Genshin Impact 3.1 Characters Officially Confirmed With New Lore

On August 22, 2022, Genshin Impact has officially announced Cyno, Nilou, and Candace as the new Sumeru characters to be released in Version 3.1, with new lore details for each one of them. This is all part of the usual “Drip Marketing” always shared by Genshin’s social media accounts a few days before a new version is released. Version 3.0 is about to release on August 24, so the Version 3.1 characters were revealed. The reveal included new artwork and quotes for each character.

Cyno: 5-Star Electro + Polearm

Cyno is one of the first Genshin characters ever revealed, as he appeared in the manga together with Collei and most Mondstadt characters. Cyno was also included in the Teyvat Story Chapter trailer released in September 2020, as the 5-Star representative for Sumeru. Which means he will play a major role in the Archon Story Quests of the region. He was already officially confirmed to be a Polearm and Electro Vision user.

Interestingly, the new lore focuses on Cyno’s job as a law enforcer for the Akademiya in Sumeru, punishing any researcher flagged for embezzlement, plagiarism, and the like. In other words, it’s very likely the Traveler will end up helping out Cyno with his work, and the antagonists in the Sumeru Archon Quests or Cyno’s Character Quest should include corrupted researchers.

“Many researchers at the Akademiya fear that the General Mahamatra will interfere with their research. However, it seems that they are worrying about nothing. Most of them do not produce results worthy of his visit.” — A reply given by Forest Watcher Tighnari when Collei asked a question about the General Mahamatra.

If an Akademiya researcher is required to have a formal meeting with the General Mahamatra, Cyno, it usually does not bode well. In general, a personal visit from Cyno implies that these researchers are perpetrators of serious academic offences: plagiarism, bribery, academic fraud, false declarations, misappropriation of funds, malicious competition, appropriation of someone else’s dissertations, and more… The only thing left for these researchers to do is to follow the General Mahamatra and face disciplinary action. But these researchers will not accept their sentence so easily. Most of them try to bribe the General Mahamatra with Mora. These “wealthy people” will then be punished even more severely. Meanwhile, some choose to use force in an irrational act of recalcitrance… After paying the price for their defiance, they are subjected to a harsher sentence. Others, at their wits’ end, even feign madness, claiming memory loss or pleading insanity in a desperate attempt to escape punishment. However, General Mahamatra Cyno has unfailing patience when dealing with these people. In his own words: “As a Matra, it is one of my duties to help people ‘remember’ the mistakes they have made.”

Nilou: 5-Star Hydro + Sword

Nilou’s lore is surprising in a sense, as it stresses out how she’s just a normal person. She loves dancing, is friendly towards anyone, and has an “innocent” personality according to Dori. Usually, Japanese-stylized media love giving that type of character a secret identity, like being an assassin. HoYoverse, for now, hasn’t hinted at any of that at all. With that said, Nilou will play an important role, as her performance at the Sabzeruz Festival is the most important event of the celebrations. Nilou will appear in several key moments of the Sumeru Archon Quests.

Nilou was confirmed to be a Hydro Vision user, but her Weapon was not officially confirmed yet. However, leaks have mentioned she is a Sword user.

“What’s so great about that little theater? If she went with me on tour all around Teyvat, she could earn so much Mora, more than what she could ever dream of… Alas, she’s too innocent. So innocent that she knows nothing of her own worth.” — Dori

If you have time, don’t miss the performance at the Zubayr Theater. Against a backdrop of lights and music, Nilou’s graceful demeanor resembles that of an unsullied lotus flower, her delicate dance leading the audience into a world of fantasy. When the performance comes to an end, the audience is brought back to reality, often in a trance. “The girl dancing on stage is so beautiful, she looks straight out of a fairy tale.” But those who are close to Nilou know that she is very different from the aloof image she portrays on stage. Once Nilou steps off the stage, she is like any girl her age: sweet, warm, and smiling. If you meet Nilou off-stage, don’t be intimidated. Say hello to her, and she’ll be very happy about it.

Candace: 4-Star Hydro + Polearm

Both Cyno and Nilou were already featured in officially revealed artwork and gameplay. However, this is the first time that we ever see Candace. She’s most notably the first playable character in Genshin Impact with different-colored eyes, a common character design trait in Japanese-stylized media.

Overall, Candace is a gentle person willing to help even Treasure Hoarders, as long as they don’t bring harm to her village. Candace is also friends with Dehya, another upcoming Sumeru character. Candace was officially confirmed to be a Hydro Vision wielder. The official art suggests she is a Polearm user, and leaks mentioned she is a 4-Star character.

“I once gave Candace some jewelry and told her to learn to enjoy life and find happiness outside of work. She replied that seeing the village in peace was enough to make her happy… Well, this guardian really has a unique way of enjoying life…” — An exasperated comment from Dehya, the Flame-Mane.

“That Candace… is a true descendant of King Deshret!” At a tavern in Sumeru City, a disheveled member of The Eremites exclaimed in fear. The guardian with different-colored eyes has received the blessing of the gods and is able to summon a sandstorm that engulfs all enemies instantly. A former member of the Treasure Hoarders, who recently claimed to have quit, added that Candace can also summon the power of the desert. Every grain of sand is her scout and no one can escape from her grasp. But a young adventurer who was about to leave for the desert looked surprised. He replied that Miss Candace, the guardian of Aaru Village, was actually a gentle and caring person. During a visit to Aaru Village, he had seen Miss Candace bring water and food to a hungry Treasure Hoarder, and arranged for another exhausted mercenary to rest in the guest room… In the eyes of this adventurer, “terrifying” is the last word one could use to describe this guardian… Candace, who is far away in the Great Red Sand, was unaware of this little debate about her – although she doesn’t mind what people think about her. As the guardian of Aaru Village, it is her duty to protect the peace of the village. As long as they abide by the rules of Aaru Village, anyone can seek refuge here and receive the help they need. As for those who violate the rules and commit atrocities in the village… Candace will personally ensure that they never harm the village again.

We’ll have to wait for the Version 3.1 livestream, in around five weeks, to hear which character will get their banner first between Cyno or Nilou. This is also when their English voice actors and seiyuu will be officially announced. In case you missed it, HoYoverse announced Version 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 will be released in 5-week intervals instead of the usual 6 weeks. Version 3.1 is planned to release on September 28, 2022.

Last but not least, keep in mind that the artwork shared by the English Genshin Twitter was truncated as usual. You can find the full-sized artwork for each character on the Japanese Twitter account.