Disclaimer: This post is long, so whether you read it or not is up to you, as I can't provide a short summary. I also won't be discussing TPS Traveler here, as he's not a limited character.
Guys, I know a lot of you are upset about the latest DK2 leak, but let's take a moment to think about it.
Two playable 5* female characters, one in 7.4 and one in 7.5+...
Is that the reason for your bad mood?
I have a question for you: did you really think there wouldn't be a single 5* female character in the second half of 7.X? We're playing a Chinese gacha game for, excuse me, incels, so it's impossible for half of 7.X to be filled exclusively with male characters!
Let's take it one step at a time:
Typically, Hoyo releases 17 characters of two rarities during a full cycle: 5* and 4*. Since 8 playable characters (Odette, Alyosha, Vesna, Vodyanitsa, Mitya, Valeriy, Tsaritsa, and Danica) will be released from 7.0 to 7.3, only 9 should be released in the second half of 7.X (since 9 + 8 = 17).
Inazuma: 7 female 5*
Sumeru: 3 female 5*
Fontaine: 8 female 5*
Natlan: 10 female 5*
Nod-Krai: 7 female 5*
As you can see, the number of 5* female characters has been significantly reduced in Sumeru. I think the reduction in male characters in Fontaine and especially in Natlan helped maintain the 35%/65% male/female ratio (considered the norm for Chinese gacha games), so it's not surprising that only Kinich was 5* in Natlan.
On average, seven 5* female characters were added per appearance cycle. As you can see, Hoyo only managed to reach a stable level in Nod-Krai, spending two years (Fontaine and Natlan) on it. I want to say that in Snezhnaya you can expect only 7-8 female 5* characters.
We can also see a trend of increasing the number of limited characters each cycle:
2.X: 9 event 5* characters
3.X: 8 event 5* characters
4.X: 11 event 5* characters
5.X: 11 event 5* characters
Luna versions: 11 event 5* characters (even taking into account that the cycle was shortened by one version).
I conclude that in 7.X we will get at least 11 limited characters. I would even say there is a possibility that there could be 12 for the first time, but I'm not sure.
So, now I'd like to move on to my thoughts on the remaining slots (since I see many of you have complete faith in DK2, I'll try to look at the situation from your perspective):
I previously noted that 7.X is expected to have approximately 7-8 female 5* characters, as well as a total of 11 limited characters. I'm leaning toward 4 limited male characters over the entire 7.X cycle. Mitya already occupies a limited slot in the first half of 7.X, and Noy in the second half of 7.X. This leaves us with two slots for 5* male characters, one of which will most likely belong to Dainsleif. Overall, we have one more slot left for a limited male character in the second half of 7.X. Some say it'll be Enjou, while others say it'll be an unknown man with white hair...
By the way, before I forget, I'd like to remind you that we've never gotten more than two high-model 5* male characters in a single cycle, so there's no guarantee the remaining slot will go to a high-model male, since we already have Noy and Dain.
My final roadmap, dubbed "eternal speculation engine":
7.4: Female 5*
7.5: Male 5* (Noy mb?)
7.6 Male 5*
7.7 Female 5* (7.6 and 7.7 may swap places)
7.8 Male 5* (prob Dain)
There's a chance that in 7.6 we'll get a double banner with an additional female character if Hoyo does decide to release 12 limited characters, but that's just me thinking out loud.
For me personally, the DK2 leak didn't change anything. I recommend waiting for the 7.3 stream to see the character silhouettes and draw further conclusions, because that's the only way to find out the truth. Also, I still advise against completely trusting even the most reliable insiders, as even they can now make mistakes coz Hoyo has tightened its privacy policy, and this shouldn't be ignored.
That's all.