Genshin Impact 1.3 is set to go live later today, the next update in miHoYo's smash-hit adventure RPG.
The details are beginning to emerge, and we're here to give them to you.
Latest News - Zhongli To Get Buffed
All eyes are firmly on Xiao as we head into the1.3 update, but there is another character we should be looking at too, Zhongli.
According to the 1.3 patch notes, Zhongli will receive a major buff in the next patch.
Adjustments to holding Zhongli's Elemental Skill "Dominus Lapidis":
- Causes nearby Geo energy to explode, causing the following effects:
- If their maximum number hasn't been reached, creates a Stone Stele.
- Creates a shield of jade. The shield's DMG Absorption scales based on Zhongli's Max HP. Possesses 150% DMG Absorption against all Elemental and Physical DMG.
- Characters protected by the Jade Shield will decrease the Elemental RES and Physical RES of opponents in a small AoE by 20%. This effect cannot be stacked.
- Deals AoE Geo DMG.
- If there are nearby targets with the Geo element, it will drain a large amount of Geo element from a maximum of 2 such targets. This effect does not cause DMG.
Adjustments to Zhongli's second Ascension Talent "Dominance of Earth":
- Zhongli deals bonus DMG based on his Max HP
- Normal Attack, Charged Attack, and Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 1.39% of Max HP.
- Dominus Lapidis' Stone Stele, resonance, and hold DMG is increased by 1.9% of Max HP.
- Planet Befall's DMG is increased by 33% of Max HP.
- Optimizes Zhongli's animation under "Weapons" on the Character Screen.
- Geo Shields are adjusted from having "250% Geo DMG Absorption" to having "150% Physical DMG and Elemental DMG Absorption."
Release Date Confirmed!
1.3 will begin on Wednesday, 3 February, as revealed in this official PlayStation post.
Pre-Load
MiHoYo has announced that mobile players will be able to pre-load the update before it officially goes live.
This will mean that they can jump straight back into the action once downtime ends.
So far no announcement has been made on the time that pre-loads start, but it should be a few hours before the servers go offline for maintenance.
1.3 Trailer
Xiao
It has been announced that with the 1.3 update comes the arrival of Xiao, a brand new character for players to unlock and use.
Players that are Adventurer Rank 23 during the event will be able to take part in his story quest.
Outside of the event players will need to be level 32 to unlock it.
Xiao's charge attack is an upward thrust, and he also has a special plunging attack which allows him to plunge from any height onto his opponent and not take any fall damage.
When Xiao unleashes his elemental burst "Bane of all Evil", he takes the form of the Viliglent Yaksha at the cost of draining HP.
But his jumping ability will increase as well as his attack damage.
Event Schedule
The Genshin Impact 1.3 Updates comes with plenty of content which can leave players lost in when things will actually go live.
A Reddit user in the Genshin Impact subreddit compiled a brief schedule to make things easier to follow along:
- 2/2: Maintenance (300 primos)
- 2/3: Xiao Banner
- 2/3: Lantern-Lit Sky (Battlepass)
- 2/3: Five Flushes of Fortune (Kamera event)
- 2/10: Lantern Rite Events (primos and other rewards)
- 2/10: Stand By Me (pick a 4 star)
- 2/10: Theater Mechanicus Event
- 2/11: May Fortune Find You (login event, 10 intertwined fate total through event)
- 2/17: Keqing Banner
- 2/19: Wish Upon a Lantern Event (primos listed in rewards)
- 2/25: Night Sky's Grace (login event, 3 intertwined fate and 2 fragile resin total through event)
- 2/26: Ley Line Overflow
Seasonal Event
The Seasonal Event for the 1.3 update is called Lantern Rites.
The event runs from February 3rd when the update goes live, starting off with "Invitation to Mundane Life", before switching to "Dance of Lanterns" on February 17th.
To celebrate Chinese New Year, the Genshin Impact 1.3 update will kick off with the Lantern Rites event.
"Travelers will have the chance to immerse themselves in every aspect of this historic Liyue tradition, from the preparations in the days leading up to the event to the celebrations on the big day itself.
Participation will be richly rewarded, with over 1,600 Primogems, a free four-star Liyue character, and other rewards on offer to help you fully prepare for the year ahead — whatever adventures it may bring."
Lantern Rites will conclude with a huge display as all of the lanterns are released into the sky.
Theatre Mechanicus
During the Lantern Rites event, there will be a new tower defense mode called Theatre Mechanicus.
"Beat Theater Mechanicus at different difficulty levels to win Peace Talismans, which can be spent at the Xiao Market on rewards including the Crown of Insight, a new namecard style, and more.!
Photography Event
There will be a variety of daily events that take place throughout the Lantern Rites event, including Five Flushes of Fortune.
"Fans of photography simply mustn’t miss “Five Flushes of Fortune,” which will have you claim a certain Kurious Kamera from Ji Tong, take pictures of specific targets, and exchange the photos with Ji Tong for troves of treasure. Surplus photos can be sent to friends."
Soundtrack
Genshin Impact's 1.3 update will also feature a new soundtrack, adding many more new pieces of music into the game.
Patch Notes
The patch notes for the 1.3 update have been released in advance.
These are some of the biggest we've seen so far, with so many new details and additions to the game including new characters, events and many changes, nerfs and buffs.
They would be far too long to post here, so click here to read the full patch notes and everything you can expect from the next update.
Map Changes
The 1.2 update saw the biggest change to the map so far with the addition of the Dragonspine biome.
With such a big change in the last update, it is unlikely we will see another big map change in the 1.3 update, but there may be minor changes that happen.
Nintendo Switch
A Nintendo Switch port of the game was expected to launch in September when Genshin Impact came out of beta.
Unfortunately, this version was delayed and so far there has been no official release date set.
It is expected to be announced after the Genshin Impact 1.3 update with the beta beginning in early 2021 and a expected full release in mid-late 2021.
Available Platforms
Currently, Genshin Impact is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android.
The game was released on launch day on PS5 using a backwards-compatible version of the PS4 version.