Citlali’s gamplay kit in Mavuika in Genshin Impact, even if both have already appeared as NPCs during story quests in the region of Natlan before. HoYoverse has not revealed details about Citlali, other than the fact that she carries a Cryo Vision.

Nevertheless, there have been leaks about Citlali in the past. At the time, the leaks mentioned that she was a Cryo shielder and these initial leaks sparked comparisons between her and Layla, who is already a 4-star Cryo shielder in the game. Because of the lack of more information at the time, it was difficult to determine the main differences between their gameplay kits, but now there are more leaks about Citlali in Genshin Impact as Version 5.3 approaches, and she may not be as simple a shielder as originally thought based on the first rumors regarding her kit.

Citlali’s Gameplay Kit In Genshin Impact 5.3 Has Leaked

The Character Is Rumored To Be A Cryo Shielder

A more complete version of Citlali’s gameplay kit has leaked, even if more precise details are still missing from the rumors. The information obtained by Genshin Leakflow was shared in a post flagged as “Questionable” on Reddit. According to the leak, Citlali’s Elemental Skill sees her create a field around her spot with the aspect of a web, which may be a reference to a dreamcatcher. Citlali’s field is rumored to deal Cryo DMG to enemies within and, with every third hit, it deals a large AoE (area of effect) Cryo DMG effect in Genshin Impact.

The leak also says that the range of Citlali’s field is similar to Albedo’s but with a low frequency of Cryo application to enemies. Furthermore, this Skill may allow her to hang from ceilings in closed environments, while it should help her climb while in open areas. Furthermore, the leak states that Citlali’s Elemental Burst generates a shield. This leaked shield is said to record the damage it absorbs and, when it breaks or expires, it heals based on the recorded damage that was absorbed. If the leak is true, Citlali’s shield may be better than expected.

For reference, the initial Citlali leaks mentioned that her Skill would create a shield and that her Burst would create a lingering off-field Cryo effect in Genshin Impact, so that may have changed over the past few updates or one of the leaks is wrong.

Citlali Could Heal With Her Shield In Genshin Impact

The Character Has The Potential To Be A Great Cryo

Despite Layla being an efficient 4-star Cryo shielder, Cryo shields, in general, have not been too outstanding in the past. With rumors of Citlali’s ability granting a shield, the rumors were that she would not be too great of a character if she were to provide a shield that protects much less than the well-established shields provided by Geo characters and the Pyro one from Thoma in Genshin Impact, for example. However, the new leak may be hinting at what has the potential to be a fairly great Cryo shield, and that potential lies in the leaked ability to heal.

If Citlali’s shield is reserved for her Burst, it may be stronger than it would have been for her Skill due to how much more effort (mainly Energy and cooldown) it would require to spawn. Furthermore, the ability to record the damage absorbed by the shield and then provide some amount of healing based on a portion of how much damage the shield sustained sounds particularly good, especially if the shield is not as strong as others. As such, the healing provided by Citlali’s Burst in Genshin Impact could be a great way of making up for a weaker shield.

Additionally, a shield that provides healing based on damage absorption would also incentivize players to play aggressively and actually put their characters in harm’s way – the more damage sustained, the better the healing, so fighting without having to dodge attacks could be a viable strategy for team comps that are protected by Citlali’s leaked shield, for example. Based on the leak, Citlali could be a great sustain character in team comps, protecting from damage and, when they are hurt, providing them with healing so long as they keep fighting opponents and being hit by them in Genshin Impact.

Stats Will Determine Whether Or Not Citlali Is A Good Shielder In Genshin Impact

The Leaks Do Not Mention How Strong Her Shield Is

Of course, there are still some aspects to take into consideration before determining whether Citlali will prove to be a viable healer, and that is exactly the part that has been left out of the leak: stats. For Citlali to truly be usable as a Cryo shielder and healer in this way, it’s important to know how strong her shield actually is and what it scales off of. Additionally, it’s necessary to know how long this rumored shield from Citlali lasts in Genshin Impact to better calculate characters’ rotations in team comps.

Furthermore, it’s quite relevant to know how much of her shield’s absorption is transformed into healing once her shield breaks or expires. If the shield provides a suboptimal amount of protection, then the healing itself may also be suboptimal, meaning that Citlali would fail as both a shielder and a healer. If she can cast something along the lines of the shield provided by Zhongli in Genshin Impact, she has the chance to even sur him as a shielder, since she would also provide healing afterward.

It’s also uncertain if Citlali’s shield will offer healing to the active character once it breaks or if the healing is spread among her allies, for example – this, too, should impact how relevant she is as a character.

For now, all these leaks should be considered with caution. These are still early leaks and the information provided may be incorrect or subject to change. If they are accurate, these rumors are still incomplete, so it’s still impossible to determine Citlali’s power. If she is released in Version 5.3, Citlali should be officially described by HoYoverse in late December during the livestream just before the arrival of Genshin Impact 5.3 on January 1, 2025.

Source: Reddit