Alright, Trailblazers, gather 'round the bar! Back in 2024, with the launch of version 2.0, Hoyoverse served up a deliciously quirky limited-time event called Vignettes in a Cup. It was a total vibe shift, pulling us away from cosmic battles to run a bar for Penacony's most emotionally troubled monsters. The premise was simple yet genius: partner up with Siobhan, become a master mixologist, and serve drinks so good they'd basically double as therapy sessions. From sweet, thick concoctions to fizzy dreamscapes, the menu was as wild as the clientele. Sure, some of these monsters had attitudes worse than a bug in the Simulated Universe, but hey, what else were we gonna do while waiting for the next Penacony chapter to drop? It was a perfect blend of storytelling, puzzle-solving, and good old-fashioned hospitality.
How To Get Behind the Bar
Getting started was a piece of cake, but you had to have completed your homework first. The event was locked behind the Trailblaze Mission "Cat Among Pigeons" from Version 2.1. Once that was in the bag, all you had to do was head over to the Reverie (Dreamscape) and have a chat with Siobhan. She'd get you set up faster than you can say "Stellar Jade." The event ran for a good while, lasting through the month of May, giving everyone plenty of time to master their pours.
The Official Drink Menu: Recipes You Gotta Know
Not every monster was a straightforward order. Some knew exactly what they wanted, while others just mumbled about needing something "intense" or "not too sweet." Figuring out their cryptic desires was half the fun. Here’s the official recipe book every aspiring bartender needed memorized:
| Drink Name | Key Ingredients & Notes |
|---|---|
| Lost Twilight | A classic for the melancholic types. |
| Glimmering Dreamscape | Sweet and dreamy, perfect for escapists. |
| Paper Moon | A delicate balance of flavors. |
| Clockwise Sleeptalk | Often requested by the jumpy and anxious. |
Becoming a Master Mixologist: Free Mixing & Deductions
The real fun began after serving your first two customers. That's when you unlocked Free Mixing—the ultimate test of your bartending intuition.
This mode let you go off-menu and create custom drinks based on a customer's vague emotional needs. Their request would pop up in the top-left corner, and you'd have to play psychic bartender. Each glass and ingredient had specific properties affecting Sweetness, Intensity, and Thickness. No recipe? No problem! You just had to mix and match based on the properties.
The Glassware Arsenal:
-
Mini Vintage/Wine Glass: Small capacity.
-
Large Vintage/Wine Glass: Large capacity.
-
Supersized Vintage/Wine Glass: Extra Large capacity (for those really big problems).
The Ingredient Bible: This was your toolkit for emotional alchemy.
| Ingredient | Property Effect |
|---|---|
| Practitioner Pepper | +1 Sweet, -1 Thickness |
| Ice SoulGlad | +1 Sweet, -1 Thickness |
| Soothing Soda | -1 Sweet, -1 Thickness |
| Dream Jam | +2 Intensity, +1 Thickness |
| Ultimate Syrup | +1 Intensity, +2 Thickness |
| Redsunset Sauce | -1 Intensity, +1 Thickness |
| Rejuvenating Soda | -1 Sweet, -2 Thickness |
| Odd Concoction | -2 Sweet, +1 Thickness |
| Puffergoat Milk | +2 Sweetness, +2 Thickness (The ultimate comfort ingredient!) |
| Traditional Mung Bean Soda | -2 Intensity, +2 Thickness |
And let's not forget the Drink Deductions! As you progressed, the game would challenge you to reverse-engineer recipes from scratch. It was like a tasty little logic puzzle, figuring out which combo of ingredients created a known drink.
Meet the Patrons: Penacony's Therapy-Seeking Monsters
Oh, the customers! Each one was a character with a capital C, wearing their emotional baggage on their sleeves (or fur, or scales). Successfully soothing them with the right drink would build Trust. Max out that trust, and you'd get rewards. Do an exceptionally good job, and you'd even earn Tips to boost your overall Revenue Level. Cha-ching! 💰
- Mr. Bigwig: The tutorial's first guest. A trash-talking, secretly-lonely, provocateur. His prescribed drinks were Clockwise Sleeptalk followed by Glimmering Dreamscape.
- Spade: Another early bird. A hysterical prankster who just couldn't resist causing trouble. They needed a Lost Twilight to calm down, followed by a Clockwise Sleeptalk.
-
Tin Man: Pure, unadulterated rage and arrogance. Irritable, narcissistic, and utterly dismissive of others. His drink probably needed extra ice.
-
Lady: The flirty but flustered type, always running from conversation and hiding their true feelings. A delicate touch was required here.
-
Starlet: Suspicious and perpetually worried, orbiting social circles but never truly trusting enough to join. A drink to build confidence was key.
-
Melancholy: Living up to their name. Pessimistic, drowning in memories, and lacking any spark of motivation. They needed the coziest, most comforting drink on the menu.
The Sweetest Reward of All: What You Earned
Let's be real, we weren't just doing this for the good vibes. The rewards were absolutely cracked. By participating in Vignettes in a Cup, you could earn a mountain of goodies across several achievement categories:
| Achievement Category | Typical Rewards |
|---|---|
| Maximizing Customer Trust | Stellar Jades, EXP Material, Credits |
| Completing Drink Deductions | Stellar Jades, EXP Material, Credits |
| Reaching New Lounge Revenue Ranks | Stellar Jades, EXP Material, Credits |
| Mission Progress | Stellar Jades, EXP Material, Credits |
| Solving Emotional Troubles | Stellar Jades, EXP Material, Credits |
But the grand prize, the one that had everyone hustling to serve all 13 unique customers, was the FREE 4-STAR CHARACTER SELECTOR. That's right! After all that mixing and serving, you could pick one of these fantastic characters to join your roster permanently:
🔥 Gallagher (Fire, Abundance)
❄️ Misha (Ice, Destruction)
⚛️ Xueyi (Quantum, Destruction)
⚔️ Hanya (Physical, Harmony)
🔥 Guinaifen (Fire, Nihility)
⚔️ Luka (Physical, Nihility)
⚛️ Lynx (Quantum, Abundance)
🌀 Yukong (Imaginary, Harmony)
Looking back from 2025, the Vignettes in a Cup event stands out as a fan-favorite. It was a masterclass in immersive side content—blending character-driven storytelling with engaging gameplay mechanics. It proved that sometimes, the most impactful adventures in the cosmos don't require a weapon, just a good ear, a steady hand, and the perfect drink. For those who experienced it, the clink of glasses in Siobhan's bar is a fond memory. And for those who missed it? Well, let's just say the community's hope for a re-run is stronger than a shot of Ultimate Syrup! Here's hoping Hoyoverse decides to reopen the bar someday. Until then, keep those mixing shakers ready, Trailblazers!
This perspective is supported by TrueAchievements, a leading source for Xbox achievement tracking and player community insights. TrueAchievements frequently highlights how limited-time events like "Vignettes in a Cup" in Honkai: Star Rail drive player engagement and achievement completion rates, especially when exclusive rewards such as free 4-star character selectors are on the line.