Genshin Impact's Newest Playable Character Ganyu Arrives This Week

In line with Genshin Impact's ongoing content updates, the gacha game's next event banner will bring Liyue's Ganyu to the game as a playable character, starting from January 12. Developer MiHoYo has now revealed what 4-star characters will be joining Ganyu on the banner, as well as the weapons that will be featured on the secondary banner.

The new content is set to drop all at once, consisting of a new character banner, new weapon banner, new 'test run' stages, and an unlockable story quest for Ganyu. The content will arrive on January 12 at 6 PM ET, though as with other updates, players on the game's Asia-based servers will get the update earlier than US players. You can find the launch time in your timezone by checking the in-game notices for the new banners.

The Ganyu banner is called "Adrift in the Harbor" and comes with boosted drop rates for existing characters Xingqui, Xiangling, and Noelle. The weapon banner will feature boosted rates for 5-star weapons Amos' Bow and claymore Skyward Pride, as well as 4-star weapons Sacrificial Sword, The Bell, Dragon's Bane, Eye of Perception and Favonius Warbow.

Ganyu herself is a bow-wielding cryo character, with a moveset that's strongly reliant on aimed shots. Players will be able to test her and 4-star hydro character Xinqui in the new "test run" stages for rewards including Primogems and upgrade materials.

Ganyu's story quest, "Sinae Unicornis Chapter" will unlock at the same time as her banner, with a level requirement of Adventure Rank 40. The quest requires a Story Key to unlock, though those aren't hard to come by for regular players.

The new content will join the ongoing Lost Riches event, which will run until January 18, giving players a chance to adopt a limited "mini seelie" pet.

Ganyu's event banner will finish on February 2nd, around when Mihoyo is expected to add new content as part of the upcoming 1.3 update. While we don't currently know what will be added as part of 1.3, leaks suggest 5-star anemo polearm user Xiao will be introduced in the next update, as well as a pyro polearm 5-star, Hu Tao. The Lantern Rite Festival event is also expected in February, coinciding with real-world Lunar New Year celebrations.