HoYoverse just released an incredibly stacked character reveal trailer for Genshin Impact’s upcoming Nod-Krai Subregion arc. Among newly revealed characters, this trailer finally confirmed the official design of a couple of long-awaited playable characters, namely Varka and Alice, who are all anticipated to debut sometime throughout Genshin Impact’s version 6.0 updates. However, there’s another character who’s expected to be released throughout the Nod-Krai Subregion arc who is also worth celebrating, even though players will be meeting her for the first time.

According to recent leaks, the first-ever Hydro Claymore playable character is said to finally arrive in Genshin Impact’s version 6.0 update, which is currently predicted to be released on September 10, 2025. It may have taken over 100 playable characters in Genshin Impact to finally happen, but this missing Element-weapon combo could finally have its candidate in Aino. Beyond potentially being the cherry on top of the roster, recent leaks also claim that there’s even more to this upcoming character that gamers should be excited about.

Genshin Impact Mavuika holding Claymore Weapon cropped
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Genshin Impact version 6.0: Every Leak and Rumor for Aino So Far

In a recent teaser trailer for the upcoming Nod-Krai Subregion arc in Genshin Impact’s version 6.0 updates, numerous upcoming playable characters have been revealed. While this teaser trailer only gives players a brief glimpse of which Elemental Visions some of these characters possess, there are already plenty of credible leaks for Genshin Impact that reveal further information about these characters, such as their anticipated team comp roles and weapon types. For the time being, though, most of these characters’ kits are yet to be revealed.

Aino Might Be Genshin Impact’s Missing Hydro Claymore Playable Character

According to leaks from liquidation shared on the Genshin Impact Leaks subreddit, the short-model female character who appears at the very beginning of this official trailer is named Aino, and she will allegedly be the first-ever Hydro Claymore character. With this being the last missing Element-weapon combo in Genshin Impact’s roster of playable characters, this will naturally be a big deal, since this character could fill a void that has remained in the game for many years.

Aino Could Be the Free Character in the Version 6.0 Update

From the same leak that claims Aino will be a Hydro Claymore character, it’s also claimed that Aino will be available as a free character when the Nod-Krai subregion arrives in Genshin Impact’s 6.0 update. This way, players will have a guaranteed character who can trigger the upcoming Lunar Elemental Reactions to solve environmental puzzles throughout the upcoming Nod-Krai Subregion.

It’s also possible that the Traveler in Genshin Impact could be compatible with the new Lunar Elemental Reactions as well.

Aino Likely Won’t Be a Meta Character

While the first-ever Hydro Claymore character being from Nod-Krai and also being free would admittedly be a sweet treat, it’s already been said that Aino likely won’t be a meta character in Genshin Impact. However, there’s still plenty of time for Aino’s kit to change before she is officially released, since the version 6.0 update isn't expected to arrive until September 10. Either way, though, even if Aino can’t compete with the current meta, this doesn’t mean that she’ll be completely unusable in endgame activities, but that she may require more investment than other characters.

Regardless, with all the new Lunar Elemental Reactions in Genshin Impact said to require both the Hydro Element and one member of the team comp being from the Nod-Krai region, Aino fulfilling both of those requirements seemingly gives players an easy way to trigger these Elemental Reactions. So, while she might not be meta, her kit will likely be highly accessible for all kinds of team comps if the recent leaks about this character’s Elemental Vision and weapon turn out to be true.

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Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
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Released
September 28, 2020
ESRB
Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
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Every Aspect Of A Warrior Quest in genshin impact - how to trigger
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WHERE TO PLAY

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Engine
Unity
Genre(s)
RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World