Travelers are finally meeting Genshin Impact character Xiao this February, which promises to bring several new events and additions to the game with the Version 1.3 update. Aside from Xiao, players have been expecting a Lantern Festival event, new weapons and enemies, a possible new region, and additional characters.
Each of the major updates thus far has introduced a handful of playable characters to Genshin Impact, and as per the amount of currently leaked characters, players have speculated that February's Version 1.3 will be no different. With leaked five-stars such as Ayaka and Hu Tao, players at least expect a unique follow up to the long-awaited Anemo Adeptus, Xiao.
Official miHoYo announcements quickly disproved these theories, however, by announcing that Xiao's Event Wish banner, "Invitation to Mundane Life" beginning February 3, 2021, would be followed by a character event wish for Keqing dubbed "Dance of Lanterns," beginning February 17. Fans quickly expressed frustration at the lack of an entirely new character in Dance of Lanterns but some sharp players pointed out an odd discrepancy.
While so-called character event wishes generally last upwards of two weeks (for example "Sparkling Steps," which featured Klee, ran from October 20 to November 10, 2020), both Invitation to Mundane Life and Dance of Lanterns fall relatively short. Xiao's banner lasts precisely two weeks, and Keqing's wraps up after thirteen days, which is to say there's room for more before Version 1.4. This was officially confirmed in the full Version 1.3 patch notes, which directly acknowledge that, "More character event wishes to follow during Version 1.3."
The actual characters being featured are still up for debate, and more importantly, so is the idea that they may be new characters. Although it is likely players will see previously leaked characters like Hu Tao, it wouldn't be a surprise to see another older character. The Keqing banner is happening, after all, and players do have an affinity for early five-stars like Klee and Venti.
Hopefully, miHoYo commits to its ambiguous language and introduces more than one character event wish. While many fans are eager for new five-stars and even four-stars, it's true that the window of opportunity for summoning popular characters like Klee felt short. Until the game announces its next event wishes, players will just have to enjoy the content 1.3 has to offer upfront. A special event, a free choice of existing four-stars like Ningguang, and more have already been confirmed for Version 1.3's release, so even without additional playable newcomers, Travelers will be able to keep busy for a while.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.
Source: miHoYo
