Version 6.4 Luna V is confirmed for release on February 25, 2026. This update has a rather long name: Homeward, He Who Caught the Wind (or Song of the Welkin Moon: Variation).

And just like its name suggests, this update is packed with content. More importantly, what makes this update special is that it won't take players to new areas as in previous updates, but instead will bring the story back to where it all began - Mondstadt. Players will have the opportunity to participate in a brand-new event hosted by Knights of Favonius, reliving the early days of the adventure with familiar faces. Now let's introduce what you need to know about this Luna V update!

New Main Quest

First, let's look at the story. A brand-new quest starring Varka is coming soon. It's worth noting that there are some surprising twists, such as the villain, The Bloodstained Knight, potentially making a surprise appearance later in the story! At that time, Varka, the Knight of Boreas, and Roland, the Bloodstained Knight, may face off!

Furthermore, Lohen, the vice-commander of Knights of Favonius, will also join the quest. He may also be one of the upcoming new characters, as his silhouette from the 6.3 livestream seems to match.

Completing this story quest will reward you with a large amount of Varka upgrade materials and some Primogems to help you build a more powerful Varka. Please note that free players can only obtain a total of 8,735 Primogems during version 6.4. Therefore, if you want to obtain all the banner characters, it is recommended that you carefully save up your Primogems. If necessary, it is a wiser choice to buy Genshin Impact top up service to obtain more Genesis Crystals.

By the way, a new world boss called Radiant Moongecko has been added in Version 6.4. This boss has a chance to drop Varka Ascension Material. So if you want to maximize the potential of this new 5-star Anemo Claymore character, targeting this world boss is the best option.

New Events

Like previous major updates, Genshin Impact Luna V also brings some new events.

Homeward, He Who Caught the Wind Event

First up is Homeward, He Who Caught the Wind Event, hosted by Knights of Favonius, which runs from February 27th to March 16th, 2026.

This flagship event consists of four parts:

The first part requires you to use a special camera to take pictures throughout Mondstadt during the event, comparing the surrounding environment with reality and capturing the differences!

The second part is a bartender mini-game where you can mix and match drinks for customers!

The third part is a flight shooting game. You need to control a falcon to fly along a designated route and shoot targets along the way! The more targets you hit, the higher your score.

The fourth part is a combat event. You need to defeat as many enemies as possible in Lionfang's Radiant Onslaught within the time limit to earn points. Interestingly, you can also summon Knight Shadows to unleash powerful sword waves to clear out enemies. It looks incredibly cool.

Participating in this event will earn you a free 4-star Catalyst weapon skin. Even better, it can be used on any Catalyst Weapon, similar to the 4-star rarity skin obtained from Stygian Onslaught Dire difficulty, but this skin doesn't require you to use a specific team to defeat a specific boss. So don't miss this almost-obtainable special skin!

Mini-Events

Next are some smaller events.

Sightseeing With Friends

The first event is called Sightseeing With Friends. This is simply a photo event where players need to photograph famous landmarks throughout Teyvat continent while touring it, and then stitch together as many interesting sights as possible into a landscape painting. It's worth mentioning that some familiar faces will appear in the event, including the returning Bongo-Head.

Operation Stronghold Defense

Next up is Operation Stronghold Defense. This is a base defense event where you must use various mechanics and skills to build a defensive system to help Aino construct tower defenses and protect her warehouse! Be aware that waves of enemies will appear, attempting to break through your defenses. Defeat as many enemies as possible to achieve a higher score!

Travelers' Tales

In addition, Travelers' Tales event will be updated with a series of new character encounters, including Nicole, whom many are eagerly anticipating.

Repertoire of Myriad Melodies

Repertoire of Myriad Melodies will also receive a new soundtrack, including a new score from Nod-Krai. Furthermore, you can acquire the new Harmonic Keys instrument, allowing you to participate in performances at any time.

Genius Invokation TCG

In Luna V, Genius Invokation TCG players will continue to enjoy their usual fresh experience, such as a new Nod-Krai table, card backs, new NPCs to challenge, and brand-new cards.

Envisaged Echo

Envisaged Echo will also be coming to Kamisato Clan - Ayato and Ayaka will each gain their own unique trail effect. This is a permanent, high-difficulty combat challenge located in Imaginarium Theater. Completing the challenge will unlock a unique dash effect exclusive to each character. Players must reach level 90 and Friendship Level 8 to unlock these challenges.

Overflowing Abundance

Finally, as always, Overflowing Abundance event returns. Complete any Talent Level Up or Weapon Ascension Domain to claim rewards. It's worth noting that you can also claim double rewards, but this requires using Original Resin and can only be claimed a maximum of three times per day.

New Character

Now, we can finally talk about the new character coming to Genshin Impact Version 6.4 - Varka! Varka is a brand new 5-star Anemo character who fights using two-handed Claymores! He previously appeared as an NPC.

Varka looks incredibly cool. His skill activates two Claymores simultaneously; one deals fixed Anemo damage, while the other's attributes depend on Varka's teammates. For example, if he has a Pyro teammate, he gains Pyro Infusion.

Furthermore, he can unleash special skills or charged attacks. Although initially on cooldown, his normal attacks reduce the cooldown with each hit.

Notably, the developers revealed that Varka is a Hexerei character. Completing his Witch's Homework further reduces the cooldown of his special skills and charged attacks.

Finally, Varka's Burst skill has a very cool animation and deals two attacks, one of which deals different elemental damage depending on Varka's teammates.

If you pull Varka and interact with this legendary figure, you can not only fight Andrius in a unique way, but the final reward also includes two exclusive skins for his Claymores!

Banners

Next, let's talk about Luna V update banners. First, the five-star mainstays in Phase 1 are Varka and Flins, along with their exclusive weapons, from February 25th to March 17th, 2026; phase 2 features Skirk and Escoffier, from March 17th to April 7th, 2026.

Besides these, there's another banner: Mondstadt Chronicled Wish Banner. But honestly, this banner isn't very good. You might say Albedo is alright, but apart from that, at least half the characters in this banner are common characters, not worth wasting your Primogems on.

Perhaps the developers simply wanted to create a Chronicled Wish Banner to celebrate Mondstadt and Varka, basically just to fit the theme. However, many characters are already outdated. So unless you really want Klee or Albedo, this banner isn't worth pulling for.

In short, these are the core contents of Genshin Impact Version 6.4 update. This update focuses on delivering on the long-awaited story promise, marking a major turning point for the game. Don't hesitate, log in now and embark on a new adventure with Varka!

The release of Version 6.3 Phase 2 is drawing ever closer, bringing an increasingly festive atmosphere related to Lunar New Year to Genshin Impact - after all, this is a game developed by a Chinese company.

More importantly, new banners will be available! This means you'll be able to acquire new characters, enriching your Genshin Impact character collection and offering more team-building possibilities, making future battles even more interesting.

Next, we'll introduce what you can do in the game over the next month or so, based on the new content brought by Luna IV Phase 2.

When will Phase 2 be available?

Phase 2 is expected to launch on February 3, 2026, immediately following Phase 1. However, it's important to note that the exact time depends on your time zone.

Furthermore, there will likely be a server maintenance interval between the two phases. After maintenance, you will need to download the update package to enter Phase 2. This phase will then continue until February 24th, and Version 6.4 may be released subsequently.

New characters Zibai and Illuga

As a brand-new 5-star character introduced in Version 6.3 Phase 2, Zibai will probably only be obtainable through this limited banner drop for the time being. A rerun banner might appear later, but adding her to regular banners is a long way off.

Therefore, if you are interested in this Geo-elemental swordswoman, be sure to take advantage of every opportunity to earn and accumulate resources during Phase 1; otherwise, you should immediately replenish your resources through Genshin Impact top up.

Zibai introduction

Due to her elemental attribute, if you are lucky enough to obtain her and plan to immediately add her to a team, please note that Zibai's full potential is only realized when paired with Geo and Hydro characters.

This is because her passive skill increases her DEF and Elemental Mastery based on the number of these two types of characters in the team, which determines Zibai's final damage output.

Another important character mechanic is Lunar-Crystallize, which converts any Hydro crystal reaction into a Lunar Crystal reaction, allowing Zibai to deal more damage.

Building upon this, if you have the ability to further enhance Zibai's talents through her talents, you should first focus on her elemental skills and their enhanced states, as this determines whether she can deal sufficient burst damage in the early stages of combat.

Afterwards, since Zibai can perform normal attacks while casting special elemental skills, the second direction for upgrading should be normal attacks. As for elemental bursts, they only serve as supplementary damage, so their importance is the lowest.

Based on this, the materials required to upgrade this character's talents and their drop sources are as follows:

Daily Domain Drops (Wed/Sat/Sun):

• Teachings of Gold
• Guide to Gold
• Philosophies of Gold

Enemy Drops - Fatui Oprichniki:

• Tattered Warrant
• Immaculate Warrant
• Frost-Etched Warrant

Weekly Boss Drops - The Game Before the Gate Boss:

• Ascended Sample: Queen

Illuga introduction

This four-star character is also making her first appearance. He shares the same elemental attribute as Zibai and uses the poliam weapon type.

He will appear in both banners of Version 6.3 Phase 2 and will be added to the regular banner after the current version ends. Furthermore, four-star characters have a much higher drop rate, making him relatively easy to obtain.

In contrast to his relatively low acquisition difficulty, Illuga's combat strength is not low, or at least he performs well when teamed with Zibai.

For gear selection, equipping him with the weapon Favonius Lance and the artifact Silken Moon's Serenade (4 pieces) will maximize his characteristics.

Furthermore, given his support-type nature, you can prioritize stacking Elemental Mastery when upgrading his talents and further enhance him using the effects of the full Silken Moon's Serenade artifact set.

The talent upgrade materials and sources for this character are as follows:

Daily Domain Drops (Tue/Fri/Sun):

• Teachings of Elysium
• Guide to Elysium
• Philosophies of Elysium

Enemy Drops - Landcruisers:

• Broken Drive Shaft
• Reinforced Drive Shaft
• Precision Drive Shaft

Weekly Boss Drops - Lord of Eroded Primal Fire Boss:

• Eroded Horn

Rerun character Neuvillette

This character first appeared in Version 4.1 Phase 1, and Genshin Impact will reintroduce his rerun banner this time. As a five-star Hydro Catalyst user, Neuvillette can unleash a continuous stream of water attacks on enemies with a ranged charged attack.

Therefore, in team composition, he can also form good synergy with Zibai, helping you gain more possibilities for Hydro/Geo team configurations during Luna IV Phase 2.

What events can you play in Phase 2?

First, all the new main quests, bosses, and maps released in Version 6.3 are permanently added to the game, meaning you can experience them at any time after January 13, 2026.

While all the limited-time events introduced in this version, Shutterflash Memory Hunt, ended on January 26th, and Lantern Rite 2026 just started on January 30th and will continue until the end of Version 6.3. So it can be played during Phase 2.

In addition, two limited-time events, Moonlit Patrol Exercise and Ley Line Overflow, will start on February 9th and 16th respectively, so you can consider them, in a sense, Phase 2 exclusive events.

Based on this, it is expected that after Phase 2 opens, you can enjoy the new permanent content while continuing to earn rewards through the three limited-time events, which will help you acquire new characters and prepare for future new versions!

That concludes our introduction. Wishing you success in acquiring new loot and characters in Genshin Impact as you progress through this new phase, and may you enjoy the unique fun of 2026 Lunar New Year!