At the very beginning of Genshin Impact, the Traveler meets Paimon, a mysterious fairy-like creature who somehow landed in Teyvat. She becomes the player’s traveling companion and accompanies them on their journey to find their sibling. While she’s cute and lovable in the beginning, she becomes an annoyance to many players. Her high-pitched voice and habit of speaking for the player can get old very quickly.
That said, there’s a bigger problem surrounding Paimon’s character in Genshin Impact, and it has to do with much of her quest dialogue. In many of the game’s events, Paimon feels the need to reiterate everything that had just happened to the player. This exposition dumping is annoying at best but can detract from the flow of the narrative at worst.
The ‘We Will Be Reunited’ Quest in Genshin Impact
One prominent example of Paimon’s exposition dumping is in the Archon Quest “We Will Be Reunited.” This is an important point in Genshin Impact’s main story as the Traveler finally gets to see their sibling after having looked for them across two regions. Following a long search with Dainsleif, the player finds a chamber with what appears to be a corrupted Archon Statue. Suddenly, they’re confronted by an Abyss Herald.
After defeating the powerful Abyss agent, a cutscene plays where the Genshin Impact Abyss Herald is held in place by Dainsleif’s magical abilities. However, the Traveler’s sibling intervenes, attacking Dainsleif and freeing the Abyss Herald with a powerful attack. The sibling reveals their alliance with the Abyss Order as well as Dainsleif’s origins. After that, they leave, telling the Traveler to journey across Teyvat and that they will be waiting.
After such an emotional meeting, Paimon of Genshin Impact does what she does best by talking. She expresses confusion at everything they’d just learned and asks that they recap everything. This leads to the inevitable exposition dump, wherein Paimon reiterates everything that the Traveler’s sibling just revealed, albeit in a more organized manner and with her usual comments.
This feels like a missed opportunity to build on the Traveler’s character in Genshin Impact. Instead of allowing them to grieve at having lost their sibling once again, the narrative is quickly moved along by Paimon’s trusty exposition dump. Even worse, the entire explanation seems pointless, considering that the Traveler’s sibling wasn’t being cryptic with their words. The monologue was pretty direct, and any threads that needed connecting could be tied up without Paimon spelling it out for the player.
How to Improve Paimon’s Character
That said, exposition dumps aren’t always a bad thing. Sometimes, players would like a recap of everything that’s happened to ensure that they understand where the story it’s going. The problem arises when a game seemingly forces it on them. Thus, the easiest way to fix this problem with Paimon is to have the option to skip her synthesis of events.
To further improve Paimon’s place in the overarching story, it’s worth treating her more like an actual character. As it stands, Paimon feels like the Traveler’s spokesperson, not to mention an annoying Genshin Impact character. So, it might be worth giving her some personality beyond that without treating it like a running gag, like her obsession with Mora.
If anything, Paimon is set up to potentially be one of the most interesting characters in Genshin Impact. This is because players know so little about her. miHoYo can build on this intrigue by slowly revealing more about who she truly is and what her motivations are. That would be far more interesting than simply relegating her to the role of the Traveler’s mouthpiece, and it might change how a lot of players feel about her.
Genshin Impact is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
