Ahead of their official release in Genshin Impact, an upcoming playable character has become quite a hot topic. Originally, rumors were floating around that this character, Skirk, could introduce a new Element to Genshin Impact. Instead, the latest leaks for this character now claim that she will be a Cryo Sword character. Still, despite not introducing a new Element, Skirk’s leaked kit seems like it could give the current meta in Genshin Impact a shake up.
Based on the latest leaks, Skirk has the potential to be the new, best-in-slot Cryo hypercarry for Freeze team composition. However, there’s still a lot that hasn’t been revealed about Skirk’s kit. Fortunately, though, Players won’t have to wait too much longer to decide for themselves whether Skirk could be the new meta for Cryo characters in Genshin Impact, since she is anticipated to arrive in the version 5.7 update, coming sometime in early June 2025.
Genshin Impact's Cryo Element May Be Back With a Vengeance
After a long drought of Cryo characters in the Wish Banners, this neglected Element in Genshin Impact could be set for a major comeback.
How Skirk Could Fit Into Genshin Impact’s Current Meta
One of the most notable bits of info regarding Skirk’s kit thus far was leaked by Seele Leaks and Team Mew, detailing Skirk’s Elemental Skill and some of her unique combat mechanics. Much like Mavuika in Genshin Impact, Skirk will apparently have a unique Elemental Energy mechanic where she will need to create Phantasmal Rifts with specific Elemental reactions, and then collect them with Charged attacks in order to generate Elemental Energy for herself.
Skirk's Rating Predictions
- Hypercarry/DPS: S-Tier
Skirk’s Strengths
- Can gain stacks for her personal buffs even when off-field.
- Buffs and character statuses will persist even when off-field.
- The effectiveness of Skirk’s buffs grows exponentially when multiple stacks are active.
Skirk’s Weaknesses
- Buffs might not apply to teammates, limiting her role on team comps to a primary DPS/hypercarry.
- Exclusive Hydro and Cryo-related buffs, and a lack of synergy with Pyro and Dendro characters limits her versatility on Elemental Reaction team comps.
- Normal, Charged, and Plunging Sword attacks might not be able to naturally deal Elemental damage.
How Skirk Compares to Other Cryo DPS Characters
Considering that many of the existing Cryo characters in Genshin Impact fit into the DPS role, Skirk will naturally have a lot of competition. However, Skirk’s personal attack buffs and AoE capabilities will arguably give her an advantage over other Cryo characters, at least for players who can invest in Skirk to unleash her full potential. Unfortunately, though, Skirk will seemingly come with a relatively high investment cost that will likely be out of reach for many players, especially new and/or free-to-play players in Genshin Impact.
Skirk Has High Potential, but a High Investment Cost
Aside from the upgrades that come from Skirk’s signature weapon and character Constellation upgrades, Skirk is said to require a highly specific team composition, making her much less flexible than other Cryo hypercarry units. More specifically, leaks from HomDGRat claim that Skirk’s damage output will decrease by around 30% when not on a pure Cryo and Hydro Freeze team Comp. Given the recent Cryo drought in Genshin Impact, many players likely don’t have a lot of options for ideal Cryo teammates for Skirk.
Another thing to note is that there haven’t been any leaks so far that confirm that Skirk will be able to override her Normal, Charged, and Plunging attacks with Cryo Elemental damage. Consequently, players will want to have at least one Cryo character with off-field Cryo Abilities for Skirk to synergize with, or otherwise a character who can infuse Skirk’s attacks with Cryo Elemental damage.
As more new Cryo characters get released in Genshin Impact’ s future updates, Skirk will likely become a much stronger DPS unit. In the meantime, she is still a relatively strong character, though her optimal setup with the existing Cryo characters may not be viable for newer or free-to-play players to invest in, as other characters who are naturally powerful without such a steep investment will be preferable.
Genshin Impact
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- September 28, 2020
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unity
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
