antonio_manuel
Master of this Domain
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2017
Zako (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter weediscool
- Start date
- Watchers 156
antonio_manuel
Master of this Domain
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2017
antonio_manuel
Master of this Domain
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2017
antonio_manuel
Master of this Domain
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2017
ZYSRGV
Casual Client
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2021
Anyone here heard of this obscure little indie gem called Genshin Impact? Because oh who am I fucking kidding of course you have, but what you might not know is that it has some zako! And the great thing about it having such a huge budget is that even random enemies can and often do have some utterly gorgeous designs.
In this post, I’ll focus on the Fatui. On paper, they’re a diplomatic organization representing Snezhnaya (think Genshin Russia), but in practice, they’re a group of baddies that exist to carry out evil plots internationally and get beaten up by the Traveler. Their regular soldiers seem to be exclusively male, but there’s also the Cicin Mages, which are all female and come in two flavors. Both are very cute and VERY excited to fight you (especially the purple ones - seriously, listen to their voice lines). In terms of combat, the Electro mages annoy you by teleporting away or turning the surroundings into a zappy minefield, while the Cryo ones annoy you with a shield that constantly regenerates until you deal with their little insect minions.
Inazuma introduced Mirror Maidens, elite mage units who are very tall. And mature. And elegant. And, most importantly, tall. Their favorite thing to do is trap you in a small circle, then sentence you to death by their Infinite Mirror Refraction Technique. Thankfully, if you’ve seen one for more than five seconds, you will inevitably realize that they are really hot and therefore legally allowed to do this.
And now, with Fontaine, we have Operatives! For those who like their zako a little more modest and androgynous, albeit definitely still female. Their special gimmick, in terms of gameplay, is that they apply a special debuff which massively boosts their damage unless you cleanse it with a healer. These zako are Arlecchino’s direct subordinates, and like the Cicin mages, have two variants which use different elements. Also, fun fact: If you watch Arlecchino’s teaser, the woman she's talking to is almost certainly one of her Frost Operatives. The hairstyle is a dead ringer.
As far as content is concerned: It’s Genshin, so a decent amount of fanart is a given. The hard part is finding the right pixiv tags. Just to get them out of the way, there’s: Electro Cicin Mages, Cryo Cicin Mages, and Mirror Maidens. Sadly, if the Operatives have a tag, I haven't found it yet, so have a general Fatui tag as a compensation prize. One guy, ShizukuDrops, also semi-recently finished a lengthy Koikatsu series featuring Yelan against most of the zako I just mentioned (as well as Signora my beloved), the first entry of which can be found here. It’s not the only thing they’ve done with Fatui zako, but it’s probably the best.
I know the Eremites are also a thing, but this is long enough as-is and they absolutely deserve their own post.
In this post, I’ll focus on the Fatui. On paper, they’re a diplomatic organization representing Snezhnaya (think Genshin Russia), but in practice, they’re a group of baddies that exist to carry out evil plots internationally and get beaten up by the Traveler. Their regular soldiers seem to be exclusively male, but there’s also the Cicin Mages, which are all female and come in two flavors. Both are very cute and VERY excited to fight you (especially the purple ones - seriously, listen to their voice lines). In terms of combat, the Electro mages annoy you by teleporting away or turning the surroundings into a zappy minefield, while the Cryo ones annoy you with a shield that constantly regenerates until you deal with their little insect minions.
Inazuma introduced Mirror Maidens, elite mage units who are very tall. And mature. And elegant. And, most importantly, tall. Their favorite thing to do is trap you in a small circle, then sentence you to death by their Infinite Mirror Refraction Technique. Thankfully, if you’ve seen one for more than five seconds, you will inevitably realize that they are really hot and therefore legally allowed to do this.
And now, with Fontaine, we have Operatives! For those who like their zako a little more modest and androgynous, albeit definitely still female. Their special gimmick, in terms of gameplay, is that they apply a special debuff which massively boosts their damage unless you cleanse it with a healer. These zako are Arlecchino’s direct subordinates, and like the Cicin mages, have two variants which use different elements. Also, fun fact: If you watch Arlecchino’s teaser, the woman she's talking to is almost certainly one of her Frost Operatives. The hairstyle is a dead ringer.
As far as content is concerned: It’s Genshin, so a decent amount of fanart is a given. The hard part is finding the right pixiv tags. Just to get them out of the way, there’s: Electro Cicin Mages, Cryo Cicin Mages, and Mirror Maidens. Sadly, if the Operatives have a tag, I haven't found it yet, so have a general Fatui tag as a compensation prize. One guy, ShizukuDrops, also semi-recently finished a lengthy Koikatsu series featuring Yelan against most of the zako I just mentioned (as well as Signora my beloved), the first entry of which can be found here. It’s not the only thing they’ve done with Fatui zako, but it’s probably the best.
I know the Eremites are also a thing, but this is long enough as-is and they absolutely deserve their own post.
ANy other zakos in the game?
KnightOfSaffron
Potential Patron
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2022
It bears pointing out, each cicin mage has two tags, which din’t always overlap.
Electro thunderslut alternative tag:
「雷莹术士」の人気イラストやマンガ・画像 | pixiv
雷莹术士の人気イラストやマンガ、小説。35件のイラストが投稿されています。雷莹术士の関連に原神、GenshinImpact、雷蛍術師、ファデュイ、腋、などがあります。
「氷蛍術士」の人気イラストやマンガ・画像 | pixiv
氷蛍術士の人気イラストやマンガ、小説。22件のイラストが投稿されています。氷蛍術士の関連に原神、ファデュイ、GenshinImpact、氷蛍術師、雷蛍術師、などがあります。
Well, there are two other factions with what are arguably zako that got introduced in later regions, but they’re mixed gender so the general tag comes with both male and female enemies. The original poster probably has more details to share
Sumeru has the eremites, including the Eremite Desert Clearwater:
Pixiv link
The Eremite Galehunter:
Pixiv link
The Eremite Floral Ringdancer:
Pixiv link
And the Eremite Scorching Loremaster:
Pixiv link
As well as the less elaborate Eremite Axe Vanguard:
Some of the Corps of Thirty “Guard NPCs” in Sumeru City and Port Ormos are also female but not enemies.
A fun part of the eremites for those who are into that is that there are a number who you actually get quite close to and make friends with, including ones with generic NPC models. Dehya is an eremite but she’s a playable character with a unique model, but Jeht, who has multiple world quests centred around her, has a modified Desert Clearwater model (and a lot of art on pixiv! Link). She was popular enough that Hoyo made her one of the official valentines arts in 2024:
Even the generic overworld enemies get more environmental characterization; you can see them dancing, playing guitar, eating, and even playing cards in their camps before you roll through and attack them (canonically, unlike with Fatui enemies who die when you defeat them, Eremite enemies, barring certain cases, instead escape by using a special powder that helps them disappear into sand; the enemies mentioned next also do something similar).
There are two (1, 2, warning: the second link has a lot of male focused r18 content) primary eremite tags on pixiv, but again they include both the male and female eremites.
Natlan introduces the Sauroform Tribal Warriors as well:
The above aren’t all of them though.
Attachments
KnightOfSaffron
Potential Patron
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2022
The models are apparently publically released by Mihoyo themselves; there are eremite and fatui mmd sequences on iwara and youtube, for example.
