Genshin Impact is certainly taking solace in the new year. With its second major update already well underway, its players are already gearing up for yet another set of significant changes and events, and this time, there are even more free goodies in tow.
Travelers have spent the latter parts of the current Version 1.2 exploring the Dragonspine region, and taking part in a series of fun Genshin Impact events. While Hypostatic Symphony and Marvelous Merchandise, the two remaining events, are starting to signal the end of Version 1.2, players are already seeing signs of the upcoming Version 1.3.
The official trailer for the game's Version 1.3 has now been released, confirming that Version 1.3 will be released on February 3, 2021, and that the new update will introduce, at the very least, five-star character Xiao, a new powerful boss, and several in-game events. Not to be confused with an upcoming Version 1.3 special livestream, the trailer heavily featured Xiao, the aforementioned five-star Anemo wielder.
Yet regardless of Xiao, many have taken delight in the video's last 30 seconds. After the trailer's main action, Travelers were treated to a brief shot of the Traveler and their sibling reaching out towards each other, and following that, a quick recap of things-to-come. More specifically, towards the end of the Genshin Impact Version 1.3 trailer, a screen titled "Stand by Me" appears, with the following six characters below: Xiangling, Xinyan, Beidou, Ningguan, Xingqiu, and Chongyun.
Below the characters, the text reads "Choose one of the above characters." Given that there is no obvious event tied to this title or these characters, players will likely be able to select one of these six characters and receive a free copy of them.
The game still lacks a Dendro character, so rather than including one character corresponding to each Elemental Vision, Genshin Impact will be giving players double the Pyro. While some may be disappointed at the inclusion of Xiangling, a character already freely available to all, the inclusion of Xinyan, the game's newest Pyro user, should compensate more than enough. Not to mention, this free four-star will likely be most enticing to players hoping to upgrade an existing four-star.
While of course, a new character can be exciting, most players who've spent some time with Genshin Impact will have summoned at least one of the above four-star characters. If they haven't, then they probably at least have Xiangling, who is received as an in-game reward. Bearing that in mind, the opportunity to freely upgrade a character's Constellation (which requires an additional copy of the character), without having to spend Intertwined or Acquaint Fates on Wishing, is priceless.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.