Genshin Impact’s 4.1 update adds new areas, quests, bosses, characters and a poetry festival next week

Following in the wake of last month’s sizeable 4.0 update, Genshin Impact’s latest patch is arriving next week – and we now know what to expect from the 4.1 release.

4.1 – aka To the Stars Shining in the Depths – continues the watery theme of 4.0 by expanding the sunken region of Fontaine into a new northern area. Up there you’ll find the Fortress of Meropide, ruins and floating platforms to explore.

Those areas will play host to new quests in Fontaine’s Archon quest line, introducing long-awaited villain character Arlecchino, the Fatui Harbinger, as the player searches for Childe.

There’ll also be two new bosses: the electrifying Millennial Pearl Seahorse and the Experimental Field Generator, which will play with gravity as the players jump into the air to avoid the malfunctioning device’s attacks.

You’ll be able to take along two new characters in the form of Fontaine chief justice Neuvillette and Meropide duke Wriothesley, who wield Hydro and Cryo powers respectively. Both playable characters will be five-star drops and their origins will be explored in their respective story quests. Neuvillette and Hu Tao will appear during the initial wave of event wishes, with Wriothesley and Venti following.

Outside of the new quests and characters – which also accompany a variety of new weapons – patch 4.1 will introduce a poetry festival to the world of Genshin Impact, featuring various minigames to unlock different possible rewards, including a four-star catalyst that can’t be obtained elsewhere.

Existing players who log in for Genshin Impact’s upcoming third anniversary will receive benefits in the form of 10 Intertwined Fates each day, 1,600 Primogems and four Fragile Resin, along with two new gadgets: the adorable Itty Bitty Octobaby and the Portable Aerodynamic Gelatinous Bubble Generator, a convoluted name for a bubble gun. Newcomers can instead grab 10 Acquaint Fate for reaching adventure ranks five and 10, while hitting level 25 will unlock four-star character Lynette.

Genshin Impact’s 4.1 update will release on September 27th.