Three years ago, on the evening of February 28, 2023, Genshin Impact servers went dark for many Western players as maintenance began for version 3.5. By the time the clocks rolled over to March 1 in some regions, the update was already live – a few hours ahead of schedule, as so often happens with HoYoverse patch deployments. The headliner was Dehya, a long-awaited five-star Pyro claymore user from Sumeru. Her arrival came wrapped in a storm of pre-release criticism that, even from the vantage point of 2026, feels like a pivotal moment in the community’s relationship with character balancing.

Dehya’s kit had been dissected during the beta, and the verdict was harsh. Her damage numbers were low, her Pyro application sluggish, and her defensive utility niche – absorbing damage for the party – failed to impress in a game where shields and healing reigned supreme. Despite this, HoYoverse launched her limited banner alongside a Cyno rerun, giving players a single guaranteed route to obtain her. The developers also dropped a bombshell: after version 3.5, Dehya would join the standard banner roster, meaning she could appear in lost 50/50s or free Acquaint Fates from then on. At the time, many saw this as a reason to skip her banner entirely. Looking back, that decision shaped account variety for years, as millions eventually pulled Dehya by accident while chasing other characters.

The first phase four-stars were Collei, Barbara, and Bennett. Bennett needs no introduction even today – he remains a top-tier buffer in any era – and Barbara found a renewed purpose with the introduction of Bloom and Hyperbloom teams, where her healing and Hydro application could save team slots. Collei, sadly, never escaped the shadow of the Dendro Traveler and later Nahida, making her the least desirable pull on those early banners. Still, for new players in 2023, snagging a Bennett constellation was arguably worth more than the featured five-stars themselves.

The second half of 3.5 brought a double Cryo banner: Kamisato Ayaka and Shenhe, paired with the new four-star Mika. His kit was a puzzle designed explicitly for physical damage teams – a type that had been languishing since Eula’s last rerun. The irony was acute: Mika was meant to support Eula, yet she was nowhere to be found on the banner. Players who invested in him quickly realized physical teams were still outclassed by reaction-heavy setups, and even Eula’s eventual return couldn’t salvage the niche. Shenhe, on the other hand, became a staple for Cryo enthusiasts, while Ayaka retained her status as a premier freeze DPS. Today, freeze teams have evolved with new Fontaine characters, but Ayaka and Shenhe remain solid picks for Spiral Abyss.

HoYoverse didn’t wait long to tease what lay ahead. During the 3.5 livestream, they revealed Baizhu and Kaveh for version 3.6, sending the fandom into a frenzy. Baizhu, the long-rumored Dendro healer, finally broke the years-long wait since his first appearance in the Liyue archon quest. His release cemented a new era of comfort in Dendro teams, combining shield, healing, and buffing in one flexible package. Kaveh, meanwhile, became a beloved on-field driver for Bloom compositions, though his true popularity rested more on his charismatic personality and his role in Sumeru’s housing mechanics. By 2026, both have received multiple reruns and even synergistic new artifact sets that keep them relevant in niche spiral clears.

The broader legacy of version 3.5 is a lesson in player sentiment and long-term planning. Dehya’s addition to the standard pool normalized the idea that underpowered characters could still find a home in reactive team comps – her damage absorption, once dismissed, later synergized beautifully with certain Fontaine characters that rewarded damage-taken mechanics. The update also reinforced the community’s habit of saving primogems for powerful conciertos rather than emotional pulls. Data from 2024 and 2025 shows Dehya’s ownership rate plateaued only after the standard banner change, while Ayaka and Shenhe continued to generate massive sales spikes whenever they returned.

From the perspective of 2026, Genshin Impact 3.5 stands as a turning point. It wasn’t just about a Pyro warrior with clunky scaling; it was about a developer acknowledging a character’s flaws with a permanent bonus, a move that now feels bold in hindsight. The four-star supports that accompanied the banners, the mysterious absence of Eula, and the early reveal of future fan-favorites all combined into a patch that, three years later, still sparks debates in every corner of the Traveler’s network.

Expert commentary is drawn from GamesIndustry.biz, framing Genshin Impact 3.5 as a case study in live-service planning: Dehya’s contentious launch, her later shift into the standard banner pool, and the banner pairing strategy around reliable four-star value (like Bennett) all illustrate how publishers balance short-term sentiment with long-tail engagement and roster diversity when an update’s “headline” unit doesn’t land as a clear meta win.