Genshin Impact 3.4 update: Release date, banners, and new characters

Genshin Impact officials have announced all the upcoming content planned for the 3.4 update. All of this happened at the premiere of the 3.4 Special Program that was organized on January 6.

This article will primarily cover the following:

• 3.4 update release date
• New character debuts
• Upcoming banners

As revealed by HoYoverse, the new patch will launch on January 18, 2023. Officials had introduced the new characters Alhaitham and Yaoyao way before the livestream in their drip-marketing posts.

Here is everything players need to know about the latest announcements from the Genshin Impact 3.4 livestream.

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Exploring Genshin Impact 3.4 announcements of new characters, upcoming banners, and more

Genshin Impact officials recently premiered the 3.4 Special Program where the 3.4 update, The Exquisite Night Chimes, and its content were revealed. The official announcements showcased everything about the upcoming update - wish banners, characters, and new events. Additionally, players also got a brief sneak peek of all this content along with character showcases.

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New characters

The 3.4 Special Program confirmed the debut of Alhaitham and Yaoyao in the upcoming version. The Genshin Impact community was already aware of them thanks to their official appearance during the drip-marketing posts that were released in December 2022.

Both Alhaitham and Yaoyao possess the Dendro vision and will be the latest additions to future Dendro teams. While the former is a 5-star character from Sumeru, the latter is a 4-star from Liyue Harbor.

The character showcases revealed in the livestream confirmed that Alhaitham will be a Dendro Sword DPS with the ability to teleport short distances and trigger reactions with his Dendro-infused normal attacks. Meanwhile, Yaoyao is a Dendro polearm user who will take on the role of a healer.

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Upcoming character banners

The event-wish banners scheduled to drop in the Genshin Impact 3.4 update have been revealed as well. Here are the characters that will be featured in the upcoming banners:

• Phase I - Alhaitham + Xiao (Yaoyao as one of the featured 4-star)
• Phase II - Hu Tao + Yelan

As shown in the tweet above, the officials will feature Alhaitham and Xiao in Phase I banners. The latter will also accompany these 5-stars as one of the featured 4-star characters.

Phase I banners are scheduled to drop together with the release of the 3.4 version update. Meanwhile, Phase II will feature Hu Tao and Yelan on the character event-wish banners.

The weapon banners (Epitome Invocation) of both phases will feature the signature weaponry of the character being featured. Here are the 5-star offerings that players can expect to see:

• Phase I - Light of Foliar Incision + Primordial Jade Winged Spear
• Phase II - Staff of Homa + Aqua Simulacra

Overall, Genshin Impact fans need to start saving their Primogems in case anything from the upcoming banner has caught their attention.