The most popular Genshin Impact character is Fischl

Genshin Impact is a game where you collect cute boys and girls, but still, players end up having favorites that they use more than others. According to developer Mihoyo, while internal usage stats don’t show a huge difference between the available waifus and husbandos, Fischl comes out on top.

Probably, this isn’t a surprise to anyone who plays — if you look at fan-made tier lists, Fischl is considered one of the most powerful units you can have. I initially didn’t use her because I wasn’t fond of archer characters, but after hearing how good she is, Fischl has is now in my main party. And, sure enough, Fischl is a beast. There’s a reason one of her builds is called “machine gun Fischl” by players.

“Each character is going to have their own fan base, and we think it’s best to simply let players decide who their favorite characters are for themselves,” a Mihoyo rep told Polygon over email.

“There are a lot of possible factors that could affect the popularity of a character, such as their learning curve and the resources needed to improve them, etc. As players obtain more resources and start to dive deeper into each character, we are confident that the characters who are somewhat outside the spotlight right now will have their day in the sun.”

Genshin Impact just got its big 1.1 update, which adds new characters, storylines, quests, and mechanics — so it’s probably a matter of time before Fischl is dethroned by a more powerful unit.

Mihoyo also told Polygon a few other fun tidbits during this Q&A, such as: no, the team did “not expect people to associate Paimon with [the movie] Hereditary.” While the cutesy flying cherub has been speculated to potentially turn out to be evil, the team is holding Paimon’s true nature close to the chest.

Finally, if you’re curious what Mihoyo considers the most challenging aspect of developing Genshin Impact, the team says it’s coming up with strong ideas that all members of the team can rally behind. As an example, a Mihoyo rep pointed out the synergy between Liyue’s culture, geography, terrain, animations, and architecture. When players first arrive at Liyue, there’s a moment of awe — it’s so different from the starting area, Mondstadt. Look at the mountains! The boats! Pagodas!

Well, building that was no easy feat.

“All these disparate aspects require a high degree of unity in design philosophy in order to present a Liyue that is complete, cohesive, and compelling. So it’s essential for the various departments to be in constant communication as we effectively test many ideas.”