One of Genshin Impact's newest characters, Yelan, has been officially revealed via HoYoverse's social media accounts. While leaks about Yelan have been floating around the internet for a while, HoYoverse's official tweet has solidified a lot of information about the character. Yelan will seemingly be debuting on her own Banner in Genshin Impact's 2.7 update.
Yelan's design in Genshin Impact consists of mostly a blue, black, and white color scheme. She has dark navy pants that reveal the sides of her thighs and hips. Her top is mostly cobalt blue but has a lot of black added to it. She has one sheer fabric sleeve on her right arm that goes up past her elbow and has a white fingerless glove and bracelet on her left arm. She has a short white overcoat that has a lot of fur on the hood and sleeves, and her hair is mostly black but changes to blue toward the ends. She also has striking green eyes.
In HoYoverse's reveal on the Genshin Impact Twitter account, it describes Yelan as a mysterious individual, who "Like a phantom, she often appears in various guises at the center of events, and disappears before the storm stops." It appears that Yelan works at Liyue's Ministry of Civil Affairs, but her description indicates that she does many different things out of sight of the public. A voice line from Yanfei in Genshin Impact implies that everyone should be careful around her and that she is very subtle in her thinking and actions. It seems that Yelan is able to take advantage of various situations for her own goals.
Genshin Impact: What's Confirmed For Yelan & What's Leaked
The only thing that HoYoverse has confirmed for Yelan in terms of her gameplay in Genshin Impact is that her Vision (element) is Hydro. This means that after Genshin Impact's 2.7 patch, Hydro will overtake Anemo in the number of playable characters, and will put Anemo in the most underrepresented spot. Yelan will be Genshin Impact's fifth 5-star Hydro character. It's likely that most of the information regarding Yelan won't be released officially until the Genshin Impact 2.7 Special Program livestream, which should happen about a half and a half before the update actually arrives. This will be where fans can see many of her abilities and combat skills in action.
Though not confirmed, Yelan has been leaked to be a bow user. If true, this will make her the second 5-star Hydro bow user after Tartaglia. A well-known leaker for Genshin Impact has leaked a bow to be paired with Yelan, called either the Kirin Bow or Quilin Horn, that may be on the Weapon Banner that runs alongside her. This bow sports a dark blue and white color scheme and fits great with Yelan aesthetically, which supports the theory that this bow was made for her. This bow's stats and passive effect are unknown, so it doesn't offer any clues in regards to what type of role Yelan will fill in Genshin Impact.
Yelan's character title is "Valley Orchid," and her Constellation is called "Umbrabilis Orchis," which translates to "Shadowy Orchis." Orchis is a genus of the orchid flower family, so both of these clues show that HoYoverse wants its players to understand that Yelan will likely have a deep connection to the orchid flower, either aesthetically or emotionally. Yelan's design in Genshin Impact indicates that she is a character that accomplishes a lot in the shadows, supported further by all the orchid imagery.
The Role Yelan Might Play In Genshin Impact
There is nothing certain in regards to what Yelan's kit will involve in Genshin Impact, but a couple of leaks have surfaced in the past that give clues as to what type of character she might be. Leaks have described Yelan as an off-field support, applying Hydro to enemies and buffing the team when not the on-field character. She may be a character that wants HP percentage in her Artifact substats, and Yelan's personal damage could be on the low side. These claims pin Yelan as a Hydro support, which is possible since Ayato, Genshin Impact's newest Hydro character, falls into the damage dealing role.
A lot of bow users in Genshin Impact are supports or off-field sub-DPS, such as Diona, Fischl, Kujou Sara, and Gorou. Only a few bow users fall into the main DPS category, like Ganyu and Yoimiya, so it is likely that Yelan will be a support character following HoYoverse's trends with bow characters. It's most possible that she will fill the role of off-field Hydro applier, which is always in demand since Hydro is one of the best elements in the game due to it being required for some of the strongest and best reactions in Genshin Impact: Vaporize and Freeze.
Yelan may have issues with Energy Recharge, meaning that either her Elemental Skill will produce little Elemental Particles, or her Elemetal Burst has a high Energy cost. They also say that Yelan's Constellation 1 (C1) Talent may resolve this issue, which worries some fans if Yelan's kit will have issues resolved through her Constellations, meaning that HoYoverse is attempting to incentivize players to get Yelan's 5-star Constellations by creating a problem and selling the solution. This has been seen before through some characters (like Yae Miko and Kujou Sara), which is why some players are worried.
No matter what, though, Yelan is confirmed to be a Hydro character, meaning that she will find herself a home among almost any team composition. Whether that be Vaporize, Freeze, or variations of the National Team, Yelan will be a useful character one way or another due to her element. Fans will have to wait a little bit longer for any leaks regarding Yelan's abilities, talents, and scalings, and only then will she be solidified in the role she was made for, and players will know what to expect from her when she eventually releases in Genshin Impact.
Source: Genshin Impact/Twitter