My expectations are that Skirk will not be a Cryo DPS in new Genshin Impact characters set to become playable within the next few updates.

Following the teaser that showed her silhouette next to other silhouetted characters like Iansan and Yumemizuki Mizuki, a few rumors about her playable form started to emerge. The leaks mentioned that Skirk is a 5-star Cryo character. As a powerful swordswoman, the immediate speculation was that she would be a sword character who takes on the role of the main DPS in team comps. Despite the possibility of Skirk saving the meta in Genshin Impact, bringing some much-required attention to Cryo, I truly hope that she isn’t a Cryo DPS once she is released and, instead, another type of unit.

Skirk Shouldn't Be A Cryo DPS In Genshin Impact

The Swordswoman Should Be A Cryo Sub-DPS

As valuable as Skirk would be as a new Cryo main DPS, given that the game only has a few select units that do the job adequately, she should actually take on another role. In lieu of that, Skirk should be a Cryo sub-DPS if the leaks about her Element prove to be accurate. With such a role, the mysterious swordswoman would not only continue to give value to what is considered the most underdeveloped Element in the game but also open up new possibilities when it comes to team comps in Genshin Impact, such as those focused on Melt.

If Skirk were a Cryo sub-DPS, she would still live up to her reputation as a powerful swordswoman, as she would still continue to deal damage, though from off the field. Additionally, Skirk could revolutionize some Melt, Supercharged, and Freeze team comps that have been relying on the same Cryo characters for a long time. This would essentially create several new team comp opportunities with the release of a single character – much like how the release of Mavuika in Genshin Impact as a Pyro sub-DPS renewed team comps that, until then, were relying on Xiangling and the suboptimal Dehya.

Genshin Impact Desperately Needs Cryo Sub-DPS Characters

There Are Only Two 4-Star Units Occupying This Role

One of the biggest issues with the Cryo Element at the moment is that it doesn’t have truly usable Cryo sub-DPS units. Out of the 16 Cryo characters available in the game as of Version 5.4, only two of them operate as sub-DPS: Kaeya and Rosaria. These are 4-star characters who lack the firepower of a 5-star unit in that role and, instead of dealing much damage, they mostly serve for Cryo application rather than Cryo DMG. They are mainly used to set the terrain for the main DPS of another Element to trigger Reactions in Genshin Impact.

Cryo application shouldn’t be completely disregarded, as it can truly help the main DPS, but if the application of that element on enemies came from a source that dealt significant damage simultaneously, the entire Element and team comps focused on Melt, Supercharged, Freeze, Swirl, and even Shatter would benefit from it. Instead of simply setting the terrain, Skirk, in a Cryo sub-DPS role, could prepare enemies for Elemental DMG from the team’s main DPS and also hit them with hard instances of Cryo DMG. Currently, players have to look toward the few Cryo DPS characters to actually use the Element.

Despite being DPS units that use Cryo DMG, too, Eula and Freminet are mostly considered Physical DPS characters and aren’t held in the same regard as dedicated Cryo DPS units.

The game has some strong Cryo DPS units like Ganyu, Ayaka, and Wriothesley in Genshin Impact, as well as many reliable Cryo s, such as Shenhe, Diona, Layla, and the recently released Citlali, and the rest of the units are somewhat dispensable. There is a clear absence of secondary damage dealers that wield Cryo to help Pyro, Electro, Hydro, Anemo, and Geo DPS units who work with Elemental Reactions – and Skirk could be precisely that: a Cryo sub-DPS to supplement the lack of more Cryo characters occupying that role.

If Skirk were to be released as a Cryo main DPS, she would possibly powercreep Wriothesley, who established himself as the strongest Cryo DPS and is just getting his first rerun banner in Version 5.4. This would be a disaster, as players pulling for Wriothesley in the patch could possibly see him overtaken by a much more powerful Cryo DPS only a few patches after his rerun. If Skirk were a sub-DPS, that problem would be avoided altogether: Wriothesley would retain his status for a while longer and a much-needed category for Cryo characters in Genshin Impact would be filled.

Skirk Could Get Powercrept By The Tsaritsa In Genshin Impact

The Cryo Archon May Be A Cryo Sub-DPS

It is worth noting that, even if Skirk is released as a Cryo sub-DPS, she could get powercrept, too, by the Tsaritsa. The Archon from Snezhnaya is expected to be a Cryo character and there is a chance she will be designed as something of a Cryo sub-DPS once she is released. This is because most of the recent Archons in the game have been following this trend: Raiden Shogun, Nahida, Furina, and Mavuika can all operate as off-field sub-DPS characters. The Tsaritsa in Genshin Impact could follow that same gameplay design path.

If this were to happen and Skirk were truly a Cryo sub-DPS, the swordswoman could have competition and, possibly, be powercrept by a much stronger playable figure taking on the same role as hers. Of course, it seems like there will be a lot of time before that happens, since the aforementioned leaks point toward Skirk’s release in Version 5.7 and, given how the game’s story is progressing and the possibility of Genshin Impact’s roap being extended by a full year, Snezhnaya may only arrive in 2026, leaving enough time for Skirk to show her value before a possible powercreep.

The game has been hinting at the Traveler’s expedition to Nod-Krai in 2025 rather than the entirety of Snezhnaya, with some rumors even saying that the year of content (starting this Summer) should explore areas of existing Nations.

For now, most of this is based on inconclusive rumors and speculation, but the game would be better off having Skirk as a Cryo sub-DPS rather than direct competition for Wriothesley. However, anything about Skirk should still be taken with a grain of salt, as her release still seems far off and the leaks could be wrong; she may not even use Cryo DMG, for example. Interested players such as myself will have to wait for more reliable Genshin Impact leaks, but Mavuika’s release as a Pyro sub-DPS created hope of seeing Skirk as a Cryo sub-DPS.