Nina Forneloza 
Genshin Impact 5.1 is just days away from going live and HoYoverse has officially revealed the debut of Xilonen, along with the return of some fan-favorite characters in the upcoming wish banners.
All details about the first major update since Natlan’s release have been spilled during Genshin Impact 5.1 Special Program, which has officially announced the debut of Xilonen. She is a five-star Geo Sword support and a skilled blacksmith from the Nanatzcayan tribe.
Contrary to previous speculations, Xilonen won’t be showing up in the gacha banner with her fellow Natlan unit, Iansan. Instead, she will headline the upcoming banner as the sole Natlan addition to the roster while the rest of the slots will be taken up by three of the old fan favorites.
The 5.1 livestream has given fans a glimpse of what’s coming, and the next patch is shaping up to be packed with content. A new Archon, story quests, fresh events, gameplay tweaks, and some quality-of-life updates are all on the horizon. The big reveal, though, was the characters in the first and second phases of the limited wish banners.
Genshin Impact 5.1 first and second phase wish banners
The first wish banners of Genshin Impact 5.1 feature Xilonen and Chiori.
Xilonen enters the game as a 5-star defense-scaling Geo Sword unit. Her skillset allows her to become useful both on the battlefield and in exploration. With her rollerblades, Xilonen can crank up her speed and skate and climb across the terrain, unlike any other character in the game.
On the battlefield, she becomes a universal support. Her main gimmick is shredding multiple types of elemental resistance based on her party members’s elemental composition. On the flipside, her elemental burst offers healing to the active character on the field.
Next to Xilonen is Chiori which also holds the same element, and weapon type as the former. Chiori is a sub-DPS who relies on defense and attack stats to contribute damage while off-field. This puts her in the same category as Albedo. Being a Geo sub-DPS, she shines best when paired with Geo DPS like Itto in mono-Geo teams. Pairing her with Navia in double-geo crystallize compositions also works.
Nahida and Hu Tao will have their rerun banners in the second phase of Genshin Impact 5.1. The next patch marks Hu Tao’s fifth and Nahida’s fourth rerun. Even though they’ve been around for a while, these banners are still expected to pull in some serious revenue as both Hu Tao and Nahida are among the best characters to have in Genshin Impact.
Hu Tao is a 5-star Pyro polearm hypercarry DPS known for her powerful charged attacks and her elemental burst. She pairs incredibly well with off-field Hydro characters like Xingqiu and Yelan. This core can effectively double her damage output via vaporize reactions. Despite her strength, Hu Tao is mechanically tricky to play as the player must always maintain her HP below half, otherwise she can lose some of her damage.
Nahida, on the other hand, is the Dendro Archon of Sumeru, who is an ultimate powerhouse, particularly in Dendro-based teams. As of Genshin Impact 5.1 nobody can rival Nahida’s Dendro application through her elemental skill, which effectively has permanent uptime. She is also easy to build due to her scaling mainly off elemental mastery, making her perfect for beginners and experienced players alike.
While this news has excited many players, some cannot help but express disappointment. A section of fans lament the continued absence of Wriothesley and Shenhe. The pair haven’t appeared in wish banners in several months.
Release dates of Genshin Impact 5.1 phase one and two banners
Genshin Impact 5.1 goes live on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, after the end of 5.0’s second phase. As with previous updates, players can pre-install the update a day prior, before the servers go down for maintenance. Downtime is expected to last approximately five hours.
The upcoming patch will be divided into two phases; the first phase begins on October 29, 2024, and the second phase will also be on October 29, 2024. Alongside the debut of Xilonen, Genshin Impact 5.1 will introduce new chapters in the Archon quest, a new Natlan boss, changes to the Spiral Abyss, new Echoes, exciting events, and more.
