Genshin Impact's Barbara Page is the shining Idol of Mondstadt, the secret fangirl and little sister to Jean, and a Deaconess of the Favonius Church. Barbara has a lot going on, especially for someone who doesn't leave Mondstadt much.
But, as players find out more about this adorable healer, a few parts of her story and/or character don’t seem to fully add up. Let’s take a look at exactly what those parts are and why.
10 Why Did She Get A Hydro Vision?
To start things off, why exactly is Barbara a Hydro Vision user? Sure, in other stories, like Avatar the Last Airbender, water has healing properties, but in Genshin Impact every element has the possibility to heal based on the user (though Cryo has the most healers). So why was Barbara granted a Hydro Vision rather than an Anemo one? Jean, her sister, has an Anemo Vision, Barbara’s entire religion is based around praying to Barbatos the Anemo Archon, and wind seems like a much better option for propelling or amplifying music than water does!
9 Why Aren't People Afraid Of Her Attacks?
Genshin Impact may be a sandbox game, but there are still some things the player is forbidden from doing. One such thing is attacking NPCs, though they still get scared whenever the player attacks "near" them. Well, they get scared when most people do, but not for Barbara. When Barbara (and a few other characters) let loose with attacks near NPCs, they applaud it rather than avoid it. This is, probably, in reference to Barbara’s profession as Mondstadt's Idol, which means everyone trusts her (especially a rabid fan named Albert), but it’s not like she’s performing party tricks with the water. These are the same attacks that have the possibility of killing Hilichurls out in the field, so why are people clapping when it happens right near their head?
8 Why Are Idols The Only Thing She Picked Up From Alice's Magazine?
There are a lot of NPCs in this game that still plenty of their story to tell. In fact, there are so many Mihoyo made an official manga/Webtoon to help explain some of them. One such character that fans are desperate to meet is Alice, Klee’s mother. Alice is an eccentric “scientist” who is currently traveling the world of Teyvat, but, there are a lot of hints that Alice might have come from a different world as The Traveler did, bringing a magazine about idols with her. She shows this magazine to Barbara and this is what convinces her to be an idol in the first place. But, why is that the only thing Barbara gleamed from the magazine? Wouldn't it have been chock full of things completely unknown to her? It's like if someone in the Middle Ages read a science magazine, but only picked up the concept of "sandwiches" from an ad they found in it.
7 Who Decides To Travel The World In A Dress?
This is not just a complaint about Barbara, but rather a complaint in regard to a ton of characters in Genshin Impact. This game is about two things, in particular, combat and traversal. Characters are constantly fighting things or climbing things, so why are so many of them dressed so poorly for this activity? Mondstadt's Idol is going around climbing mountains and windmills in a full-on dress!
Again, this isn’t an issue exclusive to her, Mona runs around in heels, Venti runs around in a cape, and Lisa isn't at all dressed for physical activity. Obviously, this is just a case of the developers preferring their designs aesthetically rather than how practical they would be, but Barbara's is especially egregious.
6 Why Is She So Canonically Tanky?
Like most healers in Genshin Impact, Barbara’s healing ability scales in conjunction with one of her stats. For Noelle, who uses a greatsword, it’s defense. For Qiqi, a zombie infused with the power of the Adepti, it’s Attack. But for Barbara, the healer who usually avoids battles altogether, her best builds are all about Max HP? Contextually this just does not make a lot of sense. Players could see the reasoning behind Qiqi’s attack scaling or Noelle’s defense-based healing, but Barbara’s is a bit harder to swallow. It would’ve made more sense to have it scale based on her Elemental Mastery or something, as it would’ve implied the more she mastered the control of Hydro, the better she could heal. But, it’s likely that Mihoyo just needed a healer that scaled with Max HP, and Barbara fit the bill best.
5 Did Mihoyo Really Not Attach Any Music To Her Elemental Skills?
Why does the Idol character who sings for a living and makes musical notes out of Hydro Energy, not have any special music that plays when she casts her abilities? This one is just a huge ball drop for Mihoyo in two parts, one, because a little detail like this would’ve made people spend tons of money in the hopes of getting Barbara. And two, they decided to give her to players for free! Not that we’re complaining or anything, Barbara is incredible especially for the Spiral Abyss. But, giving everyone Jean for free would’ve made a lot more sense contextually since she's more of an "Adventurer". In any case, players know that Mihoyo can implement this musical feature, as it already works for the Widsith Catalyst, but for some reason, the Idol of Mondstadt is shockingly quiet on the battlefield.
4 What Even Is A Spicy Energy Drink?
One of Barbara’s Chat lines, specifically "Keeping One Refreshed", talks about letting the Traveler try one of her Spicy Energy Drinks….but what even is that? It’s clear from other parts of her bio that Barbara is a fan of spicy food, but how does one make a...spicy energy drink in this fantasy world?
And, where did she even learn the term “Energy Drink” in the first place? Was it from that Magazine that Alice showed her? Or, did she conveniently just come up with the exact same term that modern humans use?
3 How Come Barbara Is The Only One Who Summons Their Element At The Location They Want It?
One thing that is incredibly unique about Barbara (more so than all her other unique aspects) is her way of casting Elemental Magic. Every other “Mage” or Catalyst user in the game has to project or throw their Element at the enemies. Klee throws bombs, Ningguang shoots rocks, and Lisa expels lightning bolts. But, for some reason, Barbara manages to...summon water at the location of the enemy? Mihoyo's explanation would probably be something like "Barbara changes the properties of the using condensation and water vapor" but she’s the only person in the game able to do this! Wouldn't it make more sense for a more scientific character like Klee or Albedo to use their Element in this way?
2 Why Does She Get A Cinematic Elemental Burst?
Here’s another reason many fans think that Barbara was originally meant to be a 5-star character, her Elemental Burst. This isn’t an ironclad rule, but the trend so far is that 5-Star characters get the “cinematic” flair for their Elemental Bursts. Barbara has this, yet she’s only a 4-star, why is that? It’s nice that she has it, obviously, as it allows her to cast her heal without taking damage herself, but it doesn’t make much sense why she gets this bonus effect and plenty of other 4-stars don’t.
1 Spends All Day Praying To Barbatos, But Doesn't Even Look Up The Archon Related To Her Vision
And lastly, do people with Elemental Visions ever get curious about the Archon who gave it to them? Did Barbara get a sudden urge to travel to Fontaine (the land of the Hydro Archon) after she got her Vision? What about Diluc, the guy can suddenly use Pyro energy, but he’s not at all curious about The Lady of Fire in Natlan or why she chose him? It just seems odd that Barbara is a Deaconess for a Church that worships the Anemo Archon, but her powers come from the Hydro Archon.