Highlights
- Genshin Impact leaks reveal Cloud Retainer’s visual appearance for Version 4.4, hinting at her becoming a playable character.
- Cloud Retainer is expected to be an Anemo Catalyst with a focus on buffing up Plunge Attacks and offering healing.
- Some players have expressed disappointment over the idea of Cloud Retainer primarily being Xiao’s support and hope for more on-field female characters.
Genshin Impact is getting more substantial leaks for Version 4.4, as Cloud Retainer’s visual appearance has just been revealed. Ever since her debut in the Liyue Archon Quests, Cloud Retainer has had her share of fans, and while the odds of her becoming playable were initially quite slim, they became a strong possibility once HoYoverse revealed her human form during Genshin Impact‘s Lantern Rite in 2022.
Her adoptive daughters, Ganyu and Shenhe, have been a staple in certain Genshin Impact teams. Shenhe is arguably the best Cryo support in the game, while Ganyu was the original 5-Star Bow character that relied on Charged Attacks for damage. Beyond that, Ganyu is also a vital component in Neuvillette’s Freeze team, as her off-field Cryo application through her Elemental Burst ability shouldn’t be underestimated either. By contrast, Cloud Retainer is allegedly (and perhaps unsurprisingly) designed to be an Anemo Catalyst with a focus on buffing up Plunge Attacks, while offering healing on the side.
Genshin Impact Teases New Character Chiori
Genshin Impact gives Travelers their first look at a brand-new character named Chiori, who will allegedly become playable in early 2024.
Genshin Impact Leak Confirms Cloud Retainer’s Appearance
The concept art for what appears to be her final design made the rounds on the Genshin Impact Leaks subreddit, with Videre being the source. The design evokes some similarities with Shenhe and Ganyu’s default skins, while mostly adhering to the human form seen during the Lantern Rite cinematic. Curiously, it also appears to be the third time a playable Genshin Impact female character has pants, with the other two examples being Jean and Arlecchino (the latter of which will debut after Version 4.5).
While her ability kit still remains unconfirmed and subject to change, some Genshin Impact players aren’t too thrilled about the idea of Cloud Retainer primarily being Xiao’s support, and were hoping that HoYoverse would add more on-field female characters. Genshin Impact Version 4.4 is set to add Chenyu Vale, which will not only expand Liyue for the first time since The Chasm, but will also connect directly to Fontaine. With beta sign-ups handed out by HoYoverse, more concrete information will soon find its way to the community.
Until Cloud Retainer’s debut, Genshin Impact players will have Version 4.3 to sink their teeth into. While it won’t feature a new playable area on its own, it will add two new Artifact sets, a Navia Story Quest, a Flagship Event featuring Yoimiya and the Kamisato siblings, as well new Fontaine-themed housing for the Serenitea Pot. Players who want to save up their Primogems for Cloud Retainer should be mindful not to spend their pulls on Navia, Ayaka, Raiden, and Yoimiya, as they will make up the two phases of Genshin Impact‘s Event Banners in Version 4.3.
