With the release of Genshin Impact version 1.3 and the opening of the Dragonspine region, four trending topics shot up to the top ten on the charts.
"Furina: Death penalty! Death penalty!!""Who exactly is Paimon?""Genshin Impact finally hits a roadblock!""The stunning new map in Genshin Impact"
First, with the release of the third episode of Reporting to Lady Furina—Water and Sky, the revelation that the Supreme Bishop had stolen and eaten Furina's snacks led to countless players calling for his immediate execution.
Few players cared about the foreshadowing in the PV. All they cared about was seizing this opportunity to demand the Supreme Bishop's execution. Players firmly stood by Lady Furina, urging her to discover the truth as soon as possible—this topic even claimed the number one spot on the trending list.
At the same time, in the version 1.3 storyline, Paimon unexpectedly understood the language of the Hilichurls and instinctively responded to them. This moment also shot straight into the top ten trending topics.
As for Paimon, her mystery is undeniable.
While many players believe Paimon is simply a mascot and game guide, even more players are convinced that her identity is far from ordinary. This time, Paimon understanding the Hilichurls' language seemed like undeniable proof.
"Who exactly is Paimon?"—this topic also trended globally.
Genshin Impact's daily active players worldwide have already surpassed 100 million. With countless people experiencing the story simultaneously, it's no surprise that these two topics made it to the trending list.
The third trending topic, however, was pure chaos.
After three consecutive versions of massive success, Genshin Impact finally hit a roadblock in version 1.3. The newly released Albedo banner experienced an unprecedented low. For the first time, Genshin Impact's monthly revenue dropped to just 9 billion, failing to surpass 10 billion. This was largely because Albedo is a powerful jungler in Genshin Impact: Clash, and many players pulled for him solely for that mode. Otherwise, the revenue would have been even lower.
To put it into perspective, last month, Genshin Impact's monthly revenue had exceeded 20 billion. This was more than a 50% drop.
Almost immediately, voices predicting Genshin Impact's decline began to spread everywhere. Although the new Dragonspine map received global praise and also trended worldwide, and more and more players were joining Genshin Impact, with many even getting into online gaming because of it—despite all this, you could still find people claiming that Genshin Impact was on a downward spiral.
This is pretty normal.
Setting aside the issue of how many people were deliberately stirring the pot, the more important point is that people naturally gravitate toward strength and also enjoy kicking someone when they're down.
"You're strong? I'll praise you. You're weak? I'll criticize you. What's wrong with that? Is there a problem? Is there?!"
No problem, right?
Exactly.
This kind of thing was predictable from the start. The team behind Genshin Impact never expected the game's revenue to keep growing indefinitely without any dips—that's impossible. What matters is whether the revenue can bounce back after a drop.
This was Genshin Impact's first decline in momentum, so it was crucial to recover next month and even surpass previous records. Only then could the negative narratives be silenced.
So...
"Release Themis' banner."
Kiana confidently smiled.
This was something she had prepared long ago.
Everyone thought she was a fool, but this time, she was going to show those fools that she was the one with true foresight.
From the very beginning, Kiana had anticipated that Albedo's banner might underperform.
That's why she had kept a nuclear bomb in reserve, ready to drop it and blow up the world.
Themis, the Knight of the Sky.
If you're asking about Themis' popularity, I can only tell you that Themis and Astrea's popularity largely overlap.
The clever design of two souls sharing one body subconsciously makes players see Themis as another Astrea—an idealized version of Astrea.
Astrea is a nearly perfect character in the eyes of players and is currently the most popular character in Genshin Impact. However, this doesn't mean Astrea is without flaws.
Despite her immense power, she is timid and weak-willed. When not in critical situations, she is just a delicate, fragile girl with no trace of a strong demeanor.
Her two standout story moments earned her overwhelming popularity, but her usual demeanor in the story also leaves players feeling a bit frustrated.
While this is part of why players love Astrea, the more they like her, the more they wish she had a stronger personality.
After all, how can someone so powerful have such a timid personality?
Players found the scene of Astrea being bullied by Slimes hilarious, but after the laughter, they also wanted to see Astrea shine in a more dominant way.
In her two standout moments, Astrea didn't really have any "cool" scenes. The first time, it was the Traveler's moment to shine, with Astrea playing a supporting role. The second time? Well, while it was emotional and intense, Astrea was completely overshadowed by Zhongli!
But what does that prove?
Zhongli overshadowing Astrea only shows how strong Zhongli is, not that Astrea is weak.
Zhongli explicitly acknowledged her as having god-level strength. The First Knight of the Holy Knights—just look at that title, so full of prestige. But why doesn't she have any cool, dominant moments? Why is her personality so timid?
Themis will satisfy you.
While Astrea doesn't have any "cool" moments, Themis does.
Kiana deeply understands player psychology, which is why she designed Themis as a character—though initially, she just thought adding such a storyline would feel great, without considering the long-term implications. But that doesn't matter now, because she's filling in the gaps.
Whether it's retconning or not, since she's filling in the gaps now, it means she had foresight all along.
Ahem.
In any case, Themis' dominant performance against La Signora became the kind of "cool" moment players wanted to see from Astrea.
Don't say they're two different people.
Players will naturally empathize. Even if logically they know they're two different characters, when it comes to "cool" moments, players will see Themis as another version of Astrea.
If you like Astrea, you'll definitely like Themis.
Decisive, domineering, powerful... all these traits that contrast with Astrea's personality will excite players who love Astrea on another level.
However, just having La Signora isn't enough.
After the Liyue storyline, players are eagerly craving new "cool" moments.
So...
Themis' Story Quest: Chapter of Water and Sky, Act I—Start.