#which is the other 4 Yakshas included Xiao

[reginrokkr]

                                                 To see a World in a Grain of Sand                                                    And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,                                                Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand                                                           And Eternity in an hour.

The beginning of the poem, in essence there isn’t much to look into it other than what it’s said. However, it holds a deep meaning if analyzed in depth. In order for the explanation to make more sense than if I were to do otherwise, I’ll start with the last two lines and move from there to the top. We have two strong notions here which are Infinity and Eternity: the former is a measure of space while the latter is a measure of time. The author urges us to have these two abstract notions in a much smaller measure of space and time respectively.

A first direct parallel we can draw from this is the final cutscene of Imperatrix Umbrosa Act II, when we witness Makoto’s last shred of consciousness about to fade away. In actuality, she says an interesting quote verbatim: 

Eternity [limitless, unknown measure of time] stretches time into infinity [limitless, unknown measure of space], dreams illuminate each moment [regardless of their duration, it encompasses all measure of time: every second] within. When both (eternity and dreams, one would encompass the limitless time while the other would encompass that which every ounce of time is filled with) shine in unison, the Sacred Sakura blooms from the darkness. Finally free from the clutches of the Heavenly Principles.

And before this, she says:

The miracle tree that blesses the people, in this moment new to the world and yet to be known. When to plant it, where it shall bloom... She who it into being must let her heart and dreams decide.

Why am I bringing this to your attention, you may ask? It’s because context-wise, we’re standing in a realm of consciousness that timeline wise suggests that the Sacred Sakura wasn’t planted yet even though we know it’s right there in the material world. And even before this, when the Traveler returns to the realm of consciousness before the final showdown between Ei and the Raiden Shogun, the latter both believed that it’s been centuries since they started to fight until the Traveler came back.

This leaves us with the idea that time doesn’t matter. As well as space doesn’t. Ei is coaxed to let her heart and dreams decide before planting the seed, but why her heart and dreams? If we’re to look deeper into it, dreams are an abstract manifestation of one’s wishes, something that can turn from abstraction to tangible reality. Meanwhile the heart represents the willpower to make it happen, to make it become true. In this case, if Ei’s dream consisted of seeing the Sacred Sakura on the top of Mt.Yougou at the Grand Narukami Shrine, her will was the final piece to let it happen.

So returning once again to the concept of time and space in this realm of consciousness: we may refer to eternity to the abstract idea where time measure doesn’t matter— we know that time passes, but how much or how fast it passes isn’t important. In a place where the notion of eternity is literal, regardless of the incoherence that its bloom brings from the perspective of a lineal timeline (the tree was there since hundreds of years, but its seed is planted at a later time), the tree can be brought to life anytime. As for space, we’re starting off from a realm of consciousness, the location of the tree’s birth is an abstract place that it’s being transcended into a more tangible location that is the Grand Narukami Shrine. In view of this event, we can go back to the first four lines of the poetry and take them in order to interpret them as: 

[You can] see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower [IF] [you] hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.

The reason you would be able to see such big notions as a world and a heaven in smaller, arguably unimportant solid manifestations like a grain of sand and a wild flower is because you can make it happen via dreams. Just like Ei was able to make the Sacred Sakura bloom when and where she wanted through her dreams, she made it possible through the will of her heart to make it manifest into a tangible reality.

PS: There is an arguably more straightforward and recent incident where time and space don’t matter which is none other than Kazuha’s domain in the GAA event. His domain [a specific location] is a trip down memory lane that potentially encompasses several years of his life even though it takes the group (presumably) less than a day to witness. In such a short timespan, not only they saw an amount of several years worth of memories, but the space around them warped and was given shape and form according to what these memories looked like despite being technically in one same place, a domain.

#◟༺✦༻◞ Nexus of infinity; eternity and judgement┊Auguries of Innocence.┊ #the mention that the conception #of the Sacred Sakura is free from #the clutches of the Heavenly Principles #may suggest that dreams > Heavenly Principles #and what's more about this #is that /anyone/ can dream #the gist is whether /everyone/ has the heart #to make them happen or not #a somehow related incident is the 2.6 quest #in the bed of the Chasm with Xiao and company #where their will created the fantastic compass #to get out of there #or where Bosacius himself who even forgot his name #must've wished fervently #to remember not only that but those #his name is associated to #which is the other 4 Yakshas included Xiao #at any rate the end of the GAA #implied that Sumeru is going to hold as a thematic #dreams through its Archon #so I can't wait to see more of that #but after putting this in place #everything has more sense #as to why in the same quest Ei #differentiated clearly ambitions from dreams #I might do a smaller post on that one #but for now have the first thingy #related to the poetry that is kept in mind #for the core of G.enshin's story ♥︎

[ac-liveblogs]

The way Lantern Rite is becoming less and less about the Yaksha and more into something new every year makes me wonder why they even bothered giving it that link to Xiao. I mean sure the reason festivals are celebrated can change over time but that's not really what it feels like in Genshin to me...it feels more like they just forgot or don't wanna write about Xiao anymore outside of a cameo here & there because they know the fans expect to see him, since ya know, that's what they said the Lantern Rite was about?

I don't think it was ever specifically about the Yaksha, but rather a commemoration of the dead (which included the Yaksha and other Adepti by default), thus the original focus on the Mingxiao Lantern and Xiao by extension.

Year 2 Lantern Rite was about Keqing solving a fireworks theft mystery, Year 3 was about the famously still alive Madame Ping and Year 4...

Lantern Rite is surely meant to be analogous to Chinese New Year so it's no wonder they don't really want to commit to that theme, but in a... narrative where they did explicitly tie it to the development and healing of one specific character, it does get kind of strange if that one character doesn't get a major role. It's not such a big deal for something like Windblume by contrast. They might want to do a Xiao episode every two years instead of annually, which I would understand to an extent, but... we'll see.

Though interestingly, Moonchase was about a dead Adepti...

#replies #ac plays genshin impact #and the chasm

[blue-pastel-cat]

Xiaobedo Fanfic Recommendation

Welcome to my personal “if you are new to xiaobedo peeps please read these” list. As said before this is my personal list so please feel free to reblog/comment/hit me for not including any gem here. I might miss a lot of them because I am drunk or blind. (mostly have them on my to read and then forgot as I am being assault by real life shit).

I would like to say first that so far there are 150+ Xiaobedo fics on Ao3. I can’t review all of them but I can say that I have read a majority of them. Most of them are just pure love and I would like nothing more than a thousands thank you for all the fic writers who spent their free time writting these gems for us to read for free. But these...these takes the cake as it finds a special landing spot in my heart that I would just thrust them into someone’s hand if they say “I am new to this ship can you recommend me?”

1. Orange dust by bobamilkteas (Wes)

In which Xiao learns to open himself up to the world a little more after the collapse of Rex lapis's contracts but it was not always easy for a soul doomed to eternal damnation. Meanwhile, Albedo liked to tempt fate where the extraordinary are concerned.

If only the traveler's comrades are made of saner bunch.

Comment: Long ago when I like both Albedo and Xiao as a character, I was wondering hmmm....will anyone actually even write about them lmao they never met each other. I am surprise to see this one as the 3rd fic in the whole 3 Xiaobedo fic on Ao3 (yeah back when there’s literally only 3 fic for this couple). I was like I’ll read it for the curiosity, I’ll probably won’t ship them. And that people is how I put my clown make up on my face upon finishing reading it. This ONE fic alone convert me into a devotee of Xiaobedo. Please consider joining me in this circus if you want to know what is Xiaobedo. I would put this as the first of my “Big 3″

Orange Dust also come with its compliation of short stories over the course of the game and a big sequel to it. Please also consider reading ALL OF THEM.

2. Solar Wind by birdpriestess (Sparrow)

For the yaksha, his duty was his life, and his life was his duty. No human could ever hope to understand the eternal war he fought out of sight and in silence.

So why, then, did he feel that Albedo would understand?

---

Finding himself at death's door once more, Xiao is saved by a surprising person, setting off the unlikeliest of adventures.

Comment: Do you like crying? Do you like the feeling of getting your heart ripped into pieces as the author destroy your emotions over the end of each chapter as the story picked up the climax? Yeah, this one is for you masochists. The action, the characterisation, the drama THE EMOTIONS OH WOW. I kid you not that it was so good I read this while workinng when I am not suppose to me. Also, this fic has my favourite characterisation of Gold ever. I love that dramatic queen Mad Alchemist. AND DAIN. I LOVE DAIN IN THIS FIC. Our dearest Sparrow manage to toy with our feelings like how I bully ruin guard for big numbers lmao. This is the secound of “Big 3″ of my Xiaobedo list.

Again, just like Orange Dust, Solar Wind comes with its own compliation of short stories of what came after that. Please also consider reading ALL OF THEM.

3. Castle of Glass by AlchemicalStardust (Morgie) 

A black shadow rises over Huaguang Stone Forest. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Albedo flees the shaking ground and the crash of boulders tumbling form the sky. As the dust settles, Albedo finds a young man – an Adeptus – amidst the carnage. Despite the karmic agony ripping his body from the inside, Xiao’s only question is “How?” How did a human survive after witnessing his battle?

Comment: The last of the “Big 3″ of my Xiaobedo list. And it is still on going! Castle of Glass? More like I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS! Have you read a fic about 2 people yearning, longing, reaching out for each other so damn well that you just want to throw your phone in the air as they both had their impending doom coming down upon them? Yeah this is one of them. You will like want to be stuck in the moment they express how much they just yearn for each other’s love and care that you want to shake the author for what comes next. Like...everytime Morgie update I am expressing my gratitude at the end of the chapter by writing on Xiaobedo discord “MORGIE COME HERE AND LET ME BONK YOU WHY ARE YOU ENDING IT THERE”

trust me when you read you will def feel the same. With just Big 3 and their compliation alone that would give you like a LONG list of reading already LMAOOOOOOO

4. Find a place to call it home  by yamajiroo 

Our room, he said. Xiao’s brow twitches. Zhongli never said anything about this. But then again, perhaps he should anticipate this from the beginning...

Xiao looks over at Albedo, who is now tilting his head, his look as innocent as ever.

“Are you not okay with sharing a room?”

Comment: College AU for Xiaobedo! One thing that I love this is the slow burn and what made me LOVE LOVE LOVE this fic more is how cute Klee is in this fic. Their relationship in this one is very simple, but that simplicity highlight why their chemistry work. Xiao is someone who was just very gentle, who was largely misunderstood by his lonesome nature. Albedo was someone who like peace and quite in his introvert bubble. And how they respect that bubble that each other has actually made their relationship work. I love it when fic highlight this and this one captures it.

5. I Can't See Your Face From the Other Side of the Classroom by MissWeaver  

When Albedo and Xiao unexpectedly start eating lunch together, they begin to find that they have more in common than anyone would have realized. They both struggle in their own ways with blossoming feelings, too many assignments, and annoying classmates as they navigate a relationship for the first time.

Comment: I’ll be honest, I usually hate high school au just because its so cliche. I don’t even watch and drama/anime surrounds high school student anymore LMAOOO (unless it’s very good). So if there’s an high school AU that I actually keep come back and read after a couple of chapters, it means that the cliche that I hate wasn’t there or barely was there at all. The pinning in this fic makes me want to bang their head together sometimes LMAOOO The tag wasn’t kidding when they said both Xiao and Albedo are bad at feelings. Also that’s a lot of heart broken caused by these two idiots XD

6. new world, same me, same bullshit  by  bobamilkteas (Wes)

At the belly of Dragonspine, Albedo lost control to the festering corruption that permeated his senses and watched, from the recesses of his mind, as his devoured body turned his allies into enemies. Before his rampage reached its climax, he is sealed in a crystalized confinement by the last hand of Reindottir, where he then reawakens centuries after, in a rebooted Teyvat.

Comment: Yeah I know it was list in Orange Dust but here me out. This sets out in an entirely different universe. And if you like Polyamory, this one has Zhongli joining the duo and I love it because I also love ZhongXiao with my life. Time Travel is my biggest kink. Especially when I am the person who love it when people explore Archon War era/ Alatus!Xiao. So this one hits double of my kink. Of course it is still on going and I will bully Wes whenever I can to see that new chapter. Albedo is a total fucking badass in this story and I completely agree from using him in Abyss so often. Everyone should write badass Albedo.

7. misplaced heart of mine by  inkburn           

“If you are ill, then you should be resting at home. In Mondstadt.” He emphasized Mondstadt with a pointed look in his direction.

“I assure you I won’t be troublesome, Adeptus Xiao,” Albedo said, “You’ll find I’m a rather low-maintenance traveler.”

“Travel,” Xiao scoffed, “without airstep?”

Albedo looked him up and down. “Are your legs just for decoration?”

(albedo is sent to liyue on mandatory vacation. xiao is his unfortunate bodyguard.)

Comment: Most of the time you will see Albedo and Xiao starting their relationship with one of them taking interest in another. But this one took another approach, they starting off by make them hating each other’s guts LMAOOOO and I live for every second of it. There’s only 1 chapter so far but wow it was SOOO GOOD. I am really really excited for next chapter and is waiting patiently ;w;

8.  Blossom of Grace  by birdpriestess  

One day in Liyue Harbor, Albedo watches a street performance by an enigmatic dancer named Xiao. And he becomes completely obsessed.

Comment: Have you ever look at Xiao fight and thinking that he’s one of the most beautiful deadly thing ever? How it was like he was dancing around the battlefield? How about actual dancer Xiao being so absolutely beautiful and perfect and that slow burn of Albedo falling in love with that beauty with a touch of Modern AU and cute Ganyu as the Wing woman. Yes, Sparrow delivers yet again another beautiful slow burn and while it’s still ongoing it is worth the read.

9. i think we could make this work (could get used to this) by outspaced               

“Xiao? What are you doing out here?”

“I—”

“It’s raining,” Albedo says, as if it isn’t obvious. “You could get struck by lightning.”

“What are you doing out here then?” Xiao does the only thing he knows how to do, he challenges Albedo. “It’s raining.”

Albedo just hums. “If I get struck by lightning, it’s for science.”

Comment: A short one-shot where I read the summary and went “This is it... this is their relationship.” I am sold immediately. Oh god Albedo why are you like this.

10. Ephemeral by criedprinz        

“It’s not for your investigation, is it?” Aether asked mildly.

Albedo traced a finger around the sketchbook, considering the question. “No,” he admitted finally. “I... I just want to see them again.”

He opened the sketchbook to reveal the drawing he’d just finished. Aether nodded, clearly recognizing the sharp golden eyes.

“Xiao,” he said. “You were rescued by an adeptus.”

When a visit to Dragonspine goes horribly wrong, Albedo is rescued by an unknown stranger, wielding powers he's never heard of. Led on a search to find out who it is, he finds himself in the middle of an unforgettable encounter..

Comment: A really really well written one-shot that I love. The yearning oh godddd the yearning from Albedo side is just so so much that I have to put it here. (I think you can see the trend here lmao. I am a sucker for yearning). And the moment they get to meet each other again is just chef kiss. MWHAA

11. Idle Yaksha, Brilliant Yaksha by Pit0fTheEarth

Alatus didn’t have a lot of responsibilities to keep. He spent most of his days dancing across the sky and eating away all nightmares that plagued a person’s sleep.

But one fortunate encounter led to too many unfortunate ones, taking his carefree existence and plunging it in darkness. His wings, stripped from him. His gentle touch, replaced by an unforgiving grip of destruction.

There was a lot of blood on his hands. With each passing moment, it became harder for Alatus to recall the last time someone gently held him.

Comment: This is one of the ongoing fic where I am very very much excited on the take of Naberius. And the way the author portray Xiao when he’s still the innocent Alatus is just *clench fist*. Baby ;w; Baby why do you have to lose all that innocence. Also the fic has long LONG flashback to Xiao past and his relationship with Naberius. We are unwielding more what happened to both of them and why perhaps does this have to do with Albedo.

That’s it for now, might add more later! Thank you <3

#xiaobedo #tetsu likes to ramble #genshin impact

[niteshade925]

v2.6 Chasm Lore Thoughts Pt.2:  500 Years Ago, the Cataclysm

(Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4)

Spoilers ahead!  You have been warned.

Chasm, 500 Years Ago

It’s pretty much confirmed that the bottom of the Chasm is where Rhinedottir/Gold’s Abyssal creations started invading Liyue from.

Ruin serpents, including Haftvad the Worm, may have been the machines that enabled this? (Ruin serpent archive description:  “If this was the case, then carving out tunnels with which the forces of this nation might access the whole continent would have been a thing of great ease”)  Bonus in that ruin serpents actually throw out oozing concretions.

The Yaksha who went into the Chasm to fight the invading Abyssal powers is definitely the electro Yaksha from the Xiao trailer.  The artifact set Vermillion Hereafter descriptions talk about a “four armed Yaksha”, and the Thundering Poise mask matches the purple mask from the Xiao trailer.

Also the beads on the artwork for the Vermillion Hereafter artifact pieces are reminiscent of Xiao’s necklace.

The electro Yaksha may have wielded Calamity Queller at the time, since the Calamity Queller’s description did mention it.  The English translation for the Thundering Poise mask description says “blade in hand”, which is pretty much the right translation for “扬刃” in the original text, however “blade” and “刃” have different connotations in their respective languages.  “Blade” can imply a sword, whereas “刃” doesn’t have as strong of a connotation.  So it’s pretty much confirmed that the electro Yaksha wielded the Calamity Queller.

The mystery here is what happened to the electro Yaksha?  Xiao’s trailer says that besides Xiao, “death came to three, while the fourth vanished without a trace”.  Was the electro Yaksha one of the three who died, or the fourth one who vanished without a trace?  So far there’s evidence for both.  The Vermillion Hereafter set suggests that the electro Yaksha died in battle, but the Yakshas:  The Guardian Adepti story trailer (aka the story from Zhongli’s perspective) suggests the electro Yaksha went crazy, similar to other beings who came into close contact with the Abyss, for example, the Oni Mikoshi Chiyo.

About the English translation here:  “succumbed” would sometimes suggest dying in English, but actually the original Chinese was “走火入魔”, which is more like “in too deep” and suggest becoming mentally unstable or going insane.  This word is often used in Wuxia and Xianxia novels to describe characters who were too deeply involved with whatever they were doing to the point of insanity.  The animation also shows the Yaksha standing on a mound of corpses with an eye glowing red.  Perhaps it’s like a Sekiro Shura ending situation:  the Yaksha killed too much and was taken over by bloodlust.  But of course it’s also possible that he died after going crazy.

The story in the Echoes of an Offering artifact set is a lot more fragmented and contains new characters, but it does seem to have a certain connection to the story in the Vermillion Hereafter set.  One of these characters is an adeptus named the “Herblord” (LMAOOOOOOO).  Actually the original Chinese is “药君”, where the character “药” is more about medicinal herbs than just...herbs.  I have seen someone on Reddit propose the translation of “Medicine Adeptus”, which definitely sounds a lot less meme-y lol.  

Another one of these new characters is a giant koi with “rainbow scales”, who eventually sunk into the depths (a word to can be used to characterize both the Chasm and the Abyss) and never came back to the surface again.  Perhaps this giant koi died in the Cataclysm?  Since the Feather of Nascent Light from Vermillion Hereafter set mentions “a fish sinking into a deep pool”.  The “bird plummeting into a forge” part could be about the electro Yaksha, since the two Yakshas whose animal forms we know about so far (Xiao and Pervases) are both birds.

Side note on the description of Feather of Nascent Light:  the end of it says “the land will forever remember”.  Here, the “land” should be understood as the ley lines.

What happened to the Herblord is unknown, but tea and tea-drinking culture from the mountain spread to Liyue Harbor, then all over Teyvat.

The domain where the artifact set comes from is located in the southwest region of Liyue.  In reality, Camellia sinensis, the tea tree (not a shrub btw; they were only kept short so people can have an easier time harvesting the leaves), did originate in and around southwestern China (Yunnan province).  Ancient wild Camellia sinensis trees still grow there to this day, some reaching 2700 years old.  The oldest tea tree in the world at 3200 years old is found in Yunnan (the “Jinxiu Tea King”/锦绣茶王 in Lincang city, Yunnan, picture below).  According to scholars, tea-drinking likely began around Yunnan, but developed into a culture when the practice reached what is present-day Sichuan (then called Shu/蜀), and spread to other areas of China from there, and eventually all over the world.  

#genshin impact #genshin lore #genshin spoilers #liyue chasm #the cataclysm #yakshas #genshin translation

[guiltycorp]

oh hey! what about mondstadt? 

we already knew about the consequences of large conflicts in teyvat, in liyue the corruption explicitly comes from the remains of defeated gods, their power and hatred spreading throughout the land and influencing other beings the cataclysm is less mentioned - probably because it relates to the chasm which is yet to be released ...but anyway what we know is that 500 years ago the monsters and other filth of the abyss crawled out of the chasm and the ruins which were created by a falling star ~6k years ago the milileth and the unnamed yaksha dealt with the chasm (the milileth group is apparently still slumbering down there or smth) while zhongli apparently dealt with some other outbreaks anyway xiao still deals with that corruption leftover from the archon war and the thaumaturges/exorcists deal with a variety of evil spirits and demons which seemingly also include regular creatures with malevolent motives and occasional ghosts which might have remained because of unfinished business or lingering unsatisfaction  in inazuma though (at least as far as i played and it’s not far at all lol sorry, the main questlines keep me away) this so-called filth, ‘sickness, pain, and evil’, comes specifically from the cataclysm of 500 years ago, intensified by each following conflict such as the current war with sangonomiya im assuming that there’s also something about the giant serpent god who was killed by baal, no way that there aren’t any consequences of that but i had yet to come across any notable mention of the archon war and according to kazari the only method of cleansing the corruption in inazuma is the sacred sakura tree which seems like a clever way to systematically deal with it rather than fighting on each separate occasion (poor xiao) okay, but so... who’s the one dealing with corruption in mondstadt? why does kazari say ‘different practices in different places’ and only names liyue which we already know about? there was an archon war in which decarabian fell, why isn’t there any lingering evil leftover from his bitterness? are we supposed to believe that he was accepting of his death? his site of death doesn’t seem to have any particular darkness associated with it so.. yeah, fine, maybe after all, andrius also died in a benevolent way, his powers and his spirit still acting as the nation’s protection, and decarabian initially also just wanted to keep his people safe however, were there truly only 2 gods in the whole of mondstadt, even though liyue is right next to it and had like, 999 of those? wouldn’t it make more sense if decarabian and andrius already got rid of competition before warring solely with each other? and then there still should be other remains of vanquished gods also 500 years ago mond was obviously hit rather hard by the monsters of the abyss alongside with a giant black dragon who was specifically sent there;  from what we know of khaenri’ah so far it definitely seems like they had a closer history with mondstadt than with some other nations sooo... durin’s corruption is semi-sealed by the frozen mountain of sal vind, okay but shouldn’t there be far more darkness around? like, sure, there’re a lot of hilichurls in dadaupa gorge, the site of the greatest battle, but... they just live there, they’re not especially evil or malignant and there aren’t any more abyss mages than in other nations even though there’s literally the spiral abyss hanging near pff, doesn’t seem like it’s particularly sealed or anything my guesses are:  1) the four winds were the ones dealing with al filth, so in absence of dvalin it fell to the knights, andrius and vennessa (if she’s around at all), it’s just not mentioned much 2) it was specifically vennessa who took on all corruption and that’s why she doesn’t appear to help us anymore, got tired or corrupted herself 3) the god of time, who was worshipped in mond alongside venti, sacrificed themselves in order to get rid of all corruption  4) kreuzlied and other similar batmans dealt with it  5) nobody did anything about the corruption and it’s still there, awaiting us in future quests 6) the writers didn’t think about the implications right?

#genshin #genshin lore #text #mondstadt

[genshin-impact-updates]

Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Part I)

Greetings, Travelers!

It's been almost five whole months since Genshin Impact went live, and the time seems to have flown by! We do hope you're all enjoying a smooth journey through Teyvat. Since the game's release, we have received a great deal of feedback and suggestions from Travelers and we've systematically recorded each one for the developers. We deeply appreciate all the time, energy, and passion everyone puts in to these suggestions.

In the midst of this, many of you have expressed an interest in learning more about how some of Genshin Impact's characters are created. As it happens, one character who has received an especially high amount of attention is Xiao, who has now entered the live game with the release of Version 1.3, "All That Glitters." So, for this issue, we've invited colleagues from the Creative Concept & Writing, Concept Art, and Animation departments to explain a bit about the thought process behind everyone's favorite Vigilant Yaksha.

1. The Vigilant Yaksha Is Born: A Character Woven From Cultural Symbolism

Hello everyone, my name is Zhongyuan from the Creative Concept & Writing department of miHoYo.

The first part of the process when designing characters for Genshin Impact is to pin down who the character is at their core. In this step, we need to establish the features that set this character apart from other characters. Besides ensuring that this character will make a strong impression on people, these features are used to evaluate what this character's position in the world of Genshin Impact will be. Characters are not just lumps of rock that we can place anywhere we want in the environment; they are autonomous individuals, each one with a complex set of past, present, and future interactions with the world of Teyvat. Their core features, then, represent their initial points of contact with the world. They are the guiding principles behind all the character's actions and how they live their life.

Xiao was one of the first Liyue characters we came up with. He began with our colleague CiCi's proposal for a young warrior character, which everyone involved in the character evaluation process approved of. The Art team envisaged him as a young man of great beauty, while colleagues in Creative Concept & Writing hoped to position him as a beautiful adeptus. Both sides were on the same page, and thus Xiao became our very first character planned with the identity of "mighty and illuminated adeptus."

Although this is somewhat tangential, I'd like to take a moment here to give a little more detail on the adepti in the Genshin Impact universe, given that so many players have expressed an interest in this topic. The adepti are based on the idea of demigod-like "immortals" (仙人 xianren) in Daoism, and are referred to by the honorific title "sanyan wuxian" (三眼五显), literally "three eyes and five manifestations" (but localized in English as "mighty and illuminated"). The adepti are classed as non-human, based on the notion that "All who have nine orifices can achieve immortality through self-discipline," a line uttered by the "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the West. This means that animals are also capable of achieving adeptus status. However, humans have a higher purpose than adepti in the world of Teyvat, so for this reason, only those of non-human status can be referred to as "adepti" in Liyue. The "three eyes" part of the adepti's title refers to the "third eye" possessed by those with the ability to manipulate elemental energy, which for humans takes the form of a Vision. For adepti such as Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper, the human understanding is that they must have an "inner eye" that serves the same purpose as a Vision. Xiao, however, typically appears in a human form, so he dutifully wears a Vision to comply with the expected norm.

After the character's fundamentals are established, the next step is to design their Constellation and refine their cultural background.

Outside of Genshin Impact, the term "sanyan wuxian" can be traced back to ancient Chinese texts and also appears in supernatural fiction from the Late Imperial period (c. 1368–1911 CE). In both cases, it typically describes the Daoist deity Huaguang Tianwang (华光天王, "Heavenly King of Radiant Light"), also known as Ma Lingguan (马灵官, "Numinous Official Ma"). Huaguang Tianwang is a well-known guardian deity, who appears in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the South, in which he has an altercation with Sun Wukong. Research into folk culture also shows there is precedent to connect deities known as Wuxian (五显, "Five manifestations" or "Five Named Xian") with a group of malevolent deities known as Wutong (五通, "Five Powers" or "Five Named Tong"), which includes the one-legged, people-eating, mountain-dwelling demons known as Shanxiao (山魈, "mountain demon").

So, at the most hidden but fundamental level of this character's core, we decided on the name Xiao (魈) and the identity of a guardian-adeptus. The name Xiao is used to hide his past, but also embodies this character at the innermost part of his soul. It is the starting point for all further character development and cultural embellishments.

Another dimension of Xiao's design was that he wields an Anemo Vision and has a fleet-footed and agile combat style that includes the unique ability to propel himself through the air. To stay true to this, we decided to design his Constellation and skills around the idea of the yaksha in Buddhism. This meant we were conflating ideas from different sources; nevertheless, the yaksha had become a well-established figure in Chinese folk legends by at least the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). The yaksha element ended up being a crucial part of Xiao's design that really helped us flesh him out in terms of his image.

The two archetypal stories of "guardian yaksha" and "numinous official's redemption" both involve a malevolent spirit on a path towards goodness, which was consistent with the general direction of Xiao's character core. Furthermore, his physical agility matched very well with another term for yaksha in Chinese, "Swift and nimble spirit" (捷疾鬼 jieji gui). Through further development of the yaksha concept, we arrived at the decision that the other fundamental aspect of Xiao's identity would be his role as a guardian yaksha in service of a monarch, or in this case, an archon.

One detail is particularly worth mentioning here. There is a well-known group of guardian yakshas in some Buddhist denominations known as the Twelve Heavenly Generals. All but one of them correspond to different animals in the Chinese zodiac, while Mekhila, who would otherwise correspond to the rooster, is instead associated with a bird deity, the golden-winged Garuda, a figure from various Indian religions. The story goes that this golden-winged bird deity was a fearsome predator who ate only evil dragons, until one day the dragon poison he had consumed became too much for him to bear, and he burned to death, leaving only a crystal heart behind. This story seemed to resonate with aspects of Xiao's character. Furthermore, the Chinese name Jinchi Peng Wang Niao (金翅鹏王鸟, "Golden Winged Great Peng") embodies a history of evolution — it represents a convergence between Garuda and the Peng, a Chinese mythological bird, showing that some adaptation occurred in the process of his adoption into Chinese religion. After much consideration, we decided to use the Golden Winged Great Peng as the basis for Xiao's Constellation. In English, Xiao's Constellation has been localized as "Alatus Nemeseos," in reference to the bird deity and Xiao's role as the nemesis of evil.

Finally, we conducted an overall review of Xiao's character profile. During this process, we noticed that Xiao's origins were very complex: Some aspects of his identity were based on folk legends while others drew on religious stories. From mountain demon, to Daoist deity, to guardian yaksha, to mythological bird, this was a uniquely rich character formed from the convergence and refashioning of many ideas in one place. More importantly, all these elements were consistent with each other at the narrative layer, creating a strong and cohesive impression of who this character is and adding clear, nuanced substance to his story. This degree of complexity gave Xiao just the depth and appeal that we were hoping for with this character: we hoped to create something entirely new through the convergence and fusion of various cultural elements, and we hope that the end result, Xiao, possesses the power, aesthetic value, and maturity to become a true cultural icon.

The next step was shaping the character's personality and behavior.

After close consultation with Concept Art colleagues, Creative Concept & Writing further fine-tuned the details of this character's content. To pick one example, we all felt that the distinctive image of a young warrior was an important one that we wanted to keep. This begged the question: if Xiao is a warrior, who or what is he waging war against? We quickly got to thinking about a war between the gods. (See section 2 of this article for how Concept Art developed the mask design based on this idea.) One of the basic rules of the Genshin Impact world is that gods cannot be completely destroyed — even if a god's physical form is destroyed, its will and power live on. The remnants and the wrath of the defeated god will remain in the world, waiting for opportunities to cause chaos. To keep Liyue safe from this threat, somebody has to go and keep them at bay.

The decision to release Xiao at Lantern Rite was to tie in with the Chinese custom of driving away evil spirits at the new year, since Xiao's role in Liyue is that of a protector in precisely this capacity.

During festivals, people offer up incense and pray to the adepti for their protection.

But they do not pray to Xiao.

For Xiao is no lucky star that promises fame and fortune — he is a demon-hunting yaksha.

After the lantern lights of Liyue have faded, the thankless battle to protect the city goes on unseen. It is an endless battle, and there can be no victor.

The Traveler's first impression of Xiao is most likely to be of a silent and brooding individual, a courageous and competent fighter, and someone who harbors great suffering. This suffering comes from within Xiao himself. One aspect is that the years of intense, never-ending battle against the remnants of defeated gods have led to him resigning himself to the fact that fighting is all he is good at. The other aspect is that the remnants have a negative effect on him, while the constant killing places a karmic burden on him, causing him mental and spiritual anguish.

This inner suffering is present in the design of his skills: when Xiao uses "Bane of All Evil," he dons his mask, which continually enhances his combat abilities but also continually drains his health. This demonstrates the great suffering he must endure as a consequence of using this power.

After the Traveler has spent some time with Xiao, perhaps they can sense that deep down, Xiao has a gentler side. Xiao is by no means a cruel and callous individual, he is simply reticent to show his emotions to others.

Xiao always keeps his distance from the hustle and bustle of human society. This is not because he doesn't care about humanity, but is due to his role as a protector. He must wage war against dark forces out of sight of humans, and endure a suffering that is incomprehensible to them. Despite this, he does not despise humanity. Humans are the foundation of his millennia-old contract with Rex Lapis, and the reason he silently fights to protect every living soul in Liyue.

The player's first offer to Xiao is to go to the Lantern Rite together to experience the atmosphere. Xiao instinctively refuses requests of this nature— not because he dislikes the idea, but out of avoidance. For Xiao, who has lived for millennia, the human world is a brilliant but fleeting flash of light; a wisp of cloud floating by; a firework on the horizon. And as the one tasked with defending this flurry of activity, he is like a caged beast circling the fire of a stove: fearful, but also full of curiosity. Having watched from a distance for so long, he would not know how to join in with the crowd even if he tried.

The lanterns rise up into the night sky, as if to shine along with the stars. Xiao watches this beautiful sight alone from a mountaintop, and just like anyone else, he senses the sentiment behind them, and he understands that the reason people craft these beautiful things is to remember those who fought alongside him in the past. As one who lived through the events of the past and remembers it all, he is, of course, able to appreciate the well-wishes that the lanterns represent. He understands kindness and gratitude, but doesn't know how to interact with ordinary people, nor does he know what his place is among all the excitement and noise. This lonely state of existence is the source of his melancholy. It has caused time to stand still, leading to him still having a very young mentality even to this day.

During the main Liyue questline, Xiao came to the Traveler's rescue in their moment of peril. In Version 1.3 "All That Glitters," we invite Travelers once again to experience a story that provides a glimpse into Xiao's seldom-shown gentle nature, as well as the trust, hidden deep within his heart, that he places in you.

2. A Young Adeptus: Detail-Based Design

Hello everyone, this is D and SS from the Genshin Impact Art team. We worked on the concept art for Xiao.

After the initial brief, we produced a first draft of Xiao's design based on the young warrior concept. As you can see, Xiao's expression in this version is far from the stern one he wears today. He has a gentler temperament and he is smiling. In this sense, he captures a more traditional notion of what a Daoist immortal (or in Genshin Impact terms, an adeptus) might look like. After more discussion with Creative Concept & Writing colleagues and taking more of his back story into account, we decided on the green version.

Xiao is an adeptus who protects Liyue, and in the course of his long battle against the remnants of defeated gods all over Liyue, he has become poisoned by their nefarious energy. Based on this background, Xiao's upper body uses white and green, which represent the adepti and correlate to his Anemo Vision. For his lower body, we used darker colors to represent the dark, malevolent power that exists inside him.

Based on these same principles, we gave him dark hair with highlights, and also created some interplay between light and dark in his attack animations. The darkness represents the destructive power of fierce battle, while the fragments and orbs of light that he gives off come from the fact that he is an adeptus.

Xiao may have the appearance of a young man, but his true age is something over two thousand years.

Fortunately, people do not tend to underestimate him on the basis of his appearance — one only needs to spend a short time with Xiao to recognize that he is not someone to be trifled with.

Xiao is a man of few words. He is highly dangerous, and has the most piercing gaze you've ever seen.

Given Xiao's true age and his identity as an adeptus, we decided to give him some jade jewelry to bring a sense of longevity and mystery. Accordingly, his legs, wrists, and shoulders feature decorative jade as well as various other objects bearing simple motifs. Meanwhile, to match his young appearance with striking good looks, we tailored his clothing (especially on the upper body) using a more modern design, displaying his vibrancy and agility.

On the one hand, Xiao is an immortal adeptus, while on the other hand, he is a young warrior. This is a great variance in image, and it posed a significant challenge for us from an art perspective. Traditionally, an immortal is imagined as a scholarly figure dressed in long, flowing robes with wide sleeves, who is fairly reserved in the movements of their hands and feet. But Xiao, as a master of the dance-like art of polearm combat and a fleet-footed yaksha, required clothing that offers both protection and freedom of movement. Furthermore, we also knew that there were strict limits on any flowing parts of his outfit due to the risk of clipping they would create after 3D modeling.

So we made Xiao's garments close-fitting and short-sleeved, put some light gauntlets on his wrists, and added some religious paraphernalia such as a censer and a vajra. Meanwhile, his streamers and the breechcloths around his waist are decorated with a cloud motif to add a sense of antiquity. In this way, we achieved a union between practicality and ethereality.

"Bane of All Evil" — the four words that sum up what Xiao has experienced over the past millennia, according to Liyue's rulers who know the truth about him.

In the design of Xiao's mask, we referenced aspects of the masks traditionally used in exorcism rituals as part of Nuo (傩) folk religion.

The main colors used in these masks are black, blue, and gold, the eyes are bright but not flamboyant, and in general the masks look solemn but also mysterious. The sinister-looking bulging eyes, fangs, and horns instill fear in the viewer. The eye in the center of the forehead represents omniscience and the flame motifs make it all the more imposing, the intent being to cause all onlookers to cower in fear.

Xiao's release coincides with the ancient festival of Lantern Rite. We would like to use this historic occasion as a chance to send our best wishes to everyone — here's to deliverance from the ills that plague the real world as well as those that face us in the world of Teyvat. To fans of Xiao reading this, we hope you feel that learning a little about the design ethos gave you the chance to better understand and connect with this character.

(Continued in Part 2)

#genshin impact #official #genshin impact updates #genshin xiao #xiao #xiao simps rejoice! #part 2 is gonna take a while‚ i got class in 15 minutes #but anyway this was super interesting to see :o #developer insight

[genshin-impact-updates]

Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Part II)

3. Vanquishing Demons: Animating & Debugging

Greetings, Travelers. This is Xiaolong from the Genshin Impact Animation department.

When work on Genshin Impact first began, we in the Animation team set ourselves a rather challenging objective — to provide players with an animation experience as smooth as you would see when watching an animated film. To achieve this goal, we invested a significant amount of time and resources into making character movements as natural and polished as possible. Our hope was that players could view these animations many times without tiring of them.

When we received the character profile and concept art, the whole Animation team got very excited. "Conqueror of Demons," "Vigilant Yaksha," "mighty and illuminated adeptus"... As the image of Liyue's sworn protector emerged before our eyes, equally devastating in looks as in combat, everyone in the team wanted to be a part of it. We felt that in a sense, Creative Concept & Writing and Concept Art had created his soul, and our job as animators was to place his soul inside his body.

As a Liyue character, Xiao's movements naturally had to incorporate some Eastern elements. The notion of a classic martial arts hero instantly came to mind, and a thought took hold in my mind: "I have to capture something of this iconic Eastern aesthetic to show to players around the world, even if only a tiny glimpse of it."

In terms of how to combine polearm combat with Eastern elements, naturally we had plenty of martial arts tradition to draw on. But as an adeptus who has fought countless battles in his past, Xiao could hardly be limited to the physical techniques themselves. So, the way we animated him had to include Eastern elements as well as capture the swift and decisive combat style of a guardian yaksha who has honed his skills over thousands of years.

In the third phase of Xiao's Normal Attack, he performs a sidewards somersault. Typically, after performing a movement like this, one would expect to see further movement of the body to release the momentum. But to show Xiao's quick and nimble physical ability, we drew on the Chinese martial arts trope of the body being as "light as a leaf" as well as skills from parkour to have Xiao come to a soft and steady landing after his mid-air roll.

Clip from Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Xiao's elemental affiliation is Anemo, and he was stated in his profile as having strong self-propulsion skills. After some brainstorming, we decided that we wanted the visual effect of Xiao's Elemental Skill to be like an arrow flying in a straight line through the air. When the skill ends, we have him slide along the ground as he slowly turns around, making the movement appear effortless and graceful.

Clip from Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon

As mentioned earlier, we wanted to make everything look as polished as possible. This meant ironing out a lot of details. Every flap of clothing and every strand of hair has undergone an animator's repeated scrutiny. After reviewing countless motion effects produced with dynamic simulation, we would select the one we were happiest with and polish the key frames further to finally produce the heroic Vigilant Yaksha we were happy with, whose every movement was filled with explosive energy and speed, and whose every posture in every frame was picture perfect.

We couldn't discuss Xiao without mentioning his mask, a key element which appears both in his Elemental Burst as well as his idle animations. Over the millennia, Xiao has fought constantly with the remnants of defeated gods and with all manner of monsters; at the same time, the burden of karmic debt has constantly been accumulating within him. When he dons his mask, this karmic debt manifests itself, greatly enhancing both his combat abilities as well as the suffering he must endure. And yet, time after time, he dons his mask to protect Liyue; time after time, he stays true to his contract.

According to Xiao's profile, his deepest, most hidden element is gentleness. When all identities and labels are cast aside, Xiao has a gentle side, shown in his curiosity towards phenomena in the human world, but he is very reticent to show this side of himself to others. This aspect was very difficult to capture in his animations, so in the end we created an idle animation that tells a short story: a spark of light that seems to be alive draws near; Xiao stretches out his hand to try to make contact with it, but because of his karma-ravaged constitution, he succeeds only in causing the spirit to fly away. He knew this would be the inevitable conclusion, but feels dejected all the same.

It took this kind of conflict between complex emotions to convey this character's richness and breathe life into his soul.

To perfect how Xiao is presented, our Technical Animation team used optical motion capture technology, which captures high-precision data to accurately recreate the finer details of the actor's limb movements. Meanwhile, more complex combat movements that could not be easily recreated in real life required the animator to go through and fine-tune the position of each bone and the movement of each streamer. On the foundation of smooth and natural animation, this added an additional element of exaggeration and novelty.

We are currently in the process of researching and developing character animation styles for several future world regions. Our dream has always been to create fresh, dynamic characters, build a vibrant fantasy world, and fully develop the various cultures across the different regions of Teyvat. Although plenty of challenges await us on the road ahead, we feel that the chance to bring you a product that is a true labor of love is something worth striving for.

---

Thanks to all our colleagues who worked on this article. We hope everyone reading it feels they got to understand something new about how we develop characters for Genshin Impact.

Please leave a comment if there is any aspect of Genshin Impact's research and development that you are interested in. We will continue to get colleagues from different departments to share their experiences and reflections with everyone.

Finally, thanks once again to all Travelers for your ongoing interest and support. See you again soon!

#genshin impact #official #genshin impact updates #genshin xiao #xiao #ok here's part 2 #there's another post about a live wallpaper but i'm in class so that'll be at 10 my time #developer insight

[genshin-impact-updates]

"All That Glitters" Version 1.3 Update Details (Part 1)

Dear Travelers,

Below are the details of the Version 1.3 "All That Glitters" update and the update compensation.

〓Compensation〓

1. Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300

(60 Primogems for every hour the servers are down)

2. Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300

(Please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Eligibility〓

Maintenance Compensation: All Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2021/02/03 06:00:00(UTC+8)

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 1.3.

Bug Fix Compensation: All Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2021/02/03 06:00:00(UTC+8)

Please claim from in-game mail before 2021/02/06 11:00:00(UTC+8)

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2021/02/03 06:00:00(UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

(Note: Precise timings are subject to change. Players may also experience disruption outside of this period.)

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen. (Alternatively, you may open Google Play and tap Update.)

PS4: Highlight Genshin Impact from the PS4 Home Screen and press the OPTIONS button > Check for Update.

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue swiftly.

〓Update Details〓

(All times below based on server time)

I. New Character

5-Star Character "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Anemo)

◇ Vision: Anemo

◇ Weapon: Polearm

◇ A yaksha adeptus who defends Liyue. Also heralded as the "Conqueror of Demons" and "Vigilant Yaksha."

Elemental Skill "Lemniscatic Wing Cycling": Xiao instantly lunges forward, dealing DMG to enemies in his path. This maneuver can also be executed in mid-air.

Elemental Burst "Bane of All Evil": Xiao dons the Yaksha's Mask, giving him enhanced abilities at the cost of draining his health: He deals increased DMG, attacks are converted to Anemo DMG, and his jumping ability is greatly increased.

During the event wish "Invitation to Mundane Life," from after the Version 1.3 update to 2021/02/17 15:59:59, the event-exclusive 5-star character "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Anemo) and the 4-star characters "Kätzlein Cocktail" Diona (Cryo), "Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean" Beidou (Electro), and "Blazing Riff" Xinyan (Pyro) will have their Wish drop rates greatly increased!

II. Rate-Boosted Characters

5-Star Character "Driving Thunder" Keqing (Electro)

◇ Vision: Electro

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. Keqing has much to say about Rex Lapis' unilateral approach to policymaking in Liyue — but in truth, gods admire skeptics such as her quite a lot.

During the event wish "Dance of Lanterns," from 2021/02/17 18:00:00 – 2021/03/02 15:59:59, the 5-star character "Driving Thunder" Keqing (Electro) and the 4-star characters "Eclipsing Star" Ningguang (Geo), "Trial by Fire" Bennett (Pyro), and "Shining Idol" Barbara (Hydro) will have their Wish drop rates greatly increased!

More character event wishes to follow during Version 1.3.

III. New Equipment

◇ Primordial Jade Cutter (5-Star Sword)

◇ A ceremonial sword masterfully carved from pure jade. There almost seems to be an audible sigh in the wind as it is swung.

*During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," from after the Version 1.3 update to 2021/02/23 15:59:59, the event-exclusive 5-star sword Primordial Jade Cutter and the 5-star polearm Primordial Jade Winged-Spear will have their Wish drop rates greatly increased!

◇ Staff of Homa (5-Star Polearm)

◇ A "firewood staff" that was once used in ancient and long-lost rituals.

◇ Lithic Spear (4-Star Polearm)

◇ A spear forged from the rocks of the Guyun Stone Forest. Its hardness knows no equal.

◇ Lithic Blade (4-Star Claymore)

◇ A greatsword carved and chiseled from the very bedrock of Liyue.

*Staff of Homa (Polearm), Lithic Spear (Polearm), and Lithic Blade (Claymore) will appear in future event wishes.

IV. New Events

Take part in Version 1.3's flagship event, Lantern Rite, for the chance to obtain a free 4-star Liyue character of your choice!

◆ Gameplay Duration: 2021/02/10 10:00:00 – 2021/02/28 03:59:59

◆ Event Rules: No Original Resin needed to take part. During the event period, Travelers can claim a 4-star Liyue character of their choice in "Stand by Me." Complete challenges in "Theater Mechanicus" to obtain Peace Talismans, which can be spent in the Xiao Market on rewards including Crown of Insight and a new namecard style "Celebration: Lantern-Light."

〓Lantern Rite Questline〓

Duration:

The Origin of the Lanterns: 2021/02/10 10:00:00 – 2021/02/28 03:59:59

Currents Deep Beneath the Lanterns: 2021/02/14 04:00:00 – 2021/02/28 03:59:59

Light Upon the Sea: 2021/02/18 04:00:00 – 2021/02/28 03:59:59

〓Lantern Rite Tales〓

Unlock Criteria:

Lantern Rite Tales I: Complete "The Origin of the Lanterns" to unlock.

Lantern Rite Tales II: Reach the Festive Fever stage "Guests Flock From Afar," complete the questline "Currents Deep Beneath the Lanterns," and complete all requests in "Lantern Rite Tales I" to unlock.

Lantern Rite Tales III: Reach the Festive Fever stage "Glow of a Thousand Lanterns," complete the questline "Light Upon the Sea," and complete all requests in "Lantern Rite Tales II" to unlock.

● Complete requests in "Lantern Rite Tales" to win Primogems and increase Festive Fever. Increase Festive Fever to progress through the Lantern Rite.

※ After the event gameplay ends on 2021/02/28 03:59:59, requests will no longer be available to complete.

〓Theater Mechanicus〓

Unlock Criteria:

Complete the quests "The Origin of the Lanterns" and "Liyue: Theater Mechanicus" to unlock

● Each attempt at Theater Mechanicus costs 1 Xiao Lantern (regardless of whether or not the challenge is successful). Xiao Lanterns can be crafted at a Crafting Bench, and the required crafting materials can be obtained by gathering plants and ore, or by defeating specified enemies.

● Progressing through the stages of Festive Fever unlocks new maps, new mechanici, higher upgrade levels, and increased difficulty levels.

● Progressing through the stages of Festive Fever unlocks new Theater Mechanicus challenges. Complete them to win Peace Talismans.

● Theater Mechanicus challenges can only be completed in Single-Player Mode or a two-player Co-Op session.

〓Xiao Market〓

Duration:

Stage I: 2021/02/10 10:00:00 – 2021/03/07 03:59:59

Stage II: 2021/02/14 04:00:00 – 2021/03/07 03:59:59

Stage III: 2021/02/18 04:00:00 – 2021/03/07 03:59:59

● Spend Peace Talismans at the Xiao Market to purchase items including Hero's Wit, Mystic Enhancement Ore, Character Level-Up Materials, Talent Level-Up Materials, the Crown of Insight, and the namecard style "Celebration: Lantern-Light."

〓Stand by Me〓

Duration: 2021/02/10 10:00:00 – 2021/03/07 03:59:59

● Reach the Festive Fever stage "Glow of a Thousand Lanterns" and spend 1,000 Peace Talismans in "Stand by Me" to receive one of the following 4-star characters: "Exquisite Delicacy" Xiangling (Pyro), "Blazing Riff" Xinyan (Pyro), "Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean" Beidou (Electro), "Eclipsing Star" Ningguang (Geo), "Juvenile Galant" Xingqiu (Hydro), or "Frozen Ardor" Chongyun (Cryo). You may claim only one character in this way.

Five Flushes of Fortune

◆ Event Duration: After the Version 1.3 update to 2021/02/10 03:59:59

(Please notice that this event will start from 2020/02/03 04:00:00 on Euro and America Server.)

◆ During the event, Travelers can claim a Kurious Kamera from Ji Tong. Equip the Kamera and take pictures of specific targets to obtain photos of different colors. Collect photos of five different colors and exchange them for a Fortune Trove to obtain Primogems, Hero's Wit, Mystic Enhancement Ore, and other rewards!

More events to follow during Version 1.3.

V. New Questlines

1. New story quests

After the Version 1.3 update, Xiao's story quest "Alatus Chapter" will be available.

◆ More story quests are on the way, so please stay tuned!

2. New world quests

◆ A total of 26 festive World Quests will become available over the course of the Lantern Rite event, accessible from "Lantern Rite Tales" on the Events menu.

◆ A further world quest "Bough Keeper: Dainsleif" will also be added.

VI. Other New Content

• Gameplay

1. New monsters: Geovishap, Primo Geovishap

2. New gadgets:

Parametric Transformer

Complete the world quest "Tianqiu Treasure Trail" from Lan in Liyue Harbor to obtain the Parametric Transformer. Enhancement Materials can be converted into Character EXP Materials, Character Level-Up Materials, and Weapon Ascension Materials by placing them in the Parametric Transformer to undergo transmutation.

3. New consumable: Dust of Azoth can convert the Elemental Type of Character Ascension Materials.

4. New achievement "Transmutation Nuclide"

5. New recipes:

Xinyue Kiosk's "Fullmoon Egg"

Wangshu Inn's "Vegetarian Abalone"

Liuli Pavilion's "Stone Harbor Delicacies"

• System

1. Archive addition: Living Beings

Records information on enemies defeated and living things caught or discovered. Travelers can consult the Living Beings section of the Archive to view how many times they have defeated different enemies and also review tutorials for certain enemies.

2. New conversion function on Crafting Bench:

Combining some Character Ascension Materials with Dust of Azoth at a Crafting Bench lets you convert their Elemental Type.

3. Travelers' profile pages now include Achievement progress and a Character Showcase.

4. Controller support added for devices running iOS 14 or above. Currently, the following controllers are supported: Xbox Wireless Controller (Bluetooth Version), Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, PlayStation DualShock 4 Wireless Controller, some other Bluetooth Wireless Controllers designed for iOS.

5. On the Weapon Enhancement screen, holding the selected material will add it rapidly.

6. A quick delete function has been added to the mailbox. Does not delete unread mail or mail with unclaimed attachments.

7. New photography method added for the PS4 version. Take a photo and save it to the PS4's local storage in one single action.

VII. Adjustments & Optimizations

• Characters

1. Adjustments to Zhongli:

1) Adjusts the effect of holding Zhongli's Elemental Skill "Dominus Lapidis":

◇ Original effect:

Causes nearby Geo energy to explode, causing the following effects:

·Creates a shield of jade. The shield's DMG Absorption scales based on Zhongli's Max HP, and absorbs Geo DMG 250% more effectively.

·Deals AoE Geo DMG.

·If there are nearby targets with the Geo element, it will drain a large amount of Geo element from a maximum of 2 such targets. This effect does not cause DMG.

◆ Post-adjustment effect:

Causes nearby Geo energy to explode, causing the following effects:

·If their maximum number hasn't been reached, creates a Stone Stele.

·Creates a shield of jade. The shield's DMG Absorption scales based on Zhongli's Max HP. Possesses 150% DMG Absorption against all Elemental and Physical DMG.

·Characters protected by the Jade Shield will decrease the Elemental RES and Physical RES of opponents in a small AoE by 20%. This effect cannot be stacked.

·Deals AoE Geo DMG.

·If there are nearby targets with the Geo element, it will drain a large amount of Geo element from a maximum of 2 such targets. This effect does not cause DMG.

2) Adjusts the effect of Zhongli's second Ascension Talent "Dominance of Earth":

◇ Original effect:

Planet Befall deals additional DMG equal to 33% of Zhongli's Max HP.

◆ Post-adjustment effect:

Zhongli deals bonus DMG based on his Max HP:

·Normal Attack, Charged Attack, and Plunging Attack DMG is increased by 1.39% of Max HP.

·Dominus Lapidis' Stone Stele, resonance, and hold DMG is increased by 1.9% of Max HP.

·Planet Befall's DMG is increased by 33% of Max HP.

2. Optimizes Mona's Talent "Illusory Torrent": When Mona is hit, she can use Illusory Torrent more quickly, as is the case with sprinting for other characters.

3. Adds a new idle animation for Kaeya.

4. Optimizes Zhongli's animation under "Weapons" on the Character Screen.

5. Resolves issues with Aiming Mode for Bow-wielding characters when obstacles are present nearby, such as character shaking and off-center shots.

6. Optimizes precision when firing shots at moving targets.

7. Resolves issues of shaky clothing/movements when some characters perform actions such as walking, attacking, skill casting, and sitting.

• Monsters

1. Adjusts combat logic for Dendro Slimes: When a Dendro Slime is hiding relatively far from your location, you will not enter combat mode.

• System

1. Spiral Abyss

Updates the monster lineup on Floor 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

The Ley Line Disorders on Floor 12 are adjusted to:

• For this floor only, the ley line flow will be normal

• No Ley Line Disorder

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 1.3, the three Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Phase I: When active character's HP is less than 70%, ATK is increased by 20% and ATK SPD is increased by 15%.

When active character's HP is less than 35% and they are under the protection of a shield, CRIT Rate is increased by 20% and CRIT DMG is increased by 40%.

Phase II: A Charge will accumulate every 10s, with a maximum of three existing at any one time. If the active character's HP is less than 50%, they will consume a Charge when they hit an opponent to create an unstable energy orb at the opponent's position. This orb will explode after 1s, and only one of them can be created every 2s.

Phase III:

When the active character's HP is less than 50%, they gain a 2% DMG Bonus for 10s after hitting an opponent. This effect can stack up to 10 times, and each character in the party will have their own independent stacks and durations. Each time the stack count or duration of this effect resets, there is a 50% chance to release an Energy Blast. An Energy Blast can be triggered once every 10s.

2. Deleted chats will not appear in the chat list.

3. Optimizes display order of chat column: After entering team setup in Co-Op Mode, the chat column will automatically switch to the team column.

4. Optimizes the display hierarchy when there are multiple overlapping icons on the Map.

5. Optimizes UI transparency on mobile devices upon entering Aiming Mode in the Spiral Abyss.

6. Optimizes the Kamera gadget for the PS4 version: When equipped, using the Kamera directly stores a screenshot with the UI hidden to the local storage.

7. From Version 1.3 onward, extra Fragile Resin rewards will be included in the BP system:

Starting from BP Level 5, Sojourner's Battle Pass and Gnostic Hymn provide Fragile Resin ×1 every 10 BP Levels. The original rewards of Mystic Enhancement Ore provided at these BP Levels will be added to the rewards at other BP Levels instead, and the total quantity of Mystic Enhancement Ore that can be obtained from the BP system will not change.

8. Removes the Delete button from the Portable Waypoint interface of the open world map.

9. Optimizes the size of the Wind Glider on the Dressing Room screen for certain characters.

10. When using a controller, improves the refresh rate when switching between tabs in the Paimon's Bargains section of the Shop.

11. Optimizes the experience of moving the crosshair in Aiming Mode when the frame rate is low.

• Audio

1. Voice-Over Optimization:

a. Adds a reverb effect to internal monologue voice-over in quests.

b. Character combat voice-over can interrupt idle voice-over.

2. The Chinese voice artist for Amber will be changed, and this adjustment will take effect in Version 1.4.

3. Adds Chinese voice-over for some characters.

4. Adds Japanese voice-over for some characters.

5. Adjusts the audio effects for some voice-over on mobile and PC versions.

• Other

1. Adjustment to the Geo Elemental Resonance "Enduring Rock":

◇ Original effect:

Increases resistance to interruption. When protected by a shield, increases Attack DMG by 15%.

◆ Post-adjustment effect:

Increases shield strength by 15%. Additionally, characters protected by a shield will have the following special characteristics: DMG dealt increased by 15%, dealing DMG to enemies will decrease their Geo RES by 20% for 15s.

2. Geo Shield balance adjustments:

Geo Shields are adjusted from having "250% Geo DMG Absorption" to having "150% Physical DMG and Elemental DMG Absorption."

This adjustment affects the following:

• The Geo Shield produced by Zhongli's Elemental Skill

• The Geo Shield produced by Noelle's Elemental Skill

• The Geo Shield produced upon picking up a Geo Crystal dropped by a Geovishap Hatchling

3. Amends the tab for the standard wish "Wanderlust Invocation." *Only the tab has been changed. The Wish contents and rules remain unchanged.

4. Optimizes item source descriptions for Mist Grass Pollen, Mist Grass, and Mist Grass Wick.

5. Adjusts descriptions for the materials Fragile Bone Shard, Sturdy Bone Shard, and Fossilized Bone Shard and adds their sources.

6. Adds a description for the rules of Elemental Orb drops in the "Test Run" event (the actual mechanics in-game are not affected by this change).

*Note: In order to allow Travelers for a quicker use of Elemental Bursts and more efficient testing experience, the opponents on trial stages drop additional Elemental Orbs. However, due to our negligence, this effect was not individually listed in the event details, leading some Travelers to misevaluate characters based on their trial stage performance. We sincerely apologize for any confusion this might have caused. After this update, the event details will be supplemented with the relevant rules. We will continue to optimize the trial stage experience in the upcoming versions.

7. Adjusts the Stellar Reunion event as follows:

a. Adjusts the order of rewards in Passage of Time (total obtainable rewards remains unchanged).

b. Reduces the number of points required in Homeward Path to be eligible to claim the sword "Prototype Rancour." Points requirement reduced from 700 to 500.

Scope of Impact: Travelers who activate the Stellar Reunion event after updating to Version 1.3.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact 1.3 #official #whew #that was rough to do on mobile #part 2 coming when i get home #so i can use my laptop