Genshin Impact 1.3 – 2 Week Banners and Superstition Pervading Gaming

Humans are a superstitious bunch. From broken mirrors to black cats, we all have something we believe would bring either bad or good luck to us. Believe it or not, the superstitious bug has been embedded in our psyche so far that it has pervaded gaming. And if you’re wondering which video game genre deals with luck the most, well, it’s none other than gacha games! Here we can see an interesting instance of superstition related to the upcoming Genshin Impact 1.3 update.

This leads to the odd rituals and methods that players do or use just to get the character they want. It ranges from making ‘summoning circles’ to doing in-game actions.

Genshin Impact Player Rituals

Many have posted their rituals just to pull certain 5-star characters. One used Zhongli’s Elemental Skill to push Mondstadt’s Katheryne to Liyue Harbor as a catalyst to get Mona. Sadly, it didn’t work, though they weren’t successful in getting Katheryne to the harbor anyway.

Another player made a wish in the middle of fighting the Oceanid. They did get Childe out of it, but maybe it wouldn’t work as well if you do it.

Yet another pulled 5-star characters by wishing in locations related to them. They got Venti by pulling near the tree at Windrise. Later, they got Klee by wishing in front of the ‘Solitary Confinement’ door in the Knights’ Headquarters. Then, they got Zhongli when they pulled after finishing his personal quest.

It’s not anything scientific, and these people just want to increase the chances of getting their preferred character. Nothing is guaranteed until you hit pity anyway.

Other Superstitions

Speaking of superstitions, the next big event in Genshin Impact is the Lantern Festival, coinciding with the real world’s Chinese New Year. The update will also bring two new characters, Xiao and Hu Tao. While Xiao, being a guardian yaksha who protects Liyue, is no problem, Hu Tao brings her brand of mischief.

Despite not being released yet, we can tell that she has a little bit of a mischievous streak. Zhongli says he cannot deal with her. Xinyan says she’s bizarre. Xiangling keeps getting pranked by her but doesn’t hold a grudge. Qiqi wants to punch her since she wanted to bury the harmless zombie. She gets Chongyun’s blood boiling, though it could be an incompatibility with his special constitution.

She’s the 77th head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, which explains why she wanted to bury Qiqi. With her release, you can expect to also get her personal quest. That will bring the topic of death to the table, which seems a little out of odds with the celebratory mood of the festival.

Plus, the Chinese are deeply traditional. It would be bad luck to start the New Year with talk of death, so they decided to delay her release.

Genshin Impact 1.3 Banner Gaps and Delays

Typically, characters are released in pairs. Now that they’ve decided to delay Hu Tao, what happens to the gap? Well, they’re increasing the rates for a character in the standard banner, specifically, Keqing.

It’s alright since Keqing is a good DPS character. Except, she’s always available in the standard banner. While this sets a precedent that other standard 5-star characters can get this treatment later, it’s still off-putting.

Then comes the fact that the release dates overlap. Xiao’s banner will start on Feb. 3, and Keqing’s on the 17th. Does that mean Xiao’s banner will only run for 2 weeks when other character banners get 3? The live stream wasn’t clear, so there’s still a chance for it to overlap, or Keqing’s rate up is a separate banner.

At any rate, if it does end up shorter, miHoYo is doing a disservice to their players. Xiao is one of the most anticipated characters in their roster, and they’re letting his banner run shorter than the others? How unfair! Keqing is less of an issue since, again, she’s always available in the standard banner.

Conclusion

Of course, nothing’s really clear yet, so we can only wait until the update goes live. Hopefully, the banner will still run its usual length, so we don’t have to rush farming for wishes. Hu Tao fans will still have to wait until her release, though. It’s more time to gather up wishes—that is if you’d rather have her than Xiao.

Ganyu’s banner is almost finished, but there’s still time for a few more pulls. She’s currently at the top of the DPS meta, so don’t miss the chance to get her. After that, we can all look forward to Liyue’s Lantern Festival, Xiao’s arrival, and the various rewards you can get from the events.

Enjoy Genshin Impact 1.3, Traveler!