"Since Kinich became Pyro, he's definitely going to be strong."
When Kinich was Dendro, he required off-field Pyro application.
However, most characters currently capable of applying Pyro off-field are not very comfortable to use, and the strongest options are often locked into Neuvillette teams, where Kinich simply couldn't compete.
As a result, Dendro Kinich was a rather awkward character.
Even though his damage output was high, Fan Shu did not recommend pulling for him.
But if Kinich is a Pyro character, that issue disappears.
He can apply Pyro himself while on-field, so he no longer needs teammates for off-field Pyro application—only off-field Dendro application.
And in Genshin Impact, there are far more characters capable of applying Dendro off-field: the Dendro Archon can, Collei can, Yaoyao and Baizhu can as well, and even the Traveler can provide off-field Dendro application.
Including the Perfumer released this version, there are now as many as six characters capable of applying Dendro off-field.
Compared to Pyro, off-field Dendro application is far more abundant, and nearly all of them are very comfortable to use.
It can be said that, with his personal damage unchanged, Kinich's team-building difficulty has been greatly reduced after switching from Dendro to Pyro.
Moreover, his team options are no longer restricted strictly to a Pyro–Dendro framework; other elements can now be incorporated.
The first character Fan Shu thought of adding was Furina.
Kinich is a character who relies on Burning and Burgeon to unleash powerful Elemental Skill damage.
Previously, when Kinich was Dendro, adding Furina would disrupt the Burning aura, making it difficult for him to consistently fire his Elemental Skill.
But now, as an on-field Pyro character with high-frequency Pyro application, he can maintain the Burning state while allowing Furina's three summons to consistently trigger Vaporize.
Without losing any of his original damage, he also gains Furina's off-field damage. The total output becomes comparable to a Neuvillette team with the same constellation and weapon investment.
Furthermore, after adding Furina, Chuychu can also join the team.
In the next version, Chuychu can equip the Natlan artifact set, easily granting Kinich a 40% Pyro DMG Bonus.
"Right, there's also the artifact set."
Fan Shu thought of the woman who had transformed from a five-star DPS into a powerful four-star support.
If Mualani joins the team equipped with the artifact set and Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers, she can provide Kinich with both ATK and Pyro DMG Bonus, and even contribute respectable damage during Kinich's downtime.
At that point, pairing Kinich with Bennett creates a Double Pyro + Double Natlan lineup, benefiting from high ATK and Elemental DMG Bonus at all times, greatly reducing gameplay clunkiness.
In terms of total output, this setup may not even fall behind a Furina team.
Kinich's multipliers are extremely high, and with Bennett boosting his ATK, his damage can skyrocket.
Moreover, a C0 Furina provides up to 75% DMG Bonus at maximum Fanfare stacks, but the average during combat may be closer to 50%.
Mualani, while wearing the artifact set, provides a 40% DMG Bonus, so the gap isn't particularly large.
"This is going to be troublesome…"
Fan Shu's mood worsened.
Not only did the Mualani portion of his video need to be redone, but the Kinich section required heavy revision as well.
He might not even be able to release this episode.
After all, his channel's appeal largely revolved around roasting flawed character kits.
But with Mualani and Kinich's current designs, he couldn't identify obvious weaknesses. If he forced criticism, viewers might disagree and he could even lose subscribers.
"The final character we'd like to introduce is the Pyro Traveler," the chibi host in the Special Program announced.
"Pyro Traveler?"
Fan Shu was stunned.
According to leakers, wasn't the Traveler supposed to be unable to resonate with Pyro during the early Natlan versions?
How is Pyro Traveler available in the next version?
[What?]
[The leakers were wrong again?]
[That's the third time already, right?]
[Actually, counting the Chuychu situation, that's four consecutive mistakes.]
[Looks like HoYoverse stepped up their confidentiality—maybe even planting fake info to bait leakers.]
[Don't! If leakers disappear, where will we get info about future versions?]
[Go follow HoYoverse Insider (kappa).]
While chat debated, Fan Shu suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
Based on Genshin Impact's design history, the Traveler's strength tends to be underwhelming.
Even the relatively strong Dendro Traveler was mainly powerful because Dendro characters were scarce at the time.
As for Hydro Traveler—amid a roster full of powerful Hydro units—their kit felt almost like a joke.
Logically speaking, Pyro Traveler shouldn't be much better.
"In Natlan, the Traveler obtains the Pyro element in a different way," the chibi host explained.
"During the journey, the Traveler cannot resonate with Pyro through the Statue of The Seven as usual. Instead, they obtain a Vision imitated by the Natlan Pyro Archon. Through this Vision, they learn to wield the Pyro element."
"Wow! The Pyro Archon of Natlan can even manufacture Visions herself? That's incredible!" the co-host chimed in.
"A Vision imitated by the Pyro Archon…"
Hearing this, Fan Shu understood why the leakers' information had been inaccurate.
Technically, the Traveler indeed didn't gain Pyro from the Statue of The Seven—but instead received power from the Pyro Archon.
What a clever loophole.
"As expected, you can't rely on leakers for story details."
Fan Shu had already stopped trusting plot leaks; he focused only on kit mechanics.
But now it seemed even kit information was unreliable.
[Fan Shu, do you know how strong the Pyro Traveler is?]
Someone asked in chat.
"I don't know, but probably very weak," Fan Shu replied. "If Hydro Traveler was disappointing, Pyro Traveler probably won't be much better."
But he was quickly proven wrong.
"When casting their Elemental Skill, the Traveler increases the ATK of the active character," the chibi host introduced.
What?
An ATK buff?
This… this doesn't seem right.
[Holy crap!]
[The Traveler can buff ATK now—and it's tied to the Elemental Skill!]
[Is Bennett getting powercrept?]
[Traveler: Bennett, you are the challenger now!]
[Calm down. If it only gives 200–300 ATK, won't you guys explode?]
"Right. I shouldn't jump to conclusions."
"The ATK bonus from Pyro Traveler is probably small."
Fan Shu felt slightly reassured, but unease lingered.
After all, Pyro Traveler can equip the Natlan artifact set, granting a baseline 40% Elemental DMG Bonus.
Even if they only grant 300 ATK, they would still be very strong.
"After casting their Elemental Burst, the Traveler converts Nightsoul-aligned damage dealt by characters on-field into [Super Nightsoul] damage, significantly increasing team damage on top of the original calculation."
The Special Program continued explaining.
Fan Shu was completely stunned.
"What the heck?"
"Super Nightsoul?!"
"Why not just call it Super Break?"
Isn't that basically the mechanic of the Trailblazer in Honkai: Star Rail?
Why are you doing this here too?
[That's insane!]
[Super Nightsoul actually exists.]
[Did I accidentally switch to Honkai: Star Rail?]