I shouted while I was watching The Genshin effect update stream. Besides providing players with free stuff (arguably the least fun part of being a Genshin Enjoyers) during China’s biggest holiday, the developers revealed something I’ve long suspected: the super-secret Alhaitham might be the most interesting character in the current Sumeru storyline. For all those who believe in the legend that Alhaitham is just some guy: Do you also believe that the immortal Zhongli is just some guy? Now, now.
First, a bit of context. In the current plot, Genshin The player occasionally encounters Alhaitham, a humble scribe who introduces himself as an ordinary, boring government employee. Here’s how the update stream blew that idea away in an interesting way: One of GenshinThe writers of Alhaitham introduced Alhaitham as a secretary who helped the player save an endangered goddess from his government. Da Wei, CEO of HoYoverse, asked: “Is this the ‘weak scholar’ Alhaitham?” playfully refers to the way the officer has described himself in front of the protagonist. The writer started laughing on the spot.
A substantial portion of Genshin fandom believes that Alhaitham is really just some guys trying live your lifehence the origin of weak scholar joke. mental. Although he has turned down the highest government position in the country, his peers will force him to become their leader for the foreseeable future. So we’ll see more of this squishy scholar trying to pull his country together in the next big story arc.
Some of the fans are devastated with the possibility that Alhaitham could be important. It’s Okay. You will get through this somehow. Personally, I think HoYoverse gave us a lot of suggestions. When he talks about the plight of academics “disappeared” because of mental illness, he’s clearly concealing exactly how much he knows about their plight. I am starting to suspect that he is keeping a low profile because of something that happened in his past.
My thirst for Alhaitham aside, here are other highlights from the stream:
A new desert region
Hadramaveth Desert will continue the legendary storyline of the mercenary Jeht and her mechanical friend. Scholars of Sumeru believe that the ancient king of the Eremites (a marginalized racial group) was a terrible tyrant. This narrative was used as an excuse to marginalize the Eremites. Past missions have suggested that the truth is more complicated and players will be able to learn more in the near future. The words Genshin tend lock areas behind certain questsyou should complete the new “Golden Slumber” and “The Dirge of Bilqis” before attempting to explore Hadramaveth.
Lantern Ritual Festival
Genshin there’s an annual Lunar New Year-inspired event, and it’s coming in the next patch, bringing with it new mini-games you can play. Completing them will award you premium currency and other useful items. If you complete enough minigames, you can also exchange a 4-star character for free. Last year, I wrote a Helpful guide Choose which character. New healer Yaoyao is included in the squad for 2023.
Wind god Venti will visit the China-inspired area for the festival, sent boss going crazy about their favorite encounter on the screen first. Congratulations, shipper Xiaoven. Your time has finally come after almost three years of waiting.
New character
MY BOY ALHAITHAM IS FINALLY HERE. I know that there is a high chance that you have seen the leaks. But HoYoverse still has a few weeks to tweak his kit, so keep in mind that he may not be as strong or weak as the leaks might suggest. That is not counting the possibility of mistranslation (Raiden Shogun) or change (Zhongli, Yae Miko). YouTube users panicked over leaks about a allegedly nerf Alhaitham that will hurt his damage ability.
But those are invisible damage multipliers. Changing the things they revealed during the live stream will be much harder for the developers. So far, it looks like Alhaitham is intended to be a DPS character or a minor DPS character. His abilities allow him to get the Dendro app, and Dendro is a reactive element. So his kit makes it easy to keep him on the field while being supported by off-field characters like Raiden Shogun or Kokomi.
Yaoyao is a support character so it’s easier to get due to her lower gacha rarity. She will be our first Dendro healer, which gives her a niche that no other character currently has. But before you dump all your primitives on her banner, I suggest you wait. You can get a free copy of her by playing the Lantern Rite event. So, if you want her, I’d recommend brooding over her instead of pouring all your energy into gacha.
Alhaitham and Yaoyao will appear in the first half of the patch. Xiao will also run again this time around. You should be able to pull Hu Tao and Yelan in the second half. So be sure to plan carefully, or you could find yourself spending more than you planned.
Ayaka and Lisa are getting new skins
Okay, don’t take it too excited. While I think it’s interesting that they use a European design for Ayaka’s outfit, I don’t feel it’s an improvement over her default outfit. Her original outfit balances light design with dark blue. This spring dress looks dazzling in comparison.
Lisa’s outfit is based on her school days, and it’s… fine, I guess? Lisa is one of the weakest characters in the game, and I gave up on upgrading her a long time ago. This simple school uniform doesn’t force me to use her very often anymore. I feel like this is a miss. Stop trying to make Lisa successful, HoYoverse. She wouldn’t happen without a significant buff.
The Genshin effectUpdates will be available starting January 18.
