What Is The 'Xiangling Copypasta'? The 'Genshin Impact' Meme Explained

Genshin Impact players may be some of the most reviled gamers in video game history, but that does not mean that they lack their own struggles. A theme many Genshin players often revisit is the absolute supremacy of Xiangling, a fire element character so power-maxed that players have no choice but to use her abilities instead of someone else's.

What started as a lighthearted joke about the efficacy of Xiangling's pyro and burst abilities turned into an inside joke about how much she dominates the fire element roster in Genshin Impact, to the point where players began to share a copypasta about how she is effectively holding them hostage. Here's the origin of the Xiangling Copypasta.

Where Did The Xiangling Copypasta Originate?

The earliest known use of the "Xiangling Copypasta" is a December 8th, 2022 post on Reddit by /u/STRICKERROCKS, who claims to have copied it from Discord. The copypasta reads;

I can't take it anymore. I'm sick of xiangling. I try to play diluc. My xiangling deals more damage. I try to play yoimiya. My xiangling deals more damage. I try to play Hu tao. My xiangling deals more damage. I want to play Klee. Her best team has xiangling. I want to play raiden, childe. They both want xiangling.
She grabs me by the throat. I fish for her. I cook for her. I give her the catch. She isn't satisfied. I pull engulfing lightning. "I don't need this much er" She tells me. "Give me more field time." She grabs bennett and forces him to throw himself off enemies. "You just need to funnel me more. I can deal more damage with homa."
I can't pull for homa, I don't have enough primogems. She grabs my credit card. It declines. "Guess this is the end." She grabs gouba. She says "Gouba, get them." There is no hint of sadness in his eyes. Nothing but pure, no icd pyro application. What a cruel world.

How Did The Xiangling Copypasta Spread Online?

Genshin Impact saw new characters and a slight shift in the game's meta in 2023, with the Xiangling Copypasta getting updated to accommodate the game's changing lore. In March 2023, X user @imtenten1010 posted the copypasta after changing the names of some of the characters introduced in the first paragraph. Instead of mentioning Hu Tao, whom many use as their premier fire character, the copypasta instead mentions Cyno, whom Xianling does more damage than, and Dehya, who was immediately labeled as mid upon her release.

A few weeks later, Redditor /u/JackfruitNatural5474 posted the copypasta as well, but this time the Genshin Impact player switched out Xiangling for Hyperbloom, a new move introduced in 2023 that quickly came to be accepted as the best meta team comp for several content patches. In the newly updated Copypasta, Hyperbloom is treated as a singular object, while other characters are namedropped who specifically are used in Hyperbloom teams, or are negatively mentioned as not fitting into the team

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For the full history of the Xiangling Copypasta, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.