The new Genshin Impact character Childe is one of four new playable heroes coming in the next big update. The Genshin Impact 1.1 update reveals that Childe is uniquely special: he’ll be the first character in the game that can use both melee and ranged combat.
Genshin Impact is a highly popular free-to-play title created by Mihoyo for PC, PS4, and mobile devices. Players travel into a fantasy world to fight monsters, but they won’t go it alone; each player can switch to one of three different allies at any time. Each of these additional characters has their own style of combat and elemental specialization, but they typically focus on either ranged or melee combat. That’s about to change in the 1.1 update.
How the new Genshin Impact character Childe gives players more options
A first look at gameplay from the new Genshin Impact character Childe was revealed by IGN’s breakdown of the next big update. The Genshin Impact 1.1 update is adding four characters in total. Not all four of the characters have been detailed at length, but a short amount of Childe gameplay was seen during the trailer.
As revealed in earlier leaks, Childe primarily uses a bow in combat. However, his Elemental Skill allows the player to replace his weapon with either the Dual Water Knives or the Water Polearm in the course of a combo. His Bow Elemental Burst can shoot a water shot to inflict a special debuff on enemies and his Melee Elemental Burst can consume that debuff to deal massive damage to an enemy, adding another valuable tool for players to tackle the game’s dangerous Elite enemies.
Childe’s two Elemental Bursts are clearly intended to be used in sequence; this means that players should ideally open with a ranged attack and then close the distance to follow-up with a devastating melee finisher. More importantly, however, is that his Elemental Skill allows him to easily switch between ranged and melee combat, essentially making him a jack of all trades. It will be interesting to see how players will make the most out of Childe. He may be a force to be reckoned with, especially if the developers ever get around to making a PVP mode.
