Suspicions of Genshin Impact’s newest character Rosaria getting “boob nerfed” arise

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-03-17 17:53 (JST)
Translated by. Braden Noyes

On March 17th, miHoYo released Genshin Impact’s version 1.4 update, “Invitation of Windbloom.” This latest release comes jam-packed with new content and events for players to enjoy. However, it also comes with one “small” alteration that many members of the community have been discussing: the change to Rosario’s chest size.

【新キャラ登場♪】
モンド西風教会のシスター
荊冠の恩典・ロサリア
（CV：加隈亜衣）

「無理しないで……
　困っている事があれば、
　私を頼ればいいわ」#原神 #Genshin
▼▼今すぐテイワットに戻る▼▼

— 原神（Genshin）公式 (@Genshin_7) March 16, 2021

Rosaria is a sister of the Church of Favonius. However, despite her position, she prefers solitude and can be quite cold and distant when interacting with others. Her icy personality is matched by her Cryo Vision, which allows her to launch ice-based attacks while wielding her polearm in battle.

Although she is not quite available through in-game wishes just yet, Rosaria will be one of the featured characters of this latest big update. It would appear, however, that miHoYo has decided to make a slight alteration to her character design just before her official release. As stated in the version 1.4 patch notes, this update “Adjusts the appearance of Rosaria.” It would seem that “appearance” in this case refers mainly to her chest.

Everything began back in December of 2020 when Rosaria made her first appearance as an NPC during Albedo’s story quest in version 1.2, “The Chalk Prince and the Dragon.” She’s depicted as being uncharacteristically mysterious considering her position as a sister of the church and has continued to draw attention from fans thanks to her thorny disposition and attractive figure. However, after the official release of the trailer for the version 1.4 update, many have pointed out that her chest design looks quite different than it did back in version 1.2.

Rumors of the change to her character model started spreading after modders, who looked at the actual game data, began reporting it online. The changes can also clearly be seen by looking at the updated wish art used in the game. With so much evidence, including the official patch notes stating that the update “adjusts the appearance of Rosaria,” this change has essentially been confirmed.

Even official forums are filled with questions regarding the changes to Rosaria’s breast size. This is largely due to the fact that Genshin Impact has a number of female characters with large breasts. Many players are likely wondering why the nun received a breast reduction while Lisa, Noelle, and Beidou were all left alone. Still, it is worth noting that Rosaria’s breast size in version 1.2 was exceedingly large when compared with these other characters.

Furthermore, her chest remains quite large even after the change to her character model. In fact, some players have been voicing opinions that Rosaria’s breasts seemed overly large ever since she was first introduced. It’s possible the change was made to more closely match her character design with the standard of the game’s other characters, or perhaps to make her more appropriately match the game’s world view.

There are any number of reasons a female character’s design might be changed. A similar situation arose in Final Fantasy XIV when players accused the developers of “nerfing” the size of characters’ butts. However, it was later explained that this was an unintended result of the way character models are programmed to behave when certain types of armor are equipped in order to avoid clipping bugs. (Original Japanese article)

Another example comes from when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released. Many players brought up the fact that it looked like the breast sizes of some character models, such as that of Zero Suit Samus, had been altered. (Reddit) From adapting characters to a game’s world view, to adhering to certain rating standards, to system bugs, there are a number of reasons a character’s appearance might be changed. However, it would appear this alteration to Rosaria’s character model was an intentional one.

The team at miHoYo has a reputation for being fairly transparent when it comes to development, but they seem to be keeping rather quiet regarding this particular case. To be fair, however, Rosaria has yet to be released as an actual playable character, so it’s still a little early to claim they are trying to hide something from their players. Besides, this is merely an adjustment to her model before her official implementation.

We can’t be certain exactly how much has changed from version 1.2. Players will have to reserve final judgement for after she becomes available from in-game wishes. The Genshin Impact version 1.4 update is available starting today, March 17th, 2021.