Genshin Impact, with the release of Version 2.6, brought a new change to the gameplay of Yae Miko, a character released on 2.5, and fans playing the character have been particularly unhappy with the modifications, akin to a huge nerf.

Yae Miko is one of the most important characters in the main story of 2.0, appearing several times in-game before her release. Voiced by Ayane Sakura, and based on the folklore legend of Tamamo-no-Mae (like the iconic Servant in Fate/Extra and FGO), Yae Miko is a femme fatale fox woman, making her one of the most popular characters introduced in 2.0.

However, after her release, several Yae players noted how slow she feels gameplay-wise, and how hard it is to efficiently harness her Elemental Skill/E. And now Yae's problems were only increased.

HoYoverse addresses Yae Miko's targeting issue without fixing her biggest problem

HoYoverse, in a statement published on March 31, explained how it received a substantial amount of feedback regarding Yae Miko, and singled out one recurrent issue pointed out in said feedback: the fact that it's hard to predict which enemy will be targeted by Yae Miko. Most notably when using her Elemental Skill/E. HoYoverse stated this is an issue recurrent with other characters as well, and the problem lies in the enemy and character targeting logic of Genshin.

As such, HoYoverse decided to design an overhaul plan for the targeting system to ensure characters can correctly attack certain large-sized enemies and make the targeting system easier to control. The first change coming with this overhaul is how Yae Miko's Elemental Skill/E, the Sesshou Sakura mechanism, will now prioritize attacks on the nearest enemies.

HoYoverse also stated that Yae's E was actually not targeting enemies randomly in 2.5 and how it had a specific logic behind it. But now that logic was simplified to "attack the closest enemy to Yae" to make it easier to control. However, many Yae players in the statement's comments section pointed out this only makes Yae worse. None of her issues were solved.

Yae Miko's Elemental Skill targeting change angers fans

The biggest complaint from Yae players is how slow her gameplay feels, from her auto-attack to her Elemental Skill. Moreover, the Sesshou Sakura is now nearly worthless if the closest enemy is immune to Electro damage, or can block it with a shield.

In 2.5, while the Sesshou Sakura could have been harder to control, it ultimately had higher DPS and was more useful by targeting multiple enemies spread around Yae. This also meant affecting many enemies with the Electro element, setting up for other Elemental Reactions. Furthermore, the change also undermines one of Yae Miko's Constellations.

Yae Miko's C2 problem explained

Constellations in Genshin Impact are incredibly powerful abilities unlocked when pulling the same character more than once. Only extremely lucky players, or those who can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on the gacha, will unlock Constellations for rare 5-star characters like Yae Miko. There are 6 different Constellations, nicknamed by fans as C0 (the base character without Constellations) to C6 (all Constellations unlocked).

Right now, Yae has a C2 where the range of her Elemental Skill is increased. But now that her Skill was changed to prioritize the closest enemy, this constellation became nearly useless. This is the biggest issue for fans who swiped for her. The issue is making noise among Japanese Yae players too. Our peers at Inside reported on this nerf controversy as well.

miHoYo should ultimately fix Yae in 2.7 or beyond

Lastly, it's important to note that HoYoverse stated it will keep gathering player feedback for future changes. If our feedback and data prove that further changes are needed, they will happen. So don't give up Yae players, and keep sending your feedback through the right channels.

Personally, I believe it's important to note that nerfing a character after release is pretty much taboo in gacha games. While this isn't a nerf on paper, it definitely is recognized as a nerf by the Genshin Yae community, so I'm confident HoYoverse will fix ultimately fix Yae. What are your thoughts on all this? Let us know in the comments below!

Genshin Impact Version 2.6 is currently available on PC, iOS, Android, PS4, and PS5, with Kamisato Ayato and The Chasm as the latest additions.