Despite being one of the starting characters in Genshin Impact, the lore describes Lisa as one of the most accomplished witches of her time. Unfortunately, this isn’t apparent in her playstyle, which is characterized by long cooldowns and extended skill-casting times. Given this, many players opt to switch her out for a different character.
Still, Lisa is one of the strongest characters in Mondstadt, at least lore-wise. Her character stories in Genshin Impact reveal that she used to be one of the best magic students in Sumeru. She also has a thirst for knowledge that awakened her Vision.
Studying in Sumeru
Before the Traveler arrived in Teyvat, Lisa was a student in Sumeru Academia — the leading institute for history and the arcane arts in Sumeru of Genshin Impact. There, she immersed herself in different bodies of knowledge from the most effective means of distilling wine to all forms of forbidden knowledge. Lisa was so devoted to her work that the people in the Academia referred to her as the “best student in two hundred years.”
This time in Sumeru was also when Lisa most likely acquired her Electro Vision. Since she was studying the arcane arts (among other things), the witch concluded that she would need a Vision to further her understanding of magic. After all, both theory and praxis were crucial in arcane studies. Just as the witch thought of this, Lisa’s Genshin Impact Vision appeared in her hand. This allowed her to acquire the magical knowledge she was looking for, but it also brought up her underlying anxieties.
After acquiring her Vision in Genshin Impact, Lisa began to wonder why the gods provided humans with such a powerful tool. Moreover, they did so without explaining how to use it or if they required anything in return. Because of this, Lisa started to fear the truth of the mysterious Vision, and hoped that one day, someone might uncover its secrets. Her anxieties only grew worse after this.
As Lisa spent more time in Sumeru, she began to see the consequences of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge. She saw deranged scholars wandering the forests of Sumeru and proficient sages underutilized in their advisory roles. It was then that she came to a realization: the attainment of knowledge came with a price. What this price was, Lisa didn’t know exactly, but the thought was enough to send her packing.
Moving Back to Mondstadt
Disillusioned, Lisa returned to Mondstadt in Genshin Impact and became the librarian of the Knights of Favonius. Her job now was to manage the knightly organization’s large collection of books and ensure that they were fully stocked on potions at all times. The knights were happy to find that Lisa was extremely efficient at her job. Although this wasn’t due to her sterling work ethic but her lazy but intelligent nature. Lisa had managed to delegate most of her work to the other residents of Mondstadt, leaving the librarian duties to herself.
There were, of course, opportunities for Lisa to take on a bigger role, but she turned these down. On one occasion, the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius in Genshin Impact wanted to make her a Captain. This angered one of the knights who didn’t like the idea of having an academic in such a high-ranking position. Thus, a practice combat session was arranged to show both individuals’ magical skill. None of this mattered, however, as Lisa graciously declined the position in the end. Though she knew she could effectively lead as Captain, she wasn’t interested in the extra workload.
In spite of her humble title of librarian, many looked up to Lisa for her knowledge. The people of Mondstadt visit her in the library to ask about some topic or other, and Genshin Impact’s Lisa is happy to explain things. She also does so in a clear and concise manner, making it easy to approach her with even the most complex questions. Still, it would be best to approach her only during the acceptable hours as bothering her while she’s napping or during her teatime is sure to end in disaster.
The Cheeky Librarian of Genshin Impact
By the time the Traveler arrives in Genshin Impact, Lisa is already known to be the town’s lovely librarian. In the prologue of Mondstadt’s Archon Quests, she appears to be the most knowledgeable about Stormterror and the elemental disturbances the beast is causing. In stark contrast, however, her first Story Quest involves somewhat mundane librarian duties, punctuated by leisure activities like eating out and buying flowers.
Lisa is clearly a skilled and intelligent witch, but she’s also happy with her simple job as a librarian. Genshin Impact characters like Albedo, the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius, seem somewhat baffled by this. He expresses that he’s always impressed by her knowledge but finds it strange that a person with such talent remains in a “basic occupation.” And there’s a reason for this.
It’s likely that Lisa’s experiences in Sumeru tainted her perspective on the pursuit of knowledge. Though she’s described as lazy in Mondstadt, she might not have been like this in the Sumeru Academia. Genshin Impact’s Lisa as a student of magic seemed wholly devoted to learning about anything and everything around her — stopping at nothing to acquire the knowledge that she sought. However, things changed after she acquired her Vision and started to see the negative consequences of unhindered research.
Lisa began to fear both the mental and the divine consequences that could stem from the pursuit of knowledge. The former stems from her witnessing the scholars of Sumeru, while the latter stems from her not knowing the true nature of the Vision. This eventually led Lisa away from the path of knowledge, which is why she’s grown comfortable as a librarian — accomplishing her duties and enjoying the simpler things in life. Still, perhaps a part of her still yearns to learn the secrets of the world. This could be why she’s so drawn to the Genshin Impact Traveler, because they could hold some answers to her questions.
Genshin Impact is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and mobile devices. A Switch version is in development.
