As time marches on in Genshin Impact's development schedule, fans now prepare for the exciting inclusion of Inazuma to the franchise. With each new addition, more content and story becomes available to the players: from new characters to weapons to new cultures.
Among these new regions are their charismatic rulers, the godly Archons that host the powers of their respective elements. The Inazuma Archon, Baal aka the Raiden Shogun, is set to be the very first of these; she was officially released during the preview trailer, The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia. However, despite her brief appearance, there's a lot that fans still don't know about the intense Electro Archon.
10 Who Is Baal?
When it comes to Genshin Impact's Inazuma, a lot was uncertain before its infamous preview trailer. Fans could only grasp at straws for what the Archon would be like. Luckily, there are now quite a few answers to the many questions about the Raiden Shogun.
To start, Baal is the Electro Archon and ruler of Inazuma's Bakufu. However, despite her similar role, Baal will differ from Morax and Barbatos in a wide variety of ways. In the end, Baal is shown to be a violent and aggressive Archon from the get-go; she will confront the Traveler directly, rather than the friendly interactions of the previous two arcs of the story.
9 Eternity
In addition to being the Electro Archon and ruler of Inazuma, Baal is also the Goddess of Eternity. While Morax protects Contracts and Order, and Barbatos guides Mondstadt in the path of Freedom, Baal's one objective is to reach Eternity.
Likewise, players can expect Baal to be more self-centered than her associates to the West. When she makes policies, she does so with herself in mind rather than her people. As such, players can also expect the atmosphere of Inazuma to be tense, with the people hating their god rather than admiring them.
8 The Vision Hunt Decree
In her pursuit of Eternity, Genshin Impact's new Archon has issued several policies. Both of the policies have been known since the conclusion of the Liyue-arc, the story primarily focused on the Vision Hunt Decree.
The Vision Hunt Decree denotes that all visions in Inazuma should be confiscated, whether through cooperation or force (as Kazuha's comrade soon found out.) In addition to the Vision Hunt Decree, Baal also issued the Sakoku Decree. Modeled on Japan's similarly named policy, players will find an Inazuma where nobody can enter and nobody can leave; luckily, players have Beidou to rely on for the former.
7 Which Weapon?
In the few months leading up to update 2.0, players have been increasingly confused about Baal's weapon. According to leaks, Baal was set to use a polearm, much to the chagrin of players that already experienced a polearm-Archon.
However, the trailer, The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia, set a very different picture for fans. In the conclusion, Baal very clearly has a sword, and the same is confirmed in Kazuha's story. In the end, it is believed that Baal will be an Electro sword-user, though players should wait for the release to be sure.
6 Musou no Hitotachi
Furthermore, the story of Kazuha tells Genshin Impact fans one more crucial detail about Baal's combat prowess. Though reserved for divine punishment, Baal has perfected a sword-art known as the Musou no Hitotachi.
While there isn't much known about the Musou no Hitotachi, it's believed to be a part of Baal's talent set. Whether it isn't known whether it will be her elemental skill or burst (though an elemental burst suits something this grandiose,) players can be certain to see it during their time in Inazuma.
5 Occult Origins
Much like the previous two Archons, the Inazuma's Archon has real-world occult origins. According to the Lesser Keys of Solomon, Baal is the first-king of Hell. In addition, in ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, Ba'al was viewed as a fertility god associated with lightning and storms; Abrahamic religions also viewed Ba'al as an evil god, likely the source of his description in the Lesser Keys.
Naturally, these portrayals have a lot in common with how Baal is presented in Genshin Impact. First and foremost, Baal is the Electro Archon associated with creating great storms. The demon Baal describes itself as having powers of invisibility and knowledge of science, although it is uncertain if this will influence Genshin Impact's portrayal of the Archon.
4 Rise To Power
Unlike its westward neighbor Liyue, very little is known for sure about Inazuma's early history. However, what has come to the surface shows to be very interesting. In fact, Baal's rise to power brings another party to Inazuma's conflict that wasn't entirely expected.
In her rise to become the Archon of Inazuma, Baal first had to fight the spirits of Inazuma. There are two mentions of this spiritual conflict: first, Baal drove the spirits into the forests of Inazuma. On the other hand, there is mention of a conflict with a particular large serpent, which split the island of Yashiori Island in two; this conflict is more than likely to play a part in the story.
3 First Non-Original Archon
Another thing that makes Baal different from her Mondstadt and Liyue counterparts is her age. Generally, the seven Archons can be divided into two groups: the originals that participated in the Archon War, and new Archons like Sumeru's. All of the Archon's up to Inazuma's Raiden Shogun belong to the former of the two.
However, this isn't the case with Baal. Unlike Barbatos and Morax, she did not participate in the Archon War and became Archon via alternate means. It's currently unknown how Baal defeated the previous Electro Archon, but the consequences of which will be impactful for Inazuma's arc of the story.
2 Relationship With The Commissions
Each country has its own government structure, and Inazuma is not an exception to this rule. With the preview, Inazuma is shown to have three commissions that run divided affairs:
- The Tenryou Commission focusing on military affairs
- The Kanjou Commission that manages the border
- The Yashiro Commission which manages shrines and festivities
While these three form the Tri-Commission of Inazuma, they are not shown to be equally subservient to the Archon. For one, the Yashiro Commission (home of Kamisato Ayaka) seems to actively oppose Baal's actions. Not much is known about the Kanjou Commission, though they are expected to follow Baal. The only commission shown to actively follow the Raiden Shogun is Kujou Sara's Tenryou Commission.
1 Love For Shiba Inu?
A little bit more upbeat news, Baal is likely a dog lover. With the recent inclusion of the Serenitea Pot in gameplay, the description of the Shiba Inu mentions that the Inazuma Shogun "once greatly adored them." Whether or not this is still the case is up to debate.
However, this may also allude to a softer side of the more aggressive god. Like most characters in Genshin Impact, Baal has her reasonings for choosing the path that she does and must be analyzed as a person just as much as others. Nonetheless, players should look forward to learning more about the Electro Archon in update 2.0.