Genshin Impact Luna IV Livestream: What Players Should Expect

HoYoverse formalized the Genshin Impact Luna IV (Version 6.3) special program livestream, which will be held on January 2, 2026, across the official Twitch and YouTube channels. With this announcement, the arc of the Nod-Krai story is highlighted as the Luna IV patch being one of the most content-rich releases of the current game. In this article, we prepare you with the information that will be unveiled in the next special program.

Livestream Schedule Across Time Zones:

The broadcast will air on January 2, 2026, with the following regional timings:

Region	Time
Pacific Standard Time	9:00 PM (January 1)
Mountain Standard Time	10:00 PM (January 1)
Central Standard Time	11:00 PM (January 1)
Eastern Standard Time	12:00 AM (January 2)
Coordinated Universal Time	5:00 AM (January 2)
Korea Standard Time	2:00 PM (January 2)

New Playable Characters

The Luna IV update will introduce three new playable characters:

Columbina (5-star Hydro Catalyst)

Image via: HoYoverse

Zibai (5-star Geo Sword)

Image via: HoYoverse

Illuga (4-star Geo Polearm)

Image via: HoYoverse

New Weapons

The first phase of the Luna IV weapon banner is going to highlight Lightbearing Moonshard, Columbina’s 5-star signature Catalyst. The weapon has a base ATK of 542 with CRIT DMG scaling of 88.2%, and its passive confers an increase of DEF by 20% as well as Lunar-Crystallize reaction DMG bonuses.

The second phase weapon banners should feature Nocturne’s Curtain Call; however, there are no further details about the weapon.

Lunar Crystallize Reaction

Image via: r/Genshin_Impact_Leaks

Luna IV will unveil the Lunar Crystallize reaction, which is a new elemental interaction between the Hydro and Geo elements. This reaction system broadens the already existing Lunar Reaction framework that was introduced in the previous Luna patches and constitutes the mechanical basis for the new character kits and artifact sets.

New Map Area and Exploration

Image via: Kuroo

A major expansion to the map has been confirmed for Luna IV. The players will be visiting the North of Nod-Krai region, which will extend the existing Nod-Krai map with a lot of new exploration content. According to community sources, the new area is about half the size of Natlan and much bigger than the current Nod-Krai area. There are three separate islands to explore in the expansion, each with different types of land such as shores, craters, and mountains.

New Artifacts

Two new artifact sets are expected to be released with Luna IV:

Image via: Team Mew

Aubade of Morningstar and Moon: The 2-piece bonus is +80 Elemental Mastery, and the 4-piece bonus gives +20% Lunar Reaction DMG when the user is off-field, with a further +40% if the party’s Moonsign Level is “Ascendant Gleam”. These effects are removed 3 seconds after the wearer takes the field.

Image via: Team Mew

Wherever a Breeze Blows: The 2-piece gives ATK +18%. For the 4-piece, if Normal Attack, Charged Attack, Elemental Skill, or Elemental Burst hits an opponent, gain Blessing of Pastoral Winds effect for 6 seconds: ATK is increased by 25%. If the equipping character has completed Witch’s Homework, Blessing of Pastoral Winds will be upgraded to Resolve of Pastoral Winds, which also increases the CRIT Rate of the equipping character. This effect can be triggered even when the character is off-field.

Weekly Boss: Dottore

Image via: r/Genshin_Impact_Leaks

The Doctor (Dottore), the Second of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, will be introduced as a new weekly boss in Luna IV. The leaked gameplay footage shows that Dottore uses complicated mechanic patterns, such as:

Authority of the Three Moons: Affected directional confusion (“Eternal Moon”), movement imprisonment (“Frost Moon”), and gaze-based imprisonment (“Iridescent Moon”)
Moonwither Realm: An arena isolated by Electro lasers, Cryo pulses, and shadow duplicates.
Moonfall Impact: A team wipe trick that necessitates players to hide behind falling pillars.

At least two phases have been accounted for in the encounter, and in the second phase, players have to fight summoned shadow duplicates.

Major Events

Image via: Flyingflame

Lantern Rite Festival: The annual Lantern Rite celebration will be a major highlight of the Liyue IV event, making it the most prominent limited-time event of Liyue. During the event, as per tradition, the players will have the opportunity to obtain a 4-star character of their choice for free and can also earn more Primogems.

Miscellaneous Local Quests: Finally, some leaked texts also hinted at the presence of a few side quests, such as “Moonlight Weekly Tour Performance” (with gameplay similar to auto chess) and “Instant Shadow Travel Collection” (related to photography).

Archon Quest Conclusion

Luna IV is positioned to conclude the ongoing Nod-Krai Archon Quest storyline related to the “Frost Moon” arc and Columbina’s narrative role. This marks a significant narrative climax for the regional storyline that began in Luna I.

Conclusion

The Luna IV special program livestream is a turning point for Genshin Impact’s Nod-Krai saga. The broadcast date being confirmed by the official source, in addition to a large amount of datamined information, indicates a patch about the extension of the Lunar reaction system, major storyline progression, and new characters with playable ones of both 5-star and 4-star rarities. Gamers will have a chance to see the live stream as the only way to get the last confirmation of everything: the content, the characters’ abilities, the banner schedules, and the event timing on January 2, 2026.