After a somewhat controversial month of leaks and concerns regarding the newest Genshin Impact character, it seems that fans will be able to ring in the new year with some additional good news. The game's latest update introduced the highly anticipated Geo user Zhongli, however, fans were disappointed by the character's movekit, and quickly took to social media with concerns - concerns which have finally been recognized by miHoYo.
As of a post on the morning of December 19, 2020, miHoYo has officially conceded to fans' demands that Zhongli be significantly adjusted. The Genshin Impact character will receive a series of upgrades that will be available in the upcoming Version 1.3 beta test of the game.
Though incredibly popular, Zhongli was released as a substantially weak character when compared to similar five-stars. This fact was made doubly alarming by the fact that Zhongli's Constellation, which is unlocked by successfully Wishing upon additional copies of the rare character, turns him into an absolute beast. Once it's fully unlocked, that is. So in short, players hoping for a five-star with true five-star power would have to summon Zhongli at least four or five separate times, so as to fully take advantage of his Constellation's enhancements.
As of miHoYo's announcement, however, it seems that Genshin Impact will finally be giving Zhongli more of the power he deserves. This wasn't entirely unexpected, as fans have already been noticing stealthy test-buffs to the character, but the news is nevertheless exciting. Players should note that these buffs may change before final release, as the official post on miHoYo's website states. One of the more significant changes regards Zhongli's passive Talent, "Dominance of Earth."
Currently, the Talent only enhances the damage done by Zhongli's "Planet Befall" skill. The proposed change would allow Dominance of Earth to keep its current effect, while also boosting not only Zhongli's Normal and Charged Attack DMG, but also the DMG dealt by the Stone Steles, Resonance, and Holding Mode, stemming from his "Dominus Lapidis" skill.
The adjustment above would scale based on a percentage of Zhongli's Max HP, which effectively means that the tankier Zhongli becomes (HP-wise), the more powerful his attacks will be. Considering miHoYo's initial controversial response to the Zhongli problem, this alone is a thrilling patch. That said, the other major change to Zhongli's moves will be an update to the effects of Dominus Lapidis' Holding Mode. The change proposed would allow Zhongli to generate an additional Stone Stele in addition to the explosion of Geo DMG already dealt by the ability. Moreover, instead of offering 250 percent Elemental Absorption, the jade shields generated by his skill will bestow the user with 150 percent Physical DMG and Elemental DMG Absorption, both. This theoretical change is particularly noteworthy because it's directly linked to a greater change to the game's Elemental System.
As per this proposed update, the Genshin Impact Geo Element would undergo several transitions as well. Namely, Geo Shields created by Noelle, Zhongli, and the shards produced by Geovishap Hatchling, will all exhibit the in-game changes described above: rather than 250 percent Elemental Absorption bonus, they'll grant a 150 percent boost to both Physical and Elemental DMG Absorption. The announcement oddly leaves out Ningguang, who can also create shields via shards, so players aren't entirely sure if they should expect these changes to apply to their favorite literal jade queen. Nonetheless, once the beta test is underway, the answer will be obvious.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.
Source: miHoYo