Looking for more information about the new characters coming to Genshin Impact? Since its release in 2020, the addictive anime game has seen plenty of regular updates expanding on the game’s content – and adding several new characters by way of limited time banners.
According to Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact roadmap, they aim to release new updates every six weeks – and if past experience is anything to go by, during each new patch, there will be at least one new banner with a new Genshin Impact five-star character, and possible new four-star characters included as well. That said, several new Genshin Impact characters have been added outside of this schedule, like Genshin Impact Klee – so we could see new characters arrive unexpectedly, too.
Sangonomiya Kokomi is the latest character to arrive in the Genshin Impact 2.1 update, but there are also a few leaks and some datamined information concerning new characters that may appear in future Genshin Impact updates and beyond. However, until they’re officially announced, these characters are not final and may be subject to changes.
The new and upcoming Genshin Impact characters are:
Genshin Impact new characters in 2.1 and beyond
Kujou SARA
Kujou Sara is the adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan and the general of the Tenryou Commission. She serves the Raiden Shogun, and is a four-star Electro Bow user. If you successfully pulled her on the first 2.1 banner, check out our guide to the best Kujou Sara build.
Raiden Shogun
Raiden Shogun is the mighty Electro Archon, a member of The Seven, and Shogun of the Inazuma Bakufu. She seems relatively stern and stoic; as part of the Inazuma storyline, the traveler will go on a journey which explains who Raiden Shogun is guarding, as well as what she is fighting for.
Raiden Shogun is an Electro Polearm user, and is was available on the first 2.1 banner. Here’s our guide to the best Raiden Shogun build.
Aloy
Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy has crossed over to Genshin Impact. She’s a Cryo bow user, who “can wield unique elemental power in combat and exploration”. She’s a free character who is exclusive to PlayStation users in the 2.1 update, and will be released to other players in the 2.2 update. We’ve put together the best Aloy build for you to use when she joins your roster.
Sangonomiya Kokomi
Sangonomiya Kokomi is the leader of the Sangonomiya resistance. Kokomi is described as a wise and resourceful military advisor. She is a Hydro Catalyst user, and is available during the current Genshin Impact banner – check our guide to the best Kokomi build if you plan on adding her to your team.
Thoma
According to dataminers, Thoma is a Pyro Polearm user, and will be available in the Genshin Impact 2.2 update. Unlike the rest of the confirmed characters, he’s one of the only NPCs to have blonde hair. Thoma is said to be very observant of people and is currently the chief retainer of the Kamisato Clan.
Gorou
Gorou is another character from Inazuma – he also features in Kazuha’s voice lines. He’s a Geo Bow user, and has adorable ears and a swishy tail. Despite his comical appearance, Gorou is actually the general of the Sangonomiya troops. Gorou is a strong leader on the battlefield, becoming fierce throughout any battle he participates in. Fans are already eagerly awaiting the Gorou banner release date.
Yae Miko
Yae Miko is the priest in charge of the Grand Narukami Shrine in Inazuma. She appears to be a Catalyst electro user. Yae Miko will meet the Traveler several times throughout the Inazuma story. As far as we’re aware, Yae Miko will not become a playable character in 2.2, but we hope to see her in future updates.
Arataki Itto
References to Itto, the head of the Arataki Gang, can be found in voicelines from Sayu and Yoimiya. According to unconfirmed leaks referenced on the WFP Discord server, Itto is a Geo user, and may appear as part of the 2.3 storyline.
Maybe one last gift. pic.twitter.com/m6jk241Q37
— Dim (@dimbreath) September 9, 2021
Yelan
Twitter user Dimbreath found references to a character called Yelan in the game files. This could be the above character, who seems to be visually similar to Fu Hua from Honkai Impact.
Ayato
Ayato is Ayaka‘s older brother, the head of the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commissioner. He is featured in several voice lines from Inazuman characters, including Raiden Shogun, Sayu, and Ayaka. There is no concrete evidence that Ayato will be playable, but he is important to the story. According to Nobumori, he is adept at using swords and polearms.
Dainsleif
Dainsleif, the Bough Keeper, was officially announced by Mihoyo during the 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.
Yunjin
Yunjin is an NPC from Liyue; a dancer, singer, and brewer who works at the Heyu Tea House. We know very little else about her – leaks allege that she will be a Geo Polearm user, so we’re guessing she’ll be a four-star character.
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 Genshin Impact Ganyu.
She features in the official art above, which may also give us a few hints on when she might join us in-game. The art depicts Yaoyao with Qiqi at the Mid-Autumn Festival – so her release may coincide with a festival of some kind. She’s been datamined as a four-star Dendro Catalyst user, which is intriguing, as we don’t currently have any Dendro users available yet.
Kate is a Electro Sword Character.
Sayu, the little one. Is a Anemo Claymore character. pic.twitter.com/7t5ja3uWCk— Zeniet (@Zeniiet) October 20, 2020
Kate
Alongside Sayu, the other new character model showcased in the above tweet is purportedly Kate, an Electro Sword user from Mondstadt. That’s all we know about her for now, but we’ll let you know if we acquire more information.
Shenhe
Players initially believed this character was called Shenli, which is actually the Chinese reading of Ayaka’s name. However, Shenhe means god crane – so some players believe that Shenhe may be the human form of Cloud Retainer, an Adeptus NPC who lives on Mt. Aozang in Liyue. Allegedly, she’ll be a Cryo Claymore user.
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 – though we’ll have to wait for the full implementation of Dendro into the elemental reactions chart.
Cyno
Cyno was revealed in the Teyvat chapter storyline preview video – he’s a Polearm wielder from Sumeru, one of the future Genshin Impact regions we’ll be visiting in later updates.
Collei
Collei is a character from Sumeru in the Genshin Impact official manga. She was imbued with Archon residue by the seer Barnabus, but was aided by Cyno and Amber to suppress it.
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.
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 Traveller during the Unreconciled Stars event: Star of Destiny. Players believe that he will eventually be a playable character, and speculate that he may be a Electro Catalyst user.
Dottore
Il Dottore is another of the Eleven Harbingers. His name means ‘The Doctor’, but based on his appearance in the official manga, he’s more interested in using people for research and experimentation.
Pulcinella
Pulcinella is the 5th of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers – all that is known about them is that they conscripted Tartaglia into the Fatui after he re-emerged from the Abyss.
These are all the new Genshin Impact characters that we believe have a reasonable chance of turning up in game, but as we learn more about the Genshin Impact lore, we’ll add new candidates as we discover them. Enough wishful thinking – time to focus on the characters you’ve already got; here are the best Genshin Impact characters for beginners, and the best Genshin Impact weapons to kit them out with.
