History GenshinImpact / TropesAToD

* AmbiguousSituation: The Battle Pass plays a cutscene each time it reset, telling a story of a princess who tries to purify a corrupted kingdom before being corrupted herself and becoming its queen. Her father then sends her brother to try to save her. On the one hand, this can been seen as an allegory for the Traveler and their sibling in the main plot[[labelnote:Spoilers]]That is, it could be an interpretation of how the Traveler is not part of the Irminsul's AkashicRecords, but their sibling is as well as being the Prince[=/=]Princess of the Abyss Order.[[/labelnote]]. On the other, it could also be one of their prior adventures that are only hinted at by the Traveler.

** [[HumansAreSpecial The power of humanity,]] and how collectively they can be greater than the gods.[[labelnote:*]]The Qixing takes down Osial and later Beisht after Morax's departure, the wishes of Inazuma people overcoming the Vision Hunt Decree, and the collective wisdom of Sumeru give birth to an artificial god[[/labelnote]] This isn't always a good thing, as it could lead to arrogance, and is implied to be behind the destruction of Khaenri'ah.

* CerebusSyndrome: Mondstadt is pretty standard fantasy fare and Liyue, while touching on somewhat heavier topics, is still pretty tame. Inazuma however, holds nothing back. Foreign merchants are trapped in Ritou, unable to leave the city, let alone the country, there's an outright civil war raging against its borderline fascist shogunate, and the wilderness is devastated by excessive Electro energy, leaving very little safe routes to navigate each island. And that's without going into the main story or the sidequests, where things range from [[spoiler:the first few on-screen deaths, bandits perfectly willing to kill [[WouldHurtAChild children]] and [[BadBoss their own men]] to get what they want, a SerialKiller disguised as a rambling old coot, and an island of perpetual fog where its long-deceased habitants are trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop as a result of attempting to sacrifice a child to their patron god.]]

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:Trials are decided in Fontaine by the Oratrice, a device that converts the people's belief in justice into energy. However, though its verdicts are usually sound, the Oratrice deems Childe guilty of being behind the serial disappearances, despite it having already convicted the culprit and Neuvillette coming to the opposite conclusion, with Childe being sentenced regardless of the truth]].

** [[DeathOfTheOldGods The passing of old gods]] and [[DawnOfAnEra dawn of a new era.]] Four of the nations visited so far have lost their previous Archons[[labelnote:*]]No one has seen Barbatos for centuries though he keeps watch over the nation, Morax is 'killed' in public, Inazuma and Sumeru lost Makoto and Rukkhadevata[[/labelnote]] and usher in the new age of humanity or a new Archon.[[labelnote:*]]The Qixing taking over Liyue, a reformed Ei takes the rein of Inazuma, and Kusanali taking her spot as Rukkhadevata's successor[[/labelnote]]

** Chapter 4: [[spoiler:Marcel/Vacher]] serves as this for the two first acts of the Chapter, being responsible for [[spoiler:Cowell's attempted murder on Liliane, the frame-up of Callas for the death of Jacques,]] and the serial disappearances of young women in Fontaine. %%[[spoiler:After his death]] at the end of Act II, Arlecchino replaces him as the new ArcVillain, as (Fill this out likely once Act Three and Four are out).

* DamageSpongeBoss: Vivianne of the Lake and Ninianne of the Lake, two of Fontaine's "Local Legends" minibosses, pack absolutely massive HP pools despite merely being named versions of regular overworld enemies.

* CallARabbitASmeerp: Within the universe, cameras are called Kameras.

** In Sumeru, the player has two different ways to first encounter a Withering Zone as part of a quest - either by progressing the Archon Quest, or by progressing the Aranyaka World Quest chain. The relevant dialogue in each quest changes depending on whether that is the player's first encounter with a Withering Zone as part of a quest.
** During the "Dual Evidence" world quest of Old Notes and New Friends, the player is tasked with visiting three different locations in order to obtain the full clearance of the Scarlet Sand Slate. It is possible to find one of the locations and complete its puzzle before reaching the location where Paimon and the Traveler realize this (and in fact is quite likely given that it's on the way to the quest location in question), and if so Paimon and the Traveler will make note that one of the symbols is already done for them in the quest cutscene.
** Both Cyno and Nilou's story quests take into account if the player has finished Sumeru Archon Quest and the resulting developments. [[spoiler:In the cutscenes Cyno will be reinstated as General Mahamatra and the Traveler will bring up the idea of involving Nahida to help the theater.]]

** Kaeya's kit gives him the best longevity among the three, as his abilities are solid but not remarkable. Most critically, he is not that useful when fighting ice-elemental enemies (like Cryo slimes, Cryo Regisvine as his special attack only freezes enemies, so you must invest in other characters if you want to get anywhere past level 40.

* DecoyBackstory:
** In "Chapter I: Act IV - We Will Be Reunited", a major spoiler was revealed about [[HeroProtagonist Traveler]]'s origin (unknown until now), that's about the siblings [[spoiler:aren't TrappedInAnotherWorld]] as stated in the beginning, but [[spoiler:being already inhabitants of Teyvat, part of the ancient (and lost) kingdom of Khaenri'ah, destroyed 500 years ago and both siblings being [[WhoWantsToLiveForever cursed with immortality]] what could explain why they're seen like strangers until today]]. Not to mention about [[spoiler:the lost sibling is one of the leaders of [[BigBad The Abyss]], who probably is helping them after recovering their memories, having both IdentityAmnesia.]] How many of this could be true [[AndTheAdventureContinues it has to be revealed]].
** In Kaeya's Story Quest, Kaeya claims that his grandfather was a pirate who hid an important legacy treasure in Mondstadt that only his family would know, and the EyepatchOfPower he wears is supposedly inherited from him. In actuality, [[spoiler:Kaeya's pirate backstory was just a ruse to bait and capture a greedy eavesdropping Treasure Hoarder who has been wanted by the Knights of Favonius for quite some time, and he decided to get the Traveler in on the fake treasure hunt simply because [[ItAmusedMe it amused him]]. Kaeya is actually a descendant of the Alberich Clan from Khaenri'ah, whose ancestor; Chlothar Alberich, founded the Abyss Order.]]

*** As an archer, Amber is useful in puzzle-solving segments, especially the timed challenges where you need ranged Pyro units to shoot and light things up. However, she cannot do too much to increase her overall DPS output, and it is not particularly high in the first place. Most bench her in favor of the much higher DPS or utilities that the other archers have.
*** Lisa is the most useful among the three [[DamnedByFaintPraise when]] [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman it is constantly raining or on a body of water.]] Otherwise, her reliance on {{charged attack}}s becomes much more of a liability than anything.
*** Kaeya's kit gives him the best longevity among the three, as his abilities are solid but not remarkable. Most critically, he is not that useful when fighting ice-elemental enemies (like Cryo slimes, Cryo Regisvine, and Andrius), so you must invest in other characters if you want to get anywhere past level 40.
** Noelle, the character granted by the Beginner's wish banner, is a complicated example. Noelle can be made to hit hard, tank huge hits, and heal all party members, but her Elemental Skill cooldown is a lengthy 27 seconds and her Elemental Burst has the second highest energy cost level at 80. Combine that with Geo's lack of offensive reactions and she lags behind in crucial damage dealing, shielding, and debuffing that other characters can benefit from.

* BossInMookClothing: The terrestrial Local Legends, souped-up versions of regular overworld enemies. Normally, overworld bosses are threats, but are only a slight challenge at worst. Terrestrial Local Legends, on the other hand, have inflated HP pools (exceeding some weekly bosses), more dangerous attack patterns and souped-up damage values that make dodging essential. Oh, and unlike underwater Local Legends, there are no special mechanics that chew through their healthbar when correctly executed. To further illustrate their strength, the Local Legends "Ninianne of the Lake" and "Vivianne of the Lake" are the first overworld enemies whose Spiral Abyss versions are ''nerfed'' compared to their overworld versions.

* AntiRegeneration: Some Fontaine craftable weapons (Finale of the Deep and Flowing Purity) apply a Bond of Life effect that absorbs a certain amount of healing that would otherwise heal the equipper. In exchange, buffs are provided after healing the Bond of Life away.

* BossInMookClothing: In Fontaine, Vivianne of the Lake and Ninianne of the Lake are two named Tainted Hydro Phantasm "Local Legends". Normally, overworld boss enemies, even the world bosses, are challenging but not too dangerous. Problem is, these two enemies have HP pools far exceeding weekly bosses and some Spiral Abyss Floor 12 bosses (approximately ''3 million HP'' at [=WL8=]), buffed attacks and souped-up damage values that allow them to one-shot characters and break almost any shield with a single attack.

** Similar symbolism is used in in Chapter IV Act IV of the main story, with [[spoiler: the Fortress of Meropide being built on top of a container for the [[SealedEvilInACan Primordial Sea]], similar to current day speculation that later generations might not recognize the dangers of toxic waste and settle around it. The Primordial Sea is contaminated water which is deadly to Fontaine's residents, and when it begins to leak the evacuation resembles a containment breach, with alarms going off and the lights on the seal turning red as it steams.]]

** Early in Chapter 3 Act 6, a broken mirror is found. [[spoiler:It sets up the reveal of the twist at the end of the Archon Quest - that most of the quest was the Traveler in a vision of their sibling's memories.]]

** PlayedWith when it comes to environmental effects. While enemies do take damage from Mist/Flaming Flowers, Electro Crystals, Anemo Barriers, and Poisonous Mushrooms (and rarely Dendro Vines). Electro Barriers that can obstruct or knockback a character cannot do the same to them, and they never need to worry about Sheer Cold or Balethunder.

* CharacterNameLimits: The Traveler's name can only be a maximum of 14 characters and cannot contain spaces. The same applies to the Wanderer's custom name as well.

* CharacterNameLimits: The traveller’s name can only be a maximum of 14 characters and cannot contain spaces.