Zheng 'MidOne' Yeik Nai, a professional Dota 2 player, told an interviewer from Taverna.gg that he has been playing Genshin Impact as a hobby and named his favorite character in the action RPG.
He said he started playing almost by accident and gradually became hooked. The initial interest came during the COVID period — it was something new and fun to explore. He enjoyed the story, the freedom to fly around the world and uncover content.
When asked about his Ayaka, he explained that he pushed her to Constellation 6 mainly for the fun of the pulls — the excitement of the 'gacha' process. He compared it to gambling in spirit, but noted it is not exactly the same because, in the end, you do get the character. He admitted part of the reason was simply to show off that he had a C6 Ayaka.
Asked whether Ayaka was his favorite, he said that at that moment she was. However, his real favorite is Raiden Shogun, the lightning-wielding character. He described her as very attractive and said her design appealed to him immediately.
He added that he tried to obtain Raiden Shogun but was unsuccessful: she appeared on seasonal banners and he did not have the opportunity to pull her, which contributed to his decision to step away from the game rather than spend too much time on it.
When the interviewer mentioned that her own favorite was Shenhe, he admitted he did not recall Shenhe's exact abilities and suggested she might not be particularly important to him. He also commented on personal taste, saying some people like confident, dominant female characters and that he finds that fantasy appealing — he joked he would like a character who tells him what to do.
Separately, fans of Genshin Impact earlier compiled a ranking of the most popular playable characters in 2025: Raiden Shogun finished at the end of the top 20, while Zhongli took first place.