Summary
Genshin Impacthas revealed the second-half banners for Version 4.8, which includes the debut of Emilie and the return of some all-too-familiar 4-Star characters. The main appeal ofGenshin Impactfor many players has been its colorful characters, and the Fontaine era added a few fan favorites to the game’s ever-growing cast. Neuvillette, Xianyun, Furina, and Arlecchino have been staples in the Spiral Abyss, either establishing themselves as premium hyper carries or powerful supports.
Version 4.8 isset to introduce Emilie toGenshin Impact, who is an accomplished perfumer from Fontaine with a rather unique ability kit designed for the Burning Elemental Reaction. As a 5-Star Dendro Polearm, she is one of a kind in the title so far, and her focus on Burning will no doubt give her plenty of synergy with the upcoming Natlan characters. For the second half of Version 4.8, the developers decided to pair her up with Yelan on the Event Banners, and the team has also finally confirmed the 4-Star characters that will be accompanying them.
While some players were hoping for Chevreuse, Version 4.8 will once again skip the popular Fontaine character. The 4-Stars that will be joining Yelan and Emilie are Razor, Xiangling, and Yanfei. An important thing to note is that while Razor hasn’t had a banner appearance since Version 3.8, both Xiangling and Yanfei were recently featured in Version 4.6 and 4.5, respectively. Though it’s far from thebiggest controversy thatGenshin Impactfaced in 2024, players have started to critique the favoritism shown towards older 4-Star characters, seemingly in an attempt to incite FOMO amongst players.
Genshin Impact Version 4.8 Second Half Banner Characters
The flip side to this argument, however, is that characters like Xiangling and Xingqiu arepowerful 4-Star characters inGenshin Impact, regularly making up some of the strongest Spiral Abyss teams. Whereas a veteran account may not benefit from seeing them on the Event Banners so often, newcomers toGenshin Impactstand to gain the most.
Curiously, the Weapon Banner in the second half of Version 4.8 is notably stacked: Favonius Warbow, Favonius Lance, Makhaira Aquamarine, and Wandering Evenstar will be up for grabs. These 4-Star weapons accompany Aqua Simulacra, the signature weapon of Yelan, which is widely considered to be one of thebest universal bows inGenshin Impact. Though Lumidouce Energy is primarily designed for Emilie and her Burning playstyle, it’s still a decent polearm because of its CRIT RATE and ATK bonuses. The second half banners for Version 4.8 will run from August 6 to June 19, 2025.
