While Genshin Impact is most well-known for its gameplay and striking in-game lore, there are a lot of clues to the story sitting right below the player's noses. In fact, miHoYo has released a variety of different out-of-game information, especially in its Genshin Impact manga.
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Currently available on miHoYo's website, the manga has 13 chapters and a prologue. In the Genshin Impact manga, there is quite a lot of information that sheds light on what Genshin Impact is all about, from insight into the minds of the gods to the tragedy of many of our in-game characters.
Updated on August 11th, 2021, by Scott Vengel: Over the last few weeks, the Genshin Impact universe has expanded instrumentally. With Inazuma's launch, both characters and lore in the world of Teyvat have become incredibly diverse. Nonetheless, players should still be aware of the importance of older releases; this is especially the case with miHoYo's official manga, which still proves especially impactful for events in-game. With some of the best insights for the personalities of Fatui Harbingers yet unseen and a better understanding of the powers of the community's favorites, players should take a look at the manga if they haven't. As such, this article will be updated to include more facts people may have missed.
14 Vennessa
Vennessa is one of the most influential characters in Mondstadt history (especially for characters like Jean), but many aren't aware of her significance unless they have read the manga fairly closely. The first Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Vennessa is the figure responsible for ending aristocratic practices and establishing the city as it is.
However, the Genshin Impact manga adds a more tragic beginning to Vennessa's story. Born as a Child of Murata (likely making her related Natlan as well), Vennessa's people were enslaved by the aristocracy of the time. Forced to fight for her people's freedom, this is what eventually leads her to befriend Barbatos.
13 The Lawrence Clan
On the other side of the arena, the Genshin Impact manga also gives players the best view of the Lawrence clan. The aristocracy of Old Mondstadt, players will know their newest descendant, Eula of the Knights of Favonius.
While they are in the shadows as of the events in-game, they were the rulers during Vennessa's time. In fact, they play the main antagonists of Vennessa's arc. Not only was the Lawrence Clan responsible for putting Vennessa's people into slavery, but they also arranged her fight with Ursa the Drake.
12 The Tragedy Of Crepus Ragnvindr
Another important figure from Mondstadt's more modern history, Crepus Ragnvindr is often forgotten about. However, the father of Diluc (and also Kaeya adoptively) features a plot in the manga that heavily characterizes Diluc and Mondstadt's relationship with the Fatui.
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Crepus died defending Diluc from Ursa the Drake, the handling of which caused Diluc to leave and mistrust the Knights of Favonius. However, the important part of this isn't the act but the means; Crepus possessed a Fatui Delusion and used it to defeat Ursa the Drake. How Crepus came into possession of a delusion is an unanswered question, yet is one that may end up being important in the near future.
11 Knights of Favonius Corruption
Related to the death of Crepus Ragnvindr, the Genshin Impact manga paints a different picture of the Knights of Favonius. In the manga, some members of the Knights seem more concerned about reputation than what's right.
At least, this is most certainly the case with Eroch, who was the inspector of the Knights of Favonius. Following the events of Crepus' death, Eroch tried to have Diluc cover up the incident. This was the spark that ultimately convinced Diluc to leave the Knights, infuriated at the inspector's decision.
10 Dottore
During the Genshin Impact manga, Dottore acts as the main antagonist. For fans yet unfamiliar, Dottore is a member of the Fatui Harbingers of unknown rank. Acting as a mad scientist-type character, Dottore's name appeared in-game in Tartaglia's story quest.
The manga alludes a little bit farther into the character of Dottore. During the course of the plot, Dottore is shown to work behind the scenes and manipulate his enemies. This, with his proclivity for human experiments, makes him a striking antagonist for Genshin Impact players to look forward to.
The current whereabouts of Il Dottore in Genshin Impact are unknown. However, currently, players should be aware that he has been to Mondstadt (in the manga), Liyue, Sumeru, and of course, Snezhnaya. That given, these are all possible locations where he may appear in-game.
9 Haeresys Experiments
To players that played Tartaglia's story quest, they should be well aware of Il Dottore's habit of experimenting. However, many players don't realize the true horror of the Fatui Harbinger's experiments.
In the Genshin Impact manga, Haeresys was a secret arena owned by the Fatui, which Dottore used for human experiments. Most died in the experiments, including Anthony (a man who used to work at the bakery in Mondstadt, not the brother of Anna). In the last known experiment of Haeresys, Dottore even converted Krupp into a robotic super-soldier.
It is highly likely that Haeresys is located in Mondstadt, however, its location is still unknown. There has been no appearance of any location like Haeresys, so it may be just over the border from Mondstadt.
8 Sumeru
Likely to be the fourth nation in the game, Sumeru is the nation of scholars and the Dendro Archon. Little is known about the nation outside of this fact, but the Genshin Impact manga does shed some light on the elusive country.
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During the later part of the current plot, Lisa calls upon her teacher in Sumeru to help seal a curse. We eventually learn that this character is Cyno (the same who appeared in the chapter preview for Sumeru.) Given that he was Lisa's tutor, Cyno makes for both a member of the Academia and an incredibly knowledgable character; he was the only one able to get to the bottom of Collei's curse.
7 True Strength of the Characters
During the events of all arcs of the Genshin Impact manga, readers get to truly see the power of the in-game characters. In multiple instances, players see almost unimaginable from their favorite Genshin Impact characters: Jean, Diluc, Kaeya, even Amber.
One of the most notable occurrences, Kaeya created a large ice wall to block the path of Collei. These powers are a heavy upstep from characters in-game, which may be a sign for power upgrades in the far future. And as Diluc showed the usage of a delusion, players can expect the same to be true of villains as well.
6 Ludi Harpastum
With update 1.4, Genshin Impact saw the inclusion of the Windblume Festival as a seasonal event. Yet, this festival is only the second festival in Mondstadt that players have come to know about.
Ludi Harpastum has been known since the creation of Klee's story quest. Yet, it was only mentioned by name until the release of the manga; Ludi Harpastum is the time frame that the events of the manga occur. Here, readers learn the interworking of the festival through its many games and foods; players should expect similar activities and events to occur in-game during the event.
5 The Ages Of The Characters
Calculating the age of characters in Genshin Impact can be a little bit shaky for players. With naturally young-looking characters and few time differences in-game, it can be difficult to gauge how old our favorite characters are. However, with some deductive thinking, it is possible to make some estimates with the manga as a reference.
For example, we know that in the manga Amber is not old enough to drink, but that the in-game Amber is old enough. With the manga occurring roughly a year before the games, this means that Amber is roughly 18 years old (assuming that Mondstadt's drinking age is the same as China's.) The same type of reasoning can be used to put Diluc at around 22 years old (with Jean and Kaeya being around the same age as Diluc.)
4 New Elements And Cursed Ones
Collei is without a doubt one of the central characters to the Genshin Impact manga's storyline. A girl likely from Sumeru, the Fatui took her from her parents at a young age due to a "sickness". Of course, readers know that this is a curse due to the Fatui injecting her with "divine residue", however it is the abilities of this complication that are most interesting.
Creating a black fire, Collei's ability creates a creature made of a seemingly new element. While the dark flame seems to hold true to Pyro mechanics to an extent, it also shows itself to be intelligent and specifically hateful towards humans. What this condition is is something for game players to look forward to, as it will likely answer a lot of questions about the story when we arrive in Sumeru.
3 Celestia
Celestia has always been an influential place for both characters in Teyvat and Genshin Impact players. The abode of the gods, the manga mentioned it from the perspective of a human, Vennessa.
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She sees Celestia as a place where the brave are recognized, foreshadowing her own ascension to Celestia. Outside of this, and the occasional mention in the game, there is very little known about the throne in the sky that is Celestia. In addition, based on Barbatos' peculiar reaction to Vennessa's story, it is likely that Celestia isn't everything that players think it is.
2 The Children Of Murata
The Children of Murata, the Pyro Archon, are one of the only connections that the community has to the future country of Natlan. Yet surprisingly, the manga leaves more questions than answers when it mentions this group of characters. They left their homeland to the West only to enter slavery in Old Mondstadt: why?
If they are people from Natlan, then why hasn't the Pyro Archon done anything about this? What is the current state of the Pyro Archon and Natlan? Most importantly, where are the Children of Murata now? While the manga doesn't answer a whole lot of questions about this group, it definitely gives the game a lot to follow up.
1 Ursa The Drake
While Dottore is the main antagonist of the Genshin Impact manga, the dragon Ursa the Drake is the most consistent antagonist. Clearly, miHoYo wanted to allude that Ursa the Drake is an important figure in Mondstadt's history: in all three sub-plots of the manga, the dragon appeared in all of them.
Forced to fight for her people's freedom, Vennessa fought Ursa the Drake with Barbatos' assistance. Diluc's father was also killed due to his fight with the beast, using the same delusion that Diluc would use later on. Even Dottore was welcomed in Mondstadt with great esteem because he had defeated Ursa; having been slain by Dottore, Ursa the Drake will not appear in-game.
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