Summary
- Genshin Impact may change how its banner system works starting with Version 5.3, giving new characters banners that run for the full update.
- The game has over 90 playable characters now, and some 5-Stars haven't been featured in over a year, causing banner inconsistency.
- A leak suggests new characters will get longer banner durations, while limited 5-Star reruns will be featured later in an update period.
Recent information making rounds in the Genshin Impact community implies that new characters will run for the full length of an update, starting with Mavuika and Citlali in Version 5.3. The Event Banners in Genshin Impact are at a crossroads. The playable roster now accounts for over 90 characters in total, and several 5-Stars haven't been featured in well over a year. As Genshin Impact continues to introduce new characters to an ever-growing cast, the issue of inconsistent banner appearances will continue to grow.
These 5-Star wait lists in Genshin Impact have been especially unkind towards Shenhe and Ganyu, two Cryo characters that haven't been seen on the Event Banners in over 500 days. In a similar vein, Wriothesley continues to be absent as a featured character since his debut in Version 4.1, whereas Clorinde is set to receive her first rerun in Version 5.3, despite releasing six patches later. It has gotten increasibly difficult to keep a consistent schedule for the Event Banners in Genshin Impact, and many players have been clamoring for a change.
According to a rumor circulating on Tieba, HoYoverse is planning to make a sweeping change to Event Banners across all its games. Starting from Version 5.3, any new 5-Star character in Genshin Impact will have a banner that lasts for the full duration of a patch. On the other hand, reruns of limited 5-Star characters will be relegated to the second half of an update.
Genshin Impact Could Be Extending Banner Durations for New Characters
Unfortunately, the leak doesn't explain what this means for the Weapon Banner in Genshin Impact, but it's possible that it may end up being split per character rather than bundled up. While it's important to take leaks with a grain of salt, this would explain the conflicting banner data obtained from the beta servers for Version 5.3. Under the new banner format, Citlali and Mavuika sharing the first half of Version 5.3 would make sense, just as it would make sense to have Arlecchino and Clorinde headline the second half.
Assuming this gacha change ends up happening in Version 5.3, it remains to be seen if it will address the underlying issues of the current banner system in Genshin Impact. The developers would still be working with four Event Banners per patch, with the only benefit being a longer banner duration for the newly introduced 5-Star. That being said, making the new character a separate banner would open up the possibility of effortlessly expanding the number of reruns in Genshin Impact. Version 5.3 is set to launch on January 1, 2025, but players will likely know more about the upcoming Event Banners during the developer livestream.
Genshin Impact
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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
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
