Scrap Iron memento item.

Choosing Svarog’s option has the robot back up Pascal’s data, then format them. An epilogue picks up the next day after a text from Clara. Pascal and two other robots all somehow remember the Trailblazer is and are excited to see them. Integrating Pascal into the network seems to have caused their emotions to be spread across the other robots.

Regardless of which option you choose, you get 4 Condensed Aether, 60 Stellar Jade, 200 Shields, 350 Trailblaze EXP, and 20,000 Credits as a reward for finishing this quest. Clara will now also get to appear on the Astral Express as well.

Honkai: Star Rail is available for PCs and mobile devices, and PS4 and PS5 versions are in development.