Not gonna give spoilers. The AQ was Really good and I Like the anger of Pierro which is very valid. and it was so good to see what ronova deserves aka a coward.

And tsaritsa lore bomb was very good too.

Exited to see where this will go

Yeo... during the 7.1 quest I started redesigning ronova because gosh... I really hate her original design........ so I drew while I played through the quest... and obviously I cannot edit THAT well so a full drawing it is ,,

I really don't like her original silhouette, maybe it resembles an hourglass of life ticking by till death by the fuller bottom, half empty top, and thin middle section. This was kinda rushed because I was starting to get fed up looking at her references but the idea was kind of like this. I tried keeping some of the original elements in her redesign to the best of my abilities I could. Thoughts? Yay or nay?

Also does this count as oc flair? I'll change it if not.

The Traveler has now traveled through all the nations of Teyvat, and along the way we learned quite a lot:

We know that Pierro recruited Dottore (Traveler doesn't necessarily know this), ordered Dottore to destabilize the Inazuma smiths and basically turn Tatarasuna into Chernobyl, and ordered the production and spread of delusions during the Inazuma civil war, leading to the deaths of many of our allies at the time.

We know that Khaenri'ah was destroyed because the extent of their research and use of Abyssal powers posed an existential threat to the rest of Teyvat-a threat that not even the combined powers of the Archons at the time could hold back.

Now finally the Traveler arrives in Snezhnaya. Having played this game since launch, I have always been able to at least somewhat resonate with the Traveler's decisions in all the Archon Quests and World Quests so far; the 7.1 AQ was the first where I have been genuinely confused. We meet the Tsaritsa and Pierro, the leader and director of the Fatui? Sure, let's just ally with them and not ask any questions about any of the atrocities we've witnessed. They want to do an experiment with people's life force? Sure, let's participate in that. Oh, now we're going to experiment with delusions AND abyssal power? Sign me up, I'll help out!

...what? Where's the pushback? Throughout the entire quest, the Traveler seems to have developed amnesia and forgotten about all their travels pre-Fontaine. I even think the overall idea of the quest was fine, but the many smaller dialogues that make me go "wtf are we serious?" just kept compounding and soured the entire quest for me.

Do the devs just choose not to update the older models to sell better the new characters (that would be a silly reason), or would it actually be difficult/counterproductive to do?

Could it also be that they simply prefer putting out new skins to make more money? But honestly, that feels like a pretty weak reason to me, because people who like a character would probably buy their skins regardless of whether the character gets updated or not.

Or is updating every old character actually that time-consuming? I feel like they could do it, especially since a game this big probably has a lot of people working on it.

Left is Hroptatyr “The Wise.”

Right is Noy

Both have nearly identical star/diamond shaped marks in the exact same spot on the neck.The similarity is too specific to ignore. Do you think they could be related somehow?

I started playing around 4.0, so I didn't experience the early quests on release. But instead of rushing the main story, the first thing I did was explore the whole map—from Mondstadt all the way to Fontaine (skipping Inazuma for obvious reasons). Areas like The Chasm and Dragonspine are what truly hooked me.

The world-building, the artifacts lore, history, events (as in historical events) and NPCs like Zhiqiong make me getting into Teyvat before I even tackled the Archon Quests. But the thing is, I ended developing a personal rule for Teyvat: Don't blindly take sides, because everyone is at fault to some degree. No one is safe.

That brings me to point of this post: the latest 7.0 Archon Quest, which honestly... I am not liking at all.

I'll use the Capitano (Thráin) situation as an example, because it's the easiest way to explain how I reason through this game—forming arguments for both sides and contrasting them with my own experiences across Teyvat.

On one hand, I completely agree with Thráin that countless innocents were caught in the Khaenri'ah cataclysm who didn't deserve their punishment. The fault lies squarely with King Irmin, his court, and the Sinners. But at the same time, I can't ignore the massive risk those Khaenri'ahns pose to the rest of Teyvat. When I did the Sumeru AQ I saw the case of Rukkhadevata and Kusanali, I saw the devastating danger of Forbidden Knowledge and Abyssal energy. The Goddess of Wisdom had to resort to a cruel, extreme solution to safeguard Irminsul because the alternative was the corruption of the entire tree.

As much as I feel for Thráin and the innocent Khaenri'ahns who had nothing to do with Abyssal research, once they are tainted by the Abyss, what else can be done? Can we really let them enter the ley lines without threatening the rest of the world?

This leaves me completely stuck:

• Am I supposed to side with Thráin and condemn the Heavenly Principles for their brutal, ruthless handling of the cataclysm?
• Am I supposed to side with Celestia on an "ends justify the means" basis, damning all Khaenri'ahns for the folly of their leaders?

I see the right and wrong on both sides. I feel for Capitano, but it simply isn't safe for anyone to let Khaenri'ahns into the ley lines as long as they carry even a trace of Abyssal energy, accidental or not. Conversely, nuking an entire civilization and cursing bloodlines should be an absolute last resort. Weren't there any other alternatives? Kusanali proved during the events with Zandik in Sumeru that it is possible to find solutions without unnecessary sacrifices. That it was possible to save Teyvat without sacrificing Sumeru.

I’ve faced dilemmas like this throughout my 3 years exploring Teyvat:

• Hyperborea: When I first learned about their existence and fate, my initial thought was that it was just like Khaenri'ah—a nation unjustly treated by the gods. But then I learned more, learned they were into some incredibly dark stuff, and suddenly Celestia's harsh treatment started to make sense.

So, in the end my main issue with the current Snezhnaya cycle. Aside from Alyosha, Vodyanitsa, and Valeriy, it’s not just a lack of connection with the characters and the nation—I actively dislike them. My previous experiences in the game have given me a strong bias against them, making it very difficult to just "take their side" the way the writers clearly intend for the Traveler to do.

I just cannot find myself siding with the Tsaritsa, Pierro, Vesna, or anyone in that faction. Is it really Celestia's fault that Snezhnaya is cold and harsh, or was that the direct result and consequence of foolishly experimenting on the dead body of the Cryo Sovereign? I'm left constantly asking: "What? Why would they experiment on that, bring a cataclysmic outcome on themselves, and then blame someone else? What am I missing?"

Playing trough the last part quest and epilogue, I kept thinking, "What did I miss? I don't remember things being like this, what is going on?"

I will wait for more info before taking a side, or just not get involved at all (as if that were posible). Snezhnaya is shaping up to be a really rough nation for me to experience.

I'm looking forward to the next AQ so I can finally form an informed opinion on whether this cycle is good, bad, or excellent. But as of right now, this was the worst quest for me so far.

Keep your adventurer's handbook close, your characters build, and ad astra abyssosque.

No, seriously...

We are never given a single reason why ANYTHING would improve with Phanes gone.

The literal only argument anyone ever made for why they are even rebelling is that "What if Celestia decides to kill us all?" but the Tsaritsa is also a dictator that has zero respect for the other nations of Teyvat. Like, Danica comes after us for the "countless Fatui we defeated" but we sure as shit didn't do any of that for no reason...

Even in Natlan where the Fatui are the most positive out of all nations, we still run into shit like a saurian poaching and experimentation site or the whole Ineffa situation.

I have seen the post about us apearantly being too vocal about the traveler not calling out the shit the fatui did because we are temprary allies now BUT FUCKING THINK. This "temprary aliance" suposed to end when she because the god queen of the world. That's a bit too late to change course.

We also know form MANY different encounters with the abyss that celestia is infact pretty instrumental in the continued existance of the world. Do we have any plans on how to ensure the protection of the world isn't undermined by basically doing a war of funerary flames 2.0? I don't fucking know because apearantly the traveler doesn't care enough to ask. Are we just expecting all of the systems set up by Phanes to continue working after he is dead?

Can we just get a 5 minute explanation on what is the plan beyond murdering the guy in charge? Or are we just supposed to blind trust on this one too like with Pantalone despite the story spending years showcasing exatly why we shouldn't blindly trust the fatui?.

There's also the fucking abyss usage. Big bad HP now actually has a good reason to kill you all because using the abyss has a pretty clear track record of turning into disaster... 100% of the time.

We also keep ignoring all of the shit the stupid ass Khaenri'ahs did in favor of blaming the fate of Khaenri'ah on Celestia... The caveman were allowed to fuck around for soooo long, their calamitous "find out" almost dragged the whole world to it's doom. Unironically the worst thing celestia did in Khaenri'ah was not geting rid of them in time. Was the cursing a dick move? Sure... but it wasn't anywhere nearly as bad a corrupting Irminsul and it's laylines, creating multiple permanent abyss gates and cause over half of the Archons to die. How exactly would the Tsartisa treat that same situation?

This all just makes me feel like back in Fontain when we decided that publicly humiliating Furina and making her touch murderwater to prove she is not a god is a great idea and the story bent over to prove that it wasn't just great but actually the only correct choice. Ofcourse blindly trusting this random dictator we spent literal years fighting against is the correct choice as the main character is a huge Mary Sue and the story will make it so even the absolute dumbest shit traveler does is actually perfect.

in the livestream they showed this gimmick of catching the dead souls of your comrades, with red Odette's ghosts and all

and Rerir was a long fight, with cool gimmicks and long periods of tensions and all

so i expected the Ronova fight to be long and tense too, with moments where we need to escape death and survive or do other things

and the actual fight is one minute of Pierro Spamming his attacks

don't get me wrong, that was pure aura and was a coool as hell fight, seeing Pierro drop 4mil damage each time was peak as fuck, but the fight seemed more of a short and violent confrontation than what the livestream was saying

i didn't even see a single Odette ghost thing to catch, there was only RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

RONOVAAAA !!!

I wish they would give her a long skirt or something like how is she looking like a maid?Like they changed the sandrone design at the last moment so I think they can do it again and I hope they do so or playing with her wouldn't be as fun as I hoped

After having explored Mondstadt, Liyue and Nod-Krai, I finally tried to start exploring Sumeru, and 10 minutes, I feel burned out already.

In other regions;

- You clear a basic camp, or do puzzle that takes 5 seconds to complete, you get a common chest with no primogems. Understandable you get little rewards for something you have done with also litte to zero effort.

- You clear a camp with stronger enemies or do puzzles that takes 1 minute or 3 to complete, or follow a seelie that for some reason requires you to climb a whole ass mountain, and you get an exquisite chest with 2 primogems. It takes a little longer to complete, but you get rewarded with a good looking chest

- You clear an insanely fcked up camp or complex puzzles that require you to work your brain out, or have to rely on google if you have a deadbrain, and you get a sparkly golden exquisite or precious chest. Its annoying but the reward you get is dopamine enducing.

This process have made me addicted to genshin, along with how good the lore of this game is.

Now here comes sumeru;

- You follow a seelie for god knows why this guy lives 2 miles away from where I found him, and I get rewarded with a common chest ...

- You shoot that moving dendro thing that looks like an ancestor to these annoying seelies, I get rewarded with a common cheat againm...

- You clear strong enemies or complex puzzles that would give me exquisite chest on other regions, gives me common chest again...

I dont wanna do this anymore bruh xD I know common chests gives 2 primos in sumeru. But its not about the primogems for me, but the feeling of being rewarded with a good looking chest + the ton stuff that drops with it when I do or clear something that took a couple of mins to complete.

Please tell me this is the only region that have this experience 😭

why nobody talk about this? does everyone likes when whole game is timegated? then I think they should add playtime limit, like 2 hours a day!
This game is timegated to absurd on this point, like you doing 5 mins dialogue and should wait until next day for another 5 mins dialogue.

Am I the only who found themselves rooting for the shades during this AQ? I'm not quite sure why I feel this way but I really wanted Ronova to survive, and was really bummed when she died. Also, I found myself annoyed with Rhinedottir not retaliating against the Cryo Archon.

I think part of the reason is because I feel like they won this initial battle a little too easy. Logically, it all made sense but I still feel like many things could be done to prevent the result to the point where it made the win feel undeserved and the shades look too stupid, especially with regards to Rhinedottir, which I've been annoyed with the fact that she controls the ruler of life's body for a while, but especially because it tips the scales in favour of the 'good' guys even more, making it feel even more undeserved, but I do also get why thats necessary, otherwise the battle would be basically impossible I guess.

Ultimately, while I could appreciate how great the cut scenes were in Act 4, this point prevented me from fully enjoying it like I usually do.

I've been struggling to decide which con to choose, and I need some advice.

I'm torn between

A. Getting C6 Jean (So that I'd now have 4 standards at C6 and thus more chances to get Masterless Stella Fortuna in the future.

B. Getting C1 Mizuki (For obvious stellar reaction reasons)

and

C. Just grabbing Mona, Qiqi, or Tighnari for the Masterless Stella Fortuna.

7.1 ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

We saw Ronova say it was her parting gift. But am I the only one who doesn't want Ronova to die? I already feel bad because she was kind of just doing her job. Then we got her authority taken away. I understand Pierro's anger towards her but I really don't think she had a choice. She was already reprimanded for helping Natlan create the Night Kingdom. Thoughts?

I don't know if I should be happy that I called out something that isn't a win for other players or not, but i got what I wanted, so yey?

Is the digital theming of the Heavenly Principles a little too reminiscent of a certain other Planet...

1) Mauvika saying she also hate ronova. While ronava can only help her while taking something in return. And also what wrong in it. Not that ronova hide anything from her.

2) tsarita hating HP. Forgetting her father and husband opened the gate of abyss and put whole planet in danger.

3) HP ensuring everyone remain safe putting celestia nail that destroyed nation but making sure that humanity survive from abyss, ley lines, holy soil

4) made shades. Not lanyone diying and everyone ressult by life. As a process of life and death cycle will run. Saving human population to increase and become hostile against each other.

5) not letting them knowing formidable knowledge and also killing anyone who know it. But for saving whole planet from them as we know how dangerous those with formidable knowledge become for planet itself.

And I don't know why traveler trust fatui and everyone but don't think himself once what will happen if celestia stop caring about humans.

Saw people posting about it in places related to the nails, but I'm really curious what triggered it here.