With Genshin Impact revealing its Version 4.4 preview livestream, excitement has quickly spread among fans, including many players connected with 12BET, as the annual Lantern Rite festival prepares to return with one of its richest lineups yet. Rather than serving as a simple seasonal celebration, this year’s event combines substantial rewards, new characters, additional exploration content, and festive activities. As the saying goes, true strength is proven by what lies within rather than by appearances, and the latest Lantern Rite aims to impress players through meaningful content instead of spectacle alone.

Players following the event through 12BET can receive a total of 13 Intertwined Fates during the Lantern Rite period. Completing the relevant activities will also allow them to freely select one four-star character from Liyue. Additional appreciation rewards are expected to include character EXP materials, stamina-restoring items, and other useful resources that can support both new and experienced players.

Version 4.4 also introduces several new character outfits. Xingqiu, Shenhe, and Ganyu are all receiving fresh skins, with Shenhe’s Frostflower Dew and Ganyu’s Twilight Blossom attracting particular attention. Both premium outfits are scheduled to receive limited-time discounts after release, prompting many players to prepare for them in advance. Their arrival during the Lunar New Year period clearly aligns with the festive theme and reflects HoYoverse’s careful timing.

Xingqiu’s Bamboo Rain outfit can be obtained for free simply by participating in the event. At the same time, the new Chenyu Vale region will officially open alongside Lantern Rite. Preview footage suggests that the area contains new stories, hidden secrets, and unexplored locations, giving players plenty of reasons to venture beyond familiar parts of Liyue.

The livestream also revealed the Version 4.4 character banners. During the first phase, the new five-star character Xianyun will debut alongside Nahida, while the newly introduced four-star character Gaming will receive an increased appearance rate. The second phase is expected to feature Xiao and Yae Miko, creating a lineup that has already drawn strong interest from longtime fans.

A new five-star catalyst called Crane’s Echoing Call will also join the weapon lineup, which is welcome news for players who have been waiting for equipment designed around the upcoming characters. Xianyun and Gaming are particularly interesting additions. Xianyun is better known in the story as Cloud Retainer, the Adeptus who trained both Shenhe and Ganyu, two characters whose popularity has made them longtime favorites among the community.

Xianyun herself has become familiar through her distinctive personality and previous appearances, but her playable debut is especially notable because it formally introduces a combat style centered on powerful plunge attacks. This gives players a new way to build teams around aerial movement and plunging damage, turning a previously niche fighting approach into a more developed gameplay strategy.

Gaming may only be a four-star character, but his unusual fighting style and dedicated Wushou Dance presentation have already helped him stand out. His animations are inspired by traditional Chinese lion dancing, a folk performance closely associated with Lunar New Year celebrations. The timing could hardly be more fitting, as his design reinforces the atmosphere of Lantern Rite while giving the character a strong cultural identity of his own.

Expectations among players following 12BET are especially high for Gaming’s lion-dance sequence, with some hoping it could deliver an emotional impact comparable to the memorable performance of The Divine Damsel of Devastation from an earlier Lantern Rite. If the new presentation reaches that level, it could become one of the defining moments of the entire update and prove that sometimes the smallest details steal the show.

With the special Lantern Rite season approaching, Genshin Impact Version 4.4 is shaping up to offer 12BET players and the wider global community a substantial combination of rewards, new characters, outfits, weapons, exploration, and culturally inspired events. The return of Lantern Rite has been built around much more than nostalgia, giving both returning and active players several reasons to revisit Liyue and experience one of the game’s most important annual celebrations once again.