WMG / Genshin Impact

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

Confirmed theories, Jossed theories, and Partially-confirmed/Partially-Jossed theories:

Confirmed theories

How we get into Inazuma

The next region is no doubt going to be Inazuma in the main storyline, but we don't know how we get in, as Baal shut down borders. Perhaps one of the ways we can get in is through Beidou, who not only has an Electro Vision, but is likely to help us out considering we allied with Ningguang, who is Beidou's friend, to fight off the ancient god defeated by Rex Lapis. And considering she's the leader of pirates in all but name, she could allow us a ride to sneak into Inazuma.

• The map from beta has notes that mention the area with Beidou's ship is an infiltration point north of Inazuma, which further supports this.
• Confirmed in the prologue to Chapter II.

In 2.3 trailer, Albedo who is attacking Eula is an impostor

Among Us jokes aside, when Albedo is attacking Eula, he is seen using Cryo and flashing a very uncharacteristic smirk, whereas earlier in the trailer he behaved like his usual self. So maybe the attacker is not Albedo at all, but someone else impersonating him.

• Confirmed. The first part of the event story confirms this. In addition to the Cryo attack, he tried to lead Joel into an area full of monsters and attacked Eula when she tried to stop him. The real Albedo later recounts the story of how his creator, Rhinedottir, had first created imperfect copies before she created the Albedo we all know and love.

Fontaine will introduce diving mechanics.

Being the Hydro act, Fontaine could introduce underwater segments for certain areas while utilizing an oxygen-themed version of the Sheer Cold mechanic, like needing to reach pockets of air or bubbles to refill your oxygen, which can be offset by a scuba mask/some sort of breathing apparatus and maybe a new dish.

• Confirmed in 4.0.

Guoba is a deity

Xiangling met the strange bear when she took shelter on a cave with a strange shrine. Guoba appeared and ate spicy cornbread she was saving for later as he thought it was an offering to him.

• Confirmed. Guoba is the God of the Stove, Marchosias.

We will get an android character at some point

Ruin Guards, their various brethren, and the Maguu Kenki being scattered across Tevyat drives home the point that magitek robots can exist in this world. The existence of the Raiden Shogun (and by extension Scaramouche) and possibly Katheryne even more so, as those ones are explicitly human, as opposed to the bipedal Guardian/shifting mass of rock and energy/Perverse Puppet look the former have going for them. As for how the thing itself could become playable, maybe it could involve it learning beyond what it was designed to do and becoming its own person, thus catching the eye of whatever system's in place to give out Visions.

• Confirmed with none other than Scaramouche himself. While Raiden Shogun hosts Ei's consciousness, Scaramouche/Wanderer was initially designed as a puppet before gaining a mind of his own.

Baal's potential Heel Realization

In some leaks it's been revealed that Baal will be playable under the moniker "Raiden Shogun". In the past, we've had villainous characters made playable (Childe/Tartaglia), so it makes one wonder what would happen in canon that would result in Baal realizing her mistakes. I think it would have something to do with the Statue with the Visions she's been collecting under the decree. As of right now, she's collected 99 Visions to decorate the statue, with Thoma's almost becoming the 100th. Whatever and however it happens, I feel like something will happen, and Baal will realize the gravity of her Decree it has on the whole of Inazuma. Perhaps the mass accumulation of 100 Visions will cause some disaster across the islands that the Traveler has to stop, similar to what happened with the monster fight in Liyue?

• Confirmed. Raiden Ei is brought to task for her heavy-handed rule of Inazuma, and forced to confront her failures by the combined efforts of the Traveler and Yae Miko. She is playable as "Raiden Shogun" as of Version 2.1, and as an NPC she's much more amenable to opening up Inazuma to foreign trade and visitors, having ended the Vision Hunt and restored Visions to their rightful holders, as well as agreeing to a tentative peace deal with the Sangonomiya rebels on Watatsumi Island. Her personality is notably more gentle and easygoing, although she retains a bit of a detached and formal air as befitting of Inazuma's ruler and the Electro Archon. This is best seen in her casual interaction with Charlotte, a visiting journalist from Fontaine's newspaper The Steambird on the streets of Ritou during the "Summoners Invocation" TCG event.

Neuvillette is the reincarnation of the Hydro Sovereign.

Some of Neuvillette's comments make it all but explicit that he himself is not human, but exactly what he is has not yet been made clear beyond some speculation that he is a male Melusine. However, there are a few bits of evidence that point to him being the prophesied reincarnation of the Hydro Sovereign/Dragon of Water.

• The people of Ekanomiya believed that the Dragon of Water would be reborn as a human rather than a dragon/vishap due to the Bathysmal Vishaps becoming 'impure' by absorbing the elements of Electro and Cryo.
• Freminet relates a story about the Hydro Dragon's tears being responsible for rain in Fontaine. Rain is also noted to crop up fairly often during trials (i.e. when Neuvillette's emotions might be inflamed, even if he keeps them under wraps), and it is raining when Neuvillette is contemplating his role in Callus' unjust death, but stops after he finds some closure through talking to Navia (with the characters even Lampshading the sudden turn in the weather).
• Upon close inspection, Neuvillette's pupils are vertical slits, similar to those you might expect to see on a reptile.
• Neuvillette is powerful enough to one-shot Childe while he was gearing up his Foul Legacy Transformation. Even accounting for Childe not having the use of his vision at that moment, that's an incredible amount of firepower on display.
• Unlike most characters whose element is listed under their "Vision," or Archons who have the "Gnosis" category, Neuvillette's drip marketing lists the source of his Hydro powers as "???". His constelation is similarly obfuscated.
• Confirmed at the end of Chapter IV Act IV.

Furina will be able to use both Arkhe types in gameplay.

Like the Raiden Shogun/Ei before her, Furina is established to have something of a Duality Motif. Along with her having two different eyes, she has the persona of a boisterous showwoman that hides a Nervous Wreck concerned with PR, and following herPoV shows there's a version of her in her head that speaks her inner thoughts, as shown during Lyney's trial. In line with this, it's possible that her playable appearance will be capable of wielding both the Pneuma and Ousia Arkhes, maybe through switching between the two with her Skill, Burst, or one of her passives, or maybe her normals, Skill, or Burst using one respectively.

• Confirmed. She will be Ousia by default, but can switch via her Charged Attacks.

One of the remaining extant Archons will be deposed during the events of their Archon Quest

The most likely candidates are the Tsaritsa (who, as she runs the Fatui, is part of the Big Bad Ensemble) or Focalors (if, as theorized earlier, Fontaine's plotline takes some cues from the French Revolution). If it's the latter, no doubt the Fatui will play a part in it.

• Within the first two Archon Quests of 4.0, two things occur to support this theory: In Chapter IV Act I, Focalors overzealously accuses an innocent man (Lyney) of murder and kidnapping, and is greatly embarrassed when the Traveler is able to successfully refute her theory of the crime and prove Lyney's innocence. In Act II, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale inexplicably finds Childe guilty of the Fontaine disappearance cases despite Chief Justice Neuvillette's reasoning establishing Childe's innocence in that case and the guilt of Marcel in the serial-killings of several young women over a twenty year span after the Traveler assists Navia in obtaining vital evidence to prove their accusation. Together, these two blows to the reputation of Fontaine's legal system and the fact that Fontaine just falsely imprisoned a Fatui Harbinger (something not even Liyue's Qixing could do, presumably due to Childe's diplomatic immunity) will likely have major repercussions on the stability of Fontaine's government. This Troper expects potential civil unrest and possible action by the Fatui against Fontaine when word of this hits The Steambird and/or gets back to the Northland Bank.
  • Additionally, Fontaine may soon be facing an energy crisis due to being a Terminally Dependent Society that powers many of its advanced technologies on an energy called Indemnitium, which is produced from the people's faith in their justice system when the Oratrice renders a judgement. What happens if the people's faith in justice is shaken or broken entirely, due to the recent spate of false accusations and the miscarriage of justice thanks to the Oratrice sentencing a man to prison for a crime he did not commit? We could be looking at a situation where The Magic Goes Away, or at least the end of the sufficiently advanced technology which forms the basis of modern life for Fontanians. Widespread protests and riots could occur, leading to a breakdown of law and order, and give rise to a revolution to depose Focalors and Neuvillette... or rationale for a Fatui invasion and occupation as a "peacekeeping force" to effect Regime Change.
    • Whether she likes it or not, Navia (being a popular and attractive young businesswoman who has proven herself to be a lady of noble bearing and sterling character) might be Offered the Crown by the revolutionary forces and find herself in the unenviable situation of being Fontaine's new Reluctant Ruler. (The Fatui would likely spirit away the Hydro Archon's Gnosis though, during the chaos and confusion of a revolution.)
  • Either Neuvillette or Clorinde might feel they have to lead The Coup to depose an increasingly-unstable Focalors, or Focalors might be wary that her government is plotting against her and decide to purge them from their positions of authority.
  • Additionally, if Neuvillette is correct, the Oratrice is developing a sense of self-awareness. It's not inconceivable that it might go rampant, to borrow a turn of phrase from the Halo series and decide to seize power for itself and cut out the middlemen, i.e., Focalors, Neuvillette, and Fontaine's human population.
• In addition to the Fatui, there are two other big international power players we haven't accounted for, and one force outside Fontaine but with deep links to the nation: the Heavenly Principles, the Hexenzirkel, and the Oceanids living in exile. It may be more of a longshot, but one of them may utilize societal instability in Fontaine for their chance to seize power.
• Praise be Focalors, our lady of justice, who loved her people so much that she died to redeem them from their sins in the climax of Chapter IV Act V. May your name echo in song forever more.

Jossed theories

The 11 Fatui Harbingers actually stole the powers of the Tsaritsa for themselves

When Barbatos (i.e Venti) said that the Tsaritsa granted the Harbingers god-like powers, he might've been mistaken - like how Signora could steal his Gnosis, it's likely that the Harbingers could find a way to steal Tsaritsa's own divine powers as well.

• Jossed, the Harbingers are shown to be extremely loyal to the Tsaritsa.

How the Fatui will get Raiden's Gnosis

So far the Fatui have attacked Venti for his Gnosis, and struck some bargain with Zhongli for his, leaving only 4 more Gnoses to go. And considering Inazuma is no doubt the next region in Teyvat, I like to believe Raiden will give up her Gnosis after experiencing the Traveler, who doesn't need a Focus for her project, which would fall to ruins somewhat. At some point during the Inazuma storyline, I feel like Raiden will fall from grace and develop feelings of self-loathing for failing to reach Heaven and thus renounce her Gnosis, most likely to the Fatui. This is only one of many possibilities, but I feel like we'll put a stop to whatever she's doing with the statue of the Thousand-Armed Hundred-Eyed God in some capacity.

• Jossed, Raiden has given up her gnosis long ago, and Yae is the one to give the gnosis to the Fatui.

Scaramouche is working with the Fatui in order to overthrow Baal

We know that Baal is a tyrant who's isolating the country, confiscating Visions, and keeping new people from having them at all. Scaramouche is an Inazuma native who managed to leave a country where nothing goes in or out and is working with an organization that 1) steals Archon gnoses, 2) is currently the only source of Electro Visions via Delusions, and 3) is the most powerful military in the world. It makes sense that Scaramouche would align with them, even if he fundamentally disagrees with their goals- which would explain his reputation as a temperamental dick among the rest of the Fatui. On top of all this, he doesn't seem to have a Vision stone even though he has multiple Electro symbols on his body, so it's likely he might had his confiscated. Maybe the Inazuma arc would also have the Traveler temporarily working with the Fatui (or at least Scaramouche) and other Inazuma defectors to take Baal down.

• Jossed, Scaramouche joined the Fatui long before the Sakoku and Vision Hunt decrees, and he was said to be "found" by them.

The masterless vision Kazuha has with him will become Scaramouche's vision.

This only works if Scaramouche is visionless but since he isn't obviously shown with a vision like the playable charcters and the NPC Baizhu it's possible. Maybe it activates partway through the Inazuma story and he helps take down Baal or he gets it as a reward for something else after he proves his worthiness.

• Jossed. At the end of Chapter II, Kazuha places the masterless Vision next to his friend's sword northeast of the Grand Narukami Shrine, where it still remains following the conclusion of the chapter. With the announcement that he will be Promoted to Playable, Scaramouche would obtain a different Vision for himself (an Anemo vision with the Sumeru-styled casing) at some point after the Sumeru story arc.

Yae is the original Electro Archon.

• She's stated to be an old friend of Zhongli and Ganyu, two people who have lived for hundreds of years and also have a connection to the Geo Archon — Zhongli being Morax himself and Ganyu being one of his subordinates.
• Morax and Barbatos are the only original Archons still left alive... or so do they think. Since the Dendro Archon is the youngest Archon with a 500-year rule, this means the transition between the two Electro Archons had to have happened over 500 years ago to after 2,000 years ago (when the Archon War ended, otherwise, when the seven elements and the original Archons were determined). Plenty could've happened during this time, such as Yae handing off her title to Baal and faking her death or disappearing.
• The figure depicted in the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed Statue has a resemblance to Yae (namely similar hairstyles), just as the Statues of the Seven for Barbatos and Morax resemble Venti and Zhongli.
• Venti and Zhongli both have "_ Dei" as their constellation names, while Baal's is "Imperatrix Umbrosa". Yae has yet to be revealed as of this writing. Perhaps "Dei" is reserved for original Archons, and they also wanted to withhold that until the Archon Quest revealing Yae's true status was revealed.
  • Jossed. The original Electro Archon was revealed to be Raiden Makoto.

Possibly going with the above, Yae is possessing Raiden or vice versa.

In her beta lines, Ayaka speculates that Yae is possessed by a spirit, a Mythology Gag to Honkai Impact 3rd when Yae Sakura possessed Raiden Mei and got her permission to do it again later. Maybe as a way to technically achieve immortality, Yae or Raiden has learned how to body-jump into the other to keep their souls alive while abandoning their old, weakening bodies.

• Jossed, Raiden Ei keeps her consciousness in her sword.

Baal will try to recruit the Traveler.

We all know Baal is looking for Visions, as she believes Visions to be divine blessings. Once she finds out that the Traveler has the powers of a Vision without needing one, this Troper believes that Baal will not be antagonistic to our Player character, but rather, trying to convince us and persuade us into swearing loyalty to her and help her with her project. Naturally, we'll refuse, but that may not stop her from continuing to try.

• Jossed. Baal doesn't want to recruit the Traveler since she sees them as a threat and wants to kill them, at least until the denouement of Chapter II Act III Omnipresence Over Mortals Part 8, "The Ominpresent God" which is the very climax of Inazuma's Archon Quest.

Scaramouche is a former Tenryou Commission member and former Kujou clan member

Scaramouche's hair doesn't have the glowing gradient that most archons seem to share and the full image of Baal shows her having that hair gradient while Scaramouche doesn't. Instead, his hair color shares a similar shade to Kujou Sara.So it's more likely that he's formerly of the Kujou clan of Inazuma before joining the Fatui, instead of being a clone of Baal.

• Jossed. Omnipresence Over Mortals reveals Scaramouche is a clone.

The Oceanid is a giant Seelie

Although the Oceanid is a Hydro life-form, it does share some similarities with the Mysterious Seelie, from simple aspects like their appearances, and their ability to float. The Oceanid being angered to the point where it mentions "murderers" when we fight it might be similar to how Seelies, as mentioned in Volume 3 of the Drunkard's Tale, previously wrote a song for the "human savages". The appearance of the Seelies might have also been inspired by Sea Butterflies◊, thus probably sharing the Oceanid's similar concept of a "Hydro life-form".

• Jossed, the Wishful Drops event focuses on the Lochfolk as a race, and shows that they are their own species.

Baizhu is a Yaksha

Baizhu is said to be suffering from some mysterious illness. It could be that his illness isn't an illness at all but his Karma. It's also worth noting that Baizhu's eyes are very similar to Xiao's.

• Jossed. Baizhu is a human who exchanged his pupils with Changseng as proof of their contract, giving him her original Animal Eyes. His illness is a result of him expending life force and taking diseases and toxins from the patient into himself to heal people, made possible by the aforementioned contract.

The ominous letter to Barbara was from Bennett, not Albert

During the Windblume Festival, Barbara gets a strange letter saying something precious was stolen from her—but when you follow the map, it turns out to be just a gift box and another letter (partly apologizing for the first letter). Most people seem to assume it's from Albert, a Loony Fan of hers we met earlier, but there's reason to believe it was actually from Bennett (and probably Ship Tease).

• The most obvious reason—Venti knows who sent it, and tries to sugarcoat it, saying it's a sincere and heartfelt message despite the "questionable methodology." He rejected Albert's own wacky plan to build a giant flowery statue for Barbara, so he probably wouldn't react this way unless he thought it was from someone else.
• Rosaria realizes there's "nothing to worry about" as soon as she reads the scary-sounding letter, implying that she's also figured out it was from someone Barbara knows, not a stranger or random fan.
• Bennett showed up at Venti's poem-writing class, so we know he wanted to write a love letter to an unknown person.
• Bennett also appears when you first talk to Barbara about the weird letter, even though there's no reason (storytelling-wise) for him to be there unless he was involved somehow. When Barbara leaves, he inexplicably runs off to the Thousand Winds Temple, instead of going to the location on the map (which he recognized), implying that he knows what she'll find there and doesn't want to get dragged into it.
  • Jossed. Later event storyline indirectly reveals that Bennett hadn't written his love letter yet at the time and had been only able to find time to write them while trapped in a prison cell with Razor at Thousand Winds Temple. He's also genuinely mistaken said place to be where the author of the strange letter to have buried Barbara's precious belongings. Not to mention being extremely angry such situation led him to be trapped in the first place.

Scaramouche has a Cryo Delusion.

Given that Scaramouche has an Electro symbol on his costume and the fact that he was a prototype for Raiden Shogun's puppet body, it's likely his prime element is Electro. Thus far, the Fatui Harbingers have wielded two elements that contradict each other, so it follows that Scaramouche's Delusion is a Cryo one, especially since the second element each Harbinger uses in their battles is the perfect counter to the first element they use.

• Jossed. When we finally fight him near the end of the Sumeru story, he instead pilots a giant mecha that uses multiple elements and is not shown to be using any Delusions of the sort. Unrelated to the Delusion topic, his prime element is revealed to be Anemo (not Electro) when Promoted to Playable.

Albedo's impersonator is a Harbinger we haven't seen in-game yet, and also the new adventurer.

• Harbingers have been introduced in events before, and it makes sense that someone with the Fatui would be seeking alchemical knowledge from Albedo. Perhaps it's Dottore, the mad doctor of the group, as he could be a pretty easy rival to Albedo. Furthermore, Bennett seemed surprised to learn of the new adventurer we've been briefly introduced to, not being aware of his hiring, so that adventurer may be an alternate disguise of the bad guy of the event.
  • Jossed. It was an ancient Whopperflower derived from Durin, Albedo's alchemical "brother", hoping to take his place. The new adventurer had no real story significance.

Visions are Soul Jars.

Lisa had apparently discovered a dark secret behind Visions, but up until patch 2.0 we had no idea what that might be. Given that those that are deprived of Visions suffer Easy Amnesia and lose track of what was most important to them, it's possible that they're receptacles of a fragment of the bearer's spirit that sap on their emotional energy for power. Supporting this is that in a potential Mythology Gag this is similar to Herrscher cores in many ways.

• Seemingly Jossed; Ei says the people who broke down from getting their Visions confiscated simply used their Visions as emotional crutches for their ambitions.
  • Until more evidence arises to support the original theory, this can be considered Jossed for the time being.

Alhaitham is a Cyborg

Alhaitham establishes himself in the time we know him as The Spock, basing everything he does on rational thinking and he is prone to Brutal Honesty, which makes even some of his fellow scholars wary and put off by him. Additionally, some parts of his design, such as his strange headset and the small gem that appears to be imbedded into his chest, seem highly unusual if we are to go with the assumption that he's a run-of-the-mill human. On the other hand, if he was some form of advanced mechanical lifeform capable of passing as a human, it would explain the greater subscription he has to cold logic and reasoning and the more odd facets of his design. Additionally, it's established by this point that people who are artificial in nature, such as Albedo and Scaramouche, are capable of earning and wielding Visions, meaning he wouldn't be too unusual in this regard.

• Jossed; our self-proclaimed "Feeble Scholar" turns out to be a regular human; his headset is a regular sound-muting headphones. If you decide to bring him to Dragonspine, he has a visible breath, which robotic beings (Raiden Shogun and Scaramouche) lacks.

Collei is the Scarlet King's vessel.

Or rather that of what remains of him. Abyssal energy has been identified as the remains of dead gods, and Collei was injected with Abyssal energy by the Fatui. The dead god in question being the Scarlet King would tie into Ayn Al-Ahmar's prophecy that the Scarlet King would be reincarnated, explaining why it became a thing so recently in the first place.

• Jossed, the Scarlet King was never actually active during the events of the game anyway, and Collei ended up being cured after purifying the Withering. Her disease, Eleazar, was however a manifestation of the Forbidden Knowledge that King Deshret introduced into the world and is innately tied with the Withering phenomena; her condition does have a link to Al-Ahmar's misdeeds, so it is a very understandable connection to make.

Rana will become a playable character sometime in the future and her moveset will involve Arana.

Rana recieves a Vision at the end of the Aranyaka quest line and every character who has a vision has eventually become a playable character. At the end of said quest, Rana leaves together with the Aranara Arana, so it's not that hard to believe that, when she eventually becomes playable, Arana will accompany her.

• Rana being playable is immediately jossed (and was likely originally a joke that some people took too seriously), on the basis of her character model and other factors that some people seemingly failed to account for:
  • The biggest elephant in the room that serves as a major strike against the idea of Rana being playable is that she uses the standard generic NPC model; if you take her face and compare it with the faces of all other generic female NPCs (ie. Katheryne or Dunyarzad), you can see the obvious Only Six Faces trait rampart among generic NPCs that simply screams "not playable"; in contrast, current and future playable characters have unique and distinct designs.
  • While some may try to explain that she can get a redesign that makes her appearance on par with that of the actual playable characters, citing Collei (a character from the prequel comics) as an example of a character who got a redesign for her playable appearance, they seem to forget that Collei already had a unique design even back in the comics; Collei also did not have a character model prior to her first in-game appearance in Version 3.0, allowing her to physically grow up during the time gap between the prequel and the beginning of the Traveler's journey, and use her older present-day appearance as her redesign, whereas Rana has no such luck as a generic NPC whose character model is already set in stone with her appearance in-game. Furthermore, unless plastic surgery is a thing in the world of Teyvat, Rana cannot simply have her "NPC face" changed without Hoyoverse providing an in-universe justification. It would be really awkward for players (and by extension the Traveler and Paimon) to have previously seen her with the same bland face like every other NPC they have met so far, only to have her eyes and face change shape and appearance when/if she ever returns in the future. No playable characters to date have ever had their physical character model^note This does not include their clothes, as Scaramouche had his clothes changed when he becomes Promoted to Playable as the Wanderer; his physical appearance (hair and facial structure) otherwise remains the same changed from when they are first introduced as an in-game NPC to their playable appearance.
  • On its own without the aforementioned "unique design", having a Vision is not enough to qualify for playability. There is a generic NPC during an Archon quest in Inazuma named Hanshirou who is stated to still possess his Vision, yet has never been expected from the fanbase or Hoyoverse to become playable, debunking the whole "every character who has a vision has eventually become a playable character" claim.
  • While coincidental, every current and upcoming playable characters so far have appeared in quests with voiced dialogue. Rana on the other hand had only appeared in non-voiced world quests.
  • Additionally, Rana violated another trend that no playable characters (current or upcoming) had ever happened to them: she is a computer-controlled ally NPC fighting alongside the player, reusing enemy attack animations (specifically that of the Eremite Axe Vanguard). If the quest plot establishes that a playable character who is an NPC (such as Cyno or Tighnari), or an NPC who is expected to become playable in the future (such as Alhaitham and Dehya prior to versions 3.4 and 3.5, respectively), is involved with a fight against enemies, they are either a Trial Character in the player's party, or do not appear at all in the battle during gameplay. Rana does not follow either of those.
  • As a final nail in the already battered coffin, version 3.7 has Rana (as a card) make her debut in the Genius Invocation TCG game mode...as a Companion Support Card like every other generic NPC before her and not as a Character Card like the actual playable characters.
  • With all of the above thoroughly debunking the "Playable Rana" speculation, in short, Rana is automatically disqualified from ever becoming playable regardless of whether or not she has a Vision.

The Oratrice intentionally pronounced Childe guilty in order to remove a Fatui Harbinger from play.

A developing plot point concerning the Oratrice is that it may be developing sentience and gaining a will beyond its original design and purpose, and part of this sentience could include the desire for self-preservation. The Oratrice is also directly sustained by the Hydro Gnosis, and removing it would destroy the machine—something that could very likely happen if the Fatui were allowed to roam free in Fontaine. Despite knowing that Childe was innocent of the crime he was accused of, the Oratrice may have decided that eliminating the Fatui and preserving its existence were more important than the notion of "justice" and deliberately pronounced him guilty in order to take out one of their most powerful members while it had the chance.

• It is revealed in 4.2 that Focalors either declared Childe guilty by association for awakening the All-Devouring Narwhal, which caused Primordial Water to rise in Fontaine, or knew that he would be able to buy time for Fontaine by fighting the Narwhal.

The Former Hydro Archon is the Greater-Scope Villain of Fontaine.

Perhaps to further contrast Furina with Nahida, this will turn out to be the case, with the former Hydro Archon, Egeria, proving vastly different from Rukkhadevata's Big Good status. It's stated that The Prophecy that serves as the main point of interest in the Fontaine questline, and serves to drive Furina's actions and insecurities, were the last words of the first Hydro Archon, claiming that that every person in Fontaine is filled with a sin that can't be redeemed, and that the water levels in Fontaine will eventually rise, engulf the nation, and dissolve its citizens into water, leaving Furina as the Sole Survivor. However, what if these words weren't a prophecy, but in fact a Dying Curse inflicted on her people?

• It's not hard to see why Fontainians of today might be seen as "sinful", what with many of them treating the trials that put the lives and reputations of the accused at stake as entertainment. However, this could largely be attributed to Furina's influence, who also treats the trials as entertainment and very likely advertised them as such to help her reputation. With this in mind, it's hard to imagine what the Fontainians of old did to earn such a descriptor from their own Archon. In short, maybe Egeria experienced some manner of betrayal at the hands of her people at the time of her death, perhaps in a similar vein to Havria, the Godess of Salt, hence why she'd describe them as such and potentially curse them.
  • Alternatively, maybe being the God of Justice and witnessing the kinds of crimes people would commit even under her rule gave her a pair of Jade-Colored Glasses, and she placed the curse in a fit of Black-and-White Insanity.
• According to Idyia, the reason many of the Oceanids left Fontaine was because the water there became filled with pain and hatred, Implied to be due to the Hydro Archon's influence. However, while "pain" could refer to Furina's insecurities and attempts at preventing the prophecy, it's hard to see why her influence would fill it with "hatred." An alternative explanation would be that these were the feelings the Egeria experienced when she died, which contaminated the waters and Furina has yet to become powerful enough to fix them.
• Act IV of the Fontaine Archon Quest reveals that the origins of the Fortress of Meropide is that the repentant exiles of the past prayed to Egeria for forgiveness, and she said they could atone by guarding her closest secret, which the Fortress was built on top of. Your investigation reveals that this supposed secret is a gate sealing the source of Primordial Seawater, which is threatening the break under the rising pressure. Additionally, when Neuvillette shows up to suppress the Primordial Seawater, he remarks that "This sentence is too severe. Forgive me for overruling it", suggesting that there's someone who wants the prophecy to come true, and that it's someone Neuvillette knows. Considering his willingness to serve Fontaine's current Archon, with hints such as his character trailer suggesting it's due to a connection to her predecessor, and Egeria's already established connection to the Fortress' secret, this further suggests that the Prophecy was less a prediction by her, but something of her own design.
• Jossed in Chapter IV Act V, which reveals that the prophecy was a punishment by Celestia for Egeria transforming Fontaine's Oceanids into humans using Waters of the Primordial Sea, which was the original sin. The fact that Celestia punished her for doing this in spite of also using alien powers for their own gain is described as hypocritical by Focalors, who argues that all of Fontaine was unjustly sentenced for its god granting her people's heartfelt desire. Ultimately, nothing that Egeria did is responsible for the current state of Fontaine.

Alice is one of the Descenders.

Presumably the Third, given that the First Descender was the Heavenly Principles, which arrived on Teyvat far before Alice has ever been indicated to be present there. Both of the Descenders that have been revealed are Outside Context Problems that are or were of unimaginable power and have had a significant impact on Teyvat's landscape, and Alice is The Archmage who has been on Teyvat for centuries, met with several historical figures, and achieved a position of simultanous fear and respect. It's an obvious connection that it will almost certainly be made whenever Alice finally shows up. The question is whether or not it's actually the case, given that one of the most obvious candidates for a Descender, the Traveler's sibling, is apparently of Teyvat.

• Jossed. Alice is not the Third Descender, as "Masquerade of the Guilty" reveals that the Gnosis were created from the remains of the Third Descender, and Alice is very much alive.

Partially-confirmed/Partially-Jossed theories

Theories on how Genshin Impact ties to the Honkai Gakuen universe... and other Mythology Gag examples that might just be coincidences and need further proof/explanation

Well, this game's developer is miHoYo after all, known for creating the Honkai IP across several games and media. Therefore, Genshin Impact is probably bound to have shared characters and a Shared Universe with games like Gun Girls Z and Honkai Impact 3rd. miHoYo fans had a lot of theories about this.

• Now that this game has been released, the Mythology Gag trope on the main page list the similarities between both games that have obvious clues. Some of the things listed there may be similar to, or directly lifted from the ones listed here (considering how this WMG page also compiled fan theories that existed even before this game officially launched).
• The game's title itself having the word "Impact" just like Honkai Impact 3rd is seen as an easy or obvious giveaway that the two games are connected somehow.
• Prior to Genshin's release, this official livestream shows that Otto Apocalypse could briefly peek into Teyvat and Dvalin during a quantum experiment regarding the Imaginary Tree. This started the idea that the worlds of Honkai and Genshin are connected through the Imaginary Tree, or rather, both are worlds that exist on different branches of the Tree, but close enough to each other. The CG cutscene eventually made its way as The Stinger of Chapter 17 in Honkai Impact 3rd
  • This isn't the first time where miHoYo involves trees with a mythical concept (e.g. the World Tree trope). In HI3, a branch of the Imaginary Tree is described by Otto as the birth of the human civilization, and he describes his discovery as the "edge of science". The Second God Key has also been used to observe other "Parallel Worlds" on the Imaginary Tree. In Genshin, the item description of the Ley Line Sprout mentions a great tree whose roots once spread out to every corner of the world. Perhaps the Ley Line Sprout references the Imaginary Tree concept from miHoYo’s other game?
  • Genshin has trees at the end of the Domains, places with interiors that are usually blue, and are made up of strange architecture. In the Second Key comic of HI3, the Imaginary Tree is explained, and this panel◊ shows the Tree in a similar space as the Domains in Genshin. However, the unnamed person who performs virtual analysis on other worlds also mentions how the tree's falling leaves represent universes lost in the Honkai War, and so many of them had lost, leaving the tree into a husk of itself. Perhaps the strange, petrified trees in the Domains of Genshin are allusions to that tree, which could explain why they no longer have any leaves, and why they're located in such blue-colored areas?
  • Perhaps Dainsleif's title of "Bough Keeper" is significant enough to foreshadow the Imaginary Tree? "Bough" obviously means the "main branch of the tree" after all.
• An opening cutscene shows the Travelers fighting an unknown woman who looks a whole lot like Herrscher of the Void Kiana Kaslana from HI3 along with the similar space-manipulation powers. Apart from the Shared Universe idea, it spawned questions like the following: Could she be just an expy? A Reused Character Design? An Alternate Self? A Reincarnation? A simple case of Mythology Gag? Or the exact same character but transported into this game's world? Other interpretations and "clues" have followed:
  • Genshin Impact is an isekai featuring characters from the Honkai Gakuen universe.
  • At the 0:25 mark of the video when played at slower speeds, her Exotic Eye Designs are the same as Kiana's, which could mean that they are the same character.
  • That woman is a protector of Teyvat who only antagonized the Travelers because of the latter's dimension-crossing abilities. But in the end, she may become an ally or be Promoted to Playable.
  • It's then confirmed that the Unknown God's Japanese voice actress is Rie Kugimiya, who also voiced Kiana. With all those similarities, having the same voice actress makes them a case of a Casting Gag at least.
  • Alternatively, some consider the Unknown God to be the Herrscher of the End, the main antagonist of Gun Girls Z.
• The Flavor Text of the Aerosiderite items, especially the Chunk of Aerosiderite, mention "monsters with alien, dark blood flowing through their veins". Perhaps this is talking about the Honkai corruption, in which the usual symptom involves pinkish stripes or lines appearing on the victim’s body. In some depictions such as the HI3 manga, the stripes may also be colored dark blue or purple.
• The four-pointed star shape that's present in a lot of things (Primogems, Paimon's hairclip, Dvalin's chest) in Genshin (to the point that it is considered an Arc Symbol as written on the main page)? It's just like the recurring symbol of characters in the Honkaiverse... Just take a look at Herrscher of the Void◊'s glowing particles, and Herrscher of the End◊'s forehead.
• miHoYo/Honkai fans are also quick to point out that Paimon's size, appearance and the ability to float makes her a dead ringer to the ELFs (Equipment: Living Form). There's also a dialogue line with Verr Goldet of the Wangshu Inn describing Paimon as a "floating elf companion".
• Teyvat, the world of Genshin Impact, is perhaps named from "TEVAH" (תבה) - the Hebrew word for "ark". In the manga of Honkai Impact 3rd, the Project ARK was sent in space to find a new world for humanity.
• There's a minor Knight of Favonius NPC named "Otto", making Honkai Impact 3rd players theorize, suspect, or joke that perhaps, he is Otto Apocalypse in disguise. While he's normally found guarding the church, he's oddly nowhere to be seen when the Fatui attack Venti and the Traveler the moment they leave it.
• Connections between the Herrschers and the Archons:
  • There are already several references that can be linked between the Herrschers of Honkai and Archons of Genshin within the same element - The Pyro Archon Murata having a similar name to Himeko Murata (who wears a battlesuit that allows her to wield fire), the Anemo Archon Barbatos having the same color theme as Wendy (the Herrscher of Wind), the Electro Archon being known as "Raiden" just like Raiden Mei (the Herrscher of Thunder). Therefore, the unrevealed Archons might have similarities to the other Herrschers as well. And because Honkai fans noticed how the Unknown God looked like Kiana, there are theories suggesting that the Genshin Archons will also be look-alikes of their supposed Honkai counterparts, even way before they are properly introduced in the story. For example, this theory convinced both HI3 and GI fans to use Mei's HoT form as a stand-in for Baal's appearance even before the Inazuma region was announced.
  • In the Act VI - Snezhnaya segment of the Storyline Preview Chapter, Pulcinella, the fifth Fatui Harbinger, has their upper body and face covered in the shadows. Perhaps this could be a hint or a reference to Ana Schariac, the Herrscher of Ice, whose Herrscher form also has her upper body and face covered in pitch-black?
  • Jossed with the release of A Winter Night's Lazzo trailer.
    • At first, some thought that the character in the trailer was the Tsaritsa herself, although it was quickly debunked due to the description of the trailer clearly labelling the character as Pulcinella. Despite this, there's another theory suggesting that both the Tsaritsa and Pulcinella are going to be look-alikes of Ana Schariac, or would share the same color theme as her. But among the two, Tsaritsa is thought to be the more plausible Expy since she's the Cryo Archon while Ana Schariac is the Herrscher of Ice.
    • Another popular theory from HI3 fans suggests that the Tsaritsa might be an expy of Bronya Zaychik, one of the three main protagonists of that game alongside Kiana Kaslana and Raiden Mei. Since Snezhnaya is the Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Russia, it might make sense because Bronya is a Russian. Bronya's Herrscher of Reason form is also thought to be the template that might be used for the Tsaritsa's appearance. On top of that, Snezhnaya is much more technologically advanced than the rest of nations in Teyvat, possibly referencing Bronya's tech-savvy characteristic.
• Scaramouche's design is too similar to Raiden Mei's Danzai Spectramancer battlesuit; they have the same dark blue hair color, blue eyes, and both have bold red eyeliners. Their outfits also share a similar color theme of red, black, dark brown with a little bit of gray.
• Judging from the similar names alone, the nation of Fontaine might possibly reference something from St. Fountain, the city where "A Post Honkai Odyssey" from HI3 takes place.
• Lastly, if in case the Multiverse concept is explored in Genshin, it might still take a long time, or a dozen or so major version updates before that happens. Finding the Traveler's twin comes first, unless if that main plot gets repeatedly sidelined. It's also highly likely that an in-game cameo of a Honkai character should happen first within the main story quest (Archon Quest) of Genshin before this revelation or concept takes effect.
• In the miHoYo forums, a user named Majesty made some in-depth write-ups regarding the connections between miHoYo's games, including Genshin. Those also covered some details already mentioned above.

Gameplay elements in Honkai Impact 3rd that miHoYo might later implement in Genshin Impact

Obviously they're from the same developer, so there are plenty of things that this game might still use from what miHoYo did in their previous game.

• So far, the following are post-launch Genshin content that resemble certain content from HI3:
  • "A Thousand Questions With Paimon" - Weekly Quiz
  • "Vishaps and Where to Find Them" - Dorm Errands
• Genshin might have the following stuff in future updates simply because these had been in HI3:
  • A Dorm system, an interior-decorating feature, or perhaps something that would render the characters into Chibi avatars wandering around in a room, interacting with other Chibi avatars or objects.
    • Confirmed with the Serenitea Pot system in Version 1.5. Players can decorate their space with houses, trees, rock formations, vegetable gardens... Inside one's house, one can arrange furniture and decorations as one likes, up to a limit of a certain number of items. The Traveler's summoned companions can even be invited to stay in one's Serenitea Pot, and they can grant you gifts including Primogems for collecting special arrangements of exterior and interior decorations corresponding with their respective nations.
  • Hidden treasure chests - The Sakura Samsara and A Post-Honkai Odyssey open-world maps in HI3 had "invisible" chests that would only appear if the player taps a button or ability that gives True Sight. Just imagine if the Elemental Sight ability allows the Traveler to discover new chests in the open-world as well.
  • Vehicles - The Schicksal HQ open world map in HI3 has mechs that can be piloted by the playable characters, including a "helicopter" that allows a fast aerial travel.
    • Confirmed through Waverider of Inazuma.
  • Quick Time Event - A.K.A. the "playable cutscene" trope. This had been in the Part 1 Finale of "A Post-Honkai Odyssey" in HI3 and got implemented in the later main story cutscenes as well.
  • Dorm Supply - An alternative and cheaper gacha banner that is more likely to give you a new high-rarity character thanks to its safety net or pity mechanics... Not to mention that the gacha currency cost is also cheaper, which would greatly help the starting F2P.
  • Memorial Arena - A challenge mode where players can face off against a selection of 2-3 challenging bosses from certain events each week. You have to beat them under certain time limits to score points, the faster the better. Each time when these bosses defeated, there is a difficulty increase, which nets more points when you defeat them.
  • Bounty Mark - A Coop Multiplayer game mode where the host player purchases a "boss ticket", then said player has to team up with other players to beat the boss under a time limit. The prizes are "fragments" of gacha-exclusive equipments that you can use to craft said equipments. The higher rank the boss ticket is, the more materials you can possibly get after beating the boss.
  • Resin replenishment - In HI3, stamina is automatically stored when you exceed your stamina count limit. Depending on how many stamina limit you have and you decided to don't want to play for a day, the stamina will store it in the Dorm's stamina storage. Genshin should implement this feature so that Resin is not wasted, even if you don't have much time to login.
  • New weapon types:
    • Handguns. Kiana Kaslana is miHoYo's mascot after all, and the very first Valkyrie whom you control in HI3 is a dual pistol wielder (Although what region in Teyvat is going to manufacture guns poses another question).
    • Fontaine and Snezhnaya both manufacture firarms, although they aren't their own class of wieldable weapons yet.
    • HI3 also has "Gauntlet" and "Scythe" wielders and weapon types, so perhaps Genshin might have fist-fighters/kung-fu warriors and scythe wielders in the future updates?
    • HI3 also has katanas, and some Genshin players also speculate that Inazuma might contain Katanas, given that the region is the Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Japan, although it's still a mystery if they would get lumped into the same category as the Swords, gameplay-wise.
  • Backstab mechanic which allows to deal heavy damage against unengaged open world enemies when attacked from behind.

Who Paimon really is

There are discussions about the real identity of our traveling companion, Paimon.

• This Reddit post in particular opens up the theory that Paimon is actually the Unknown God from the prologue]], with various hints like Paimon's hairclip and black scarf being respectively similar to the portal and the collar of the Unknown God.
  • Besides, miHoYo fans already got used to the company using Kiana Kaslana as the Mascot character/app icon for their games. So if the other theory above implies that the Unknown God is Kiana Kaslana/Herrscher of the Void, while this theory implies that Paimon is the Unknown God, link the two together and it would make sense why Paimon is the mascot character/app icon for Genshin Impact... her real identity could be Kiana Kaslana.
• The alternate fan theory suggests that Paimon may not be the Unknown God herself, but her servant who acts as a spy on what the playable Traveler is doing in Teyvat.
• In another Reddit post, Paimon might be The God of Time/Chrono Archon, supported with lengthy details or perhaps foreshadowing, including the idea that pausing the game and speeding-up the in-game clock are Paimon's abilities.
  • Further supporting this theory, Paimon was fished out of the sea very close to the secret island related to the Chrono Archon. Furthermore, (although this is mentioned below as well) we've seen two gods (Nahida & Guoba) sacrifice their powers and lose their memories, shrinking in the process to roughly the same size as Paimon. This can explain why Paimon has no knowledge of having been the Chrono Archon and only a small amount of residual power.
• Paimon has a floating circlet/halo above her head, and her hairclip is shaped into a four-pointed star. Overlapping with the above-listed comparisons with miHoYo's other works, there's a character in the Honkai media who is also depicted with an angel halo and a four-pointed star on her head - Herrscher of the End◊.
• Paimon might be related to the Abyss Mages because they are some of the few beings who can freely float.

The names of the Archons

Venti and Zhongli are called Barbatos and Morax respectively, both demons of the Ars Goetia. But curiously, the Raiden Shogun is called Beelzebul while the precious Electro Archon was actually Baal. This makes me think the Successor Archons will be named after some of the seven demons.

• Kusanali: Lucifer: The demon of Pride, Kusanali probably let all the knowledge get to her head and is now a completely Insufferable Genius amongst the new Archons.
  • Kusanali's "Ars Goetia" name is instead "Buer", and she still remains the kind Humble Hero despite her huge wisdom.
• Hydro Archon: This one's easy: Leviathan, the giant sea serpent destined to fight Behemoth in the end of times. Alternatively, it could be Vepar, who is often portrayed as a hellish mermaid. I would also consider, albeit more obscure, Botis.
  • The end of the Sumeru Archon Quest confirms that the Hydro Archon’s name is Focalors. Instead, the Hydro Sovereign references Leviathan.
• Murata: Satan: The demon of wrath, it would be fitting for the goddess of war. Alternatively, it could be Valefor or Buer, both of whom are teachers of war to humans.
• Tsaritsa: Asmodeus: Building on the theory of her being the goddess of love, I believe the Tsaritsa's true name would be a spin on the demon of lust.

Baal has already lost her Gnosis.

Baal has only very recently begun hunting Visions in her nation, initiating the Vision Hunt Decree to seize all Visions in her domain and give them to a statue of the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed God. It is possible that the Fatui have already made their way to Inazuma and deprived Baal of her Gnosis, and her to gather a multitude of Visions is to use them to create a makeshift Gnosis.

• Partially confirmed. Raiden Ei gave her gnosis to Yae Miko long before the events of the game, though the Fatui would not acquire it until Chapter II of the Archon quest.

The previous Dendro Archon died/was killed in whatever catastrophe happened 500 years ago.

According to Ganyu, the Dendro Archon is the youngest of the current seven Archons at only 500 years old. According to Venti, "a certain catastrophe" occurred 500 years ago that was apparently bad enough that the Tsaritsa cut ties with Barbatos. It seems likely that this catastrophe and the death of the old Archon are connected in some way.

• Partially confirmed, in a sense. Rukkhadevata died 500 years ago, but the remnants of her consciousness stayed in Irminsul until the present day.

Characters with summoned familiars

It seems like a mechanic for summoning allies has been in the works for a long time. A large number of recent quests have introduced enemy models fighting alongside the player, elite Eremites all summon various creatures to aid them, and some characters have had similar ideas with different mechanics in the past (such as Fischl & Oz).

• Perhaps this is why Baizhu's release has been delayed so long? Though speculation of Baizhu having a summon in his kit is Jossed, as he lacks the ability to cast summons.

Baizhu's illness is a side effect of his pursuit of immortality.

It's sometimes assumed that Hu Tao mistakenly thinks that Baizhu's search for a cure is part of a bid for immortality, but historically many alchemists suffered from "mysterious illness" as a result of the toxicity of the substances they worked with and the lack of safety protocols. This would make her indignation towards his actions more understandable, as instead of doing his best to try and survive he's hurt himself out of shortsightedness.

• Jossed, but not entirely. His poor health condition is a result from him expending his life force to save people through his contract with Changseng. However, in his point of view, the Elixir of Immortality he’s trying to concoct can be a kind of poison (on the basis of it also being an alteration to the way the body functions), which leads to him researching strange diseases and toxins, and even taking some into himself to understand their properties. So while his pursuit of immortality is definitely not the reason why he got ill, it does worsen his condition in a way that he already expects but is willing to risk and endure.

Dendro's playable dynamics

Currently, Dendro only manifests in enemies and its only visible property is weakness to Pyro, but when Sumeru inevitably makes Dendro characters playable, the element will probably be fleshed out more, and since it already has a specific elemental reaction with Pyro, it probably won't be an outlier like Anemo and Geo. Dendro may have a strength over Hydro, Pokémon-style (Absorb reaction?), and might be weak to Anemo due to wind being able to uproot plants, possibly creating a "Scatter" or "Uproot" reaction. Since Geo doesn't have a specific dynamic with Hydro to represent erosion, Dendro might not have any specific effect with it either, though perhaps it could bring Geo into triangular dynamics as well as Anemo to make those elements less outlying. Dendro and Electro doesn't sound like it would have a specific reaction, since real life electricity-plant interaction results in burning and that would be already covered by Pyro, and Dendro and Cryo are similarly hard to guess.

• Dendro's out now, and while it did gain a Hydro reaction in the Bloom mechanic, the second reaction was Electro and the Catalyze mechanic, not Anemo.

The Sheer Cold mechanic will be transplanted to be its opposite in either Sumeru or Natlan

Incidentally, Sheer Cold is also a means of preparing ourselves for its thermal opposite, which we would witness in either the regions of Sumeru or Natlan, a possible Searing Heat mechanic similar to what you'd find in Breath of the Wild's Gerudo Desert or Death Mountain.

• Somewhat confirmed—an environmental effect named "Blazing Heat" is present during the Narukami Island: Tenshukaku boss fight, Signora.
• Jossed for Sumeru, as its desert region lacks any thermal environmental hazard.

The eventual Sumeru update will add a "Sheer Heat" feature

Since Sumeru seems to be a mix of ancient Egypt and India, it's inevitable that a a "Sheer Heat" (Deadly Heat?) effect will be added to contrast Dragonspine's Sheer Cold.

This will likely not be in the entire region, but in specific parts of the map, like the obligatory sprawling desert. Standing under shade or finding oasis would bring down the heat bar, similiarly to standing near torches and fire in Dragonspine. Alternatively, or in addition, the game would require you to stock up on "Water Flasks" to periodically keep the bar from filling.

• Jossed for Sumeru. Somewhat confirmed for Inazuma however—an environmental effect named "Blazing Heat" is present during the Narukami Island: Tenshukaku boss fight, Signora.

Harlequin/Arlecchino will be the true Token Good Teammate of the Harbingers.

In the Commedia dell'Arte, Arlecchino is one of the most popular and influential masks, and almost always has a heroic or at least amusing role in the story. Based on this, Genshin's Arlecchino will NOT be fought and will possibly be a Nice Guy and/or Lovable Coward who will help the Traveler.

• Somewhat jossed? With the release of "A Winter Night's Lazzo" in July 2022, we see what Arlecchino looks like and her personality; she seems rather sharp-tongued, calling out on the other Harbingers for not avenging Signora, making her appear just as hostile and antagonistic as any other Fatui other than (to an extent) Tartaglia.
• It may also be partially confirmed, as she is said in 4.0 to be the "Father" of Shnezhnaya's Fatui-run House of the Hearth orphanage, taking in Lyney and Lynette when they had nowhere else to go and she reportedly saved Lynette from vile human traffickers, per Lyney's retelling of their backstory. Ultimately, we may not have enough information about her personality, motivation, or goals yet to declare her the Fatui's Token Good Teammate yet.

Fontaine will be another corrupt nation.

Dialogue tells us that Fontaine is the region of justice, but that concept is all too easy to twist and corrupt, perhaps resulting in a hostile environment of biased laws, though maybe the anatagonism will be to a subtler degree than in Inazuma and Snezhnaya. Maybe there could be references to the French Revolution in the idea of judicial messes as well given the hints that Fontaine is Teyvat's France.

• Partially confirmed. Justice in Fontaine is a spectacle, and the courtroom is effectively a telenovela for the Hydro Archon's petty amusement. Things HAD been running smoothly until the Traveler had arrived however, and now they have instances where a man was falsely accused of murder and kidnapping (Lyney) and had to have his name cleared through a trial, and another character (Childe) is inexplicably ruled guilty and imprisoned for a crime he couldn't possibly have committed. Although it remains to be seen if Fontaine will undergo a revolution similar to the one France had in 1789...

Upcoming playable characters.

• Vennessa
• Alice
• Varka
• Rhinedottir
• Skirk
• Baizhu
  • Baizhu is in as of 3.6.
• Yunjin
  • Yun Jin is in as of 2.4.
• Yaoyao
  • Yaoyao's in as of 3.4.
• Cloud Retainer in human form (possibly under a different alias like Zhongli)
  • Cloud Retainer's in as of 4.4, going under the alias Xianyun.
• Arlecchino
  • Father's set to be released in the future.
• A Dottore segment using his current design
• A Treasure Hoarder
• The other members of the Qixing
• The other Yakshas (Bosacius and the other three)
  • Jossed since 2.7 confirmed they're all dead.
• The Unknown God
• The Abyss Princess/Prince

Guesses for the Traveler's future elemental abilities

• Dendro:

Elemental Skill has the Traveler cover him/herself in Dendro energy which will heal them and their party members. Flowers emmiting Dendro energy will grow under their feet. Elemental Burst will create a garden around the traveler that inflicts enemies with Dendro the moment they enter as well as increasing their health and elemental energy.

• Jossed: the Travelers Dendro moveset does not involve healing at all.

• Hydro:

Elemental Skill has the Traveler fire a concentrated splash of Hydro energy towards their opponent. Can be charged. Elemental Burst has the Traveler create a whirlpool that drags opponents inside.

• Confirmed for Elemental Skill, jossed for Elemental Burst.

• Pyro:

Elemental Skill has the Traveler cover their blade in Pyro energy much like Diluc, which deals Pyro on top of physical damage. Elemental Burst ups the intensity and heat.

• Cryo:

Elemental Skill has the Traveler generate a second sword made of Cryo energy which deals elemental damage if the sword connects, increasing their attack speed and count. Elemental Burst has the traveler plunge his sword into the ground, freezing almost anything within their radius.

Furina is an Oceanid.

At the end of Chapter IV Act IV, Arlecchino speculates that given Furina's lack of godly bearing and power that she isn't an Archon or even a god. It's been demonstrated that Oceanids are capable of assuming human form. Perhaps after Egeria died, the Hydro Gnosis was lost somehow, and Furina fabricated her identity as Archon in order to maintain stability in Fontaine.

• Partially confirmed in 4.2. Furina turned out to be a human masquerading as the Hydro Archon (which, given that Fontanian humans are transformed Oceanids, isn't that off from the crux of this WMG) due to a request made by the real Hydro Archon Focalors.

---

Unconfirmed theories:

Theories about the nature of Teyvat

The twin Travelers' homeworld is modern-day Earth

While the game doesn't explicitly mention where the Travelers originated from before they arrived in Teyvat, there are various theories or pieces of lore that might imply them coming from Earth, or at least being familiar with Earth-like concepts that are alien to Teyvat.

• Theories that tie this game to the Honkai Gakuen IP of miHoYO suggest that the twins are from the times when the Honkai Eruptions took place, and perhaps they've been sent to travel worlds (perhaps via the Imaginary Tree) under orders of a prominent Honkai figure such as Otto Apocalypse or Kevin Kaslana.
  • Their blonde hair might make them descendants of other blonde-haired Honkai characters like Otto Apocalypse or Durandal.
• According to Noelle's voicelines, roses represent secrecy in Mondstadt, but love in the Traveler's homeworld.
• When talking about Mondstadt's terrain, the Traveler mentions the word "nozzle", something that Paimon doesn't know despite being your traveling companion in Teyvat for a long while.

Khaenri'ah is a different world that Teyvat was built on top of.

Of the two known characters from Khaenri'ah, Dainsleif and Kaeya, both call Teyvat "this world" (Dainsleif in the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview, Kaeya in his character stories), worded in such a way that suggests they are outsiders.

• Star-shaped pupils seem to be a feature on those from Khaenri'ah, and they have the same shape as the stars shown on Genshin Impact's logo, on Paimon's hairclip, and Primogems (among other things).
• The runes/text found around locked chests and through various ruins in the game are written in the Khaenri'ah script, which is stylized Latin (see this Reddit post) — just as modern Romantic languages are derived largely from Latin, the language on Teyvat may be descended from Khaenri'ah's.
• In the We Will Be Reunited trailer, Lumine looks at fiery ruins in horror, which were presumably destroyed at the hands of the Unknown God. In the Teyvat Story Preview, Dainsleif says "buried in the depths of this world are smoldering remains."

Celestia will be The Very Definitely Final Dungeon of the Teyvat storyline.

It only seems appropriate that the domain of the gods be the final area in the game (or at least in Teyvat) to be visited. Also, it's a floating castle/city, RPGs love to have the final dungeons be floating structures.

• Supporting this, many sub-plots related to chunks of Celestia breaking off and landing inconvenient places keep cropping up, which could all be tied up in the final act. (Specifically, the sky nail on Dragonspine mountain, the un-seen piece causing the fog on Tsurumi Island, and the piece which landed in the Sumeru desert causing the perpetual sandstorm.)

Teyvat is just an artificially-simulated world

Part IV of the "Unreconciled Stars" event gives us a Wham Line from Scaramouche sharing his realization that "the skies are a lie" (to which Mona paraphrases as "fake skies"). How can it be possible that the skies turn out to be fake? It could mean that Teyvat is just a simulation, including everyone in it.

• Players have also wondered why Paimon's name in the mail is spelled as "P-A-I-M-O-N", which suspiciously looks like an application of the A.I.-cronym trope (The second and third letters even obviously spell out "AI"). With the "Unreconciled Stars" event's revelation, Paimon's name being written in that manner is taken as a foreshadowing to this "simulated world" theory and the possibility that Paimon is an Artificial Intelligence that's meant to oversee Teyvat and/or the Traveler.
• Alternatively, rather than a digital simulation, it could be an artificial habitat. Be it an elaborate trap for Descenders, a Planet Spaceship whose inhabitants forgot their origins, or even a "Truman Show" Plot for a technologically advanced race... The World Tree is a subsystem that logs all events, and Celestia is The Bridge where Gods survey and control the world.
  • Based on how it seemingly changes alignment based on where it's observed from, almost as if the surface of Teyvat follows the inside of a spherical shape, it's possible that Celestia is a monitoring station at the center of a tiny Dyson Sphere used by a Sufficiently Advanced Alien species in a God Guise to track (and if necessary, control) Teyvat's inhabitants as part of some grand experiment, perhaps the Celestials are some sort of Precursor species. There was a Star Trek TOS episode, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" that touched on a similar concept.

Other Religious and Mythological symbolism

There's an NPC character named Nimrod, from a biblical character, so perhaps other biblical concepts or names might have been used in this game as well.

• The world is named "Teyvat". It might be based from "TEVAH" (תבה) - the Hebrew word for "ark".

Khaenri'ah is a place where the concept of time doesn't exist

In the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview, Dainself describes Khaenri'ah with "In the perpetual meantime of a sheltered eternity" (although the trailer itself can be slightly confusing on this since the quote is said before the nation's name is revealed). This might mean that something's gone off with the concept of time in that place.

• It's speculated to be the nation ruled by an Archon of Time, which is dubbed in theory as the "Chrono Archon", if fans go by the Greek naming theme for the elements.
• Furthermore, the location of Khaenri'ah is speculated to be just very near to Mondstadt:
  • From the item descriptions of the Sacrificial Sword:
    On the cliff facing the eastern sea, the ancestors worshiped the masters of Time and Anemo together. The two are intimately related, as expressed in the saying, "Anemo brings stories while Time nurtures them."
  • The eastern shore of Mondstadt supposedly has mysterious backstories or landmarks that made some players speculate that those things, or perhaps the shore itself, is actually connected to Khaenri'ah. The entrance to the Spiral Abyss is one of them.

Mondstadt is a functioning anarchy.

Nothing's been said of an actual government since the aristocracy was overthrown and it fits very well with how important they hold freedom.

Mondstadt is actually the North Pole/the "Arctic Circle".

In the Teyvat Travel Guides, Alice states Brightcrown Canyon is northeast of Cider Lake, even though the player's world map shows that Brightcrown Canyon is actually west of Cider Lake. Meanwhile, Alice describes directions in Liyue accurate to the world map. Northwest of Cider Lake would then be the location of Andrius, God of the North Wind — perhaps Andrius is where the North Pole of Teyvat's world is?

According to lore, Mondstadt was a near-uninhabitable frozen tundra until the gods came and Barbaros became the Anemo Archon, turning the land into a prosperous land of fields. In real life, it was believed the British Isles were warmer than other regions on the same latitude despite their proximity to the North Pole due to warm air being brought in by the Gulf Stream. Though this has since disproven (the oceans absorb warmth), this may be an inspiration for Mondstadt's warmer climate.

The Inverted Statue of the Seven belonged to Dornman Port

Remember the inverted Statue of the Seven the Traveler came across in the "We will be reunited" Archon quest? Yeah, that belonged to the missing region of Mondstadt, and the reason why we couldn't explore the Anemo country completely is that the Abyss Order made off with it and the Traveler may have destroyed the corrupted statue. So until a new one is created to replace the inverted statue, we won't see the entirety of Mondstadt for a while.

Fontaine's advanced technology is due to a traveler from another world.

During one quest players can acquire a "kamera" that was recently developed in Fontaine. The primitive camera is at least a couple of centuries ahead of the present day technology of Teyvat, which strongly suggests that it was introduced from elsewhere. There's also the fact that Rock and Roll music supposedly originated in Fontaine. It seems highly unlikely that such a music genre would arise in a medieval fantasy setting, once again suggesting that it was brought to Fontaine by a traveler from another world.

The real stars were the teleport waypoints we unlocked along the way

Basing it off the fact that if you connect certain teleport waypoints, you can get various playable characters' constellations (the description even says that they are "seemingly forming a certain order"), coupled with the whole "fake skies"/"the stars are a lie" thing. It would also explain why Vision holders can use teleports (the description for the portable waypoint calls it a useful device for Vision holders).

Visions are how Celestia watches over Teyvat.

According to the English localization of Xiao's lines, Visions are given by Celestia. Lisa also discovered a dark secret about the Visions, Zhongli says that they're foci from the gods but never says which gods, and Ei is surprised to learn that new Electro Visions haven't been given out since she has no control over giving Visions.

The Travelers aren't just sent somewhere else (to Teyvat) by the Unknown God after the prologue, they're also sent to the past.

One theory that's slowly popping up on October 2020 is the idea that it's not just dimension travel that's involved, but also time travel.

• The Unknown God probably has space-time manipulation powers overall, the game doesn't just tell the "time manipulation" part yet because it's still too early.
• The playable Traveler cannot remember how many years have passed since they met the Unknown God because it's a side effect of confusion. The world has changed so much ever since they woke up from a Nightmare Sequence (as mentioned in their first Character Story), but that's probably because the Travelers are from a different time era.
• Somehow, this is also tied to the "Paimon is the Unknown God" theory, as there are Genshin players on-board with the idea that Paimon might be the past self of the Unknown God, hence why they have visual similarities. Why would she send the Travelers to the past is something that opens a lot more fan theories such as:
  • The Unknown God, being Paimon, might actually be waiting until the Traveler collects all Seven elements and take it from them to empower herself. Another possible theory is that the Unknown God is the end-result of Paimon having collected all Seven elements for herself already.
  • The playable Traveler's adventures with Paimon might actually change her into someone better, so there's a potential for the Unknown God to become a powerful force of good via a Character Development that happens in the past.
  • Other fan theories suggest that the Unknown God deliberately sent the playable Traveler in the past to create a Stable Time Loop in which the Traveler wakes up in Teyvat and meets Paimon -> Paimon becomes the Unknown God throughout their adventure -> The playable Traveler reunites with their twin -> the Unknown God meets the two Travelers and halt their journey -> The Unknown God sends the playable Traveler to Teyvat, and so on...

We will meet one of the Hexenzirkel in Fontaine

Fontaine is known to have links to at least one notable Hydro character, Mona, through her authorship of an astrology column for The Steambird. Mona is the disciple of Barbeloth, a powerful hydromancer and master astrologist who is a core part of the Hexenzirkel. Additionally, the Traveler heard a mysterious female voice guiding them during the last Archon Quest in Sumeru. During the Act III Interlude, the Traveler surmises that this was "N.", Hexenzirkel member Nicole. It's possible that Nicole may reveal her presence to us more fully in Fontaine, perhaps even getting to meet her personally if the situation calls for it.

• Well Nicole did somehow have tea with the Traveler and Paimon and gave them a hint in Chapter IV Act V while also not being physically present, and they will likely meet again during the 4.X patches.

The Abyss Order has a very subtle Chess theme

Out of all the units we have currently: Abyss Mages (and/or Hilichurls) are Pawns, Heralds are either Knights or Rooks, Lectors are Bishops, and the Prince/ss is a Pawn that got promoted to a Queen.

• If so, this is also likely related to the gnosises being shaped like chess pieces.

The Legend of Shattered Halberd book series is meant to tie in to the Flowers for Princess Fischl series, but in an abrupt way

The final book for the Shattered Halberd has the divine halberd's name be called "Prinzessin der Verurteilung", Fischl's moniker from said book. That, and the odd way the final book is written, and suspicious additional note from Yae Publishing House at the bottom, suggest that some sort of behind-the-scenes serendipity - likely involving the publishing house - may lead "Mr. Nine" (the author for Shattered Halberd) to write the ending of the book in a particularly striking way.

The Legend of the Shattered Halberd series is loosely based on the Archon War, and Flowers for Princess Fischl is a sequel taking a similar approach to the fall of Khaenri'ah.

The Legend of the Shattered Halberd is about heroes who receive divine powers by giving up an eye and recalls the story of battles between heroes and deities over powerful superweapons. The specifics of the story are different, but it shares similar themes to the Archon War. Divine powers are linked to an eye, which ties into the symbolism behind Visions, and the bearers of the MacGuffins suffer mental degeneration similar to Delusions. There are also noted to be nine realms; it's possible that those nine realms are meant to be the seven nations of Teyvat, Khaenri'ah, and Celestia. A weapon bearing a fragment of the power of the fire realm is part of the story, supporting this.

As for Flowers for Princess Fischl, a few things worth are worth noting. One is that it is made explicit in Fischl's character stories that part of the storyline is the denizens of the Immernachtreich are transformed into monsters. In the context of Fischl's backstory, this is meant to tie into how threatened she felt by being ostracized, but it could also be based on the fall of Khaenri'ah. The description for the hourglass of the Bloodstained Chivalry artifact set recounts the fall of a kingdom and a curse transforming it into the Abyss. Note that Dainsleif who comes from Khaenri'ah is an enemy of the Abyss Order. This could be because he is among the Last of His Kind as a human from Khaenri'ah. Other small details support this: like Fischl both Kaeya and Dainsleif lack an eye, and Fischl is referred to as the "Princezzin der Verurteilung"-the "princess of condemnation." It's possible that while Fischl from Flowers for Princess Fischl is a fictional character, she is loosely based on the Prince(ss), meaning that Amy has been unconsciously imitating the Traveler's sibling the entire time. Also, like the storybook version of Fischl, the Prince(ss) has traversed countless realms. The similarities between the Immernachtreich, the realm of eternal night, and the land of Abyss, Khaenri'ah are too uncanny to ignore.

When/If the Traveler ever will reach Celestia, it will turn out to be a hi-tech base similiar to a space station.

This has completely no proof, so I'll go even a step beyond in absurdity: the "Celestial Gods" will turn out to be humans who literally control and observe Teyvat through a super computer, with the Unknown God being the only actual divine entity that works for Celestia.

• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sounds great!

There will be a public heroic Archon and/or a villainous hidden Archon.

Thus far, the archons with secret identities have proven benevolent yet detached, while the Archons who are publicly known have proven to be cruel rulers of their nations. Perhaps some of the remaining Archons will change that pattern by having a publicly-known Archon who is entirely benevolent or a hidden Archon secretly pulling the strings for dark purposes.

• Does Furina fit "public heroic Archon"?

The Elemental Hypostasis are fragments of the Unknown God’s Power

Their shape and structure should make it pretty obvious since the Unknown God’s Power manifested as cubes and the “We will be reunited” trailer has the Abyss Princess witness a whole bunch of cubes destroying Khaenri’ah. What’s to say that the Hypostasis are what is left over?

Visions drastically slow down their wielder's aging process and grant longevity

I'm putting this out there because I found out that a majority of the medium and child units that aren't flat out gods or demihumans are actually adults. (Amber, Kazuha, Mona, Dori, Sayu, etc) In Ambers case, she looks exactly the same in the manga which took place 5-10 years prior while Collei underwent a growth spurt and is now as tall as her. People with Visions are still capable of dying of natural causes or battle, but have extended lifespans otherwise.

• While Qiqi is quite childlike, she's also a jiangshi and thus not quite alive anyway. Klee is, as mentioned, demihuman and thus likely operating under different biological rules.
• Regarding Amber and Collei, while the timeline remains only an estimate, the best calculations place the manga at only around a year before the start of the game, maybe a bit less. Thus, it makes sense that Amber wouldn't have changed much. And by the time Collei is introduced in the game approximately three years would have passed since the manga, explaining how the awkward preteen Collei grew into the... well... slightly less awkward teen we meet in Sumeru.

Character-specific theories

Dainsleif is an alternate version of Aether and the second prince mentioned in the Gnostic Chorus.

In the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview, Dainsleif serves as the narrator and recaps/teases what will happen in all 9 chapters, suggesting he is already aware of what is to come. For his chapter, the Khaenri'ah Chapter, he says "We will defy this world using a power from beyond," which may mean another world and the power of outlanders like Aether and Lumine. Near the end, he tells Aether (male Traveler) to "show me you are worthier than I to rescue her (Lumine)." Afterwards, he says that nearly all of his memories have faded away, suggesting that this may be a cycle that has been continuing for a long, long time.

The other twin is just manipulated by the Abyss Mages

As the Abyss Mages are the ones who manipulated Dvalin into rampaging against the citizens, it wouldn't be surprising if they found the other twin and manipulated them into working with them.

Diluc and Jean had a thing together when they were younger.

They act like exes who still have feelings for each other but broke up because their lives took different paths, and they have a lot in common, including both having pet turtles as children and having very similar personalities despite their different opinions on the Knights and the way the country is run.

Paimon is an Archon

Or at the very least, closely related to them.

As mentioned above, Paimon is named after a demon from Ars Goetia, and so are a few of the known Archons, for example:

• Barbatos, the Anemo Archon.
• Decarabian, the former Anemo Archon, who used to rule Mondstadt before Barbatos and their friend overthrew them, as mentioned in Venti's quest.
• Baal, the Electro Archon, as mentioned by Zhongli in the very last scene of the final Archon quest in Liyue.
• Buer, the Dendro Archon. The Traveler is even informally knighted as Nahida's "First Sage of Buer" upon freeing Sumeru from the clutches of the tyrannical Grand Sage Azar.
• Focalors, the Hydro Archon. Nahida gives us a briefing on her before the Traveler leaves Sumeru for Fontaine on their journey to find their sibling.

One theory above mentions King Paimon as a flying demon loyal to Satan, but as Genshin Impact's Barbatos proves, it's probably just a theme naming and not a full-on reference to the Ars Goetia, as these two Barbatos have nothing in common.

We'll have to wait for more information on the Archons, but it's safe to assume that Paimon is much more than a cute mascot/guide.

Zhongli is washing his hands of Celestia

Zhongli has been asked to stay silent on the subject of Khaenri'ah and the Traveler's sibling. In spite of this, he nonetheless tries to squeeze out what hints he can by confirming that their sibling walked Teyvat in the past, and arrived at a certain truth that will provide the answers to why this is all happening. Evidently, the terms of his vows do not include the duty of trying to make sure it stays secret, as he chooses to not only stand aside for the Traveler but also push them to search for that dangerous secret in spite of the fact that he clearly knows how the last person known to have found it turned out. Pair this with his decision to trade away his Gnosis to the Tsaritsa, who's been hinted to be preparing her own rebellion against Celestia, and his actions of tidying up the affairs of the divine, and you have the possible explanation that he too is turning his back on Celestia, albeit in a way that will not break his oaths.

Kaeya won't betray Mondstadt or the traveler

His backstory sets him up as a traitor in a way that feels excessively heavy handed, and he does seem to care deeply for Mondstadt, his deceased foster father, and those around him. Additionally, someone from Mondstadt with a decent amount of power - Diluc - already knows that he was meant to be a spy for Khaenri'ah; you can't effectively turn on someone if they're already ready for you to turn on them.This might kill him though, with some sort of situation where he has to chose one side or the other, and chooses Mondstadt, and that gets him killed somehow.

Chongyun can't remember anything he does in his heated state because he refuses to accept that part of himself

Essentially, Chongyun rejects his hyperactive Yang-energy side so hard that his conscious mind rejects the memories of what he does when he's in that state. If he acknowledges and accepts this side of himself, he'll eventually be able to settle into a more balanced, "lukewarm" state, with the help of his Vision.

Paimon was a member of the Twilight Sword, or at the very least was close to Dainsleif

In Chapter 1-4, it was revealed that Dainsleif was a member of the Twilight Sword, the Blacksun Dynasty’s royal guard before Khaenri'ah fell and was cursed with immortality for failing to protect his charges. Judging by Paimon and Dainsleif’s eerily similar outfits and the fact that Paimon shares the starry eyes that the two other characters associated with Khaenri'ah (Dainsleif and Kaeya) have, Paimon might have been involved with the Twilight Sword (and by extension Dainsleif). She was cursed not only with immortality, but being stuck in a pixie-like form and losing her memories of her time in the Twilight Sword.

Skirk, Childe's master, is a from Khaenri'ah

Childe's skills were taught to him by a woman named Skirk. Childe's weapons and fighting style is eerily similar to a Hydro Abyss Herald's.

Childe is being used by the Abyss

A lot of details about Childe are very suspicious, he has been to the Abyss and emerged a very different person than when he entered, and while using his Foul Legacy Transformation he both looks and attacks like an Abyss Herald. The latter is especially suspect given the monsters of the Abyss Order used to be humans. However, Childe mentions he dislikes subterfuge, so it’s possible he's being used as a sleeper agent of sorts, as it would likely be beneficial to the Abyss Order to have a Harbinger working for them. Additionally, Childe is known to be easily manipulated, so controlling him would probably not be hard.

The Descension Equipment used to belong to Dainsleif

The color scheme of both the Sword of Descension’s 2nd form and Wings of Descension match that of Dainsleif, and the flavor text of the Sword state that it was once used against a great calamity, which can be said to be the fall of Khaenri’ah.

Il Dottore will create a system akin to the Akasha.

Now that the Fatui have possession of the Dendro Gnosis, which kept the Akasha System active because Nahida still had it. So the idea is that Dottore will use the power of the Gnosis on his experiments to create a system that resembles the Akasha, and the terminals will take the form of Delusions. With it, not only Dottore will use it brainwash other people, but also to hijack their consciousnesses, just like Nahida did using the Akasha.

Paimon is NOT a Descender, and is therefore much less likely to be the Unknown God (amnesiac or otherwise)

In the Q&A session with Nahida at the end of Chapter III Act V, we learn three very important facts; first, the Traveler is the fourth of what the Fatui refer to as "Descenders," beings from outside Teyvat. Second, Nahida believes that the First Descender is the Heavenly Principles/Unknown God. Third, the Traveler's sibling is NOT counted as one of the Descenders and instead "belongs" to Teyvat, as evidenced by information about them being recorded in Irminsul.

But remember what effect being a Descender had on the Traveler earlier in the quest; as a result of not being bound to Irminsul, they retained their memory of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata after she was erased from the world. Paimon, on the other hand, seemed completely ignorant of her existence, just like everyone else. If she were a Descender, it seems far more likely that she would also retain her memory.

Of course, this is not ironclad proof. If Paimon is in fact deliberately deceiving the Traveler, it would not be too hard to fake memory loss, as long as she caught on quickly enough. Nahida could be incorrect in her theory that the Unknown God is the First Descender, though her information seems reliable at face value. And, in the event that something happened to the Traveler's sibling that made them start 'belonging' to Teyvat at some point as opposed to that being their natural state, the same thing could potentially have happened to the Unknown God/Paimon in the past, thus making her memories vulnerable to the manipulation of Irminsul. All the same, her apparent forgetfulness appears to be decent evidence against the 'Paimon is the Unknown God' theory.

• Note that Nahida identified the Heavenly Priniciples as the First Descender. She did not make the connection that the Unknown God was the Heavenly Prinicples. The Unknown God identified herself as the "sustainer" of the Heavenly Principles, not the Heavenly Principles incarnate. She could be both, but the Heavenly Principles could also be a separate deity, which means that it is possible for Paimon to be the Unknown God, for the Unknown God to not be the First Descender, and for Nahida to be right simultaneously, without having to assume that Paimon became naturalized to Teyvat. For instance, the Primordial One is the most likely candidate for the Heavenly Principles. The Unknown God (and by extension, Paimon) could be one of the Four Shades, like Istaroth. We call the Unknown God that for a reason.

Paimon is a Manchurian Agent for Celestia.

Paimon's design closely resembles the Unknown God that described herself as the maintainer of the Heavenly Principles, and Enjou is convinced that Paimon will betray the Traveler. The latter makes sense, as the Abyss Order is opposed to Celestia, and Celestia seems to be the Greater-Scope Villain of the game's Myth Arc. Almost everything bad that has happened in Teyvat is either Celestia's doing or that of villains on a Rage Against the Heavens. What isn't in line with this is that Paimon doesn't seem to support the Heavenly Principles at all. Keqing makes a good impression on her immediately in spite of her goal being to reduce Celestia's influence on Teyvat, and she never attempts to argue in Celestia's favor when the Traveler learns of the calamity. Of course, Paimon doesn't seem to remember anything from before the Traveler fished her up. It's possible that the reason why she will betray the Traveler in spite of seeming genuinely innocent is because she's a sleeper who will stop the Traveler at a critical moment.

• In the World Quest "Book of Esoteric Revelations", the Melusine named Canotila states that she sees Paimon as "a little rainbow balloon floating in the air, and her string seems to extend upward, to somewhere above the sky itself". (Somewhat disturbingly, she describes seeing the Traveler as "a monster that looks like it could swallow the whole world in a single bite".) The Melusine possess True Sight thanks to their birth from Elynas, itself a native of the Abyss. The string extending upwards to "somewhere above the sky itself" possibly signifies Paimon's origins and perhaps even her true allegiance whether she is consciously aware of it or not.
  • Paimon may either be an agent of Celestia sent to spy on the Traveler, or she may have been sent by one of the Traveler's fellow Descenders... perhaps Griseo or Kosma of the Flame Chasers as part of Fire Moth's Project ARK.

Scaramouche won't be dispatched in Chapter 4.

Given that he's seemingly brought in as the Fatui's next huge threat in lieu of Signora, it would be surprising if he's done with by the end of the Sumeru story.

• He is indeed out of commission (though not dead) at the end of the Sumeru arc.

Dainsleif is a spy

The narration dialogue for Collected Miscellany videos is done by Dainsleif. He describes every character's skills in such detail as if he were explaining it to someone. While it may be the viewers, it is possible he is telling it to someone else. Whether it be the Traveler, Khaenri'ah or someone else is another question.

The Scarlet King pulled a Yami Yugi to contain the forbidden knowledge

When King Deshret sacrificed himself to contain the plague of forbidden knowledge, he asked Rukkhadevata to wipe his existence from Irminsul in the process in order to make absolutely sure. Since Deshret is a fairly important figure in Teyvat's history, the Dendro Archon couldn't erase him entirely lest a paradox occurs, so she settled for wiping out his name instead hence why he is referred to exclusively as the Scarlet King by the majority of Teyvat. It's due to this sacrifice that when Rukkhadevata herself is corrupted, she knew exactly what must be done and took measures to ensure that her legacy can be attributed to her successor so that nothing goes out of whack when Rukkhadevata herself gets wiped from Irminsul completely.

Some of the Harbingers will be confronted and defeated in Interlude Quests/Character Quests/Events instead of in the main story

As of the time this is written, where we've gotten through four of the seven regions, we've personally met four Harbingers and only two of them have been defeated, Signora having been killed by Ei and Scaramouche having his aspirations of godhood foiled. That leaves 9 Harbingers that need to be defeated, all of which would need be spread out between the next three regions of Fontaine, Natlan and Snezhnaya. With the exception of Childe, who we've met and has the potential to make a Heel–Face Turn, it's unlikely that all of them would be able to get adequate screentime in that timeframe, especially if any of them are forced to share the spotlight with a fellow Harbinger, and doing one per nation and cramming the rest all into Snezhnaya has the potential to make things messy. Therefore, it's possible that some of them, likely the remaining lower-ranked ones, will be confronted in Interludes or Character quests while the rest, the upper ranks, will be each nation's Arc Villain^note  Pierro and Pulcinella will likely be confronted in Snezhnaya, being the organisation's leader and town's mayor respectively, while "Of Ballads and Brews" implies that Capitano will be fought in Natlan., so that they will all get their respective times to shine as villains.

• Potentially adding to this is how we first hear of Pantalone, the 9th Harbinger, in Yelan's story quest where he's mentioned to be someone who's schemes she's foiled in the past, with her character story detailing how the fur coat she wears was a gift he originally intended for the Tsaritsa only for Yelan to take it for himself. Depending on how much of hindrance she is to him or how deeply she delves into investigating him, it's possible that they'll have a confrontation in one of her future story quests.
• The Sumeru Interlude quest furthers add to this possibility by revealing that Dottore actually orchestrated one of the "betrayals" that Scaramouche suffered, having murdered his blacksmith friend Niwa and manipulated him into thinking Niwa abandoned him, in a ploy to push him into becoming the Fatui's next Harbinger, in part out of interest in him as a test subject. Upon learning of this and re-learning this after making himself the Un-person, the newly dubbed Wanderer makes it clear to the Traveller and Nahida that It's Personal between him and the Fatui, and that he at least wants a chance to kill Dottore, setting up another potential Interlude/Character Quest confrontation.
• Furthermore, a world quest in Fontaine concludes with a message from Sandrone. If she were to be confronted in the Archon Quest without having completed the world quest, it would lead to slightly strange interactions, such as if she lost her life or was taken out of the picture, but is somehow still behind a quest you haven't done yet. Given how she seems to be related to the Narzissenkreuz plotline, she seems the most likely candidate to be confronted in some form of questline rather than the main story.

If the Traveler becomes a Harbinger, their title will be Scapino.

All of the Harbinger titles revealed thus far are an Ironic Name. In the Commedia dell'Arte, Scapino was a coward. The Traveler is far from cowardly, but what they do share with the character is a refusal to tie themself down, making the name a bitter reflection of the lack of ambition that divorces them from Teyvat.

If the Traveler refuses to become a Harbinger...

Then the other Harbingers (most likely Dottore) will resort to brainwash them into joining by using some kind of method. Perhaps placing a Delusion against their will.

Possibly going with the above, The Traveler will be Brainwashed and Crazy at some point.

As mentioned, the Traveler will be brainwashed at some point due to certain circunstances. Which is ironic, considering their ability to purify Dvalin's corrupted tears and inmunity to the corrupting effects of the Festering Desire. Of course, there will be a way to successfully corrupt the Traveler into evil. Here are some possible methods:

• Having a Mind-Control Device or a Delusion (specially a Delusion with simillar mind-control functions.) implanted on them.
• An Abyss Order member (likely an Abyss Mage) using a brainwashing spell, in spite their corruption immunity as mentioned above.

Kaeya is descended from Irmin.

Irmin was the last king of Khaenri'ah and the Alberich clan were only regents. This is because while Irmin is implied to have been remembered as a great king, he still had flaws, one being that he was unwilling to allow his daughter to take the throne after him. She married into the Alberich family and when he died without a male heir, the clan took the position of ruling Khaenri'ah through her claim although she chose to act as Regent out of respect for her father.

Il Capitano, "The Captain" is a Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius and/or a Knight of Boreas.

Varka seem to know Il Capitano well such as thinking that he able to take down a Ruin Guard even with something like one of Klee's crayons and claiming that he is a completely regular human despite his strength and skills. Grand Master Varka of the Knights of Favonius also speaks favourably of him despite having only encountered him briefly out in the wilderness. Varka has a habit of neglecting his duties, hence his "expedition." Varka and Il Capitano share similar traits such as one of the ways of catching his attention is to display incredible fighting prowess that is on par or even greater than his. Tartaglia and Jean worked hard to receive his recognition. Everyone seem to love him. Capitano is either Ravenwood, Arundolyn, or Varka.

Whatever exactly Yae is, Sucrose is the same "species".

Listen, all we have for both is downward fox ears and what doesn't seem like any tail. It's not much but it's a merited thought.

Aloy's going to be in denial about a lot of things in Teyvat.

After a whole game proving her atheism correct at every turn, Aloy's gonna be really disinclined toward believing gods, visions, and everything else mystical in Teyvat doesn't have a hidden scientific explanation or that what the people believe is fake.

The Traveler and their sibling are Planeswalkers.

Seemingly ageless, can use magic without Visions, travelling between worlds, I’m surprised nobody thought of it before.

Dottore is immune to having his memory manipulated by Irminsul

At the end of Inversion of Genesis, the Wanderer (formerly named Scaramouche) declares revenge against the Fatui, but he especially wants Dottore in particular to get what's coming to him, due to having lied and manipulated him for centuries. His new mission is hefty buildup for a Sequel Hook of a future confrontation between the former Harbinger and Doc, but the fact that Dottore is seemingly implied to have his memory erased of Scaramouche's existence like everyone else in the world makes their destined confrontation rather awkward since Doc now has no clue that someone is out for his blood even if the Wanderer attempts to explain who he was. This could be avoided if Dottore drops the revelations that he still knows who Scaramouche is and cannot have his memories erased by Irminsul (a trait that only the Traveler has) when they meet again. Considering Dottore is Dottore, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine him having found a way to No-Sell the memory manipulations of Irminsul, likely by way of his segment-creating abilities, as in he can access and dig through the memories of his past selves from before the Irminsul manipulations to reclaim lost memories and information.

Kaveh missed the Sumeru Archon Quest because he was in the Velurium Mirage

It was explained that Kaveh was doing a building project out in the desert, but there are no buildings to be found in the desert that match his style. Then in version 3.8's Secret Summer Paradise event, we see his style all over the Velurium Mirage's Silver Bottle Courtyard, and Idyia mentions that an architect had visited and helped her with decorating the place.

The Vision Sara took from Itto was a fake one

Despite being described as reckless, Arataki does know when it's better to play it save and seeing how losing a Vision affected others he let a fake vision be made and gave away that instead.

• Ei said that the people who entered catatonia upon her Shogun taking away their Visions used them as a crutch for their ambitions. So maybe Itto's just that thick-headed.
• False Visions are confirmed to have been created and passed off during the Vision confiscation. It's unknown whether Itto was given one though, or if he could act well enough to fool the soldiers confiscating it.
• Shinobu could have pulled it off. Ask Itto to let her have his Vision for a bit and then when she "returns" it, she actually gives him a fake. He doesn't suffer any adverse effects because his Vision wasn't stolen, he gave it over willingly. He just didn't notice that it wasn't the real one she gave back that Sara later took.

Albedo was killed by Subject 2.

• The Albedo encountered on Dragonspine was unusually pleased to socialize with multiple people when he had them over at his camp during the event and was quite emotive compared to the Albedo previously encountered by the Traveler. Subject 2 created Subject 3 (the whopperflower) to test people's ability to spot the real Albedo, then killed it to gain the trust of the Traveler and the Knights of Favonius. Subject 2 then killed the real Albedo during the Act 2 cutscene, took his sword, clothes, and alchemical notes, and claimed to have killed the prototype, and finally teased the Traveler at the end to test his ability to toy with them so that he could stop wearing the diamond mark he hated without causing suspicion.
  • The theory is plausible, but thus far, the game has not proven itself willing to give the player the ability to play as characters if they are dead or, as suggested, impostors in the canonical storyline. There's little integration of the reasoning for why the characters join your roster and they're never shown in story sequences as the player, but it seems so far that the game is ensuring you're getting the living real deal in your roster.
  • A different troper here, and not one closely familiar with Mihoyo's storytelling tendencies, but would they really kill a character off for real in a limited-time event?

Joel's father Joserf is actually Subject 2.

• Joserf's belongings can be found in various places among Dragonspine, but no other sign of the man can be found regardless of how much the player explores Dragonspine. Furthermore, when he's finally "found" at the conclusion of the event story (after being missing for several months), he claims having amnesia and only remembers having a wife and son. One possible theory related to these points is that the real Joserf actually is dead as suspected, and the one we meet is Subject 2 taking his form. A possible extra angle is the fact that Albedo expressed a hint of sadness and regret at the idea of having to kill Subject 2; perhaps he showed his doppelganger mercy and helped it to attain a human form like it had wanted, one where it could live in peace without fear of being discovered and killed, and even kill two birds with one stone by reuniting the desperately lonely Joel with his "father". Or it could simply be Subject 2 remaining undercover and waiting for another attempt to eliminate Albedo.

Dvalin is the Anemo Sovereign.

• Dvalin has a lot of parallels with Azhdaha, who is all but explicitly stated to be the Geo Sovereign. Just like how Azhdaha manifested as an elemental spirit in the wild that Morax chanced upon one day, Dvalin is described as being literally born from Anemo energy, and has a completely separate origin from Barbatos's Mondstadt. He too fought for humanity out of a desire to fit in and be understood, and sank into bitterness when he was seemingly betrayed. Dvalin also has strength rivaling that of actual gods, evidently being stronger than a Gnosis-equipped Barbatos (even if that's not exactly a high hurdle to clear), but since his name is not derived from the Ars Goetia he is unlikely to be one of Celestia's gods.
  • This trailer seems to imply that yes, Dvalin is the Anemo Sovereign due to how Enjou casually calls him a Vishap.

The Twin Stars are based on the Dioscuri in Classical Mythology

Aether and Lumine are twins that are born from the marriage of a god and a human, with Lumine inheriting the divine half of the union while Aether inherits the mortal half regardless of who becomes the Traveler. This can be demonstrated in their attack animations: Lumine can control the elements with extreme ease while Aether has to work rather hard to achieve the same results as his sister.

The Traveller will receive a Vision at the climax of the main storyline.

Yae Miko mentions that the Traveller may not have received a vision because they don't have any aspirations beyond reuniting with their sibling. It may be that the Traveller will receive a Vision of their own that fully restores their powers during the confrontation with the Final Boss, as a result of accepting Teyvat as their home, and committing themselves to its protection.

The Fatui were behind the attempt to marry Chisato with Kamaji.

During Ayato’s character quest, he mentions that due to Chisato’s father being in prison, the Kanjou Commission was in disarray, and that if Chisato were to marry Kamaji, it would greatly marginalize the Kanjou commission, which would have threatened the stability of Inazuma. Put two and two together, and it makes perfect sense for why the Fatui would try to trick the two into marrying each other. More than likely, the Fatui had to convince someone in the Tenryou Commission to send that fake letter to Kamaji, and knowing that he would act upon it, the Fatui had hoped that the political shitstorm from their marriage would potentially destabilize the Shogunate, and if the plan succeeded, they would then try to convince the radical elements in the Sangonomiya to take advantage of the situation to restart the Civil War.

The secret behind Diluc's "Red Dead of Night" costume

Diluc's Vision is not visible in his "Red Dead of Night" alternate costume because in the Hidden Strife event story where he wears the costume he is secretly utilizing his father's Delusion from the manga and concealing that fact.

Paimon, Istaroth, and Unknown God are all the same entity

"Paimon is God of Time", "Paimon is Unknown God" — why not both? Istaroth, being the last of Primordial's shades, could be brainwashed into becoming the Sustainer by Celestia, because killing her would disrupt the world balance or something like that. Then she cubed the twins, some timey-wimey stuff happened, and Traveler found Paimon — the depowered and kinda dumb Istaroth, similar to the Stove God situation.

Rana was an attempt to get players to take a generic NPC seriously.

Mihoyo caught onto the fact that their audience's response to them trying to tell stories without throwing playable characters into the mix was "who cares". Rana's portrayal in the story and gameplay is used to try and shake off this mentality by demonstrating that even characters with a generic design could fight and have enough ambition to receive a Vision.

The Katherynes were created by Sandrone as a Fatui plant throughout Teyvat.

Given how Katheryne is confirmed in the Sumeru storyline to be a bionic puppet created in Snezhnaya, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that Sandrone created them to secretly gather intel for the Fatui, and later on, track the Traveler's movements.

Sucrose descends from the Valuka Shuna like Tighnari and her story mirrors that of the Scarlet King

The Valuka Shuna are a race of foxes from the desert that gained green fur due to the blessing of the Dendro Archon. Sucrose is from Mondstadt and has green fox ears, which means it is possible that her ancestors were originally from Sumeru but came to Mondstadt for unknown reasons. In addition, Sucrose had 2 friends from childhood who left her, so she alone attempts to create their imaginary paradise with alchemy. The Scarlet King had 2 friends (Goddess of Flowers and Rukkhadevata), one who died and one who left him, leaving him to pursue the creation of his utopia which ultimately led to the downfall of his civilisation at the hands of the curses of forbidden knowledge.

Paimon is a god who used too much of her power and shrunk

We've seen gods shrink due to overuse of their powers twice: Guoba and Rukkhadevata. Those two also lost memories as a result. Therefore, it is possible that Paimon was a god, who used too much power at some point, leaving her in this small amnesiac pixie form.

The Traveler helps each of the seven Archons overcome their own Deadly Sin

This theory may be on the obvious side, but here goes: Barbatos' sin of Sloth (does not train his power at all, lounges around habitually and ignores most of his responsibilities) and Ei's sin of Wrath (Inazuma is absolutely littered with critters she's killed) seem pretty obvious, and Morax almost certainly has the sin of Greed given his general theme (details of his trade for his gnosis are still needed). The Traveler gets Venti back moving again and actually being productive and helpful in Mondstadt, then helps Zhongli adjust to not having instant access to whatever he wants in Liyue, and forces the Raiden Shogun to actually wake up and have healthy interactions with people again in the Inazuma chapter. I hypothesize that this will continue in the ongoing Sumeru chapter (Kusinali's sin of Envy probably, unconfirmed) and with the future nations's Archons.

• Ei isn't a very angry person. She killed a lot of monsters and gods because she had to, which is no different from the other Archons. She actually more closely fits Lust, in that while she isn't horny she desperately craves affection, with a lack of it driving her to make irresponsible decisions. Meanwhile, the conclusion of the Sumeru storyline effectively confirms that if this theory is correct, Kusanali is Envy.
• Conversely (to the above response), the main point of most of the Inazuma storyline is stopping the war between the Shogun's troops and the forces of Watatsumi Island. Other notable features of Inazuma include a giant gash in the ground still polluted with Electro energy after Ei killed the serpent, the skeleton of the serpent itself which is still emmiting cursed energy which causes hightened aggression among other things, the poorly contained cursed nesting site of a thunderbird also killed by Ei, a literal war robot created by her, etc. I can see why Lust is possible, but it just doesn't seem probable compared to Wrath.

At the end of the final set of Archon quests, the Traveler will choose to stay in Teyvat instead of leaving

Teyvat was just one of many worlds that the Traveler and their sibling were visiting and intended to leave until the Unknown God threw a wrench in their plans, causing both to become stranded, while the Traveler's sibling joins the Abyss Order. Initially, the Traveler intends on reuniting with their sibling and then leaving Teyvat right away, though the sibling refuses to do so until they accomplish their goals and wants the Traveler to travel and understand the world of Teyvat before they intend on leaving. At the end of the story, should the Traveler successfully (or more tragically, failed to) convince their sibling to leave the Abyss Order and join up with them again, they may decide that instead of leaving Teyvat as they had originally planned at the start of the game, they will declare Teyvat as their new home, remembering the friends they made along their journey, as well as the good and bad times they experienced in the world of Teyvat. From a gameplay perspective, unless New Game Plus would be introduced in Genshin Impact, this would make sense to account for the possibility for any sidequests and other activities that the player has not completed yet, and the game is unlikely to create another character to fill in for the Traveler's gameplay role post-game if they left Teyvat.

Childe will die

Between telling the player that they can't wait to introduce them to their family, missing his chance to say goodbye to his little brother, and the toll that his foul legacy transformation takes on his body, Childe seems to be on an express train to an early grave. However, with Celestia being the place that people with visions go to after death, it's possible for him to remain a player in the story even if he does die.

Tsaritsa is not evil.

In the English dub of the story trailer, she's described as "having no love left for her people" and implies she's cruel and seeks to destroy the other gods, hence why she wants to the gnosis of her fellow Archons. However, the Japanese and Chinese dub instead translate this line as "no longer loving her people", which instead implies she's too preoccupied with something else that keeps her from loving her people (such as plotting the downfall of the divine) rather than actively being apathetic to them. The Japanese and Chinese dub also translate her fight against the divine as a fight against "heavenly principles", certainly referring to the Unknown God, who Zhongli has stated in the webcomic is the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, and we also know there are other gods outside of the Archons.It should also be noted that she is the God of Love, and it's not unheard of for Broken Birds to "harden their heart", as Childe says, to do the harder things in the name of love. Perhaps Tsaritsa wants to avenge the other gods that fell in the Archon War or what happened to Khaenri'ah or wants to prevent further tragedy from befalling them, blaming these tragedies on Celestia/the Unknown God.

What caused Vennessa to become a nomad

In the comic, while Venti claims that Murata, the Pyro Archon, was the "Lady of War" and that she had descendants called "the Muratans", Vennessa - the Muratan he met - claims that her tribe has been a nomad for as long as she can remember, and she knows very little of her own tribe's legends as the elders of her tribe didn't have the time to teach its young members about it.

Chapter 1 of the game reveals that the current Archons other than Barbatos and Morax are not the same as the ones who first founded the Seven, which includes the Pyro Archon. It is also revealed in Sumeru that the current Hydro Archon, Focalors, is actually the successor to a previous Hydro Archon (known only as the "Lord of Amrita" or the "Lord of Sweet Dew") who perished in the Cataclysm.

Onto the guess: it's likely that Murata was overthrown by another god who took her position as the Pyro Archon, and then forced her people, the Muratans, out of Natlan. So the Pyro Archon that Venti remembers had been replaced by the time he met Vennessa.

Zhongli is a Composite Character of Fu Hua + Owl from Honkai Impact 3rd

Fu Hua's traits:

• Being very old and wise
• Acting as a defender of her own land (China-esque)
• Having problems with her memories being "too good"
• Having taken on multiple identities in the past

Owl's traits:

• Being Herrscher of Earth
• Giving his Herrscher Core to the Herrscher of Ice

They are all similar to Zhongli's traits, and it goes with how Venti (his fellow Archon) is a walking and flying Wendy reference.

Venti was lying about being the weakest archon.

Venti originally claimed that archons gained power through directly ruling over their nation, and he uses that as the explanation for his weakness. However, later evidence states that gods gain power through faith and worship - Nahida is weak because she never had the worship Rukkhadevata received. Venti on the other hand, has a huge cathedral and statue dedicated to him and is definitely worshipped by the Mondstadters despite his absence. Even if it possible that archon power comes from both sources (Nahida was also incapable of directly ruling Sumeru), Venti said that he was "without a doubt" the weakest. Additionally, his Gnosis is based on the Queen, regarded as the strongest piece on the chess board.

After the events of Sumeru Archon Quest, two versions of Dottore remain, not one.

As the price for the Electro Gnosis, Nahida demanded that Dottore erases all of his other segments. The Dottore she was talking to, however, was a segment himself. If there's an original Dottore out there somewhere, the one used as a source of all the segments, then the Dottore that struck the deal could take advantage of Exact Words and erase all the other segments, with the original Dottore and the last segment remaining.

• It's implied that Dottore himself continued his existence through the segments meaning that the original is no more.

The current Pyro Archon is not an expy of Himeko.

While Venti mentioned "Murata" being the Pyro Archon's name and Muratans sharing the Archon's vibrant red hair color, it was in a conversation with Vennessa, which happened about a thousand years ago. Nowadays, it is said that out of the original Seven only Venti and Zhongli remain. It is possible that over the past millenium, someone else inherited the flame, so to say, and took up the title of the Pyro Archon.

The Traveler's sibling has been replaced with an impostor.

The Traveler's sibling must be the Traveler's real sibling, because they identify the Traveler as such in their private writings in the Aranyaka. At the same time, the Traveler's sibling is apparently a native of Teyvat, while the Traveler is explicitly something other. It's possible that the Traveler's sibling became naturalized to Teyvat by forming attachments to it in the same way Miko implied was necessary for the Traveler to receive a Vision, but knowing that Khaenri'ah has the ability to create lifelike duplicates as demonstrated by Subject Two, it's also possible that the Prince(ss) of the Abyss Order is actually an impostor, and Nahida was picking up on the memories of the fake that subsumed their identity.

The gifts for the Rite of Parting are meant for Guizhong.

The perfect perfume (when a baffled Paimon wonders aloud if Morax is actually a woman, an amused Zhongli merely answers maybe), the perfect jewel (a representation of Morax), perfect flowers (in fact, they're Glaze Lillies, which were heavily associated with Guizhong), a kite representing the seven Archons (showing who won and survived the Archon War)… part of Zhongli/Morax's character is that he's actually humble and keeps things up for appearance (such as faking his death); rather than have the Rite of Parting grieve over him, he took advantage of it to instead serve as his goodbye to Guizhong.

Tsaritsa is the God of Love.

In the story trailer, all of the gods' major concepts are stated in their region's description by Dainsleif. "Love" is the only concept mentioned in Tsaritsa/Snezhnaya's description, even though Dainsleif describes Tsaritsa in the English dub as "having no love left for her people, nor do they have any for her".

• Furthermore, many of Harbingers have had some sort of attachment to the concept:
  • Arlecchino snapped and killed the previous Director after the death of her loved ones in the form of the fellow orphanage children, and strives to be a better parent than her by genuinely loving the children of the House.
  • Scaramouche greatly valued the attachments he formed, and thus them being broken kickstarted his fall to villainy.
  • Signora's lover died, leading to her becoming the Crimson Witch of Flames.
  • Childe loves his family greatly, and even risks himself to keep the innocence of his youngest brother intact, as well as impress him.

The Pyro Archon will give her Gnosis to the Traveler.

While the Fatui manage to nab the Gnosis of all of the other Archons, (Murata) will willingly relinquish her Pyro Gnosis to the Traveler after being defeated by them as their next destination is Snezhaya in hopes that they will put an end to the Tsaritsa's schemes and take the Fatui's influence away from Natlan at the same time.

Pulcinella, "The Rooster" is Klee's father.

Pulcinella bears some resemblance to Klee with his short stature, pointed ears, and unusually large nose. What's known is that "he exists" and that he may have been evidently involved in entrusting Klee to the Knights. Pulcinella is either good with kids according to Childe or bad according to Wanderer.

The reason why Columbina is so disturbing to Tartaglia and Scaramouche/Wanderer is because she's secretly the Harbingers' Torture Technician.

Think about it. Her sweet, innocent, unassumingly childlike demeanor is the perfect disguise for a brutal interrogator and Ax-Crazy torture specialist. As we've seen with Dottore's treatment of Collei, they aren't afraid to engage in unethical medical experimentation on a terrified young captive, and given their penchant for engaging everything from provoking Ursa the Drake to attack Mondstadt so they could save the day to carrying out a terrorist attack against Liyue Harbor by releasing the sealed ancient god Osial to fanning the flames of Inazuma's civil war so they can take advantage of the lawlessness on the battlefield and the draconian measures implemented by the Shogunate as a reaction to Watatsumi's rebellion all using their Diplomatic Cover Spy status... They also use sleeper agents, missions to arm rebel factions, and Corporate Warfare to undermine their enemies before swords are ever openly crossed on the battlefield. If Snezhnaya is the Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Glorious Mother Russia, then the Fatui are Reds With Rockets and the Harbingers are essentially the KGB itself. So it could be entirely believable that Cold-Blooded Torture at one of their many black sites is within their operational wheelhouse. Who better than someone with the Ambiguous Innocence to hide her Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon tendencies? Both Tartaglia and Scaramouche/Wanderer have warned the Traveler that Columbina is extremely dangerous and not to be trusted, and it may well be because she's a Soft-Spoken Sadist capable of inflicting unimaginable pain on anyone the Harbingers need vital information extracted from.

Dainsleif has a connection to Irminsul and used to plan out the events of the Caribert Archon Quest.

For starters, Dainsleif is known as the "Bough Keeper", and a bough is the main branch of a tree. The most important tree in Teyvat is of course Irminsul, which shares part of its name with Irmin, the last king of Khaenri'ah. Since Dainsleif was captain of the royal guard on top of being known as the Bough Keeper, him having some connection to Irminsul doesn't seem too implausable. Next, Albedo theorizes in a book from the Hidden Strife event that members of the Abyss Order would be able to control when the Ley Lines record and release information. Dainsleif isn't part of the Abyss Order, but it was founded by another Khaenri'ahn, and as the Bough Keeper it's possible that Dainsleif could have similar abilities regarding the Ley Lines.

For the second part, Dainsleif had no idea why the Traveler's sibling sided with the Abyss Order, and the reason he took such an interest in that house in Sumeru was because he could sense the sibling's memories in the Ley Lines beneath the garden. So he hatched a plot to tamper with the Ley Lines and have the Traveler experience their sibling's memories via a dream so he could find out why the sibling changed sides. The brief scene where the Traveler wakes up hazy with Dainsleif nearby before the dream occurs is Dainsleif checking to make sure if his plan is working properly.

When Dori gets a Hangout Event, one of the routes will involve meeting the ghost of her deceased sister.

Perhaps Dori has Traveler acquire some artifact or accompanies us to a ruin that ends up summoning her sister's ghost. She'll reveal that she has been watching for a very long time after her death and is disappointed that Dori has become a scummy merchant and is disrespecting her memory by taking advantage of others lesser than her.

This would lead to Dori having a Heroic BSoD and Traveler could agree with Dori's sister or try to cheer her up, leading to two different endings.

• Honestly that sounds more like story quest material rather than hangout event so that Dori's role in the main story won't be affected by which ending the players has unlocked.

Alice is not from Teyvat

There are hints that Klee's mom, Alice, doesn't actually originate in Teyvat, which makes her someone who might have just been transported from another world.

• She might be an elf since Klee has pointy ears, a trait inherited from her.
• Barbara's character stories mention that the concept of an Idol Singer is a foreign thing, that "idols" singing to entertain others didn't exist before, that is, until Barbara herself became one after reading "Alice's Idol Magazine". This means that Alice perhaps came from modern-day Earth.
• A common fan theory suggests that her name makes her an obvious or direct reference to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, perhaps the oldest and most popular story involving the Trapped in Another World trope.

The "emergency food" joke will turn into a total Cerebus Retcon

From the moment the player meets Amber, they can introduce Paimon as "emergency food," which she's objected to each time they've introduced her as such. There will most likely come a point where they get stuck in a situation where the Traveler may die of starvation and just as Paimon is about to offer herself as the emergency rations that have been joked about, the Traveler would rather die than see their friend die.

Klee's race matures slower than normal humans

While many of the texts mention her being a "child", she's apparently taught by her mother in bomb-making from a young age. It's more likely that her actual age may be that of an older teen or even young woman, i.e she's Older Than She Looks. Just that she doesn't emotionally mature as quickly as normal humans do.

The Grand Thief in Chapter I Act IV never actually died.

Even The Worf Effect has limits. The player can compare the Grand Thief to Alice, The Archmage of Teyvat thus far, without Liyue Branch Master Lan so much as raising an eyelid. It's difficult to believe that someone as competent as Alice would be killed after finding a corrupt Statue of the Seven, even if they were ambushed by an Abyss Herald. It'd be a major case of Show, Don't Tell, as they died before they had the chance to show off their skills, and thanks to something relatively trivial, at that. Even if they lack a Vision, a thief as renowned an adventurer as Alice should be more than capable of identifying when to turn tail and run and to not take too close a look at shady landmarks. If this hunch is accurate, the corpse we see is that of a decoy the thief sent to investigate the statue, and we will encounter this legendary Phantom Thief in-person later. Yes, they can also be compared to Stanley, but the Stanley we encounter in-game is explicitly the original's lesser understudy, so it's difficult to make judgments based on that comparison.

Scaramouche is the Raiden Mei parallel, not Baal. Alternatively, there are two Raiden Mei parallels, and they are both Scaramouche and Baal.

Note that Scaramouche and Raiden Mei have similar color schemes.

The true leader behind the Abyss Order will turn out to be Gold.

Gold, already holding a position as a Greater-Scope Villain due to their various backstory acts like creating Durin and the "shadowy monsters" 500 years prior to the start, will turn out to be the actual leader behind the Abyss Order, even above the Traveler's Sibling. Considering they're clearly linked with the Abyss and their status post-Calamity is unknown, it's not too improbable.

Bonus: They will also be referred to as the King/Queen of the Abyss Order, to signal their higher rank than the Prince/ss rank the Sibling holds.

• Two of the Story Teasers suggest that the Traveller's Sibling might actually have been subjected to some sort of brainwashing or mental manipulation, and it will be up to the Traveller to return the former to their senses. (Both seem to reference Lumine.)
  • In "Gnostic Chorus," Venti narrates a story of a crowned heir being tricked into becoming "the queen of the kingdom of darkness," before describing the journey of the second crowned heir as "your story."
  • In the "Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview," Dainsleif challenges the Traveller to "show that you are worthier than [him] to rescue her."

A symbolism of Paimon's relationship with the Traveler

In Ars Goetia, Paimon is a demon who is obedient to Lucifer, and has flight as one of his powers. This theory could be a series of minor coincidences, but this game's Paimon likes to fly all the time. It's a long stretch, but since Paimon is loyal to the Traveler, this probably means that the Traveler is an allusion to Lucifer. In the prologue, the twin Travelers have the natural ability to fly using metallic wings on their backs. But after their powers have been sealed by the Unknown God, those wings were never seen again and they had to rely on Wind Gliders while trapped in Teyvat. Losing wings could be a reference to how Lucifer "fell from grace" when he became Satan.

The Twins were Evil All Along, and The Traveler has been subjected to Heel–Face Brainwashing.

The opening cutscene shows the Unknown God claiming to want to stop "the arrogation of mankind". "Arrogate" means "to take or claim (something) without justification". Since the Traveler is able to perform magic without a focus, and can even change their element freely, it's possible that the reason the twins came to Teyvat was to steal it's power. The traveler's memories could then have been tampered with as part of a Batman Gambit to teach them how wonderful Teyvat is.

When (or if) Charlotte becomes a playable character, one of her Elemental Talents will be called "Freeze Frame"

She carries a camera, has a Cryo Vision, and actually enjoys Cyno's jokes. The pun writes itself.

• Nothing but headline worthy cheap puns. Allusions or quotes from history, literature, etc.? No way. The best you're getting is a reference to journalist David Frost.

Rhinedottir wasn't Gold.

It's true that Gold created the Rifthounds, but Gold wasn't Rhinedottir. Rhinedottir is from Khaenri'ah, and as revealed in the Ann of the Narzissenkreuz World Quests. the Rifthounds invaded Khaenri'ah from the Abyss during the Cataclysm. The idea that she's Gold either stems from Gold being a Legacy Character, or is just a straight up lie.

Yae is afraid of elves.

Who are the two people we've seen Yae Miko be kind to without even any snark? Klee and Layla. Who made her cry when she was a child? Alice. What do all three of these characters have in common? Elf ears. Would she be uncharacteristically polite to Nahida? Yeah, probably.

Furina knows something about the Traveller's sibling.

This is admmitedly a bit of a long shot considering that it's Furina but the question session at the end of Fontaine was odd, and not just because it was Neuvillette answering them, for one Fontaine's problems are not over and the idea behind each arc is that they get answers after the fact, second we are far too late into the game for the answers to our questions to still be I dunno, especially after Nahida gave us such a shocking revelation and third the game especifies that only the gods can lead the Traveller to their sibling so it would be both very fitting and very funny if the deity everyone dismissed as useless has crucial information again.

Alhaitham will at one point in the future be a survivor of a crisis, have a huge fight with Kaveh over differences in execution of a plan to save many people, gain the ability to turn into a bird monster with the power of the Abyss and be renamed with a name that starts with "S".

This is crack speculation based on the pattern of plot points that his Honkai Impact 3rd counterparts Su and Sa as well as her proxy Vita have gone through, but it's also interesting to note that there is no explanation for Alhaitham's Gem Tissue located at his collarbone yet, and Rene de Petrichor and Jakob Ingold have proved the existence of neo-humans. There has also been a recurring theme about the assimilation of consciousness to overcome a future apocalypse or "break free from the shackles of the heavens" since the Golden Slumber world quest released. Alhaitham's Story Quest explores a failed attempt by mortal human scholars, while Act II of the Fontaine Archon Quest and the various world quests about Rene and Jakob also showed that assimilation of consciousness is possible, and in fact Rene wants to save everyone from an incoming flood by turning everyone into consciousness. It's very reminiscent of the implementation of Project Stigma in Honkai Impact 3rd, which also tried to save humanity by putting them to sleep and combining their consciousness into one giant spirit, but killed many who were exposed to high amounts Honkai energy. Just replace "Honkai energy" with "Abyssal energy for the Genshin context. Notably, Su opposed Project Stigma, which was led by his best friend Kevin, due to the high fatality rate and the amorality of it all, and they had a final showdown in Su's bubble universe because Kevin was sure that they did not have any other option while Su was more idealistic and wanted to continue the projects with less human cost. Su and Kevin ended up parting ways forever and died never seeing each other in perso again (barring their digital selves in the Elysian Realm). Alhaitham and Kaveh have similar pragmatic and idealistic personalities, a shared Akademiya background and a friendship that soured, but Alhaitham and Kaveh also have a much deeper and complex bond than Su and Kevin ever did, where self-interested Alhaitham accommodates Kaveh in a way that he hasn't done for anyone else, and Kaveh sees Alhaitham as his "home". Their strained relationship has been slowly repairing, and Alhaitham and Kaveh have experienced some Character Development since their fallout (Alhaitham now understands that sometimes being correct means nothing at all, and Kaveh understands that he can't simply keep sacrificing himself for his ideals and needs to draw a boundary somewhere). The conflict in their relationship stems from Alhaitham being frustrated at Kaveh's self-sacrificing nature and having miscommunication in expressing that sentiment. Depending on whether both men improve or become worse at their respective flaws, it will determine whether they'll find a way to reconcile their differences and work/remain together or once again part ways, resulting in greater consequences to everyone, but especially themselves who are each other's "mirrors" whom few others, if there is anyone at all, can compare to.

There's a Harbinger we haven't met yet.

With the reveal that Arlechinno is the 4th Fatui Harbinger, which combined with previously attained information through Character Stories and Voicelines, that just leaves Pierro and Capitano as the only Harbingers without confirmed numbers, suggesting that one will be the 1st while the other is the 10th. The problem here? If Harbinger's ranks really are based on on each member's strength, then neither of them being the 10th makes any sense; Pierro is an immortal mage from Khae'neariah and The Leader, while Capitano is often stated to be the World's Strongest Man, which would bring into question how he ranks below someone like say, Pantalone. The explanation?; Pierro has a unique rank of his own, perhaps "0", Capitano is in fact Number 1, and the 10th spot is occupied by a Harbinger we have yet to actually meet for one reason or another.

Arlecchino will indeed betray the Tsaritsa as Tartaglia's line about her claims... by joining the Traveler.

Chapter IV Act IV shows that Arlecchino is willing to work together with the Traveler out of gratitude for helping out Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet. Perhaps a future event will occur that may end up breaking Arlecchino's trust in the Tsaritsa (such as her children's lives being outright threatened by her colleagues), and decide to cut the House of the Hearth off from the Fatui, becoming a neutral faction that can readily aid the Traveler.

Dori's Palace of Alcazarzaray will vanish one day due to her Jinni carrying it away.

Dori has heavy Aladdin Fairytale Motifs. She already has the Rags to Riches backstory, her Jinni and her Palace. This is is the only thing left that hasn't happened in-game yet.

Furina is meant to be a Left-Handed Mirror

She's dominantly left-handed and is given a very prominent moment where she is portrayed a literal reflection of Focalors. Presumably Focalors is right-handed.

Baizhu will be separated from Changsheng at one point, which is when Changsheng reverts to her human form.

Baizhu and Changsheng are a twist on the Chinese folktale of Madam White Snake, where a kindly man saves in a white snake demon, marries her and earn a living together through their medicine shop. Due to machinations of a Buddhist monk who believed that all demons are evil, the husband dies, prompting the wife on a quest to revive him. Afterwards, the wife is trapped by the Buddhist monk in a magic prison, though her son manages to free her, finally reuniting the whole family. I think Baizhu and Changsheng's story will follow similar story beats from the folktale with Hu Tao as the well-meaning antagonist and Qiqi playing the son's role. It's already established in Baizhu's story quest that Changsheng's powers are a double edged sword, and with his fervent pursuit of immortality it's only a matter of time before Baizhu goes too far and finds himself ill-equipped to handle the consequences (See how Furina and Dainsleif suffered for 500 years with cursed immortality).

Sandrone is Alain Guillotin.

Alain has created Seymour, an artificial intelligence. It would be reasonable to assume that he also created the Katherynes, as both Seymour and the Katherynes say things like "error" and "rebooting". Katheryne also says at some point "Do I appear like a masterpiece of the Fontaine Research Institute to some?" and the Masterpiece's Overture artifact says that Alain, in his later years, secluded himself to work on something, but no one knows what it is.

Alain's personality, according to Childe and Wanderer's voicelines, also appears to be similar to Sandrone, who is known for her terrible personality and caring for nothing other than her own research. Sandrone also appears to hate Childe for no reason, which would make sense for Alain, who was notably opposed to Rene's dabbling with Abyssal power. Childe, due to his Abyssal connections, would end up triggering Alain's bad memories. Alternatively, it could be due to Childe's relation to the Primordial Sea, which Rene also researched.

It would also make sense for Alain to create a mechanical replica of his sister Mary-Ann, which would be the form of the little girl who appears in the Winter Night's Lazzo trailer. Alain did design the humanoid Clockwork Meka in honour of Carter, and once Alain has progressed his roboticist skills, he could have built a more human-like puppet in honour of Mary-Ann. Sandrone's title, "The Marionette", even means "little Mary" in Middle French, and the word was originally used to refer to figurines of the Virgin Mary. In this case, it would be a "figurine" of Mary-Ann.

Finally, in the Fell Dragon's Monocle, it is stated that "But it is oft-said that heroes who live too long, live to become the evil dragon". Alain was the hero who defeated the dragon Rene, and the artifact seems to hint at Alain becoming a new dragon, perhaps a villainous Fatui Harbinger.

A future Quest will involve foiling an attempt on Furina's life

While Furina's Character Quest sees her becoming more optimistic about her new life as a human and taking slow steps to return to the theatre, that doesn't change the fact that there are still many in Fontaine, especially in Poisson, who resent Furina for her centuries long fraud and her supposed inaction and inability to actually prevent the prophecy from happening. However, the Character Quest shows her mostly interacting with people who still have a high opinion of her, the worst she gets being some dirty looks from Poisson's residents when she and the Traveler end up there. With this in mind, a potential future plot may involve the Traveler learning of or assisting another playable character in stopping an assassination attempt on the former Archon.

• A possible contender for such a plotline could be Navia's Character Quest, that's mentioned in the 4.3 livestream to be concerning Poisson's reconstruction efforts and the emotional damage caused by the incident. Who's to say that the quests antagonist won't be a particularly resentful resident of Poisson who'll attempt to take justice into their own hands against Furina, and has to be stopped and/or talked down by Navia. Bonus points if it's someone Navia's is close to or otherwise trusted.
  • Jossed. The quest actually concerned a radical faction of former Spina members targeting her out of resentment of her father.
• Obviously, such an event could occur in Furina's Act II, with the possibility of showing her coming into her own as a fighter by performing an Assassin Outclassin'. And, whether or not the latter does occur, this occurring in her own quest prevents her from overshadowing those out to rescue her, since the quest will centre around her anyway.
• Clorinde is a strong contender for such a plotline, with her formerly being Furina's bodyguard whose role in Furina's trial was being the duellist who would duel her should she refuse, effectively threatening her into compliance. The quest could reveal that she's harbouring guilt for her role in the trial, with her reaching out to Furina, as detailed in the latter's Character Stories, with the intent of serving as her protector like she did with Navia to atone for her betrayal, and the quest could end with Furina assuring her she doesn't hold a grudge against her and ask if they can be friends for real.

Chiori was a member of the Shuumatsuban before she became a fashion designer.

While Chiori says she's just a fashion designer and doesn't have anything she moonlights as, she does collect intelligence for the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol. Additionally, it's improbable that she knew two of the most powerful figures in Inazuma before she moved to Fontaine, as she seems obscure back home. Knowing that, her attitude, skills and connections would be more fitting of a spy. It makes sense that a ninja would be skilled in designing costumes, and it wouldn't be surprising if the threat that forced her to move to Fontaine was being outed as an insurgent, something that could jeopardize the good standing of the Kamisato Clan.

Focalors did not deceive the Heavenly Principles.

Focalors' plan was a ploy to save the Fontanians by deceiving the Heavenly Principles. However, all of the imagery on the stone tablets came to pass, even if the part of the prophecy saying the Fontanians would dissolve did not (which might be chalked up to mistranslation or misinterpretation). It might possibly be that everything that happened, including Focalors' plan, Furina's act, and the parts of the Traveler, the Fatui, and the All-Devouring Narwhal, was foreseen by Celestia and accounted for in their original curse of Egeria and Fontaine, possibly as a ploy to give the Hydro Sovereign their power back.

Gameplay mechanics and new feature theories

Delusions will come to gameplay eventually

Based on what Tartaglia demonstrated in his boss fight, its possible for the people of Teyvat to use more than one element through the use of Delusions. As such, certain adventurers can equip certain delusions to change their elemental affinity other than the one granted by their vision. Skills may or may not change, but their element definitely does. (I.e. Diluc equips a Hydro Delusion and his skills become Hydro based instead of his usual Pyro.)

Mounts will be introduced.

Taking a page from MapleStory and Terraria by having mounts in the forms of hogs, slimes, and (baby) dragons, for instance.

Firearms will eventually be introduced as a new weapon type

Firearms already canonically exist in Teyvat in at least Snezhnaya, so there's no in-story reasons on why gun-wielding characters can't be introduced.

Similiar to the Manacasters of Dragalia Lost, each character could have different 'modes' of attacks, with some having muskets/rifles, high-velocity rifles/gatlings, and short-range shotguns, altough all three would share the same weapon graphics for simplicity's sake.

• Firearms also exist in Fontaine, although they're not a new class of weapon yet as of 4.0. Clorinde wields a pistol in her role as one of Fontaine's champion duelists, although it has not been shown how it plays in her character's moveset.

The Purpose of the Boss Trophies

So far, Tainted Blood and Monolith Fragment have no use. When all Archon Quests are completed, there will be at least 7 of these. Possible uses for the trophies may be crafting the Traveler's sword from the intro, restoring their power, or triggering end-game events.

5 Star Character EXP items and 4 Star Weapon EXP Items will eventually be added.

It seems like a logical progression of the game to add higher tier EXP Items, especially since the amount of EXP needed to level up every ten levels gets more and more expensive. It's likely 5 Star Character EXP will necessitate going above the current cap of Adventure Rank 60, while 4 Star and higher Weapon EXP will require materials in areas further in the game's story in order to craft.

Abyssal Magic will be the eighth playable element.

This will be how Dainsleif and your sibling will become playable.

There will be two new elements near the endgame of Genshin

The new power types will be affiliated with the Abyss and possibly Celestia. Chrono, the element of time and possibly affiliated with the God of Time and the Heavenly Principles and Cosmo, the element of the abyss and space wielded by Dainsleif and the Abyss sibling. The elements will be mutually exclusive as only the Traveler will be able to wield the Chrono element in conjunction with the 7 others, but not Cosmo, which will be used by the Abyss twin along with their 7 Teyvat elements.

• Since Dainsleif is confirmed in a pre-release Tweet to eventually become playable in the foreseeable future and is very unlikely to receive a Vision of the seven existing elements for himself (given their association with Gods and Celestia, he would detest the idea of using a Vision, and he has his own powers anyway), it is inevitable that at least one more new element will be added to the game. We don't know if the Traveler's sibling would become playable, though enemy-exclusive elements doesn't seem too far off, like pre-3.0 Dendro.

The twins' fighting style is incomplete without the other, and the other twin might later become playable, allowing them to fight as one.

In the prologue cutscene, Lumine was shown to be wielding her sword on her left, while Aether on his right. If you pick Lumine as the playable twin however, she wields the sword with her right hand, hinting that she's likely ambidextrous. She still uses her elemental skills with her left hand unlike Aether who uses his right hand for both the sword and elemental skills. This might be due to the fact that Aether usually takes the front while Lumine moves around in the battlefield when the twins fight together, but without her brother, Lumine ends up using her brother's fighting style instead. Once the twins reunite for real, Lumine might start using her left hand for the sword again. This might also be the reason why the Traveler does not have a non-battle talent, as it is reserved for the tag-team gameplay mechanic.

Future floating/flying "pets"

We already have a miniature seelie in a variety of colors, a robot made by Cloud Shaper, and Liloupar's bottle. Future choices might include:

• Paimon, so we see her all the time, not just when the menu's open.
• One of the vulture-serpents from Sumeru. They're confirmed to be tamed by the natives, so it would make sense to recieve one as a reward for completing a quest.
• Similarly, one of the flying serpents from the Sumeru desert, just because they're about the right size and fly.
• A baby Wenut. Even the big ones are kind of cute :3
• A Cicin. Same reasons as for flying serpents, and we could get an attractant like the Fatui Cicin Mages have.
• Now hear me out: Hydro Eidolon, albeit minimized to match the size of previous companion pets.

The Dragonspine is preparation for the eventual release of Snezhnaya.

The Dragonspine has just released, and includes multiple other mechanics to keep track of, such as Sheer Cold. And considering miHoYo is eventually gonna send us to Snezhnaya, another possibly-cold area judging by how it's ruled by the Cryo Archon, I feel as though Dragonspine is preparing us for when we eventually go there.

There will be a "sequel".

Seeing as the Story Trailer refers to the stories of the Traveler journeying through Mondstadt to Khaeni'riah as the Teyvat Chapter, maybe we'll get another "Chapter" of the game, be it another mega-expansion or a sequel, taking place outside of Teyvat. Also worth noting that Teyvat is only a continent and isn't considered to be the whole world.

Potential future crossovers or collab events

• Nijisanji
• Honkai Impact 3rd
• Onmyōji (2016)
• Dragalia Lost
• Arknights
• Girls' Frontline
• Cookie Run (as an April Fools Joke)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 1
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• KonoSuba
• Princess Connect! Re:Dive
• Uma Musume Pretty Derby
• Granblue Fantasy
• Blue Archive
• Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!
• Honkai: Star Rail
• YoYo Lumi - miHoYo's Virtual Celebrity. While there were few articles who speculate on this, being a project of the same company means that she might have a high chance of getting into Genshin. Also, if you look at her YouTube Channel, the official Genshin Impact YouTube account is listed as a related channel.

Guest Fighters from other franchises

With Aloy announced as a playable character, any other characters are fair game now.

• Any character from Honkai Impact 3rd, to complement Fischl's and Keqing's appearances in that game.
  • Then that counts Neon Genesis Evangelion's Asuka, seeing as she's also a guest star in Honkai.
• Devon Daniels or Zayto.
• V (Cyberpunk 2077).
• Steve from Minecraft
• Pyramid Head from Silent Hill
• Agent 47 from Hitman

The Catalyst weapon type can be used as a stand-in for weapons/fighting styles that do not fit with the other four weapon types

Since the start of Genshin's release, the main types of weapons available for the player to use had always been swords, claymores (basically bigger swords), polearms, bows, and catalysts. Notably, unlike most JRPGs, there isn't a weapon type for axes, knives/daggers, fists, etc., and no update added new weapon types to the main pool of weapon types. This limits characters to only the five aforementioned weapon types, when some characters would be more fitting wielding a different weapon that fits with their design^{For example}Shinobu is shown brandishing a dagger (a weapon fitting her ninja aesthetic) in one of her idle animations, and while she still technically uses it in her Elemental skill, she still primarily uses a long sword as her main weapon. With Heizou's debut, aside from being the first male Catalyst user, he is also the first one to utilize a drastically different form of fighting instead of firing elemental spells from afar; he instead imbues his Anemo powers into his fistfighting prowess. Yae Miko also demonstrates that Catalyst users can also use other objects (in her case, a gohei staff) to channel and cast elemental powers instead of using only their bare hands to make spellcasting motions. Taking both of these factors in mind, the Catalyst weapon type can serve as a way in the future to introduce playable characters who fight by using other forms of weapons including, but not limited to knives, tomahawk, hammers, or even a firearm in a similar fashion to the Fatui Skirmishers, as long as they're able to innately channel their Vision's elemental powers into their normal attacks.

Characters likely to get new playable versions

When the day comes that Genshin decides to take a few more pages out of Honkai: Star Rail's book, one of the things that may come with are new versions of currently playable characters, if Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae is anything to go by. Going off that, there are some characters who are likely to receive this treatment.

• Childe/Tartaglia - The most obvious and most likely, Childe may receive a version in the future that has him utilise his Electro Delusion as opposed to his Hydro Vision, complete with the mostly black outfit he wears during his boss fight and potentially a playstyle that harkens to his ownership of a Hydro Vision by benefitting from the Electro-Charged reaction.
• Kaeya - With the revelation that's he's descended from the founder of the Abyss Order, which draws the interest of Dainsleif, Kaeya has more relevance to the lore than being a 4-Star would imply, which may translate to greater story relevance in the future, warranting a new unit.
• Kujou Sara - When we first hear of her, we learn that Kujou Sara is a powerful Tengu warrior and the Shogun's champion, and Kazuha's flashback shows her with a sword at her hip, with the "Warrior's Spirit" event saying she learnt how to improve her own swordsmanship watching the Traveler and Ayaka in the tournament. In gameplay however, she's a bow-wielding Support Party Member who's main purpose is empowering actual DSP units, namely the Raiden Shogun. This, combined with her being one of the few 4-stars yet to receive a Hangout Event, presents the possibility of her getting a version that wields a sword instead of a bow, and that she'll potentially be a 5-star with her own character quest.
• Any Low-Tier Letdown could receive this treatment as an alternative to actually fixing the character, mostly in the case of ones who can't simply be fixed by introducing new characters/weapons/artifacts/etc.

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Unsorted theories:

(New theories can be placed here until they're able to be categorized)

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Lyney and Lynette are still not trustworthy and will betray the Traveler at a key moment in the future.

Even if they were being completely honest about their backstory. Something we don't really know for sure yet since it could just be emotional manipulation. They're still very much involved with Arlecchino and when push comes to shove they seem like they would put her goals before anyone elses.

Ursa the Drake was the Electro Sovereign.

We don't know much about Ursa the Drake, but we do know it was a purple dragon. You know, as the (mysteriously absent) Electro Sovereign would be. It's certainly not lacking in the power of a Physical God, given that Mondstadt required the aid of someone with that kind of power to defeat it. (Of course, it could just as easily be an Abyssal dragon.)

Crepus was the 10th Harbinger, Brighella, and betrayed the Fatui.

Assuming Pierro is the 0th Harbinger and Capitano is the 1st, that leaves the 10th spot among the Fatui Harbingers empty. Crepus is very suspicious: he has a special Delusion that can summon chains, not something he could have picked up or stolen from an average Fatui grunt. Diluc's Red Dead of Night outfit is also said to be an outfit Crepus tailored for his son, and it features many similarities with Fatui outfits, notably Childe's and Arlecchino's. Crepus' Harbinger codename would be Brighella, a Comedia character who is a tavern owner dressed in white with facial hair and hidden eyes (which matches Crepus' appearance in the manga). His constellation would be the Hand of Glory (a candle made out of the hand of a traitor), since Crepus would have betrayed the Fatui and he wears the Delusion on his hand. Crepus being a traitor would explain why no Fatui members ever mention the 10th Harbinger. The events leading up to Crepus' death would be a deliberate assassination attempt aiming to eliminate a traitor.

The 10th Harbinger is a known character.

A known, maybe even an already playable character who is actually acting as a spy in one of the seven nations. This could explain why no one in the Fatui mentions the 10th: most of them probably don't even know their identity if they act as a spy. It's even possible that only Pierro and the Tsarista know who they are, which would explain why none of the other Harbingers mention them.

Venti is "aware" about the nature of Celestia actually is.

Given he gives a cryptic answer to the Traveler when they ask about them, and even back when Venessa asks Venti about Celestia (which happens far before the fall of Khaenri'ah), his face suddenly becomes dour, at the same time, there are three silhouettes with ominous red backgrounds within Venti's image (the silhouettes could possibly be the Celestial gods). Even in one of his voice lines, he comments how Celestia's water and fruit taste bad (while he's also mentioning there's no cider there). So it's possible that Venti is already aware of Celestia's true nature, even before the fall of Khaenri'ah. But he didn't dare to spit it out because of unknown circumstances.

Dornman Port will be released during the Natlan update cycle.

Natlan and Mondstadt were the first two nations revealed by the prequel manga in 2018, and the Knights of Favonius was started by someone of Natlanian descent so there is precedent of Mondstadt and Natlan being linked together. If it is released late into the Natlan update cycle it could also serve as the final area before Snezhnaya's release.

The other Harbingers think the current Arlecchino is Ax-Crazy because of what happened to The Director

Both Wanderer and Tartaglia say that she is a crazy The Starscream who hides behind a mask, Lyney says she isn't those things. Lyney is going to be a more reliable source on Arlecchino's personality than Wanderer and Tartaglia, being her planned successor, but we do know that she disposed of the previous Arlecchino and might have killed her. Of course, a Fatui member killing another Fatuus, and a Harbinger at that, and then taking her place, is going to leave quite an impression on the other Harbingers, which WOULD make the others think you are crazy and willing to overthrow anyone if it benefits you.

• From "The Song Burning in the Embers" animation, they would have good reason to think this way. While still a child, she killed most, if not all, of her siblings, and then killed the woman who raised her so hard, she blew up an entire stone building in the process, all without a Vision or Delusion. Tartagles and Wanderer both value familial connections, so this turn of events would be particularly disturbing to the both of them.

The Archon and World Quests are building to a more cordial relationship with the Fatui.

Given how many Fatui members the Traveler is becoming friends with, the fact that the World Quest Free Verse is the first quest I'm aware of where dialogue options let you convey that you no longer see the Fatui is pure evil and more just people who have a different viewpoint, Capitano, who is always described as the Token Good Teammate, is going to be in Natlan, and that Snezhnaya, which is run by the Fatui (more or less) is going to be a region that will presumably have the same systems as the previous ones such as Reputation, it's possible the game is building up to the Traveler deciding to at the very least accept working with them in the latter region and Natlan will not feature such hostilities as were present in Liyue and Inazuma.

Arlecchino will apologize to Furina for what transpired during their "meeting."

There may be a possibility that Arlecchino will realize that she was too hard on Furina for accusing her of not caring about Fontaine in regards to the prophecy. Either she comes to the realization herself, or the Traveler could inform her of just what Furina went through for so long, playing the role of the Hydro Archon. This doesn't even have to happen in her Story Quest (assuming she gets one). It can happen during a major event.

The Pyro Archon will be a Main DPS

Anemo units are mainly about crowd control and exploration, Geo units are mainly about defense and Geo constructs, Electro is mainly about energy, and Dendro and Hydro units are almost always supportive units who rely on elemental application. Venti, Zhongli, Raiden Ei, Nahida and Furina all embody these traits of their signature elements in their kits. Since Pyro is mainly about big damage, with most of its units focused on that, the Pyro Archon will likely be an on-field damage dealer like Diluc, Hu Tao, Klee, Lyney, Yoimiya, Gaming and Yanfei.

• If we go off of the slime theory, maybe her kit will involve Cast From Hitpoints, since the pyro slimes explode on death.