Characters / Genshin Impact: Hilichurls

Genshin Impact (Main Character Index)
The Traveler (and Paimon)
The Nations of Teyvat
Mondstadt (Eula | Fischl | Knights of Favonius)
Liyue (Adepti | Liyue Harbor | Qixing)
Inazuma (Arataki Itto | Raiden Shogun | Tri-Commission | Watatsumi | Yae Miko)
Sumeru (Akademiya | Alhaitham | Cyno | Great Red Sand | Kaveh | Nahida | The Wanderer)
Fontaine (Court of Fontaine | Furina | Narzissenkreuz Institute | Neuvillette | Wriothesley)
Snezhnaya (Fatui | Harbingers | Tartaglia)
Transnational Organizations: Adventurers' Guild | Hexenzirkel | Treasure Hoarders
Gods
Archons | Others
Others
Khaenri'ah | Monsters (Hilichurls | The Abyss)

Hilichurls

A standard hilichurl

The hilichurls are a race of mask-wearing humanoids of a mysterious background, who tend to cause trouble to humans in the wild and are often manipulated by the Abyss Order to do their bidding. The language barrier, combined with their penchant for violence, has made it difficult for humans to coexist with them.

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General Tropes

• Adorable Evil Minions: Hilichurls are like goblins, but because of the game's Animesque art style and vibrant colors, they are surprisingly cute.
• Always Chaotic Evil: They're not just eager to attack anyone they see, but they are also chaotic, such that characters consider it suspicious whenever they perform anything resembling a coordinated strategy. However, while later quests move towards subverting this trope or zigzagging it with Not Always Evil, they are still easily aggressive when provoked:
  • A pair of Daily Commissions involve Ella Musk, a young Mondstadtian scholar trying to learn their language, enlisting the Traveler's help with putting her studies to practice on a less belligerent hilichurl. However, waking up the others or saying the wrong phrases will lead to them attacking you.
  • During Venti's Story Quest, you meet a hilichurl who is carrying a shield you need. It is possible to talk it into giving you the shield without a fight, but with the wrong dialogue options, it will grow angry and attack.
  • Midway through the Liyue Archon Quest, the Traveler and Zhongli needed to use the cauldron of the Meaty Tribe in Dadaupa Gorge to assess the authenticity of three Noctilucous Jades. Hilichurls will then appear to attack you in retaliation simply because you are using their cauldron.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: Normally, hilichurls have dark brown fur and grey manes by default, but those who can wield the elements have multicolored fur and manes to match the corresponding elements they're using.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: As one of their customs, they see the stronger among them as their leader and role model.
• Barred from the Afterlife: As a result of the curse upon them, hilichurls cannot truly experience "death." Their equivalent when they grow old is to hide from the light underground where the curse hurts the least, lie down, and simply wait to be consumed by darkness. Paimon is saddened by the sight of them.
• Blindfolded Vision: Many hilichurls wear masks with no visible eye holes in them, being just flat surfaces that bear either their tribal insignia or the symbols of their elements. Despite this, they're still able to accurately "see" and attack your characters without any impairment to their performances. It's eventually revealed in Chapter III, Act VI, from Caribert's point of view of being able to see his own body with his mask on, that the masks are transparent enough to allow clear eyesight of their surroundings. Ironically, mitachurls, lawachurls, and samachurls wear masks that do contain eye holes to see through, so why the blank masks are exclusive to the base hilichurls remains unknown.
• Body Horror: There are scattered documents around the Valley of Dahri about the process of turning into a hilichurl. It is not pretty.
  ...The afflicted show symptoms, among others, of peeling skin and proliferation of hair, and worst of all, severe facial ulceration...
• Cessation of Existence: In "Requiem of the Echoing Depths", Dainslief mentions that, while hilichurls are cursed with immortality and cannot die in the traditional sense, this doesn't mean they can never truly die as their curse continuously erodes them overtime until they become "one with the darkness", essentially being erased from existence entirely.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Alice subjected hilichurls to ridiculous and fatal experiments, as written on the Mondstadt sections of the Teyvat Travel Guide. These include launching a hilichurl from Windrise to Springvale, or strapping a hilichurl to a Ruin Guard, which resulted in gory aftermath.
• Conlang: Hilichurlian at first sounds like a bunch of gibberish, but it actually has fairly consistent grammatical rules. While not all words used are known, it's possible to construct basic sentences only from what the game gives you in certain quests.
• Cosmic Motifs: The Eclipse Tribe is a specific group of hilichurls that is the most occult since they worship a symbol resembling the eclipsed sun (as opposed to most hilichurls that worship the elements).
• Curse: Their existence is due to a curse from Celestia, mangling their bodies and making them lose their minds.
• Dub Name Change: Called "Brutocollinus" in the French subtitles, giving it a more "scientific species name" vibe.
• Don't Look At Me: According to the flavor text of the "Ominous Mask" loot, hilichurls wear masks to cover their faces. In the second Traveler's Tale (Archon Quest Chapter II, Act IV), Dainsleif confirms so—as mutated citizens of Khaenri'ah, they'd rather not see how badly their bodies have been warped by the curses they now bear.
  A glossy bone mask with oil markings painted on it, meant to intimidate enemies. No one really knows why hilichurls are so fascinated with masks. Some say it's because they don't want to see their own reflections in the water.
• Faceless Goons: Hilichurls wear masks and are among the most common enemies in the game.
• The Faceless: What hilichurls' faces look like underneath their masks remains unrevealed. Crosses over with Nothing Is Scarier, as it is implied there's some serious Facial Horror underneath those masks.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: In addition to the standard hostility that all enemies show you, it's very easy to accidentally provoke even non-hostile hilichurls just by getting their language slightly wrong.
• Hidden Depths: According to a pair of in-game books, Hilichurl Cultural Customs and Hilichurl Ballad Selection, there seems to be more about hilichurlian society than just brutish aggression:
  • They're usually led by the shaman-like samachurls, or more rarely the bulkier mitachurls, all members of a tribe are gatherers and hunters, they worship the elements in an animistic way, and take part in religious ceremonies.
  • They can feel anger, grief, and joy. They also create songs that have philosophical meanings.
  • They seem drawn to ancient ruins since their markings were imitations of those found in ruins. They also build their camps most commonly around ruins.
  • As samachurls and lawachurls have proven, hilichurls are quite capable of using the elements without needing a Vision or even a Delusion, implying they have a more natural connection to the elements.
  • The "Mimi Tomo" event reveals that hilichurls have a surprisingly vast communication network, such as multiple connections between those in Mondstadt and Liyue.
• Not Always Evil:
  • Random hilichurls found in the wild have a much smaller aggro range than those who set up camps and players can pass extremely close (and within line of sight) without angering them, implying they have a wider range of temperaments than simply "attack on sight."
  • According to Uncle Ghast's stories, the ghost girl Dusky Ming once befriended a camp of Hilichurls and they all danced to her favorite dance.
  • In the Mimi Tomo event, one of the Hilichurls will ask you to defeat some strong enemies that they find a threat, which turns out to be a couple of Abyss Mages. This reveals that not all Hilichurls side with the Abyss Order.
  • Ella Musk's commissions and the Mimi Tomo event show that there are a number of Hilichurls much friendlier than others and open to cooperation once the language barrier is overcome.
  • Chapter II Act IV showcased hilichurls who would rather spend the last of their days in peace than to attack the party.
  • In Chapter III Act VI, we meet a hilichurl who is awoken from his curse-induced fugue state by his Kaenri'ahn father's Black Magic-infused medicine. The hilichurl awakens from his Identity Amnesia with the mind of a frightened and confused young boy who is greatly disturbed by his new physical form, and with all the natural curiosity of a child goes against his father's dire warnings, looking under his mask with a nearby hand mirror... causing him to suffer an Identity Breakdown and cross the Despair Event Horizon.
  • There is a Stonehide Lawachurl training by the Guhua Clan's training grounds at Chenyu Vale, implied to have been accepted by said clan (Huang the Third and Wen the Fourth) as their (unofficial) disciple.
  • There is a single hilichurl in Chenyu Vale, just outside their camp, fishing by the wooden bridge. Despite being highlighted (complete with an HP bar, level, and name), this particular hilichurl will not attack Travelers so long as they are not attacked.
• Our Goblins Are Different: They're tribal, human-sized creatures who have limited intelligence, and tend to raid and steal from humans.
• Outside-Context Problem: As Glory explains it, hilichurls are not native to Teyvat because they "suddenly appeared out of nowhere" a couple centuries ago. The citizens can just guess whether they were a result of a great catastrophe or came from outer space. The second Traveler's Tale (Archon Quest Chapter II, Act IV) reveals they are the former citizens of the lost nation of Khaenri'ah.
• Playing with Fire: Between the Grenadiers, the Berserkers, the Blazing Axe Mitachurls, and the Pyro Shooters, Hilichurls seem to favor using Pyro over the other elements.
• Primitive Clubs: Hilichurls mostly wield clubs as weapons to show that their technological level is below that of humans. They can be made out of wood, stone, and even ice for those who live in Dragonspine. While hilichurls are also seen using more advanced weaponry like crossbows and battleaxes, it's implied that they didn't make them, and either looted them from humans or received them from the Abyss Order.
• Proud Warrior Race: While more focused on the "warrior" part, it's implied that their culture places great value in strength and fighting beyond banditry, such as mitachurls generally being tribe leaders and the even bigger and stronger lawachurls being respected greatly. The "Contending Tides" event sees them competing in and hosting a fighting tournament that the Traveler and all other playable units can take part in.
• Red Herring: Given their long ears, one may think that the Hilichurls were related to Klee's race, namely as a subspecies. Chapter II Act IV reveals that isn't the case as they're former humans from Khaenri'ah.
• Single-Gender Race: All the hilichurls encountered in the game appear to be male, though they could be genderless. Given how hilichurls were citizens of Khaenri'ah, it's implied that female hilichurls exist though as there were known females within Khaenri'ah prior to the nation's destruction.
• Sleepy Enemy: Some hilichurls can be found napping out in the open and have low aggro ranges compared to their awake brethren. Because of this, it's very easy to sneak up on them and launch a surprise attack, but once disturbed, they'll be on high alert and will not fall back asleep if you decide to bail. Lore-wise, there's a tribe of hilichurls in Dadaupa Gorge called the Sleepy Tribe which mostly consists of sleeping hilichurls for you to sneak up on, so long as you are careful not to alert the mitachurl standing guard.
• Speaking Simlish:
  • Hilichurls speak in a language that uses short, yet gibberish words. The NPC named Ella Musk tries to study or decipher them, and there is even a series of books called "Hilichurl Ballad Selection" and "Hilichurl Cultural Customs" that try to translate what they are saying.
  • Averted in Chapter III Act VI when we meet a hilichurl who is fully capable of speaking and comprehending Teyvat's Common Tongue thanks to a Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
• Underground Monkey: Some hilichurls can channel the elements and wear colors of their respective element. The Hilichurl Cultural Customs book lampshades or puts a justification to this; the Samachurls apply colored dye to the hair and skin of their elemental wielders. Variants only appear in certain regions, such as Geo ones in Liyue and Cryo ones in Dragonspine.
• The Usual Adversaries: When there's trouble nearby or a quest dealing with a dangerous situation, there's a very good chance hilichurls are involved.
• Was Once a Man: The second Traveler's Tale (Archon Quest Chapter II, Act IV) reveals that hilichurls used to be humans, specifically non-Khaenri'ahns (such as those from the Sal Vindagnyr), and those who aren't pure Khaenri'ahns (i.e. citizens, originally from the Seven nations, who fled to the underground nation itself, or those who are half-Khaenri'ahn) being afflicted with the "Curse of the wilderness" by Celestia for defying the Heavenly Principles, resulting in their heavily mangled visages.

Hilichurl Fighters and Berserkers

Hilichurl Fighters and Berserkers

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020)

Hilichurl Fighter

Hilichurl Berserker

By default, hilichurls tend to either fight using good old fisticuffs or throwing rocks. Some of the more advanced of their kind, however, are able to use clubs for fighting.

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• The Brute: According to their Archive description, Hilichurl Fighters are simple-minded believers in brute force, with the implication that they are training to one day evolve into mitachurls.
• The Berserker: Both the Fighters and Berserkers (the latter being appropriately named so) use their clubs either as a simple swing or running about wildly swinging their clubs.
• Dash Attack: Fighters and Berserkers have an attack where they run towards you at high speed while swinging their clubs wildly. Their final swing also leaves them off balance and fall to the ground.
• The Goomba: Hilichurl Fighters are perhaps the most basic enemies of the game. They're omnipresent across Teyvat and can be easily dispatched by anyone.
• Logical Weakness: The Fighters' clubs are made of wood, hence they can be burned away using Pyro and reducing them to punches and rock-throwing. While those of Berserkers are made to be fireproof, rainy weather dampens their ability to apply Pyro.
• Playing with Fire: The Beserkers' clubs are made to double as torches with which they burn their enemies. Unless the weather forbids so, they can always reignite them whenever they are extinguished.
• Primitive Clubs: Fighters and Berserks fight using simple wooden clubs and not much else, hence putting them among the weakest of their kin.
• Spring Jump: Fighters have the unique ability to leap and hit their enemies.
• The Scapegoat: Inverted in their Archive description, where they are pointed as the greatest source of wildflires in the landscape instead of "a certain special Knight [of Favonius]" named Klee, who is known for her Mad Bomber antics.

Hilichurl Guards

Wooden Shield, Ice Shield, and Rock Shield Hilichurl Guards

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [Wooden and Rock variants], v1.2 "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" (December 23, 2020) [Ice variant]

Wooden Shield Hilichurl Guard

Ice Shield Hilichurl Guard

Rock Shield Hilichurl Guard

Higher up the totem of hilichurlian society are the Guards, who as their name implies have a more refined fighting style as well as equip shields.

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• The Berserker: Should their shields be destroyed, Hilichurl Guards' behavior will revert to those of Hilichurl Fighters and resort to either a single swipe of their club, a leaping smack, or wildly swinging their club around.
• Butt-Monkey: Of the three Guard variants, the Wooden Shield variants tend to easily lose their shield faster, including their clubs. In fact, their Archive picture shows them panicking as their shield is set on fire.
• Logical Weakness: Wooden and Ice Shields can be easily burnt away or melted with Pyro, while Rock Shields can be destroyed with either claymore strikes, Overload reactions, or the Anti-Armor feature of the held form of Zhongli's Dominus Lapidis. To compensate, the latter two are comparatively tougher to break.
• Non-Elemental: Despite their naming, the Ice and Rock Shield variants deal physical damage with their clubs.
• Shield-Bearing Mook: As their names imply, this group of hilichurls carry shields. Attacking the shields with the element that counters the shield's own can make them lose their shields; if lacking those options, you will have to dupe them into looking away from you, or counterattack when they take a swing at you. Archers can also snipe at the body parts not protected by the shield.
• Stone Wall: Unless they are destroyed, the Guards' shields make them tougher to take down.
• Underground Monkey: While the Wooden Shield variants are widespread, the Ice Shield variants are only found in Dragonspine, and their Rock Shield kin in Liyue.

Hilichurl Shooters

[Pyro, Electro, and Cryo] Hilichurl Shooters

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020)

Hilichurl Shooter

Pyro Hilichurl Shooter

Electro Hilichurl Shooter

Cryo Hilichurl Shooter

Whenever travelers encounter hilichurl camps, these are the first line of defense, with several variants firing element-imbued arrows. They are found either on the ground or high up a watchtower.

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• Artificial Stupidity: One cannot help but admire the Hilichurl Shooters' determination to never move from the spot they start in no matter what. They do not react at all to you wailing on them up close and will try to shoot at you through walls rather than walk around them. This is apparently a leftover from when they were supposed to be limited to watchtowers.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: Some Hilichurl Shooter variants are geared to fire arrows imbued with Pyro, Cryo, or Electro energy.
• Mage Marksman: They are crossbow wielders who sometimes come in elemental variants.
• Technology Uplift: While mitachurls wielding battleaxes may at least make some sense given the low technology required to create them, the fact that Shooters wield relatively more advanced weapons such as crossbows is enough to raise some eyebrows among the people of Teyvat, such as during the Mondstadt Archon Quest and the Archive description for Hilichurl Shooters, all of which correctly suspect the involvement of the Abyss Order.

Hilichurl Grenadiers

[Electro and Cryo] Hilichurl Grenadiers

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [standard variant], v1.2 "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" (December 23, 2020) [Cryo variant], v2.0 "The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" (July 21, 2021) [Electro variant]

(Pyro) Hilichurl Grenadier

Electro Hilichurl Grenadier

Cryo Hilichurl Grenadier

Some of the more intellligent hilichurls have found the usefulness of slimes in their everyday lives, such as using Pyro Slimes for cooking, Cryo Slimes for preserving food, and Anemo Slimes as impromptu transport balloons. For some of the more fight-happy hilichurls, however, they also discovered that slimes can be used as impromptu explosives.

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• Fire, Ice, Lightning: The Grenadiers typically dig Pyro, Cryo, and Electro Slimes to hurl them at enemies.
• Glass Cannon: Grenadiers are no tankier than other hilichurls, are borderline defenseless up-close, and have the most heavily telegraphed attack patterns out of any enemy in the game. Said attack is hurling Slime that deal damage comparable to elite enemies. Moreover, even if they fail to hurl the Slime should they be staggered, the latter would still linger for a few seconds before exploding, with the Pyro Slimes being more reactive compared to their Cryo and Electro kin.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Grenadiers will periodically dig up Slimes to hurl at players, though you can put out Pyro Slimes with Hydro or detonate them with Electro.
• It Can Think: While hilichurls in general are not known for their intellect, the Grenadiers are said to be among those who learned to use slimes for everyday living, making them more slightly intelligent than their brethren.
• Long-Range Fighter: They primarily attack from a distance and will actively back away before launching an attack. Slightly less so with the regular Grenadiers where they can actually claw at their foes instead of fleeing like other variants.
• Underground Monkey: The regular Grenadiers are commonly found throughout Teyvat, whereas the Cryo variants are limited to Dragonspine and the Electro variants in Inazuma.

Samachurls

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [Anemo, Dendro, Geo, and Hydro variants], v1.2 "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" (December 23, 2020) [Cryo variant], v2.0 "The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" (July 21, 2021) [Electro variant]

Some hilichurls opt not to strengthen their bodies, but instead learn to better attune with the elements. Should they live to old age, these hilichurls transform into samachurls and quickly climb up the ranks of their local tribe. While they primarily cast magic, they are no slouch in defending themselves either from any enemy who comes too close, with their staff attacks that blow them away.

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• Our Mages Are Different: While humans have to rely on Visions to channel the seven elements, samachurls somehow are able to do so naturally. Their Archive descriptions also muse on such a mysterious ability.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Samachurls are the wise men of hilichurl tribes, and noticeably smaller than their kin.
• No Ontological Inertia: Averted. Their spells and their effects can last even after they are dead, most infamously with the Anemo Samachurl, whose tornadoes can linger for seconds with no way to remove them prematurely.
• Pint Sized Power House: They're actually smaller than regular hilichurls, at most reaching the belly of most characters, but their elemental magic can be quite a hassle to deal with, and their melee swing is strong enough to send any character flying and deal moderate damage.
• Shoot the Mage First: Samachurls do not hold up well in direct combat, with their only defense against a player that closes the gap on them being a slow staff whack (albeit one that can send the assailant a distance away), then retreating to a safe distance. Their main strength is the various Geo Effects they can create on the battlefield, such as creating platforms for ranged enemies to sit out of reach, sprouting vines to restrict movement, creating wind vacuums to hold you in one spot, and summoning rain clouds to heal allies under it (which overlaps with Shoot the Medic First). They will make fighting the other enemies harder for you, so it is best to take them out first.
• Third Eye: A closer look at the samachurls' masks reveals that they have three eyes, with the third eye located where their "mouth" is. Symbolically, this makes sense because the third eye has been associated with mystical and supernatural powers, which sums up the samachurls' status as mystical shamans with the ability to wield the elements in a nutshell. However, it's unknown if their third eye is just a decorative feature of their masks or a unique biological trait to the samachurls, especially since mitachurls and lawachurls are shown to have just two eyes, implying that to be the standard for hilichurls as a whole, with the mystery further compounded by their irises moving when in action.

Hydro Samachurl

The Hydro variants are notable for creating bursts of water from where their target is located, as well as summon a localized rains that heals their allies and drenches their enemies, lending itself to other adverse reactions.

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• Making a Splash: Hydro Samachurls are capable of summoning a localized rain, that heals its allies and applying the Wet to enemies, which can be dangerous if Cryo or Electro Hilichurl Shooters are nearby. They can also summon water geysers to erupt beneath your feet.
• Rain Dance: Among the Hydro Samachurl's abilities are creating a healing rain for its allies.
• Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: Downplayed. If paired with Pyro Abyss Mages, it's very easy to get Hydro Samachurls to drench their Pyro shields with rain and deplete them in one fell swoop. While it doesn't kill the Pyro Abyss Mages outright, it does leave them vulnerable afterwards.
• Weather Manipulation: Hydro Samachurls demonstrate the ability to control the weather to a smaller degree, creating localized rain clouds which drench their allies in rain to heal them. In certain Domains, the Spiral Abyss, and limited-time events, they also gain the ability to generate rain clouds that follow any ally they want to heal.

Anemo Samachurl

The Anemo variants specialize in corralling their enemies with gusts of wind, either through firing three small tornadoes or generating a vacuum field that reins them in.

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• Blow You Away: Anemo Samachurls can summon tornadoes to hit you from a distance, or a wind vacuum that sucks you to its center.
• Corralling Vacuum: The Anemo Samachurl's other specialty is creating a vacuum field that reins in enemies. In certain Domains, the Spiral Abyss, or limited-time events, some variants can launch a field either with an even wider radius or the ability to also deal Anemo damage.
• No Ontological Inertia: Averted—the tornadoes the Anemo Samachurl generates will run its course even if it is defeated.
• Tornado Move: The Anemo Samachurl's primary offensive move are generating three small tornadoes that move in random directions and linger on even after the Samachurl fell.

Electro Samachurl

The Electro variants, commonly found in Inazuma, specialize in generating up to three totems that zap surrounding enemies, including those around the Samachurl.

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• Shock and Awe: Electro Samachurls possess the power to conjure totems that unleash an electric shockwave around the totem to damage their foes.
• The Turret Master: Electro Samachurls have the ability to summon up to three Electro totems that simultaneously zap surrounding enemies (including those around the Electro Samachurl). In certain Domains, the Spiral Abyss, and limited-time events, some Electro Samachurls have the ability to summon two at once, for a total of six.

Dendro Samachurl

Dendro Samachurls tap into the power of Dendro to create three large, thorny vines that impede its enemies' movements and deal damage should they approach them, as well as summon an area-of-effect that applies Dendro on friend and foe alike.

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• Green Thumb: Dendro Samachurls can temporarily create "walls" of thorny vines that deal damage if bumped into. They can also create an Area of Effect where everyone in it (player characters and enemies alike) become afflicted with Dendro for eight seconds, hence allowing them to take advantage of the highly reactive nature of Dendro.
• The Hedge of Thorns: The Dendro Samachurls' most common offensive move is generating three thorny vines around their enemies that impede their movement and damage them should they come too close, though these can be easily burnt away with Pyro.

Geo Samachurl

Geo Samachurls conjure rocky spikes beneath their enemies' feet, as well as conjure stone pillars from which they, their fellow Samachurls, Hilichurl Shooters, and Abyss mages fire at enemies from a safe vantage point, as well as periodically generate a shockwave that deals Geo damage to surrounding enemies.

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• Dishing Out Dirt: Geo Samachurls can create pillars of rock for them and other ranged enemies to stand on, and cause rock spikes to jut out to hit you.
• Geo Effects: Geo Samachurls can conjure a stone pillar that periodically pulses and deals Geo damage to surrounding enemies.

Cryo Samachurl

Commonly found on Dragonspine, Cryo Samachurls attack by launching icy spikes beneath their enemies and conjuring icy pillars from which they, their fellow Samachurls, and Abyss Mages can shoot away at their enemies from a safe distance, as well as periodically blows gusts of cold wind on surrounding enemies.

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• Geo Effects: Cryo Samachurls can conjure an icy pillar that periodically pulses and deals Cryo damage to surrounding enemies.
• An Ice Person: They are capable of launching icy spikes from beneath their enemies' feet and position themselves atop an icy pillar that periodically pulses to deal Cryo damage.
• Moveset Clone: Cryo Samachurls, which are introduced alongside Dragonspine, have identical moves to their earlier Geo counterparts. The key difference is that their Cryo pillars are relatively easier to destroy with Pyro, which is offset by the fact that they are commonly found in Dragonspine, where temperatures are so cold it will eventually chip away at the active character's HP, hence speed is required (whereas at least Geo Samachurls live in less hostile areas, hence while their pillars are harder to break, time is not as much a factor).

Mitachurls

Hilichurls that live long enough and grow in physical strength tend to evolve into horned mitachurls, who often serve as leaders and/or vanguards of their smaller kin. They are divided into either the defense-oriented "Shieldwall" or offense-oriented "Axe" variants, but both share the ability to hurl slimes depending on the element they are most comfortable working with.

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• Elite Mooks: Zig-zagged. They're classified as this in the Adventurer's Handbook and are much stronger than regular Hilichurls, but are outdone in this trope by the Lawachurls and Hilichurl Rogues.
• Giant Mook: Mitachurls are larger and stronger than the standard Hilichurls.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Like Hilichurl Grenadiers, Mitachurls will occasionally hurl slimes at players, matching the element they work with.
• Horns of Villainy: Their masks sport very prominent horns.
• Lightning Bruiser: They can hit hard, they can tank hits (especially the Shieldwall variants), and they can move surprisingly quickly. The Axe Mitachurls take this further by displaying their surprising acrobatic feats when using their axe.
• Meaningful Name: "Mita" is "meat" in Hilichurlian, referring to their large build and how they eat meat to get stronger.
• Top-Heavy Guy: Their upper body and arms are big compared to their legs.

Wooden, Rock, and Ice Shieldwall Mitachurls

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [Wooden and Rock variants], v1.2 "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" (December 23, 2020) [Ice variant]

Wooden Shieldwall Mitachurl

Rock Shieldwall Mitachurl

Ice Shieldwall Mitachurl

These types of mitachurls carry large tower shields which block almost all kinds of attacks, and which they can either swing on their enemies or use as an impromptu battering ram, before resorting to punches and lunges once their shield has been destroyed, though the Wooden variant has the ability to create a new shield by digging up a Dendro Slime and converting it to the shield.

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• A.I. Breaker: Normally, the Shieldwall Mitachurl AI is effective at blocking your attacks with their shield. But get above them (high enough to do a plunging attack) and they will drop everything to try and throw a slime at you, during which they are completely vulnerable to attack.
• Bullfight Boss: If you cannot get rid of the Shieldwall Mitachurl's shield, another option is to let it charge past you and then attack its vulnerable back.
• Dash Attack: One of their methods of attacking is ramming ahead while holding their shield. When their shields are gone, they also have an attack where they simply dash towards you.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Shieldwall Mitachurls carry big tower shields, making them invulnerable unless they are in the middle of attacking. Depending on what the shield consists of, you need to attack them with the right kind of attack if you want to break them; they are tricky to fight otherwise.
• Shield Bash: Unlike their lesser kin, Shieldwall Mitachurls can use their shields to either smack or dash towards their enemies.
• Shield-Bearing Mook: Like the Hilichurl Guards, the Shieldwall Mitachurls are also equipped with shields, albeit with greater resilience, as well as, for the Wooden variants, the ability to regenerate them.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: If you destroy a Wooden Shieldwall Mitachurl's shield, it will eventually dig a Dendro Slime out of the ground and convert it into a new shield. Fortunately, Rock and Ice Shieldwall Mitachurls do not have this ability, which are nevertheless offset by being comparatively tougher to break.
• Took a Level in Badass: Compared to their Hilichurl Guard counterparts, Wooden Shieldwall Mitachurls are smart enough to try to extinguish their shields whenever it burns.
• Underground Monkey: While the Wooden variants can be found anywhere, their Geo and Cryo kin are usually restricted to, respectively, Liyue and Dragonspine.

Blazing and Crackling Axe Mitachurls

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [Blazing variant], v2.0 "The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" (July 21, 2021) [Crackling variant]

Blazing Axe Mitachurl

Crackling Axe Mitachurl

In contrast to their Shieldwall kin, these variants of mitachurls have trained themselves to wield heavy axes with which they perform either a series of swings, a spinning attack, or a leaping chop. On occasion, they imbue their axes with elemental energy by digging up certain slimes and pressing them onto their axes before hurling the drained slime onto their targets, strengthening their attacks.

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• Bolt of Divine Retribution: An unintentional one used by a Crackling Axe Mitachurl. They will occasionally raise their axe to attack, only for them to be struck by a lightning bolt that unleashes up to three wide-ranging attacks.
• Death from Above: Axe Mitachurls can leap into the air and crush you from above. If their axes are coated with the elements, they can additionally fire off trails of elemental energy.
• Shockwave Stomp: When their axe is heated, Blazing Axe Mitachurls can create flaming explosions by striking the ground with it. Likewise, when theirs are charged up, Crackling Axe Mitachurls will slam the ground with their rear while producing the same shockwave effect as their Blazing counterparts.
• Spell Blade: Axe Mitachurls can use Pyro or Electro Slimes to coat their axe with elemental energy, making their attacks stronger.
• Spin Attack: Axe Mitachurls will sometimes spin their axe around in circles while chasing after you. This attack covers a lot of area, and if the axe of the Blazing variant is heated, it can start huge fires when fighting in grassy areas.

Lawachurls

Stonehide, Frostarm, and Thunderhelm Lawachurls

Introduced: v1.0 "Welcome to Teyvat" (September 28, 2020) [Stonehide variant], v1.2 "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon" (December 23, 2020) [Frostarm variant], v2.0 "The Unmoving God and the Eternal Euthymia" (July 21, 2021) [Thunderhelm variant]

Stonehide Lawachurl

Frostarm Lawachurl

Thunderhelm Lawachurl

Lawachurls represent the apex of the evolution of hilichurls, looked up to by their lesser kindred as sovereigns in their own right, though they typically choose to live in solace. Despite this, they are strong enough to get by without the aid of their lesser kin, as any adventurer unfortunate to run into them can attest to, what with their powerful punches and ability to launch slimes, but in particular their ability to charge themselves up with elemental energy, during which they can launch dash attacks, punch the ground repeatedly, or perform a jumping slam.

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• Ambiguous Situation: One Frostarm Lawachurl found west of the "Peak of Vindagnyr" Domain at the summit of Dragonspine is subtitled "Ukko," which so happens to be the name of a scribe of the ancient kingdom of Sal Vindagnyr, which used to rule from where Dragonspine is now long before it became an icy wasteland, likely as punishment by Celestia given the presence of the Skyfrost Nail. Given the revelations from the second Traveler's Tale (Archon Quest Chapter II, Act IV) that most hilichurls are mutated survivors of Khaenri'ah, another nation similarly punished by Celestia, it becomes unclear whether or not Ukko the scribe and Ukko the lawachurl and one and the same.
• Armored But Frail: In Genius Invokation TCG, the Stonehide Lawachurl card starts with Stonehide, which grants 1 damage reduction for 3 instances. To compensate, it only has 8 maximum health.
• Boss in Mook Clothing: Lawachurls are elite enemies, but not full-on mini-bosses like the Hypostases and Regisvines, who need Resin to loot. But they are tough, fast, and can deal insane amounts of damage, which can severely wound if not outright One-Hit Kill your squishier teammates (such as Catalyst users).
• Damage Reduction: They have high damage resistance towards the element they embody.
• Dash Attack: In their enhanced state, lawachurls can perform a swift dash.
• Death from Above: The lawachurls' most devastating attack is a leaping slam, which are typically done only in their enhanced state. In addition, the Stonehide variant can do this even when not enhanced, and the Frostarm variant creates an icy damage trap that gradually deals damage on any who stay within its radius.
• Elemental Armor: They will put on either Geo (Stonehide variant), Cryo (Frostarm variant) or Electro (Thunderhelm variant) armor before engaging in combat, making them that much tougher and harder to interrupt. You can break Geo armor with explosions or other Geo attacks, breaking Cryo armor requires Pyro attacks, and using Pyro, Hydro or Cryo attacks to break Electro armor.
• Elite Mooks: They're one of the strongest types of hilichurl to exist alongside Hilichurl Rogues, possessing monstrous HP and, especially when in their Infused state, can deal huge damage.
• Force and Finesse: The Force to the small and slender rogue's Finesse; the Lawachurls take advantage of their gigantic size, raw strength, and power to obliterate their foes, and all of their enhanced attacks deal AoE damage. When it comes to using Giant Slimes, they will simply hurl at them (or, if depowered, they hurl three smaller slimes instead), while rogues are creative with them.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: They can occasionally dig up Giant Slimes of their element and hurl them towards you, dealing substantial damage. When not in an armored state, they throw three Slimes instead.
• The Hermit: The good news is that Lawachurls tend to be solitary, meaning there will be few distractions when fighting them. The bad news is that they are effectively a One-Man Army that can easily mop the floor with unprepared players.
• Horns of Villainy: Their masks sport huge and menacing horns.
• Ironic Name: "Lawa" means "king" or "chief" in hilichurlian. This name comes from the hilichurls' philosophy that Asskicking Leads to Leadership. However, Lawachurls tend to stay away from their lesser kin, preferring solitude. Only a few are found ruling other hilichurl tribes.
• Lightning Bruiser: Don't let their huge size fool you. They are fast and can pummel you to dust if underestimated. In Genius Invokation TCG, their Stonehide and Stone Force status effects grants 1 damage reduction and 1 damage bonus respectively, allowing them to weather and deal threatening amounts of damage very early.
• Older Is Better: They're seen as hilichurls who grew to maturity.
• Shockwave Stomp: Element-enhanced Lawachurls can cause ground waves by either pounding the ground or leaping and landing on top of you.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Charged-up Electrohelm Lawachurls gain the ability to leave Electro crystals on the ground with its attacks. Unless they are immediately destroyed either through Overloaded, Superconduct, or Quicken reactions, these will eventually explode and deal wide-ranging Electro damage.
• Top-Heavy Guy: Their upper bodies are much larger than their legs.
• Underground Monkey: The original Stonehide variants are typically found in Liyue, though some made it west to Sumeru and Fontaine; the Frostarm variants are limited to Dragonspine; and the Thunderhelm variants live throughout Inazuma as well as in Enkanomiya, with a few also being found in select parts of Liyue like Chenyu Vale and even Fontaine.

Hilichurl Rogues

Anemo and Hydro Hilichurl Rogues

Introduced: v3.6 "A Parade of Providence (April 12, 2023)

Anemo Hilichurl Rogue

Hydro Hilichurl Rogue

A subspecies of hilichurls who are not affiliated with any of the hilichurl tribes and instead wander around Teyvat on their own. Apart from wielding bladed weapons with which they swiftly dispatch of enemies, they specialize in summoning Large Slimes and using them to attack its enemies unless the Slime is defeated, knocking them down. They come in two variants: Hydro, which wields a scythe with which it launches either a slash combo or which it can adjust to stab its target, and can summon a Large Hydro Slime to poke at it to generate bubbles that trap its victims before throwing it at its target once the Slime is dehydrated, as well as throw three smaller Hydro Slimes; and Anemo, who wields a dagger which it uses either for slashing combos or to generate shurikens charged with Anemo energy, as well as use a Large Anemo Slime to carry it aloft and launch blades of wind from such a vantage point.

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• Devious Daggers: The Anemo Rogue is equipped with a curved short blade, with which they can perform slash combos, and which can also be transformed into shurikens.
• Elemental Powers: The Hilichurl Rogues come in either Hydro or Anemo variants.
• Elite Mooks: They're one of the strongest types of hilichurl to exist alongside Lawachurls, possessing huge HP and a large bag of attacks to use against opponents.
• Force and Finesse: The Finesse to the gigantic Lawachurls' Force. In sharp contrast to the latter, the rogues are much more nimble, precise, and can utilize more attack options. This extends to their use of Giant Slimes as well; while Lawachurls will simply opt to hurl them at an opponent, the Rogues are more crafty with their usage (Hydro Rogues will use the Slime to spit out bubbles, while Anemo Rogues will ride on an airborne Slime).
• Fuuma Shuriken: One of the Anemo Rogue's attacks is to throw an Anemo-infused shuriken, transformed from its dagger, and another attack has it use said shuriken as a boomerang.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: A Hydro Hilichurl Rogue will summon a Large Hydro Slime and prod it repeatedly with the scythe's rear handlebar to force them to spit out bubbles. Once drained, the Rogue will simply kick the unfortunate slime away. They will occasionally throw three smaller Hydro Slimes as a projectile instead.
• It Can Think: Far from being primitives, they are much more intelligent than typical hilichurls (including the more intelligent Grenadiers), as noted by an Archive detailing about them.
• Moveset Clone: The Anemo Rogue has Razor Wind attacks similar to the Wanderer's, and can also hover and attack with aforementioned wind blades from above.
• Sinister Scythe: The Hydro Rogue is armed with a scythe that can deal Hydro damage. Its scythe blade can even be adjusted for stabbing foes.
• The Stoic: Hilichurl Rogues seldom interact with the other hilichurls much, only helping their tribes out if necessary and then going back on their merry way as recluses. Because of this, they have calm and tranquil personalities in their lifestyles to the point that they don't shout any grunts, roars, and battle cries in combat (more noticeable with the Anemo rogues), and in general, hardly ever talk. They'll only utter out a barely-audible Pre-Asskicking One-Liner in Hilichurian on encounter, and a post-mortem phrase when defeated.
• Sword Beam: While using a Giant Anemo Slime to hover, an Anemo Hilichurl Rogue will unleash wind blades with every slash, with the final one being a cross-blade.
• Walking the Earth: They wander throughout Teyvat in search of a fated genesis of their kind.

Unusual Hilichurls

Unusual Hilichurls

Introduced: v1.1 "A New Star Approaches" (November 11, 2020)

Menace of the Mansion

As its name implies, it is a strange, seldom-seen hilichurl variant that smacks its enemies around with its briefcase, from which it also picks up various items to hurl at its enemies.

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• Author Avatar: Of miHoYo's co-founder, Forrest Wei Liu.
• Developer's Foresight: If defeated via drowning, it has its own animation where a briefcase will whisk it away to safety.
• Easter Egg: A bizarre enemy that looks like a mid-sized hilichurl wearing a business suit, found randomly at specific locations. It throws Crystals from Honkai Impact 3rd at you, teleports away with a briefcase when defeated, and only drops cabbages. It is supposed to be one of miHoYo's founders, Forrest Wei Liu—its mask has the Chinese character "Wei" on it—and is also a Mythology Gag from their earlier games.
• Expy: It is a hilichurl form of "Dawei" from Honkai Impact 3rd, shown in their similar face and outfit.
• The Faceless: Its "face" is only a pair of eyebrows and the hanzi for "Wei".
• Flunky Boss: In the Mimi Tomo event, the Unusual Hilichurl will call on other Hilichurls to assist it in a fight.
• Improbable Weapon User: The Unusual Hilichurl fights with its briefcase. It can either hit you with the case directly, or it can pull out Honkai Impact 3rd references from it to throw at you, such as the yellow stuffed rabbit HOMU and Crystals (Honkai's Premium Currency).
• Joker Immunity: Due to being the avatar of miHoYo's co-founder, Forrest Wei Liu, and representing the game as a whole, both in canon and gameplay-wise, the Unusual Hilichurl cannot be "killed off" in the same way as other enemies you kill. Defeating it will just result in it retreating back into its briefcase and teleporting out of there, and even attempting to drown it by pushing it into the water will just cause the briefcase to scoop up its fading ashes and escape to do some Unexplained Recovery off-screen.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The co-founder of miHoYo, Forrest Wei Liu had an Author Avatar in Honkai Impact 3rd known as "Dawei".^note based from "Da Wei" (大伟哥), or "Brother Wei", a fan nickname used by the miHoYo playerbase In that game, his avatar's face◊ is only a pair of eyebrows and the hanzi for "Wei". He returns in Genshin Impact as the "Unusual Hilichurl", complete with the same "face", and the exact standard (albeit tattered) 3-piece suit.
  • The yellow rabbit that the Unusual Hilichurl throws at you is HOMU, a recurring mascot character from miHoYo's Houkai franchise. It also throws Crystals (the gacha currency) from the same game, and when defeated, it drops cabbages, referring to Ai-chan, said game's mascot often joked with cabbages due to her hair.
• Recurring Boss: Barring the optional encounters in the wild, the Unusual Hilichurl is fought a total of seven times per day in the Mimi Tomo event.
• Red Baron: Under its HP bar, the Unusual Hilichurl's title is "Menace of the Mansion".
• Savage Setpiece: It is normally not hostile even if you come close to it. Only if you attack it that it will retaliate.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: It wears formal attire, with the same striped, purple necktie that "Dawei" had from HI3.
• Unique Enemy: Downplayed. Only one Unusual Hilichurl can spawn in the whole map at any given time, but after you defeat it, it will respawn somewhere else. And after killing it for the second time, there will be a 12-hour cooldown before it spawns again. This odd spawning restriction is then set on a cycle.
• Zero-Effort Boss: Though it has a special boss-like HP bar and subtitle ("Menace of the Mansion"), it has no particularly strong attacks and it takes only seconds to beat with a decently equipped character. The only difficult part is finding it since it appears in random locations not marked on the map or listed in your monster guidebook. Subverted in the Mimi Tomo event where it has a lot more HP and can spawn other hilichurls to help it in battle.

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