Nicole Reeyn, the long-teased "N" of the Hexenzirkel, finally becomes pullable when Genshin Impact's Version 6.6 Luna VII update goes live. Her banner, Angel's Reverie, headlines the first phase of the patch alongside a rerun of Durin and the debut of 4-star Anemo Catalyst Prune.
Release time: May 20th, 2026 at 11:00 AM (UTC+8) / 03:00 UTC
Nicole release time by region
The banner flips over at the standard Genshin server reset on the Asia server, which lands on the evening of May 19th for the Americas and the early morning of May 20th for Europe and Asia.
| Region | Time zone | Local launch |
|---|---|---|
| Americas | PDT | May 19 — 8:00 PM |
| Americas | EDT | May 19 — 11:00 PM |
| Europe | BST / WEST | May 20 — 4:00 AM |
| Europe | CEST | May 20 — 5:00 AM |
| Asia | IST | May 20 — 8:30 AM |
| Asia | CST (server) | May 20 — 11:00 AM |
| Asia | JST | May 20 — 12:00 PM |
Server maintenance typically begins a few hours before the patch goes live, so expect downtime in the window leading up to the release.
Banner lineup for Version 6.6 Phase 1
Nicole shares the spotlight with Durin's first rerun. Prune, a new 4-star Anemo Catalyst support, is rate-up alongside Fischl and Razor.
| Character | Rarity | Element | Weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicole | 5★ | Pyro | Catalyst |
| Durin | 5★ | Pyro | Sword |
| Prune | 4★ | Anemo | Catalyst |
| Fischl | 4★ | Electro | Bow |
| Razor | 4★ | Electro | Claymore |
The matching weapon banner features Nicole's signature Catalyst, Angelos' Heptades, alongside Athame Atris (Sword), with Dragon's Bane, The Bell, Moonweaver's Dawn, and Mitternachts Waltz as the 4-star options.
Phase 1 runs from May 20th through June 9th, 2026, after which Phase 2 takes over with Lohen's debut and a Mavuika rerun.
Who Nicole is
Nicole is the first Hexenzirkel witch to become playable. In lore, she's an Angel, one of the few survivors of the race created by the Heavenly Principles to guide humanity. Cursed alongside the rest of her kind, she lost her voice but kept her power, communicating telepathically. Players first heard her through the talking tea sets in Mondstadt and later met her during the Nod-Krai story arc.
As a playable unit, she's a 5-star Pyro Catalyst built around shielding and ATK buffing. Sophie Shad voices her in English, with Toyoguchi Megumi handling the Japanese performance.
What her kit does
Nicole functions as an off-field support whose buffs scale off her own ATK. Her Elemental Skill, Revelation: Uncreated Light, deals AoE Pyro damage, creates a Pyro shield based on her ATK, and grants the active character an ATK buff. If the on-field character is a fellow Hexerei unit such as Durin or Lohen, the upgraded version of the buff applies immediately rather than requiring a few seconds of on-field time.
Her Elemental Burst, Revelation: Ladder of Divine Ascent, summons projections that perform coordinated attacks matching the active character's element, which keeps her useful outside pure Pyro teams. A passive also lets her Charged Attack point toward nearby treasure when out of combat.
Recommended build direction
Because shield strength, buff magnitude, and projection damage all scale from her ATK, the build target is straightforward: stack ATK%, with enough Energy Recharge to keep her Burst online.
| Slot | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Best Weapon | Angelos' Heptades (signature Catalyst) |
| F2P Alternative | Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers (R5) |
| Best Artifact Set | Celestial Gift (4-piece) |
| Sands / Goblet / Circlet | ATK% or ER% / ATK% / ATK% |
| Substat priority | ATK% > Energy Recharge > Flat ATK |
| Target ATK | 3,000–4,000 |
| Target Energy Recharge | 150% (Triple Pyro) to 170% (Double Pyro) |
Celestial Gift is the new 6.6 set designed around her playstyle, granting the team a 20% Pyro damage bonus that scales up to 40% when the equipping character is in a Hexerei team. Noblesse Oblige and Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City work as fallbacks if another teammate already holds Celestial Gift.
For talents, prioritize the Elemental Skill first, then the Burst. Normal Attack levels can be skipped since she stays off-field.
Pre-farming checklist
Her ascension chain uses Pyro gem materials from Agnidus Agate, with regional drops tied to the Nod-Krai map. Talent books come from the Elysium series.
| Category | Material | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Boss drop | Remnant of the Dreadwing | 46 |
| Regional specialty | Pine Amber | 168 |
| Common drop | Frost-Etched / Immaculate / Tattered Warrant | 36 / 30 / 18 |
| Gem | Agnidus Agate (Sliver → Gemstone) | 1 / 9 / 9 / 6 |
| Talent book | Teachings / Guide / Philosophies of Elysium | 9 / 63 / 114 |
| Crowning | Crown of Insight | 3 |
| Mora (ascension + talents) | — | ~5,377,500 |
Pine Amber respawns every 48 hours, so starting collection runs now is the safest way to hit 168 before maintenance ends. Her weekly boss talent material drops alongside the rest of the 6.6 content on launch day.
If you're pulling, make sure your Wish history is on the character event banner before the patch goes live so 50/50 pity rolls into the right pool. Hexerei synergy is the obvious team-building hook, but her ATK-scaling buff and elemental-flexible projections mean she slots into nearly any team that wants a Pyro shielder.