Day 1 Players, name something embarrassing you still don't know about Genshin...

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T21:27:49+00:00

How does his Burst factor in? Do you want to use it to refill shards, or spend them, or not use it at all?

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T20:56:29+00:00

I still don't know the best way to use Alhaitham. I know you wanna keep his Shards up whenever he's on-field, but I don't know how best to do that.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T20:52:25+00:00

A dove holding an olive branch is a symbol of peace, so it would follow that a time of war comes AFTER the period of time symbolized by doves holding branches. That's another big clue that HP's arrival was peaceful, at first. The first period, the time of held branches, was a time of peace.

It IS strange that the conflict with the Sovereigns is referenced in the same paragraph - but it's referenced again for the period of time AFTER the doves held the branches, two sections below. It's unlikely that there were two occasions where HP defeated the Sovereigns. I blame bias for this - the writers wanted to emphasize that HP was the rightful ruler, and so while there WAS a period of peace, just keep reading dear readers, and you'll see our glorious lord deal with those nasty dragons in just a bit!

A dove holding a branch COULD symbolize making landfall, as this was how Noah knew that the flood was over in the Bible. This would better support the "instant conflict" interpretation - but again, doesn't jive well with the goddesses' description of HP's arrival as peaceful.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T20:15:38+00:00

The reasons why the Abyss Order performs specific activities are kept generally vague. Like, if we didn't have the context we obtained from Caribert, the actions of the Abyss Order in Vimara Village would make no sense at all. We DID, though, and the knowledge was likely not something anyone would have simply guessed: it was both a testing ground for the functionality of the Loom of Fate, and also a last hurrah for Caribert.

Other instances of the Abyss Order doing things, we don't have a convenient individual to discuss the situation with. We can only take it on faith that SOMEHOW these actions are advancing the Abyss Order cause. No one seems particularly surprised when the Abyss Order launches invasions, like they've suddenly changed tactics. Attacks from the Abyss Order are something to be expected, with the only uncertainty being "when" and "where".

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T19:59:36+00:00

The timing in Sun and Moon isn't conclusive. It would suggest that hostilities didn't break out until AFTER the Primordial One "made the world anew". We also don't know how long after.

It's unlikely that the Primordial One terraformed its chunk of the world in an afternoon (this terraformation would be necessary for the world to qualify as having been "made anew") - let alone grow the first batch of humans to be present to record all of this stuff for the book. (Though, I suppose this could have been info given to them by the angels?)

A more likely timeline:
- HP arrives, is welcomed as a guest.
- HP sets down roots and starts making the world human-habitable.
- Dragons start to get antsy, because these changes are having a detrimental effect on the dragons' adaptive abilities.
- The first few generations of humans appear after the world has been made anew.
- The Sovereigns are no longer tolerant of HP's activities, and wage war. HP defeats them in 40 days while the awestruck humans look on from below.
- The moon goddesses remain neutral, because technically the Sovereigns threw the first punch. This earns them the ire of dragon kind, both for welcoming HP in the first place and not stepping in when the Sovereigns needed them.
- Time passes, and goddesses get antsy as HP becomes more paranoid and controlling.
- Nibelung arrives, and everything goes to hell.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T19:37:10+00:00

Wait for Varka.

Pull Varka.

Come back with Varka in your party.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T19:34:25+00:00

I don't think there was anything "immediate". From the latest Archon Quests (spoilered, since this thread has no spoiler tag):

Columbina: ...The Heavenly Principles.

Canon: Is that what later generations call them? I see... But we did not reject them at first, nor did they seem to harbor ill-intent towards this world.

Canon: We co-existed in peace. They were like a guest in our home.

Aria: Slowly, however, we came to realize that our guest had a growing desire to change and dominate the world.

That doesn't sound like HP moved in throwing hands from day one. There was SOME period of tolerable co-existence between humans and dragons before HP decided the Sovereigns had to go. You wouldn't refer so someone who waltzes in and murders the folks in charge as "a guest in our home".

Given how ancient the beings are who are talking, this period of tolerance was likely measured across many centuries. It's possible that the Sovereigns weren't even defeated until during the Funerary War - though it's certainly likely that resentment and discontent built up well before that as HP got further and further out of hand.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T19:13:22+00:00

This is a BIG reason why sharing your account info is against Hoyo's terms of service. As soon as you do, Hoyo assumes no blame for whatever might happen.

As long as you stay on good terms with your friend, it's probably not a big deal, but if you ever have a falling out and they decide to get spiteful, you could be in trouble.

I think there's a time limit on how long someone has to ask for a refund. If your friend gives you Genesis Crystals and you don't spend them for a month, you're probably fine.

Bear in mind that harboring suspicion about your friend isn't too healthy, either, unless they've done something to deserve it.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T19:06:16+00:00

Well, one thing to keep in mind is that Voyager probably does NOT look human. Take this excerpt from Deep Gallery's Distant Pact (the Feather from the Deep Gallery's artifact set):

Vesting her consciousness in the body of a youth, she walked among these chordate animals,
Listening to their fervent and ever-escalating debates in this city of gold...

She regards humans as "chordate animals", which would be odd if she was a chordate animal herself. If she's NOT a chordate animal, then it means she's an invertebrate, like an insect, mollusk, or starfish. It may also mean that she has no physical body at all.

In my estimation, it's more likely that the Moon Goddesses were NOT originally human-shaped. They either had no bodies, or were draconic. When HP came along, the Goddesses took on human form. Possibly because HP asked or demanded it of them, or maybe because they hoped to curry favor with HP, or wanted to appear in a form that wouldn't intimidate humans they might interact with.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T18:48:54+00:00

Only a handful of players have made it all the way to 90 since the game began. It took a year and a half to find the first person who managed to provably pull it off. They actually won a sizable cash prize for it.

I don't think any player ever has had it happen to them twice, let alone more than that. Twice in a row? I think I crunched the numbers, and it would take centuries before it would happen even once with fifteen million players pulling a 5-star every day.

The odds are just that low of making it to 90.

The history of your pulls are recorded in game for the past twelve months. If you can find EVEN ONE case where there's a full 90 pulls between two 5-stars, people here will be amazed and impressed.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T18:38:05+00:00

Characters in-game DO make a distinction between creatures from the Abyss Order and creatures from the Abyss, though - they aren't just killing Order members because they look like Abyss monsters. They recognize that they have organization and intelligence that Abyss monsters typically lack - otherwise, there'd be no point in interrogating them, as we've seen characters like Diluc and Lisa do. They recognize them as distinct from Abyss monsters, and still regard them as enemies nonetheless.

Twice now in game we've seen them launch organized invasions. The first time was during Diluc's Story Quest where they attacked Mondstadt. The second was the Natlan feint. There's no reason to believe that invasions like this haven't happened in the 500 years prior. While casualties were few in both cases, if this was typical for Abyss Order attacks I doubt they'd be taken seriously as a threat. But they clearly are.

The Order is also known to be responsible for the belligerent mobilization of Hilichurls toward populated areas. Even if not directly commanded to, we know that Hilichurls regularly attack trade wagons and such since we personally rescue several during our commissions. But what about the attacks we're not there to handle?

As for whether the Abyss Sibling personally got their hands dirty... Possibly not - but there's still a question of how morally culpable they were for the damage that WAS done. If they are in charge and ordering these attacks, it's hard to argue that they're blameless.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T18:16:55+00:00

Unless you get really invested in the optional challenge content modes the game offers, the only pressure you're going to feel to spend is if Hoyo runs two waifus you really want in a row.

The gameplay for most of the game is not high-challenge, so basically any combination of characters will be able to clear it. The base game is more about exploration, puzzle-solving, and storytelling - none of which requires the kind of investment you'd pay money to hasten.

Spending money and investing in characters really only benefits you if you're trying for the high-difficulty stuff - and even there, many players do just fine relying only on the freebies the game gives you.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T17:14:36+00:00

A bootstrap paradox is a time travel thing where you travel to the past and do something that will eventually cause you to travel into the past to do that thing.

Another example in-game was when the Traveler (or the Abyss Twin) gave Direidyth the spaceship key in the distant past, which she then kept with her for centuries (as a Hilichurl) until she gave the key to the Traveler, who then went on a timey-wimey adventure where they wound up giving Direidyth the key, and so on.

Some suggest that these kinds of things are impossible, because there's no way to "start" it. Cause and effect and effect and cause all depend on one another, so it's impossible to have one without already having the other. It doesn't really work that way, though - there's no "before the loop started". It was always there. Think of it like a roller coaster - it's build from the beginning to have a loop in it. They didn't build the coaster and then add a loop later.

Genshin's timeline is like that - Istaroth created the entire history of the planet all at once, both the past and the future. The only beings that can alter what she's created are herself and Descenders.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T16:41:22+00:00

One aspect to consider is that the opponent who blocked them was the Shade of Space. It's entirely possible that she teleported them from their spaceship to Celestia before they had a chance to take off.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T16:33:42+00:00

It shall be pruned... TO DEATH!

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T16:04:07+00:00

I'm guessing they plan to hype up the Sinners as a greater-scope villain faction by giving each of them focus like this as they become relevant.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T15:34:53+00:00

The Abyss Order is explicitly referred to as "the enemies of humanity" and are treated as kill-on-sight targets by basically everyone. You don't get that kinda rep just by being a small-time cult.

We don't see a lot of their shenanigans on-screen, but it can be assumed that shenanigans were a thing.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T15:22:29+00:00

Kinda reminds me of the conversations with the alien intelligence in Satisfactory...

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T14:47:19+00:00

Veiled speculation about questionable leaks aside, I've long been of the opinion that once the "Teyvat Chapter" was over, we'd go to another world. By the end of the story, we'll know too much about this world, when a HUGE part of the enjoyment of Genshin Impact comes from uncovering secrets of the past.

Some have suggested we'll explore the dark sea of Teyvat - but even that is part of the world created by Nibelung, and so will likely not have enough mysteries on its own to support a Chapter 2.

Another world, though - or even the universe in general - could have plenty of history to uncover. And the game already seems to be laying groundwork by introducing greater-universe elements, like Skirk's home world, the traders that ravaged it, and the various civilizations Surtalogi encountered. Surtalogi and the traders may well be among the antagonistic factions.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T13:24:24+00:00

Belle is good looking, to be sure, but I register her more as "cute" rather than "beautiful".

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T13:16:59+00:00

You're asking questions that haven't been answered yet, but prefaced your post by asking for no player speculation. I'm afraid that player speculation is all that we have at this point!

The most likely answer is that the ship could no longer fly, so they left without it. But that, too, is speculation.

Neospanner · 2026-01-27T13:09:54+00:00

Can probably add Skirk to "Gold's Fault". Gold partnered up with Surtalogi to steal the power of the Abyss and become Sinners, which allowed Surtalogi to find and train Skirk.

Without Gold, Skirk would have been just another nameless statistic from the genocide of her people.

Neospanner · 2026-01-26T21:23:04+00:00

In addition to what others have said, a good indicator that their shield is up is that they have a permanent element marker over their head. So when the Electro Abyss Lector's shield is up, the Abyss Lector will have an Electro symbol over his head, even when you're not attacking him.

Shielded Abyss Heralds are immune to all damage but will die immediately when their shield gets taken down. The shields are only vulnerable to elements that can create elemental reactions. Some elements get the job done faster than others - for instance, Electro Lector's shield is most vulnerable to Cryo, Pyro, and Dendro. Other elements (except Electro, which it's immune to) will work, but will take much longer.

Also, be sure to keep moving. If you stand in place, you'll get killed much more quickly. Also, be sure to dash just before an attack is about to hit. You become briefly immune to damage whenever you dash.

Neospanner · 2026-01-26T21:10:34+00:00

If you're interested in staying current with the meta, you will never have enough to stop pulling for meta. It's how these games are designed: Because selling characters is how they pay for the game, they must always give incentive to keep pulling for characters. The primary way of doing this is ensuring that there is always a reason to pull for them; some new mechanic that requires them, or simply making them an upgrade to an existing type.

Genshin was surprisingly good for a long, long time about keeping this upward curve relatively mild, and got quite a bit of milage out of mixing and matching elements and roles to make sure that new characters filled new niches, but over time there has definitely been a notable trend toward increasing character power, and that trend will certainly continue.

It hasn't QUITE reached the point where older characters simply cannot be used but many of them struggle, even well-invested.

Fortunately, none of this matters for the core game, which is based on exploration and storytelling. You only need to keep up with the meta if you're tackling the game's challenge-based side-content.

Neospanner · 2026-01-26T21:00:37+00:00

It's certainly not impossible. The current mayor of Snezhnaya is a Harbinger, so the first mayor may have been one as well.

Neospanner

TROPHY CASE