By Scott Vengel
Updated
Genshin Impact's cast of characters features some who have been around for thousands of years — even though they might not look as old as they are.
Genshin Impact has a storyline that extends into seven complete nations with their own cast of unique characters. Though the story of Teyvat is far from complete, the cast has already extended to 67 characters.
With such a large cast, Genshin Impact has a lot of diversity in the type of characters offered in-game. Humans, adepti, and even gods all make appearances. That said, many fans in the community aren't aware of how old some of the characters in Genshin Impact are. Some have ages that do not quite match their young appearance in the game.
Updated April 21, 2023, by Elara Leclair: With the addition of the Sumeru region in the 3.0 update of Genshin Impact and onwards, the game has introduced the Dendro element and a host of new characters for players to explore. Surprisingly, many of these newly introduced characters, such as Cyno or Alhaitham, are generally considered to be older compared to many other human characters in the game.
However, there are also some characters that far surpass a human's lifespan. Nevertheless, Genshin Impact does not explicitly state the ages of many human characters, making it difficult to compare them to other characters such as Lisa or Ningguang. The list primarily includes any currently playable character that has been confirmed to be older than 100 years old. Furthermore, a few characters of indeterminate age have been added to the honorable mentions section.
Honorable Mentions
Paimon: Unlike many of the characters in Genshin Impact’s story, there is very little known about who Paimon is, or what her presence in the plot will mean in the long run. That said, Paimon is likely to be one of the oldest characters in the story. She seems to be incredibly knowledgeable about the Teyvat and its history, leading many to believe that she shares a similar situation to the Traveler. Her presence remains mysterious for now, as does her actual age. Since there's no way of knowing exactly how old she is, it's impossible to place her in the list below, but she's definitely worth mentioning.
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Albedo: Throughout the numerous events in Genshin Impact, it becomes apparent that Albedo is artificial — he is a homunculus created by the alchemist Rhinedottir. However, the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius does not actually have a confirmed age, despite being a non-human life form. Genshin Impact fans do receive a few clues: Albedo is no more than 500 years old, as he was created sometime after the Cataclysm. This specification leads many fans to believe that Albedo is much older than his appearance suggests, but no definitive age has been given.
11 Qiqi, 100 Years Old
It's with Qiqi, Baizhu's little assistant at Bubu Pharmacy, that Genshin Impact players start to see characters entering the non-human zone in terms of age. Qiqi did start as a human about 100 years ago. However, in a tragic turn of events, Qiqi was killed when she was very young.
Pitying the child, the adepti revived Qiqi in the form of a zombie. Now, she works in the custody of Baizhu in Liyue Harbor, making an appearance during the Liyue arc of the main story.
10 Faruzan, Over 100 Years Old
Faruzan is an Akademiya Scholar hailing from Sumeru. She became trapped in a mysterious ruin, where time seemed to freeze for her for a hundred years, while everyone else continued with their lives. Eventually, she managed to solve the puzzle and free herself. Despite her young appearance, Faruzan is technically older than she looks, much like Qiqi.
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Although her biological age is unknown, it is estimated that she was around 18 to 20 years old at the time of the incident, based on her youthful look, young female body model and scholarly achievements. It was a tragic experience for Faruzan as she had to adapt to an entirely different world upon her release, with everyone she knew having passed away. As a result, she has to make new friends and start anew.
9 Wanderer, Around 400 Years Old
Wanderer, who was formerly known as Scaramouche, used to be one of the Fatui Harbingers, and he was created after the Cataclysm, during the 100 years after Ei's sister, Makoto, passed away. While it is difficult to determine exactly when Wanderer was created, it is estimated that he is around 400 years old, which makes him relatively old compared to other characters in the game. In addition, as a puppet, Wanderer is believed to be essentially immortal, with the potential to outlive many other older characters in the game.
8 Nahida, 500 Years Old
Nahida, also known as the Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali, came into existence after the previous Archon Greater Lord Rukkhadevata disappeared while fulfilling her duty to protect Irminsul during the Cataclysm. This puts her at around 500 years old, making her younger than Yae Miko, albeit not by much. However, it can also be argued that since she is technically born from a branch of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, she can be considered as old as her, which would put her at least 2000 years of age.
Within the story, Nahida considers herself a young Archon with much to learn, and she is portrayed with a childlike appearance. Therefore, it is more fitting to consider her as 500 years old rather than expanding her age to match Rukkhadevata's. Despite her age, Nahida is a powerful force to be reckoned with, as she holds the power of the Dendro element and is respected as a god by her people.
7 Yae Miko, At Least 500 Years Old
.jpg "Genshin Impact: Oldest Characters Introduced In The Game So Far (7)")
In Genshin Impact’s Inazuma, Yae Miko is one of the oldest characters currently alive who is not an Adeptus or Archon. As a kitsune, Yae Miko has the same lifespan as an Adeptus from Liyue, often living for multiple centuries. At the current point in the story, Yae Miko's age is at least 500 years old. As can be seen in cutscenes dating back five centuries, Yae Miko is a good friend of the Raiden Shogun, Ei, and her sister Makoto. The kitsune shrine maiden, though, does have a much longer history than just 500 years, being an old friend of Morax as well.
However, it is revealed that she was just a child during the events of Cataclysm, meaning he cannot be so much older than 500 years old. On the other hand, Dainsleif was also born before the Cataclysm, but unlike Yae Miko, he was cursed with immortality as an adult, sharing the same fate as many other Khaenri'ah people. Therefore, players can infer that Dainsleif is older than Yae Miko, despite being an enigmatic character who has not yet been made available as a playable character.
6 The Traveler, At Least 500 Years Old
The Travelers are a unique existence in the world of Genshin Impact. As can be seen in the introduction, the Travelers are gods that traveled through worlds. The player character — Aether if they are male, or Lumine if they are female — is one such being, and is referred to as the Traveler.
As such, it's currently unknown how old the Travelers are. Nonetheless, the Travelers are at least older than the Cataclysm and Dainsleif, as the player's sibling was present at the offset of the event.
5 Xiao, 2000 Years Old
The Yaksha are an integral part of the history of Liyue, the adeptus followers of Rex Lapis that fought during the Archon War and other conflicts. Currently, Xiao is the only Yaksha left in Genshin Impact, the one presiding over the element of Anemo.
As a full adeptus, Xiao has a long history of 2000 years. That said, as a deadly force of destruction, this long lifespan can be a burden on Xiao, suffering from the mal effects of karma.
4 Venti, Around 2600 Years Old
The Archons of each nation are some of the wisest characters in Genshin Impact, and this largely comes from their long history shaping the world of Teyvat. Venti is the first Archon that the player meets in the game, presiding over Anemo in Mondstadt.
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Venti is one of the original seven Archons who participated in the Archon Wars 2000 years ago. Of those seven, only two have appeared in the game so far. Currently, Venti is estimated to be about 2600 years old.
3 Raiden Shogun, Around 3000 Years Old
The Raiden Shogun, also known as Ei, is an interesting character in Genshin Impact, as she doesn't have a distinct age. The community does know that she was alive during the Archon War (though her sister was the Electro Archon at the time), but not much is known aside from that. The sisters who defended Inazuma during the Archon War around 2000 years ago, are believed to be at least 3000 years old, considering their experience and strength. Additionally, the game mentions that the Inazuma Archon, Ei, is several thousand years old, implying that she is older than Venti.
Nevertless, taking into account all possibilities, Ei could still be as old as Morax, or as young as Barbatos. However, it's without a doubt that the Raiden Shogun is around the age of the other Archons in the story.
2 Ganyu, Over 3000 Years Old
Liyue is defined by a culture of contracts made with the region's Archon, Rex Lapis (also known as Morax). And among his many contracts, Ganyu is the oldest, having been created some 3000 years ago.
Ganyu is an illuminated adeptus, a Qilin, and so she has one of the longest histories among Genshin Impact's playable characters. This leaves many Genshin Impact fans wondering how old Ganyu actually is. Her preceis age is not known, but of the current date, Ganyu is well over 3000 years of age, making her the oldest non-Archon character.
1 Zhongli, Around 6000 Years Old
The Geo Archon, also known as Zhongli, is the oldest character in Genshin Impact. This is a well-known fact, as Rex Lapis is stated to be the oldest among the original Seven Archons in Teyvat, only possibly being out-aged by the gods in Celestia.
Zhongli played an important part in the forming of Liyue and the rest of the world, considering that mora is tied back directly to him. In addition, due to his long lifetime, Zhongli also plays an important part in the mysteries of Genshin Impact, having knowledge of the Cataclysm that he is not allowed to share with the Traveler.
Genshin Impact is now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
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