Chapter 59: I Am the Mountain and Sea Fairy

"During the Lantern Rite Festival storyline, both Xiao and Longhua have received very positive feedback. While we don't know about Longhua yet, Xiao's revenue surprisingly didn't drop much compared to Themis." "That's normal. On one hand, there are more and more new players registering. On the other hand... don't underestimate the dedication of female players!" Hearing Mei's words, Himeko crossed her legs and smiled elegantly: "Moreover, Xiao's character design and story don't just appeal to female players. His appeal to male players isn't far behind either." At its core, Genshin Impact is still a game that sells characters through their design and story. The strength of their gameplay mechanics is just one aspect, because even if you don't pull for any characters, you can still play the game—it's just that the combat experience won't be as satisfying. Overall, most players only care about a character's strength to the extent that they can form two teams to clear the Spiral Abyss. In fact, many players don't even care about the Abyss, as long as they can form one strong team to support exploration or quickly clear quests. Or perhaps it's better to say that many Genshin Impact players can't even tell which characters are strong or weak. They don't know how to build proper teams, the importance of skill levels, or which artifacts to farm. As long as they can win fights, that's all that matters. And as long as that requirement is met, they'll pull for characters based on their preferences. Pure meta players are actually a minority among Genshin Impact players. Of course, when we say "preferences," it's really about whether a character can resonate with them. Whether it's the character model, their personality, or their story, at the end of the day, Genshin Impact sells characters based on these factors. Mechanical strength? Of course, it's important. Even players who pull purely for preferences still want a satisfying gameplay experience. If their favorite character is too weak, they'll definitely complain. For example, Keqing and Diluc, who have recently started to show their weaknesses as "scratch damage" characters. In fact, many players who already have Ganyu and Themis still use Astrea to support their main DPS in the Spiral Abyss and exploration, while Themis has been relegated to filling gaps and speeding up travel. The popularity they had at launch is now matched by the number of players calling for buffs. This is the main point of criticism among Genshin Impact players right now. So, strength is still very important. Astrea, for example, doesn't have this problem at all. Therefore, a meta-defining character like Themis naturally attracts many players—but the reason she was able to generate such high revenue is mainly because she also has three other advantages. First, Themis's character design and story, and as the "alternate personality" of Astrea, she inherently benefits from Astrea's massive popularity. Second, her character model perfectly aligns with the preferences of the general player base. Third, the number of Genshin Impact players has been steadily increasing. A character that players love, whose strength meets all expectations, combined with the growing number of new players—all of this together created an unprecedented revenue record. While Xiao at C0 can't compare to Themis in terms of strength, his character design and model are undoubtedly top-tier. And even though his C0 mechanics aren't as strong as Themis or even Ganyu, as the main DPS of the current version, Xiao is still excellent, at least for clearing the Spiral Abyss—and that's enough. Not to mention the new players who have just registered. Finally, there's one more thing... to pull for Themis, all the Primogems and Intertwined Fates obtained during Albedo's and Themis's banners have been completely used up. Not a single drop is left. So, under these circumstances, Xiao's revenue is genuinely not low—it's even higher than Ganyu's. Well, it can't be helped. Ganyu's popularity isn't low, but Xiao's popularity is on par with Klee's, appealing to both male and female players purely through his design and story. Many players might not be moved by Ganyu, but whether male or female, it's rare to find someone who doesn't like Xiao or Klee. Klee relies on cuteness, while Xiao... relies on his soldier-like charm. He inspires awe, admiration, and a sense of pity. That's why his revenue is so high, even after Themis's banner. From the start, Himeko didn't think Xiao's banner would flop like Albedo's. Xiao is like this, and so is Hu Tao. Having them follow Themis was planned because they can truly hold their own. Honestly, so far, every character in Genshin Impact has their own unique charm, so there's really nothing to worry about... except for Albedo's banner. Our Professor Albedo isn't without charm, but... well... let's just say I'd rather pick Sucrose. Not long ago, Mei organized a popularity poll for Genshin Impact characters in Japan, including all characters who are already in the gacha pool and those who will be added in the future but have already appeared in the story. Astrea took the undisputed first place, Klee was a close second, the Supreme Bishop came in third, Fischl fourth, Themis fifth, Furina sixth, the Traveler (Lumine) seventh, Noelle eighth, Diluc ninth, Keqing tenth, and Albedo... also first. Yes, tied with Astrea for first place, effectively forming the two slices of bread in a sandwich, with all the other characters in between. Even Neuvillette and Clorinde, who only appeared briefly in their respective PVs, ranked higher than Albedo by one and two spots, respectively. He's a five-star character, already in the gacha pool, so how did he end up so unlucky? His misfortune has even made players feel sorry for him, leading to a surge in memes and fan creations about Albedo being pitiful. In various fan works, Albedo is often the butt of jokes... but this has ironically caused his popularity to skyrocket, leaving the miHoYo team stunned. Of course, when a similar poll was conducted in China, Albedo was still dead last. And when players were asked about it, this is what they said... "Isn't Professor Albedo still the teacher if he's not first? If you like the teacher, you have to make sure he stays in first place! Astrea might not always be first, but from now on, we vow to keep the teacher at the top forever!!" Being so unlucky that it becomes a meme—what a unique fate. "Bronya has a question. Aren't the Primogems from Longhua's quests a bit too much? This might reduce a lot of revenue." Bronya, who was playing Genshin Impact, suddenly raised her hand and said: "Although as a player, Bronya is very happy to receive so many Primogems, from the perspective of a game developer, this doesn't seem appropriate, right?" "I actually think this design is quite ingenious," Tingyun said with a smile. "Although Longhua does give players a lot of Primogems, this actually turns her into a character that players love to meme about." "Genshin Impact is still a game primarily aimed at Chinese players. With Clara's phone now on the market, the number of Chinese players is growing rapidly. Longhua's design, like Zhongli's, can evoke a sense of pride in Chinese players. As for players from other countries... Longhua's popularity overseas is almost on par with Astrea's." Because the phone comes pre-installed with Genshin Impact and can't be uninstalled, the number of new players registering for the game is skyrocketing. Although this shameless move has drawn criticism, thanks to the phone's powerful performance—comparable to phones costing over 7,000 yuan—most users have given it rave reviews. Now, the prices of high-end phones from various brands have been driven down, with only a few companies that sell based on brand rather than performance still holding out. In short, development is going great, with the game and the phone complementing each other, both steadily climbing to the top of their respective fields. "Although the cheongsam and bun hairstyle are stereotypical depictions of Chinese-style female characters in foreign media, we have to admit that players from other countries love this kind of character. Combined with Longhua's meticulously designed model and her character story, when her banner is released, it might just break Themis's record and take Genshin Impact to new heights." "There's still a bit of a problem," Jingliu said, crossing her arms. "Many players might start saving Primogems from now on and not pull on any banners until Longhua's." "Isn't that even better?" Fu Xuan said calmly. "Players who save Primogems like this are usually free-to-play or only buy the Welkin Moon and Battle Pass. Many of them haven't spent a single Primogem since the game launched, waiting for Ayaka's banner. If Longhua's banner can drain their saved Primogems, then when Ayaka's banner comes out, there might be many more paying users, right?" Kiana looked at Fu Xuan in amazement. "You're so sneaky, Fu Xuan. I've misjudged you." Fu Xuan's face darkened as she glared at Kiana. "Wasn't the banner release order planned by you? Don't tell me you didn't think this through and just arranged it randomly?" "Huh? I... ahem, of course, this was all part of my plan." Kiana coughed awkwardly and then spoke seriously. "Everything is going according to my plan." Fu Xuan rolled her eyes again. "One of these days, you and Qingque are going to give me an early grave." Kiana quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, Longhua's character card is finished. Do you want to take a look? Of course, this time, no leaks are allowed." [Profile] Longhua CV: Qingque Birthday: September 9 Affiliation: Xuanlong Gate Vision (???): Geo Constellation: Shanhai Constellation The sect master of the Xuanlong Gate, the unknown Mountain and Sea Fairy of Liyue. She has secluded herself on an immortal island overseas, hidden by an immortal array, for over five thousand years. [Combat Talents] 『Normal Attack - Xuanlong Sword』 「Normal Attack」 Performs up to four consecutive sword strikes. 「Charged Attack」 Consumes Stamina to continuously unleash Xuanlong Sword Qi in a forward area. 「Plunging Attack」 Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground, damaging enemies along the path and dealing AoE damage upon impact. 『Ascend the Dragon Gate』 Transforms into a sword, unleashing a flurry of Xuanlong Sword Qi to deal AoE damage. While in sword form, dodges all attacks. 『Shanhai Jing』 Creates the power of mountains and seas, capable of both creation and destruction. Deals massive AoE Geo damage and restores HP to all party members based on the damage dealt. [Passive Talents] 『Jade Treasure Vault』 Has a chance to drop random ores when defeating enemies. 『Abundance of Mountains and Seas』 Increases Healing Bonus by 30%. 『Xuanlong Sword Qi』 Converts Xuanlong Sword Qi damage into Geo damage. [Constellations] 『Mountain as the Nurturing Father』 Reduces the cooldown of "Shanhai Jing" by 5 seconds. 『Sea as the Birthing Mother』 Damage from "Ascend the Dragon Gate" restores HP to all party members. 『Immortal as the Child of Heaven and Earth』 Increases the skill level of "Shanhai Jing" by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. 『Fairy as the Daughter of All』 Increases the CRIT Rate of all nearby party members by 20% and CRIT DMG by 40%. 『Thus I Declare to the Universe』 Increases the skill level of "Ascend the Dragon Gate" by 3. Maximum upgrade level is 15. 『I Am the Mountain and Sea Fairy』 Increases ATK by 100%.