20 Things You Didn’t Know about Genshin Impact’s Kaeya
Kaeya is a playable character from Genshin Impact. He is one of the officers of the Knights of Favonius who has remained in Mondstadt rather than head out on the Grandmaster Varka’s expedition. It isn’t clear why this is the case, particularly since Kaeya’s entire company has headed out.
1. Is a Sword User
Kaeya is one of the playable characters who use one-handed swords. Historically speaking, that wouldn’t have been a knight’s primary weapon on the battlefield. However, there is a long-standing association between knights and one-handed swords in the popular consciousness that has continued into the present time. Having said that, one-handed swords make sense for Kaeya as a character for a number of reasons. To name an example, one-handed swords were a knightly weapon that could be carried everywhere with a level of convenience that most other weapons can’t match. Something that important for Kaeya because of the nature of his responsibilities.
2. Is a Cryo Character
Speaking of which, playable characters in Genshin Impact have one of six elements, though a seventh element is expected to come out at some point in the not too distant future. Kaeya’s element is Cryo, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
3. Is Well-Balanced
On the whole, Kaeya can be considered a well-balanced character. He doesn’t excel in any particular aspect of gameplay. However, he has enough versatility that he can cover more than one reason. For example, Kaeya can do decent damage, though he isn’t capable of matching true DPS-focused characters. Similarly, Kaeya can offer some crowd control as well as some elemental burst damage, though he isn’t capable of matching characters who are focused on either one of those two things. Still, that sense of versatility can be very important, particularly for players who are just starting out.
4. Is One of the Three Initial Guaranteed Characters
Indeed, it should be mentioned that Kaeya is one of the three initial guaranteed characters, meaning that he is always available as a playable character for anyone who has progressed beyond the beginning of the game. The other two guaranteed characters would be Amber.
5. Might Be the Best of the Three Initial Guaranteed Characters
Kaeya might be the best of the three initial guaranteed characters. Theoretically, every playable character can be turned into a powerhouse with sufficient investment of resources. In practice, that is much easier with some characters than with others because of their respective starting points. As mentioned earlier, Kaeya is a well-balanced character. Meanwhile, both Amber and Lisa have serious weaknesses. Amber has issues with either doing damage or providing support. Similarly, Lisa can do a bit of both but requires investment to do well with either.
6. Is a Knight of Favonius
As mentioned earlier, Kaeya is one of the Knights of Favonius. Said organization is the closest thing to a government that can be found in Mondstadt. This can be seen in how the Knights of Favonius are responsible for military matters in the region, which is important because RPG worlds being RPG worlds, the region is filled with hostile entities. Similarly, this can be seen in how the Knights of Favonius seem to be responsible for law enforcement within Mondstadt itself.
7. Is One of the Ten Captains of the Knights of Favonius
It should be mentioned that Kaeya seems to hold a high position in the Knights of Favonius. For context, the organization seems to be led by a Grandmaster, who is in charge of the captains, who in turn, are in charge of the companies. Kaeya is one of the ten captains, which means that he is a leader of some importance.
8. Is the Cavalry Captain
Different companies of the Knights of Favonius seem to have very different responsibilities. For example, one of the captains seems to be responsible for reconnaissance. Similarly, another captain seems to be responsible for scientific investigation. In Kaeya’s case, he was in charge of the cavalry, which is presumably a combat-focused company. Regardless, his responsibility can sound rather strange because of the widespread perception that knights were always mounted warriors. However, it is important to point out that while knights were predominantly mounted warriors, they were both able and willing to fight on foot when the circumstances demanded it. For that matter, fantasy knights are fantasy knights, meaning that they are by no means guaranteed to reflect their historical source of inspiration.
9. Is the Only One of the Cavalry Who Has Stayed Behind
Curiously, Kaeya is the only one of the cavalry who is still in Mondstadt. This is because the rest of the cavalry company has headed out with Varka on an expedition to a destination that remains unknown to the players at this point in time. In other words, the Knights of the Favonius still in Mondstadt are a skeleton force, which would explain some of their observed shortcomings.
10. It Isn’t Clear Why He Has Stayed Behind
It isn’t clear why Kaeya has remained in Mondstadt while the rest of his company has headed out. However, there has been plenty of speculation about the matter. For example, some people think that this is a sign of distrust shown towards Kaeya, which is connected to his unusual background. This is particularly true because the whole thing can be interpreted as a huge snub. In contrast, other people think that Kaeya stayed behind because Varka wanted to leave a well-balanced team running things in Mondstadt. Certainly, none of the other remaining officers seem to be as well-suited for intelligence-gathering and other shadier activities as he is.
11. Holds the Position of Quartermaster
Other than Cavalry Captain, Kaeya holds the position of Quartermaster as well, which is very strange to say the least. For context, one of the other remaining officers is Hertha, who is responsible for logistics. Generally speaking, quartermasters are best-known for handling food and other supplies, which is covered under logistics. Still, it is possible that quartermaster is being used to mean something else here. The term started out as a very literal term referring to an official who was in charge of the ruler’s sleeping quarters. Similarly, quartermaster can mean not just quarter-master but also quarterdeck-master, which explains a lot about the responsibilities of naval quartermasters.
12. Seems to Be Involved in Intelligence-Gathering
In any case, while Kaeya is a Cavalry Captain without cavalry, he seems to be focused on intelligence-gathering as well as other shadier sorts of activities in the present time. Apparently, the Knights of Favonius does have other people who are responsible for such tasks, which makes sense considering their nature as a pseudo-government. However, it is unclear where Kaeya falls on the chain of command that presumably exists for that part of the organization.
13. Friendly-Seeming Person
Personality-wise, Kaeya is a very friendly-seeming person. This makes sense considering the nature of his responsibilities. After all, he wouldn’t exactly be able to get other people to open up to him if he lacked the personal magnetism needed to do so, particularly since he needs to interact with a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Having said that, it is important to note that Kaeya is very much someone who works on consequentialist ethics, which is important because his friendliness won’t prevent him from doing what he believes to be necessary.
14. Likes to Provoke People
Kaeya has a noted fondness for provoking people. To name an example, he got Klee into trouble by telling her a story about monsters going about Mondstadt while disguised as humans, though that is looking less amusing because recent events have shown that can a thing that happens. This might be a part of Kaeya’s general thrill-seeking tendencies. Something that influences his interactions with his allies as well as his enemies.
15. Very Popular with the People of Mondstadt Anyways
Regardless, Kaeya remains very popular with the people of Mondstadt anyways, which is a credit to his ability to charm others. Amusingly, he is apparently particularly popular with the older generation, so much so that he is considered to be their top candidate for their grandson-in-law.
16. Came from Khaenri’ah
The whole thing is particularly impressive because Kaeya didn’t come from Mondstadt. Instead, he came from Khaenri’ah, which is a country that was devastated by the gods about 500 years ago. It isn’t clear what the situation is like for the people of the country. However, it seems safe to say that they are still around in some form because they wouldn’t have been able to send Kaeya as a sleeper agent to Mondstadt otherwise. As for why they did that, that remains unknown to the players at this point in time, though it is presumably connected to them desiring revenge upon the gods in some manner.
17. Might Possess Secret Knowledge
Khaenri’ah is known to have possessed secret knowledge that was unknown to the people of the other countries. Indeed, there is a lot of speculation that it was devastated because it knew something that Celestia forbade. As such, there is also a lot of speculation that Kaeya might possess some of that secret knowledge, particularly since there have been strong indications that he comes from an important background. To name an example, he might know Hilichurlian. Certainly, there are other survivors of Khaenri’ah who are known to be fluent in Hilichurlian.
18. Had a Sibling Relationship with Diluc
Kaeya had a sibling relationship with Diluc. The Chinese version calls them “sworn brothers.” Meanwhile, the English version calls them “adopted brothers.” Both terms are correct. The two were indeed very close with one another. Furthermore, Kaeya was taken in by Diluc’s family after he had been abandoned by his biological father in Mondstadt. In fact, it should be mentioned that the Chinese version did call Kaeya an “adopted son” and Diluc’s father Crepus an “adoptive father.”
19. Now Has a Complicated Relationship with Diluc
In the game’s present time, Kaeya has a much more complicated relationship with Diluc. Their father Crepus used a Delusion to protect Diluc as well as the other people traveling with them from an attacking monster. Unfortunately, the device put such a strain on him that he passed away afterwards. Kaeya felt so much guilt over the whole thing that he revealed his mission as a secret agent to Diluc. This caused the two to come to blows, which is how Kaeya acquired his Vision. Since then, the two brothers have gone their separate ways, though their relationship isn’t 100 percent broken. For example, Diluc’s household continues to see him as a part of the family. Similarly, Kaeya continues to show some degree of care for Diluc and vice versa.
20. His Constellation Is “Peacock Eyespot”
People should have no problem recognizing Kaeya’s constellation as a peacock. However, it is interesting to note that the constellation’s name Pavo Ocellus is specifically “Peacock Eyespot.” In Greek mythology, it is said that the peacock gained its eyespots because Hera put them there as a way of honoring the many-eyed giant Argus Panoptes, who was the perfect watchman because he would never close all of his eyes but would always have some eyes looking every single way.
