Even small dialogue choices in Honkai Star Rail can have big consequences. An extreme example of that occurs at the end of Clara’s Companionship missions and concerns the future of a robot named Pascal. Our guide will help you decide whether you should side with Clara or Svarog in HSR.
Rarely Affectionate (Part 2): Should You Choose Svarog or Clara?
The end of the Rarely Affectionate (Part 2) quest has you settle the future of Pascal, a robot that’s gained emotional intelligence and is a potential danger. Svarog puts forward a plan to reformat Pascal, while Clara prefers to keep Pascal as they are. It’s a moral and ethical dilemma with neither choice offering a clear-cut solution.
There’s no right or wrong answer to this choice. Each leads to a unique mission ending and a unique follow-up quest, but Clara will join as a visitor to the Astral Express either way. The events of this mission line stay self-contained.
Choice 1: Side with Svarog
Svaraog’s argument for reformatting is based on Pascal having corrupt data and being combative previously. Their diagnostics conclude that the bad data will amount over time and could lead to Pascal being a danger to Clara or others.
What complicates things is the emotional intelligence the robot has gained. Considering that it feels different emotions, reformatting them seems more akin to killing them. It all comes down to whether you consider the robot to be alive and whether its life is worth the danger it could cause.
If you side with Svarog, you’ll be treated to a very sad cutscene of Pascal’s final moments with you and Clara. A follow-up mission called Wish You Were Here will then pop up the next time the server resets.
Choice 2: Side with Clara
Clara’s argument is that Pascal’s emotional intelligence is unique among other robots and that they deserve to exist as the individual they’ve become. She promises that she can look after Pascal while Svarog can install special program locks to slow down how quickly their data corrupts and leads to malfunctions.
How long the locks would be effective is unknown. The bad data will eventually require a proper reset that will erase their memories. Over time, it will become corrupt again. Svarog will look for better solutions, but Clara will potentially have to endure an endless cycle of wiping Pascal’s memories. It begs the question of whether Clara can shoulder the responsibility at such a seemingly young age and whether it’s worse to repeatedly reset the robot.
Related: Honkai Star Rail Character Ages and Birthdays Explained
If you do side with Clara, Svarog will install the locks into Pascal’s code. You’ll be able to check up on Pascal the following day after a server reset when the No One is Answering mission appears.
Svarog vs. Clara: Does it Matter Which One You Choose?
The choice between siding with Svarog vs Clara directly affects what happens to Pascal. It will also lock you out from one quest and one achievement. Outside of that, the choice is yours.
It’s worth noting that HoYoverse has made various side characters relevant again in later events for Genshin Impact. There’s no telling whether any additional missions could be added later on to expand on Pascal’s fate, but it’s hard to say never with games that are updated with as much content as these are. For now, simply choose to side with whoever makes a better argument.
That the question of should you side with Clara or Svarog in Honkai Star Rail. If you’re looking for another time when your choice has a big effect, you might be interested in how to get the bad ending for the whole game. For everything else, check out our Honkai Star Rail guide hub.
