I yelled while watching this Genshin Impact update stream. Aside from giving players free stuff (arguably the least exciting part of it, a genshin connoisseurs) during China’s biggest holiday, the developers teased something I’d suspected all along: the hyper-mysterious Alhaitham might be the most interesting character in the current Sumeru storyline. To all who believed the lore that Alhaitham was just some guy, did you also believe that the immortal Zhongli was just some guy? Come on now.
First a bit of context. Within the current plot genshin Players have occasionally encountered Alhaitham, a humble scribe who presents himself as an ordinary, boring government worker. Here’s how the update stream hilariously demolished that idea: One of genshin‘s authors introduced Alhaitham as the secretary who had helped the players save an endangered goddess from his own government. HoYoverse CEO Da Wei asked, “Is that the ‘weak scholar’ Alhaitham?” playfully referencing how the bureaucrat had described himself to the protagonist. The author immediately started laughing.
A significant portion of genshin Fandom believed Alhaitham was really just any guy attempt live his lifehence the origin of weak scholarly joke. Psych. Although he has declined the highest government position in the country, his own peers will force him to become their leader in the near future. So we’ll see a lot more of this weak scholar trying to bring his country together during the next big story patch.
Some fans are devastated on the possibility that Alhaitham could be important. It’s OK. You’ll get through this somehow. Personally, I think HoYoverse has already given us a lot of clues. When he spoke about the plight of scholars who had “disappeared” because of mental illness, he was clearly hiding how much he knew about their plight. I’m starting to suspect he’s keeping a low profile about something that happened in his past.
My Alhaitham thirst aside, here are the other highlights from the stream:
A new desert area
The Desert of Hadramaveth will continue the fabled storyline of mercenary Jeht and her mechanical companion. Sumerian academics believed that the ancient king of the hermits (a marginalized racial group) was a terrible tyrant. This narrative was used as justification to marginalize the hermits. Previous quests have shown that the truth is more complicated, and players will be able to find out more in the near future. Since genshin has a tendency to Lock areas behind certain questsyou should finish Golden Slumber and the new The Dirge of Bilqis before attempting to explore Hadramaveth.
The Lantern Rite Festival
genshin has a Chinese New Year inspired event every year that comes in the next patch and brings new mini-games for you to play. Completing them will give you premium currency and other useful items. If you complete enough minigames, you can also redeem a free 4-star character. Last year I wrote a useful guide on what character to choose. New healer Yaoyao is included in the 2023 lineup.
Wind god Venti will visit the China-inspired region for the festival that sent freight forwarders in a frenzy over her favorite meeting on the screen for the first time. Congratulations, Xiaoven shipper. Your time has finally come after almost three years of waiting.
New Characters
MY BOY ALHAITHAM IS FINALLY HERE. I know there’s a good chance you saw the leaks. But HoYoverse still has a few weeks to tweak his gear, so keep in mind he may not be as powerful or weak as leaks suggest. This does not take into account the possibility of mistranslations (Raiden Shogun) or changes (Zhongli, Yae Miko). YouTubers are already panicking over leaks about a alleged Alhaitham nerf that would affect its damage potential.
But these are invisible damage multipliers. It is much more difficult for the developers to change things that they have already revealed in the live stream. So far, it looks like Alhaitham is intended to be either a DPS or a sub-DPS character. His ability allows him to gain dendro use and dendro is a reaction element. So his gear makes it easier for him to stay on the field while being supported by off-field characters like Raiden Shogun or Kokomi.
Yaoyao is a minor character that should be easier to get due to her lower gacha rarity. She will be our very first dendro healer, giving her a niche that no other character currently has. But before you throw all your primogems into her banner, I’d suggest you wait. You can get a free copy of her by playing the Lantern Rite event. So if you want them, I suggest grinding for them instead of going all in with the gacha.
Alhaitham and Yaoyao will be available in the first half of the patch. Xiao will also have his recurrence during this period. You can draw for Hu Tao and Yelan in the second half. So plan carefully or you may end up spending more than you intended.
Ayaka and Lisa get new skins
ok, don’t get it to excited. While I find it interesting that they used a European design for Ayaka’s skin, I don’t feel like it’s an improvement over her default outfit. Her original attire balanced her bright design with deep blue hues. This spring dress looks dazzling in comparison.
Lisa’s outfit is based on her academy days and it’s… good I guess? Lisa is one of the most awesome characters in the game and I gave up leveling her up a long time ago. This plain school uniform doesn’t compel me to use it more often. I have a feeling this was a failure. Stop trying to make Lisa happen, HoYoverse. It won’t happen without a significant buff.
Genshin ImpactThe update will be available from January 18th.
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