Want to know about new Genshin Impact characters? According to Hoyoverse’s original Genshin Impact roadmap – new faces should release with every major update. During each new update there’s usually at least one Genshin Impact banner with a minimum of one brand new character. The banners feature characters with increased drop rates, including one five-star character and three four-star characters.
Tighnari and Collei are the most recent new characters, landing with Genshin Impact 3.0, and Dori will arrive during the phase two banners. There are also leaks and datamined information concerning new faces that may appear further down the line. While none of this official until Hoyoverse says otherwise, here is a round-up of all of the current rumours and speculation.
The new and upcoming Genshin Impact characters are:
New Genshin Impact 3.0 characters
Collei
Collei is a four-star Dendro bow user from Sumeru, and along with Tighnari below is one of the first playable Dendro characters in Genshin Impact. You meet her quite early on in the Sumeru storyline, and you can even get Collei for free via the Graven Innocence event.
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Check out everything you need to know about the best Collei build, the best Collei team composition, and every Collei ascension material so you can take her to max level. Collei debuts on the Tighnari banner, as well as a Zhongli banner rerun.
Tighnari
Tighnari is a five-star Dendro Bow user from Sumeru. You meet him quite early in the Sumeru storyline. Check out our Tighnari build guide, our Tighnari team guide, as well as every Tighnari ascension material you need to take him to max lelvel. The Tighnari banner is live and will run until September 9.
Dori
Dori is a four-star Electro Claymore user who also hails from Sumeru. The Dori banner will debut during the second half of Genshin Impact 3.0, where she will be a supporting character on the Ganyu banner and Kokomi banner reruns. Check out everything you need to know about the best Dori build, the best Dori team, and every Dori ascension material you need to take her to max level.
Upcoming Genshin Impact characters
Nilou
A previous round of Genshin Impact leaks make reference to character data attributed to someone called ‘Nilou’, and further rumours suggested she is a Hydro Sword character. We know she will be involved in the initial storyline for the 3.0 update thanks to a Sumeru teaser video where she is shown and named.
In terms of the rumours around when she will be playable, Nilou is one three characters rumoured to be dropping in patch 3.1, and in late August 2022 she was officially announced as an upcoming playable character via the Genshin Impact Twitter account.
Cyno
Cyno was first revealed in the Teyvat chapter storyline preview video – we know he’s a Polearm wielder from Sumeru, and rumours suggest he will be an Electro character and five-star. According to leaks, his banner is not expected to drop until patch 3.1, although he was officially announced as a playable character via the Genshin Impact Twitter account in August 2022.
We know he will be involved in the initial 3.0 storyline thanks to the third Sumeru preview video. In this he is referred to as the “General Mahamatra, Cyno” where he’s seen looking over some of Sumeru’s desert-themed locations.
Candace
This character is a relatively new addition, with leaks first cropping up in June stating she is an “Egyptian/Cleopatra-inspired character”. Her actual name wouldn’t leak until later, but the current rumours place her as a four-star Hydro polearm character, and she is the third character believed to be dropping in patch 3.1.
She was officially revealed via the official Genshin Impact Twitter account just before the release of 3.0, although she has not been seen in any of the trailers for the Sumeru region so far, unlike most of the other Sumeru characters on this list.
Kusanali / Nahida
Kusanali is the name of the Dendro Archon for the Sumeru region, who like Venti and Raiden Shogun will likely become a playable character at some point. Rumours for this character first appeared towards the end of last year. It is believed that she won’t be in patch 3.1, with the current estimate being placing the Kusanali banner in 3.2 at the earliest, although this is highly speculative.
In the third Sumeru preview, we see a shot of someone called ‘Nahida’ who is a “mysterious girl” that the Traveler will meet during the 3.0 storyline. No other details are given, however the rumour mill believes this is Kusanali going by another name.
Scaramouche
Scaramouche is No. 6 of the Fatui’s Eleven Harbingers; he introduces himself as a ‘vagrant from Inazuma’ who attempts to betray and kill the Traveler during the Unreconciled Stars event: Star of Destiny. Players believe that he will eventually be a playable character, and current speculation suggests he may appear in patch 3.2.
Deyha
Rumours around Deyha are highly speculative at the moment, but the one thing we do know is that she will be involved in the initial Sumeru storyline for the 3.0 update. Deyha is “desertfolk”, and a mercenary working for the Ermites, a new faction coming to Genshin Impact who are descended from an ancient desert-dwelling civilisation. Genshin leaker Mero claims we won’t see Dehya “before” update 3.4, and there is disagreement over her rarity.
Alhaitham
While Alhaitham was initially discovered in June 2022 under a different codename, he was officially revealed in the third Sumeru preview video as being involved in the initial 3.0 storyline. Apparently you meet him “by chance” in Port Ormos, and he’s from the ruling body in Sumeru, the Akademiya. There are currently no known rumours around whether (or when) he will be released as a playable character.
Dainsleif
Dainsleif, the Bough Keeper, was officially announced by Hoyoverse during the 2020 Tokyo Game Show – however, no release date was attached. His voice actor has been announced, but we have no indication of when he might arrive.
Dainsleif is from Khaenri’ah, an underground realm that is not part of Teyvat itself – so perhaps one day in the future we’ll meet Dainsleif when we explore his homeland.
Yaoyao
Yaoyao is an adorable NPC who is mentioned in several characters’ voice lines. She was previously Xiangling’s junior when they both studied under the same master chef, but has now become an assistant for Ganyu.
She features in the official art above, but that’s all we know at this point. Current rumours suggest she will be a four-star character.
Baizhu
Baizhu is a Genshin Impact NPC, and is the owner of Bubu Pharmacy in Liyue. He possesses a Dendro vision, which has led fans to believe that he may one day be a playable character.
Lyney and Lynette
Lyney and Lynette were revealed in the same storyline preview video – they’re a pair of twins, presumably, who are dressed like magicians – they hail from Fontaine, a region inspired by France. There’s speculation that they could be recruited as a pair and can switch places with one another in battle – though that may be nothing more than a cool idea.
Iansan
Iansan was also revealed in the Teyvat Chapter Storyline video, in the Natlan section. We believe she’s a Pyro user, but we’ll have to wait until we visit Natlan to find out more about her.
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These are all the new Genshin Impact characters that we believe have a reasonable chance of turning up in-game – we’ll add new candidates as we discover them. In the meantime, here are the best Genshin Impact characters for beginners, and the best Genshin Impact weapons to kit them out with.
