Genshin Impact Leak Teases Upcoming Natlan Character

Game ZXC

Genshin Impact

By Christine Miller

Published Mar 10, 2024

Highlights

A Genshin Impact leak potentially reveals that Xbalanque, a highly anticipated character from Natlan, will feature the boy model type.
Xbalanque, a Pyro Polearm character, is expected to offer new off-field Pyro options for team-building in Spiral Abyss.
In addition, fans eagerly anticipate how Arlecchino will shake up the meta in Version 4.6 of the game.

While Genshin Impact is approaching the latter half of its Fontaine updates, a recent leak has confirmed information relating to Xbalanque, a highly anticipated character from Natlan. The main appeal of Genshin Impact has always been twofold: its addictive open-world exploration, and its memorable cast of characters. Though the game started with only Mondstadt and Liyue, each subsequent year has given Genshin Impact players a whole new region of Teyvat to explore, complemented by a steady stream of characters belonging to that region (with a few wildcards sprinkled in).

Genshin Impact characters such as Neuvillette have become a mainstay, and fans eagerly await to see how Arlecchino will shake up the meta in Version 4.6. While HoYoverse doesn't favor the concept of power creep in Genshin Impact, the developers have still managed to create new characters that provide unique gameplay or expand upon an underrepresented niche (such as Xianyun enabling plunge teams).

genshin impact natlan mounts exploration mechanic dragons pyro nation

Genshin Impact Leak Hints at Exciting Exploration System for Natlan

A popular feature from other open world games could finally be coming to Genshin Impact in Natlan, according to a recent leak from a reliable source.

The recent leak posted on the Genshin Impact Leaks subreddit, in what many fans consider to be a period of drought, concerns the Natlan character of Xbalanque. Second only to the Pyro Archon in terms of player excitement, Team Mew claims that Xbalanque has the boy model template in his concept art. The medium male body type – as it is alternatively known – has been used by many iconic Genshin Impact characters, such as Cyno, Wanderer, and Venti.

Who Is Xbalanque in Genshin Impact?

Though no current concept art of Xbalanque exists, Natlan in Genshin Impact is expected to draw from Latin American, Mesoamerican, and West African influences – both colonial and pre-colonial. Earlier leaks have described Xbalanque as a darker-skinned Bennett, which certainly lines up with the latest information. Considering the inspiration behind his name, it's safe to assume that Xbalanque will most likely be a Pyro character, if not the Pyro Sovereign himself.

As a Pyro Polearm, Arlecchino in Genshin Impact is expected to be an on-field character with a focus on Overload. However, there are many underutilized aspects of the Pyro element that Xbalanque could contribute to. Outside Xiangling, and to a lesser extent, Thoma and Dehya, there are few off-field Pyro options when it comes to team-building. Having an alternative to Xiangling would open up more versatile Spiral Abyss builds, similar to how Xingqiu and Yelan inhabit the same role within the same team. Ultimately, it may be some time until Genshin Impact players receive their first official glimpse of Xbalanque, but with Version 4.5 releasing on March 12, 2024, the nation of Natlan isn't too far away.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG made by MiHoYo. Focusing on the interactions between seven elements, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play gacha game with a host of characters, weapons, regions, and more.