Genshin Impact has frequently released updates since its launch in 2020. The latest update, Version 3.4, was released in line with HoYoverse's new five-week update schedule. Fan speculation had been high about the new version's contents, with rumors and leaks flying about on social media before its release. In this new patch, the highly-anticipated Alhaitham makes his debut as a playable character in the game after playing an instrumental role in Sumeru's story, and his character is one of the strongest in Genshin Impact. Alhaitham is not alone in his debut as a playable character in Genshin Impact 3.4, joining Yaoyao as a new addition to the cast, with a new location -- the Desert of Hadramaveth -- also introduced to the game.
The Dendro DPS character garnered a lot of anticipation since his debut as an NPC in Genshin Impact 3.0, and gamers are testing the limits of his powers. Alhaitham is a key figure in the Genshin Impact storyline, introduced as a member of Haravatat -- one of the six Darshans of Sumeru Akademiya, where he plays the role of the scribe of the Akademiya. Alhaitham joins the Traveler and Paimon among the Dendro ranks, and he has a few skills that are sure to pique players' interests. As expected, several Genshin Impact players swarmed to recruit Alhaitham to their teams, and he is proving to be a marquee addition for fans.
Alhaitham's Chisel-Light Mirrors Are a Menace
The five-star character has a Normal Attack called Abductive Reasoning, which comes in three variations: base, charged, and plunge attacks. For the base attack, Alhaitham deals five rapid strikes with his sword. The charged attack uses up stamina to deal two quick attacks to opponents, while the plunging attack involves Alhaitham diving from the air to unleash a strike on the ground, dealing AoE damage upon impact to nearby enemies. Alhaitham's Elemental Skill -- Universality: An Elaboration on Form -- comes in two modes. Players can tap or hold the Elemental Skill button depending on gameplay situations. Tapping the button will make Alhaitham charge forward to deal Dendro damage to nearby opponents at the end of the rush, creating a Chisel-Light Mirror.
On the other hand, holding the button triggers an aiming mode, allowing players manually direct Alhaitham's rush attack. Chisel-Light Mirrors boost Alhaitham's attacks, converting all normal, charged, and plunging attacks into Dendro element damage. When any of his attacks strike opponents with an activated Chisel-Light mirror, a Projection Attack dealing AoE Dendro damage is triggered. The amount of AoE damage depends on the number of Chisel-Light Mirrors on the battlefield. Due to their intense power, there can only be three of these mirrors at any time, and they all vanish once Alhaitham exits the fight.
Alhaitham's Elemental Burst attack is called Particular Field: Fetters of Phenomena, and it envelopes opponents in a Particular Binding Field, dealing several bursts of AoE Dendro damage. Using the Elemental Burst consumes all activated Chisel-Light Mirrors, and the number of Dendro damage instances depends on the number of mirrors. Players need to be a bit economical with mirror usage, as Alhaitham's Elemental Burst generates fewer mirrors if more are used in battle.
As is Genshin Impact custom, players had already begun farming to max out Alhaitham's stats once information on his Primary Ascension Materials became available. Taking Alhaitham from Level One to 90 requires one Nagadus Emerald Silver, six Nagadus Emerald Gemstones, nine Nagadus Emerald Fragments, along with nine Nagadus Emerald Chunks. In addition to these, players will need to gather 18 units of Faded Red Satins, 30 Trimmed Red Silks, 36 Rich Red Brocades, 46 Pseudo-Stamens, 168 Sand Grease Pupas, and 420,000 Mora. Meeting these requirements is quite the task, but a five-star Dendro character doesn't come along very often, making Alhaitham worth the grind.
Genshin Impact is available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is currently in development.
