Genshin Impact Officially Reveals Skirk’s Kit Details

Developer HoYoVerse has officially unveiled the ability kit details for Skirk, an upcoming 5-Star Genshin Impact character. Originally mentioned as early as Genshin Impact version 1.1, Skirk made an appearance in version 4.2, and is set to debut in the playable roster in update 5.7.

For veteran Genshin Impact players, Skirk has been a long time coming. She was originally mentioned in passing as a teacher of Tartaglia (a.k.a. Childe), a Fatui Harbinger. However, she was only seen for the first time years later, when the Traveler journeyed to Fontaine and helped wrap up its crisis. Hints and leaks about Skirk and her origin indicate that she has deep ties to hidden history, and may not even be native to the Genshin Impact world of Teyvat, making her a potential game-changer in both a narrative and mechanical sense.

Genshin Impact Leak Reveals Skirk’s Signature Weapon

A new Genshin Impact leak reveals the signature weapon for the upcoming five-star character Skirk, who is expected to arrive in update 5.7.

Now HoYoVerse has dropped the official details about Skirk’s ability kit in the form of a customary character profile posted on the official HoYoLab community site and the official Reddit board. The reveal of Skirk’s skills and ability data confirms that the official release of Skirk during Genshin Impact 5.7 will align closely to her beta test version, indicating that, for the moment, HoYoVerse has settled on how she’ll play and her potential impact on the in-game meta.

Genshin Impact: Skirk’s Kit Explained

Normal Attacks: Havoc: Sunder – 5 consecutive attacks
Charge Attack: Havoc: Sunder – Hurls a crystal spear to damage opponents in front
Elemental Skill (Tap): Havoc: Warp – Gains Serpent’s Subtlety and enters Seven-Phase Flash mode, which adds Cryo infusion to normal attacks, increasing damage, range, and enhancing interruption resist
Elemental Skill (Hold): Havoc: Warp – Absorbs nearby Void Rifts to gain Serpent’s Subtlety and move at high speed (including over water)
Elemental Burst (Normal): Havoc: Ruin – Spends Serpent’s Subtlety to deal AoE Cryo damage with rapid slashes
Elemental Burst (Seven-Phase Flash): Havoc: Extinction – Absorbs Void Rifts and boosts normal attack damage
Talent: Reason Beyond Reason – Creates Void Rifts when party members trigger Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl, or Cryo Crystallize (each absorbed Void Rift grants 8 Serpent’s Subtlety)
Talent: Return to Oblivion – Gains Death Crossing buff when Hydro and Cryo party members hit with elemental attacks, increasing normal attack damage in Seven-Phase Flash mode and damage of Havoc: Rui
Passive: Mutual Weapons Mentorship – +1 to all party members’ Elemental Skill level when there is at least 1 Hydro and 1 Cryo character and all party members are Hydro/Cryo

Skirk is characterized as a “flexible” 5-Star Cryo sword-wielding character that focuses on dealing damage, but can be used for both on-field and quick-swap roles, depending on a player’s preference and roster. As players level up and ascend Skirk and improve her talents, they’ll want to team Skirk up with party members capable of triggering Cryo reactions like Freeze and Superconduct, as she builds and spends a special energy called Serpent’s Subtlety from them. Her elemental skill, Havoc: Warp, can change depending on whether a player taps or holds the skill button. Tapping switches her combat style to Seven-Phase Flash mode, suitable for dealing continuous Cryo damage. Holding the button increases Skirk’s interruption resistance and allows her to move at extreme speed, even walking on water.

Skirk also generates power-ups called Void Rifts in combat, which add to her Serpent’s Subtlety and allow her to maintain her combat modes. Her Elemental Burst, Havoc: Ruin, does high AoE Cryo damage almost instantaneously. Skirk’s Elemental Burst can even change if she’s in Seven-Phase Flash mode when it’s used, turning into Havoc: Extinction and absorbing all nearby Void Rifts to vastly increase her normal attack damage.

The versatility and potentially high damage output of Skirk could help Genshin Impact return Cryo to primacy as a top-tier element, considering that she reportedly has high synergy with popular characters like Furina and the recently released Escoffier. Considering that Skirk’s teasing has lasted for much of Genshin Impact‘s existence so far, it’s easy to see why she’s so highly anticipated among fans.