HoYoverse have released update 2.8 for their gacha action-RPG Genshin Impact.
The main event in 2.8 “Summer Fantasia” is the Summertime Odyssey limited time seasonal event, which sees the return of the Golden Apple Archipelago from 1.6.
Travelers will get to join Fischl, Xinyan, Kaedahara Kazuha, and Mona for some fun in the sun. This includes new story quests, areas to explore, treasure chests to discover, and tons of minigames and side events. Players will also have a chance to recruit Fischl for free during the event.
The original Golden Apple Archipelago event marked the first time Genshin Impact got alternate costumes, and 2.8 will continue this trend. Fischl has a new outfit that can be acquired for free during the event, while Diluc gets the premium Red Dead of Night outfit that has its own backstory in a challenge event.
A new Genshin Impact version means new characters, and in 2.8 the latest 4-star party member you can recruit is Shikanoin Heizou, a genius detective for the Tenryou Commission. Shikanoin Heizou has an Ameno Vision, and is noteworthy for being the first melee-focused catalyst character.
His Elemental Skill can be tapped to perform a strike that deals Ameno damage, or charged to gather up to 4 Declension effects that increase the power and AoE size of the attack. His Elemental Burst sends forth a wind vacuum that pulls in nearby enemies and deals AoE Ameno damage, with increased effects if it contacts enemies affected by Pyro, Cryo, Electro, or Hydro.
You can find a pair of trailers showcasing Shikanoin Heizou below.
Players will get to meet Shikanoin Heizou in his new Hangout Event, and can acquire him as part of 2.8’s first batch of character banners. Update 2.8 sees the return of Kaedahara Kazuha and Klee as the first set of banners, with the highlighted 4-star characters being Shikanoin Heizou, Thoma, and Ningguang.
Genshin Impact is available and free-to-play on Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store and official website), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Android, iOS, and coming soon to Nintendo Switch. In case you missed it, you can find our Genshin Impact review here (we recommend it!).
