Genshin Impact 3.4 is coming, with new characters Alhaitham and Yaoyao, but also a surprising new mini-area: the desert of Hadramaveth. This sandstorm-ravaged region has new enemies, a boss and even its own questline aimed at finding a long-lost oasis.
The annual Lantern Rite Festival is also just around the corner with its popular free stuff offerings, event mini-games, and the ability to recruit Yaoyao for free, as it was with Yun Jin (opens in new tab) at last year’s event. Like with Keqing (opens in new tab) and Ningguang last year, we have some new outfits for that too Ayaka (opens in new tab) and Lisa this time, styled on Fontaine and Sumeru respectively.
All in all, it’s a bunch of stuff – way more than I expected from a mid-region update to be honest. Here I’ll run through everything there is to know about the Genshin Impact 3.4 update, including release date, characters, events, and details about the new area. Also make sure you have the Genshin Impact Codes (opens in new tab) of the livestream for some free Primogems (if you’re watching this the day it was published.)
Genshin Impact 3.4 release date
The release date of Genshin Impact 3.4 is January 18, 2023. There is the usual maintenance period in advance and a Primogem fee afterwards. The first phase of 3.4 includes banners for Alhaitham and Bye (opens in new tab)with Yaoyao as reinforced four star then Hu Tao (opens in new tab) and Jelan (opens in new tab)‘s banners will be available in the second phase.
Genshin Impact 3.4 characters
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There are two new characters in Genshin Impact 3.4, as well as three iterations:
- Alhaitham: You should be familiar with this five-star Anemo sword wielder if you’ve played Genshin recently, as he features quite prominently in the Sumeru Archon quest. Alhaitham is a wandering scribe of the Akademiya, and uses Chisel-Light Mirrors in combat, infusing his attacks with Dendro and following up with further attacks similar to Xingqiu’s Raincutter burst. His banner will be available in the first phase of Genshin Impact 3.4 on January 18. His five-star Light of Foliar sword will also be available on the Epitome Invocation weapon banner.
- Yaoyao: One of the longest rumored Genshin characters out there, many expected Yaoyao to arrive during the 2021 Moonchase Festival, but the four-star Dendro polearm user has finally made an appearance. Yaoyao is a healer and has a strange-sounding ability where she shoots radishes from her backpack, healing you and damaging enemies at the same time. She will be available as a boosted four-star on the Alhaitham and Xiao banners from January 18, although you can earn her for free during Lantern Rite.
In terms of reruns, Xiao appears alongside Althaitham in the first stage, while Hu Tao and Yelan arrive in the second around February 8.
Genshin Impact 3.4 new region
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The Desert of Hadramaveth is a new part of Sumeru that we can visit in version 3.4. It sounds even more barren than today’s desert, with random sandstorms and a massive hurricane that has changed the landscape of the region. There will also be plenty of underground areas to explore, including the ruins of Gurabad, a long-lost ancient city. This new area continues the story quest of version 3.4, in which we search for the Scarlet King’s eternal oasis hidden somewhere in the desert.
Genshin Impact 3.4 Events
The biggest event in Genshin Impact 3.4 is the return Lantern Rite Festival, with a story quest and plenty of mini-games to try. In the questline, we organize a music festival alongside familiar faces and discover more stories from the past with Ganyu (opens in new tab) and Cloud Retainer.
The main Lantern Rite events are:
- Liyue Art: Paper Theatrewhere you have to complete paper plays by swapping parts of the stage.
- Radiant sparks is a time trial race with the added twist of transforming you into fireworks to blast through barriers.
- Floating Lanterns Mystical is a boat based puzzle where you have to collect lanterns.
There are also some combat trials to complete. If you earn enough Festive Fever event currency, you can invite a four-star Liyue character to your party, including Yaoyao. There are also the usual ten free Intertwined Fates to be collected as login bonuses during the event.
Almighty Arataki Extraordinary and exciting extreme beetle fight is the real name of a real event where we will duel beetles in battle game style. Warrior spirit is the return of the fighting tournament mode where you can’t use skills and must parry instead. Ayaka also has a special Fontaine-inspired outfit that will be on display at this event.
Late bloom is a combat challenge where you link up characters to earn bonuses as you fight in three consecutive rounds. During this event, you can earn Lisa’s new Sumeru-inspired outfit for free. Finally, the Genius Invokation card game gets a Heated battle modewhich includes a different special rule for each version, starting with automatically receiving eight Omni Element dice at the start of a game.
Genshin Impact 3.4 new boss
The new Desert of Hadramaveth region comes with a new boss: Setekh Wenut. This flying Anemo worm looks a bit like the Ruin Serpent in The Chasm, and will burrow underground or soar through the sky above you to rain down Wind Bite Bullets.
Genshin Impact 3.4 Outfits
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As with last year’s Lantern Rite, there are two new character outfits: Spring Bloom Missive for Ayaka, and A nickname in the shadows for Lisa. The first appears in the Warrior’s Spirit event, but unfortunately you can’t earn it for free. Only Lisa’s outfit can be earned from the Second Bloom event, while you need to buy Ayaka’s from the shop.
I wasn’t kidding about that beetle fighting game either
Watch them go!