In the world of Genshin Impact, visions are one of the biggest deals for a character to receive. Traditionally a resident of Teyvat being given a vision is a sign of acknowledgment by the gods. Visions may not be as great as they look, though, as revealed by Dainslief. There is also the mysterious occurrence of other creatures like Hilichurls being able to use the elements without relying on a vision.
Venti and Zhongli also seem indifferent to the fact the Aether and Lumine can both channel the elements without vision use. It seems that there may be a lot more to visions than players currently realize.
Updated on August 27, 2021, by Jessica Thomas: The world of Genshin Impact heavily revolves around the fact that many people living within it have visions. Visions have been a hot topic in the Genshin community as they grant users power but seem like they may have a malicious hidden agenda.
This theory has further been validated by some of the events that take place during the Inazuma story, and there is now a lot more information about what happens when someone loses their vision. It's still even up for debate whether it's the archons themselves or Celestia giving away elemental powers. The list below goes over everything we currently know about visions.
14 They Are Linked to Ambition
Visions are given out to people with high ambitions and seem to tie themselves into their very soul. In Inazuma, it can be seen that having your vision taken away can drastically alter your mental state, change your personality, send you into depression, or even cause memory loss.
On the flip side, characters like Jiangxue, who gave up their vision, willingly report that they have a much more peaceful life, but the evidence does still point towards them losing their talent.
13 They Can Be Confiscated
Visions are gifts that can appear out of nowhere and be taken away just as easily. Raiden Shogun can rip visions away from her unwilling citizens, regardless of who gave them the vision or what element they are using the power of.
While humans haven't been shown to be able to take visions from each other(at least not without the Raiden Shogun's help), this does mean that all of the archons have the power to confiscate them.
12 They Sell for High Prices
Visions are extremely popular in Teyvat, and it's shown that many citizens hope to receive them, especially in their younger years. This leads dormant visions to be sold for huge sums of mora, and Beidou even uses one as a grand prize for her fighting tournament.
It's safe to say that selling a vision in Teyvat would likely make you very rich, especially if the buyer could activate it.
11 They May Be a Fail-Safe
There are a lot of theories about visions, but the revelation that taking one away can devastate once talented Teyvat residents seems to point to a grim reality. Visions are no theorized to be a fail-safe by Celestia that are given to the brightest and most outgoing residents of Teyvat.
This is heavily supported by the fact that visions bearers have no choice in receiving or getting rid of the elemental devices.
10 They Can Be Counterfeited
The Fatui are able to make delusions which are counterfeit visions that the members of the organization use. As shown with Tartaglia, it seems that delusions do take a toll on the body.
They are also shown to backfire and are the reason that Diluc and Kaeya's father was killed. The head of the Fatui is the Cryo Archon, so it's even more of a mystery how much power archons have with the knowledge of counterfeit visions.
9 They Are Linked to Misfortune
Visions tend to appear when someone is most in need. When Fischl was crying in the library, her vision formed along with Oz. When Diona needed to save her dad, she gained the power of cryo.
Kaeya didn't receive his until the middle of his duel with Diluc on the night their father died. While not all visions appear in this manner, they don't seem to be given out on happy occasions.
8 Electro Visions Are No Longer Given Out
Electro visions are now the hardest type to come by in the game. This is because the electro archon has completely stopped giving them out. This is a mystery as players don't yet know if archons are responsible for the elements or the gods in Celestia are.
Either way, it looks like the Shogun has quite a bit of influence over her element and how it is handled. This further begs questions about counterfeit visions.
7 They Are Outlawed in Inazuma
Inazuma has outlawed visions as a whole in accordance with the Shogun's orders. She is currently gathering visions of all types and placing them on a large tree.
This seems to point to the fact that visions can be confiscated by the archons (whether they gave the vision out or not). Moreover, this is another fact that seems to point to how visions aren't as magical as the world thinks.
6 They Must Resonate to Work
Visions are given out but seem not to immediately resonate with the user. This is shown in Ningguang's story as she planned to sell her vision until it linked to her. Visions can also go dormant when their user dies and will stay in Teyvat.
When another capable user finds it, it will once again activate; this is only seen with Mona so far. It seems like visions may be able to be activated by those who weren't specially approved by Celestia.
5 They Can't Be Destroyed
Visions have been through a lot of stress. Sucrose tried to experiment on hers, and literally, nothing happened to it. Keqing was angry at the fact she got a vision and actively tried to find a way to destroy it.
Keqing finally gave up after she learned that nothing seems to damage them. There are also no records of a vision being damaged during heated battles.
4 They Can Be Left Behind
Visions don't seem to be all that attached to their owners. This can be seen when Diluc leaves his vision behind for more than a year. Once he comes back, the vision picks right up where they left off.
This does seem to point to the fact that the user must have the vision in hand to use its power. Curiously, this is very different from the way enemies handle using the elements at will.
3 They Are Useless When Not Equipped
When a vision is left behind, they are pretty much useless. They are still connected to the wearer, but as mentioned above, they can't be used to channel the elements.
Kaeya is able to place Diluc's vision in a vase, so it also seems like visions can be easily stolen without a problem. While vision theft has not yet been shown, it brings up a lot of questions.
2 Many Vision Users Didn't Want Them
It's noted in the game that the people who most want visions never get them. Those that do never try to prove themselves, and some aren't happy with even receiving them in the first place.
Albedo himself admits that he suspected a vision would appear and merely checked to see if it was there when it appeared. This mirrors other characters like Noelle, who was unhappy with getting a geo vision.
1 They Are Given Out When Users Are Young
All vision users other than the adepti seem to have gotten vision at incredibly young ages. Diluc was 10, Fischl was 14, and Klee was still living with her parents. In contrast, it doesn't seem like characters get visions once they are out of their teenage years.
The oldest human vision user that players have met so far would likely be Baizhu, who doesn't seem to be too much older than Diluc.