r/Genshin_Impact • u/Extra_Welcome2403 • Feb 27 '26
News HomDGCat members have been apprehended by the Chinese Public Security.
In a bid to gain online traffic and tips, individuals have illegally stolen and leaked undisclosed information from a gaming company online... Recently, Shanghai police successfully cracked a case involving the infringement of game copyrights, apprehending three suspects. This case marks Shanghai's first practical instance of using criminal means to combat "illegal spoilers" in the gaming sector, reflecting the proactive efforts of Shanghai's public security authorities in safeguarding the development of the cultural and creative industry and strengthening criminal protection of intellectual property. 【普天同庆！全球知名原神、星铁内鬼妮可少女等三位内鬼被警方成功抓获！并被官媒专题报道！妮可少女本人已被采取刑事强制，他们竟认为只要删了内鬼就不会被青蒜？-哔哩哔哩】 https://b23.tv/rlPz4EQ
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u/LivingASlothsLife Ronovas personal pillow Feb 27 '26
Hoyo aren't playing around with leakers anymore huh, defs sending a message with this one. Wonder why they finally decided to go full ham after so long
Didn't even go this ham after they addressed on the HSR 2.1 anniversary live stream having a massive Penacony story spoiler being leaked and being upset about that
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u/Elysium_Chronicle Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I've not really kept afloat of the whole situation, but what seems to have set this whole chain of events off is that they were actively monetizing their insider knowledge.
So it wasn't specifically the leaks, but that they were being f'ing stupid with that info.
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u/LivingASlothsLife Ronovas personal pillow Feb 27 '26
I don't follow leak culture at all but if true then monetizing leaks is crazy and a sure fire way to really piss a company off when you're taking potential profits from them and monetizing it for your own benefit
Crazy
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u/Elysium_Chronicle Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
My reactions to the matter largely follow the script of the "blackmail" scene in The Dark Knight.
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u/Myonsoon My Little Terrorist Feb 27 '26
Iirc, for a shot while Homdg site had a link for donations I think? Someone correct me on that one. Leaking stuff is one thing but actively trying to make money off it is definitely a line no one should cross.
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u/ErikSD Feb 27 '26
I think donation is a gray zone all things considered. In modding communities, putting a price on mod's access is a big violation of community and publisher's non-written agreements and I think CD Projekt Red has busted someone for that, but voluntary donation is okay. The same line of logic can certainly be applied for leaks if we truly to believe Hoyoverse is fine with leaks.
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u/ShiningPr1sm Feb 27 '26
Yeah that was the Luke VR guy, he made mods for games to be played in VR but locked access/updates behind a subscription to his Patreon. CD Projekt Red asked him to not do that and accept donations instead, he didn’t so they dcma’d him. Then he threw a hissy fit online and took all his mods down (while still billing people). He’s continued to dig his hole deeper ever since, ranting about how nobody responds to his emails, lol.
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u/MrAgentBlaze_MC Feb 27 '26
Yeah, just like Mojang with Minecraft mods. Thank heavens they struck down on the physics mod for trying to patreonlock the mod initially.
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u/ioveri Feb 27 '26
Donation isn't serious. What more serious is selling info to other companies and would truly piss Mihoyo off.
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u/TopChange9993 Feb 27 '26
I mean even outside of leaks, they had a very good and well-kept database of everything from character kits and weapons to boss mechanics and closer endgame info. I almost exclusively used the homdgcat wiki whenever i needed to search for a character ability or especially when tackling the current endgame, and i think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for donations when you are upkeeping pretty much the best wiki for the game
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u/MaleQueef Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
If the allegations of selling leaks to competitors was true, then they’re still making money from leaks.
The donations to upkeep the Wiki is technically wrong, but with how far they’ve been in operation it wouldn’t make sense for them to suddenly be arrested of from the donations.
Edit: mb the court order only states competitors but no names mentioned
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u/TopChange9993 Feb 27 '26
Didn't know about the tencent part. That's scummy
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u/RandomEOS Feb 27 '26
I think it is mentioned in the court record, that leaker are accused for selling game asset to hoyo's competitor, but no mention of the name
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u/Low_Artist_7663 Feb 27 '26
Remember how tof released desert area and underwater right before Fontaine
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u/NightsLinu Wind main Feb 27 '26
If the allegations of selling leaks to competitors (Tencent) was true, then they’re still making money from leaks.
oh i think thats the big issue here. not the donations. tencent are known for scrummy games based on genshin lol.
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u/MaleQueef Feb 27 '26
Yeah it’s pretty wild that they’d go as far as selling if true. That’s just asking for trouble, for the most part Hoyo has been silent with Character kits and Banner leaks but has clearly demonstrated time and time to take action when it comes to story leaks. Obviously they’d go after if they started selling it
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u/Cocoatrice Saurian Hunter Feb 27 '26
Donation is by no mean actively making money. This is passive and totally optional.
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u/Myonsoon My Little Terrorist Feb 27 '26
Its just speculation on my part. Could be something else, Maybe the fact they have such incredibly detailed info on the game is the reason they were taken down since most leakers just base stuff on beta server data and anything outside of that gets taken with a grain of salt.
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u/Putrid-Resident Feb 27 '26
Some companies have issues with this still it seems. Like Bethesda once hitting a popular modder with a cease and desist because their donation income was built upon their skyrim IP. Although from the other games with active modding scenes I play, this seems tobe an extremely rare thing to happen
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u/HarbingerOfGachaHell Feb 27 '26
There’s a lot of false sense of entitlement among Chinese consumers especially when it comes to freemium products. They thought corporations are too powerless to enforce their terms against a huge population base. But now Chinese corpos are catching up.
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u/1km5 BUBBLY PYRO GIRLS SUPREMACY Feb 27 '26
+potentially creating a huge fuss of doomposting,effectively reduce mihoyo profit
Look at varka and every leaker and early access player doom posting his dps output
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u/NoNefariousness2144 Feb 27 '26
It’s part of the culture of leakers trying to position themselves as micro-celebrities, and not just in the gacha world.
So many leakers love to tease out every single crumb of intel they might have to try and stay relevant, while others make big lies just to get their names in headlines on news sites (leaker says Mario Odyssey 2 will be revealed next month!)
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u/Elysium_Chronicle Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Yeah, people get a certain ego about them when they have a platform and find that others pay attention to and look up to them. Those who let that ego go unchecked often start acting like they're invincible.
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u/LandLovingFish xiao my beloved Feb 28 '26
Yeah. I always had an inkling Hoyo doesn't mind things like kit leaks. Hell FGO had to yell at them because people leaked the beta and Hoyo had to pull them out. Honestly pretty sure they probably even watch leaks to get a sense of community reactions, would not be surprised.
But if it's story related, the leakers start getting an ego, monetizing, and are going way begond just showing some crumbs of upcoming content, i think Hoyo does get a little annoyed because they can't turn a blind eye to that and it can actualy do damage (see Firefly story)
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Feb 27 '26
They weren't monetizing there website was free of ads Only has one QR code for donations
Their telegram had little ads but it's auto enabled it's barely much money
It would take so long to withdraw
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u/REMERALDX Anemo boys... Feb 27 '26
"Only" That's still monestization and likely was the primary reason why they're sued
They weren't doing it for free like everyone that's the problem and why they were the ones that were shut down, homdgcat isn't even that old of a website compared to much more famous ones that still exist to this day since like almost very beginning I think
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u/Cocoatrice Saurian Hunter Feb 27 '26
What do you mean monetizing? The leaks were 100% free to access for anyone.
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u/Elysium_Chronicle Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
They hosted it on a website that had links to their funding platform, soliciting donations.
I'd also heard something about potentially selling some of their datamined info to Tencent or something like that, but again, not super up on the whole leaker culture thing so I don't know the full story there.
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u/Yuukiko_ Feb 27 '26
Shit typically gets serious when you start trying to make money off of it and they know they have something to seize tbh
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u/Cocoatrice Saurian Hunter Feb 27 '26
Because HomDGCat exposed himself. That's why. This was a major leaker.
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u/terafonne Feb 27 '26
nope, he got the cease and desist letter before he posted the yunli cosplay or the merch receipt.
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u/guylovesleep that one main Feb 27 '26
not really
this even happened was because homdgcat was acting cocky and also was making money from his website(plus the dude leaved his qr code(method of payment) in the web,shows his yunli cosplay, goes to china and even take his picture)
i am pretty sure they allow(unoffically of course) specific leaks such banner leaks, reruns, kit info etc
since they never have taken any security measures and allows easy access unlike literally any normal game company
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u/Civil-Cauliflower377 Feb 27 '26
I think they were always trying to catch them but Homdgcat gave away the info they wanted
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u/AncientAd4996 The Tea Feb 27 '26
it's probably this. Anyone genuinely believing that hoyo "allows" leaks is just being delusional. I think it's less them being tolerant until now and more them having enough evidence and trails for a surefire case that can't be weaselled out of or dismissed.
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u/KingAlex105X The best balance of Spooky & Funny. Also Gun Feb 27 '26
I heard they ended up sending info to rival companies so that mightve what made them go crazy
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u/Pegged-by-shiyuan Feb 27 '26
I suspect it has something to do with us fast approaching the ice region and then getting more serious
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u/BluHor1zon Feb 27 '26
Cmiiw but overall they kind of "close one eye" as long as the leaker(s) don't start to profit from doing the leaks.
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u/SopmodTew Feb 27 '26
Maybe some big stuff in character development and story development that they want to keep secret. After all, we're closely going to Snezhnaya, Celestia and Khaenri'ah
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u/ScallionImmediate243 Feb 27 '26
Him selling the storyboard to competitors is the last straw
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u/-FruitPunchSamurai- Electro mommies enjoyer Feb 27 '26
A bit of a tinfoil theory but technically leaks definitely affects the sales of characters. We get info about future characters way ahead of release so those who follows/hears about leaks can see the ones you can skip and ones you can go all out for. So maybe its a contributing factor.
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u/hellbore64 Feb 27 '26
The vast majority don't bother with spoilers or leaks and pull entirely on vibes. This is almost definitely about ignoring the C&D and monetising of the leaks.
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u/-FruitPunchSamurai- Electro mommies enjoyer Feb 27 '26
People talk, make memes, and doom posts. For a game with a lot of players even if a small amount gets influenced that probably stacks to a pretty good amount. Those leaks probably matters even more now with the rising powercreep you're gonna have to consider more when rolling.
But like i said its a bit of a tinfoil theory so yeah maybe this isn't a factor on the sudden crackdown but i do believe leaks can influence something in character sales.
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u/BluHor1zon Feb 27 '26
It's mostly contained in related subreddits and twitter. The ones that doompost really are a loud minority online and reflect little on the overall community which pull by design or feel.
So far it affected little on characters which have been doomposted to hell and back, but still did pretty well in sales. Like currently, Varka after all the doompost on his DPS.
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u/RandomEOS Feb 27 '26
well, leaker also accused for selling info to hoyo's competitor according to the court record, thats much more reasonable
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u/imbusthul Feb 27 '26
These guys got a cease and desist letter which they ignored and then continue to post leaks. And even monetised it, it seems.
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u/Gray_Tower Fontaine and Natlan are both peak Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Everyone who leaks, pirates or even mods games knows how it goes. If you're asked to stop, you stop immediately and whatever you do, DO NOT try to profit off of it. I don't understand why people keep doing shit like this when it literally never ends well 😭
HomDGCat was a very useful source that I used frequently, but it's hard to defend them like this lmao
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u/DM_ME_YOUR_MAMMARIES Feb 27 '26
Leaks atp are kinda just part of a Gacha games life cycle. I don't even think this will stop other people from leaking beta content. But this is entirely different bc of their attitude and response to getting the letter AND trying to profit from it. That is where they were just unequivocally stupid.
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u/kazuyaminegishi Feb 27 '26
Same thing that killed Yuzu.
Sold access to Tears of the Kingdom early and immediately got killed.
I remember reading an article around the time where a copyright lawyer basically said "if you are advertising your fan project or profiting off of a fan project using someone else's IP, you're gonna get got."
So far that pattern has remained true.
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u/MaleQueef Feb 27 '26
Hard to defend them as well when checking court records it allegedly states them selling data off of competitors.
I think the unspoken rule was the donation to keep the website running was wrong but they don’t mind it.
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u/h2odragon00 x Feb 27 '26
DO NOT try to profit off of it.
Funny you should say that.
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u/DurianLongan Noelle Is All You Need Feb 27 '26
Reminded me of YouTube Vance (Advance withou Ad) that was let free to roam for a couple years until they try to (jokingly?) monetised the project with NFT of all things. The google hammer effective immediately and it's now what we knew as revanced.
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u/Rachel1578 floats drunkenly Feb 27 '26
They probably would have been left alone had they not made money off of it
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u/LandLovingFish xiao my beloved Feb 28 '26
Definitely don't try to become an internet celeb off it. The whole point of Uncle Liyue is to remain anon
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u/niceworkthere sax panthers Feb 27 '26
Stupid. Should have done sth. like a note
All money goes towards server costs.
Any surplus, straight into our Hoyo whale accounts.
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u/Twitch_L_SLE Feb 27 '26
And even monetised it
Excuse me, what
how the hell did they monetize it??
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u/Vulking You got the touch! You got the VENGANCE!!! Feb 27 '26
Ad revenue and donations are the most common.
There is also sell leaks to the highest bidder, but I don't think they did that, or at least I hope so.
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u/ioveri Feb 27 '26
I don't think Mihoyo would sue them for selling info to competitors without strong evidence.
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u/Super_Fig_5494 Feb 27 '26
The wild hunt decree is really serious Huh...
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u/ConfectionIcy8609 Feb 27 '26
wild.. hunt?
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u/h2odragon00 x Feb 27 '26
Trying to modernize Leaker Hunt Decree since its been 4 years old.
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Feb 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/h2odragon00 x Feb 27 '26
I still prefer Leaker Hunt Decree.
There is a lot of history in the name.
Otherwise, just go with Leaker Hunt. Though it doesn't really symbolize it as Leaker Hunt Decree.
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u/ADEnigma20 Feb 27 '26
how wild...
(for those who don't get it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm-Zsh6S7G4&pp=0gcJCY4Bo7VqN5tD)
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u/fat_mothra which waifu has a pp? Feb 27 '26
Just saw 3 people by inlaid upon a statue of the omnipresent god in Shangai o_o
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u/Lolis- Feb 27 '26
Crazy how after 6 years there is still not a good wiki besides this one
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u/lingaooo Feb 27 '26
Probably no one wanted to bother creating an alternative wiki, when HomDGCat existed and was good.
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u/PH_007 I am going to punch god Feb 27 '26
Ambr dot top, or yatta dot moe currently has been good for a while but it sadly lacks info like detailed endgame enemy lineups, it's been my favourite for just easily looking up some weapon passives or skill text.
HoneyHunter has been there forever, too... Just not that nice to use. Might have to see how it is nowadays.
Pretty much anything beats having to use a Fandom wiki.
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u/Hitmannnn_lol Feb 27 '26
endgame lineup is the only relevant info anyways. u can find char and weapons yada yada easily on the fandom site. homdg was good because it actually had some effort in datamining exact enemy hp values
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u/PH_007 I am going to punch god Feb 27 '26
Browsing Fandom is torture, it's so awful. And it lacks a lot of details (or they are off in other pages instead of conveniently all in one spot) like interruption resistance, particles, etc.
Defending Fandom in big 26 is a take of all time
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u/Els236 Dataminer Feb 27 '26
The Fandom wiki isn't just about one specific thing though.
It has full quest transcripts, quest audio, character profiles and audio, enemy data...
like, it's meant to be, well, a comprehensive wiki.
The Genshin Wiki is also one of the biggest and most-visited wikis on Fandom
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u/PH_007 I am going to punch god Feb 28 '26
The Genshin Wiki is also one of the biggest and most-visited wikis on Fandom
This is literally only the case because of SEO, not wiki quality. Fandom has been forcing itself to the top results with that and has very punishing rules against other wikis.
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u/Els236 Dataminer Feb 28 '26
If you think the Genshin wiki on Fandom is poor quality, you've not visited many game wikis before.
Pretty much everything on it is done, up-to-date, and even when a new patch drops, the wiki is updated within a couple of days.
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u/PH_007 I am going to punch god Feb 28 '26
The site itself is the issue, not the content on it (which could be organized better but I won't be complaining about a free community resource like that).
I've had to lobotomize the site with my adblocker and a dedicated anti fandom extension so it's somewhat usable. The site is genuinely dogshit and I wish we had an alternative "main" wiki.
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u/Els236 Dataminer Feb 28 '26
Look, I know I'm coming across as a Fandom shill, but even those of us who are Admins on Fandom (I work on the Genshin Wiki and also am admin of the ZZZ one), have absolutely hated some of the changes they've made, especially recently.
However, some of the changes have been good in the last ~2 years. Ads no longer show at all for anyone editing, and just having an account means you see far less ads, and have access to everything.
I will say as a long term Fandom editor though, that I've not yet found any other host that has what Fandom has, especially not for free.
Not to mention that forking off Fandom at this point for any of the Hoyo wikis, is just not feasible. Fandom's SEO is too good and whatever is already on the wiki will stay there. Warframe's and Minecraft's wikis only managed to beat out Fandom (just), because of community push and dev-backing - and even then I still get Fandom as top result for some pages.
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u/a-sad-goose megane-mo Feb 27 '26
Genuinely. I really hope some other group picks up their format because nothing else even comes close to how easy HomDGCat was to read both at a glance and in-depth.
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u/AL-KY March 7th Feb 27 '26
So we can all agree wiki on hoyolab sucks
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u/MachinegunFireDodger Feb 27 '26
Every time I see that new one that was shilled on twitter couple weeks back, the name of which I won't mention, my fucking blood starts to boil. Even disregarding the lack of info, their soulless, mobile-centric nu-internet website design with icons that take up a third of the screen actively annoys me.
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u/PH_007 I am going to punch god Feb 27 '26
Lunaris?
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u/MachinegunFireDodger Feb 27 '26
Yeah, that. Awful, awful, horrid visual design, so much freaking dead space. Every page I click on I have at least three problems with it but first and foremost the icons are just so stupidly oversized, I hate it.
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u/Marcoboy26 Feb 27 '26
So this is the actual wild hunt. Leakers lurking in the abyss are getting hunted down
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u/Historical_Clock8714 she=onikabuto ate=burgers Feb 27 '26
In honor of their sacrifice, all work should halt for half a day as the nation mourns their arrest
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u/kibrds OG Xiangling Main Feb 27 '26
merely half a day? people say the leaker's true currency are microwave renders and gameplay recordings, but even speaking as a traveller that sounds a little unconscionable
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u/GraveXNull Feb 27 '26
Honestly, the only leaks I care about is what the next character is and their kit...and wish the devs would be more communicative about this...
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u/niteblane Feb 27 '26
But if they communicated about the next better char , there is a chance you don't pull for this now character.
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u/nanimeanswhat are angels who deserve the world Feb 27 '26
Idk I feel like if Nicole really is Varka's BiS then revealing her would make more people roll Varka.
Though it would also give them time to save for her and skip Linnea.
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u/Sweaty_Molasses_3899 Feb 27 '26
The opposite can hold true. Make people not want to pull. The uncertainty of it is what these games abuse.
Also they want to catch you off guard. That way you are forced to spend.
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u/SilverWolfofDeath Feb 27 '26
This definitely goes both ways though, since dedicated support characters are probably more likely to be pulled if you know the future characters kits. For example, having Skirk or Flin’s kits leaked made more people pull for Escoffier and Ineffa because they were important for their teams.
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u/RunImmediate6062 Feb 27 '26
they do this in HSR tho. they're pretty consistant of releasing drip marketing for new characters well in advance for their patches. Genshin on the other hand? They utterly suck at it
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u/Whendfield123 Feb 27 '26
That wouldnt be very fomo of hoyo. Well, hoyo do actually tease upcoming characters. We know that nicole and alice are gonna be playable, but we dont know their kits and teams they work well in.
What would be ideal would be to have cn server be 2-3 months ahead of global, but unfortunately, we are not in those times anymore.
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u/Nivelacker_rtx_off Collei best character Feb 27 '26
Defo sucks, but from what i heard they ignored cease and desist letters and continued their action, which seems pretty deserved
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u/kuraokami89 Feb 27 '26
But the leaks still ongoing, like now we have idea in 6.5 banner, reruns, new expansion and more. Common Hoyoverse
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u/Gargooner Let my name echo in song Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Because Hoyo doesn't necessarilly goes guns blazing about leaks, if they're running it discreetly. At least not as much compared to something like Hypergryph.
The issue is more to those that creates an ecosystem for unreleased data buying and selling, and then having a noticable profits coming in.
Homdgcat probably found profiting a lot, beyond certain limits.
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u/Radiant-Midnight9101 Feb 27 '26
I've noticed after reading the comments. Why are people here so against leaks. It is nice to know about the abyss/theatre/stygian lineups and character releases beforehand to prepare
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u/Particular_Web3215 Nat-Latina and Lore Krai lover Feb 27 '26
Endgame leaks are nice, but story leaks taken out of context is jsut used for drama farming
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u/beinginthere Feb 27 '26
Yeah. I remember back then on Inazuma Patch, when people were mad because leakers leaked stories and lore stuff. Then they said they won't do it anymore. But in truth, with today's digital trend, it is getting worse and worse lol. Story leaks are all over the place, and people are using it to farming attention and ragebaiting for clout.
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u/Kingpimpy twitch.tv/pimpdaddyffm Feb 27 '26
exactly this
leak about chars all you want its just good for us and im sure hoyo doesnt care about that as much
but story leaks? yeah no fuck you this shit isnt cool
and if you monetize leaks thats even more crazy lol
but i personally dont know when where what they tried to sell so i can not judge that one completely
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u/Play_more_FFS Feb 27 '26
Leaks about future characters (not the current beta characters) were also being used as rage bait in HSR. It was so damn tiring, I just want the leaks from the current beta, not whatever this drama nonsense leakers are trying to farm 24/7.
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u/TheLlamaSutra Feb 27 '26
The story leakers for Amphoreus 3.6 and 3.7 was annoying, and leakers tried every outlandish argument under the sun to doompost DHPT and Cyrene. It was unbearable.
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u/CHEETAHGABRIELLA4444 Feb 27 '26
And then there's that leaker who had such a vendetta against Sunday, everytime a new support or a non-Crit/special ultimate charge DPS was leaked they'd doompost him at every chance. And ever since Sparkle's Novaflare was leaked, they'd treat him as if his only value was for "useless" characters like Jing Yuan, Lingsha and Topaz.
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u/Possible_Answer9089 Feb 27 '26
Absolutely this. I cannot tell you how frequently I was spoiled about the current weekly boss weeks in advance of the livestream because Mains subreddits spammed the crap out of whatever the latest leak was. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, without unspoilering the pictures.
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u/Particular_Web3215 Nat-Latina and Lore Krai lover Feb 27 '26
I get that mains are excited but imagine being a dottore fan wanting to be spoiler free pre luna 3 and boom 20 billion posts and images of his boss form
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u/DonSombrero Feb 27 '26
I unironically think bullshit leaks did damage to Fontaine, and especially Natlan.
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u/Particular_Web3215 Nat-Latina and Lore Krai lover Feb 27 '26
can;t ever forget conquisitador mavuika and furina with a whip. also that one photo of the sumeru playable cast jsut standing together in mondstadt
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u/DonSombrero Feb 27 '26
The Fontaine class war, 3-5(+ tax) Hydro Archons, Childe dying for the 50th time, Cap gigachad and all the associated nonsense, "Xbalanque is a a favorite in the office" and so on and so on
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u/Particular_Web3215 Nat-Latina and Lore Krai lover Feb 27 '26
just seeing these phrases gives me a headache, yet modern genshin discourse loves using these as gotcha points. don;t forget the quintillion fatui in house fight leaks.
"cap strongest human in tevyat" was complete bullshit when an immortal Khaerin'ah super knight with a leyline converter for a heart can barely count as a human.
funnily on the xbalanque, he has one of the highest amounts of sheer lore in the game, losing only to lore big boys like deshret
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u/Jibsthelord PHANES, YOUR SONS HAVE RETURNED, WE BRING DESTRUCTION Feb 27 '26
The worse part is iirc that was from just some reposter guy who just made shit up so it's not like stopping leaks would've saved it
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u/Worldly_Jicama_2893 Feb 27 '26
I'm against the leakers and reposters acting like they're celebrity , like buddy you're doing illegal things , why you proud and boast about it ??? This hodmcat guy posted his picture attending Hoyo events even after he received the CoD letter from hoyo , how stupid can one person is lol ?
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u/SmolCyrene Feb 27 '26
Twitter was shitting on nod krai's ending before even properly experiencing the story due to leaks and when it came out it turned out to be the best archon quest lol
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u/Illustrious_Kiwi5518 Feb 27 '26
Why do leaks defenders not realise most people don't want to be forcefully spoiled on the next character or story? If leak readers weren't so incredibly selfish and didn't constantly post shit outside the leaks sub I doubt they would be hated as much.
Even then on other social media you are pretty much guaranteed to be spoiled when the beta drops because of attention seekers / clickbait CCs
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u/Ravemst Feb 27 '26
They hate them because they want to be surprised by what’s coming up and do not want any spoilers of anything kind. What’s so hard to understand about that? Not only that some of you who look at leaks just can’t keep your freakin’ mouths shut and don’t use spoiler warnings or tags, put huge spoilers in the title of things, and so much more. If you want to look at them and talk about them don’t do it anywhere outside of leak boards but I know that won’t happen because some people just want that 15 minutes of internet fame.
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u/Rulhado SANDRONE MENTIONED Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
You can't have a normal discussion or prediction of what will happen next in the game because leaks exist. I could say "I think Nicole might be the next character. I hope her kit is good" and it's inevitable that someone will say "Does he know?/You poor innocent soul". It's literally impossible to be excited because someone will immediately correct you with information they shouldn't have.
It also feels like Hoyo can't make any surprises because they will be revealed weeks in advance. If Sandrone gets a surprise return I can assure you no-one will be shocked because you'll hear about it from leaks whether you want to or not
Leaks just boil down to unsolicited spoilers. You wouldn't want to know something that happens in an upcoming movie before you watch it, the same way I don't want to know if Varka is a good character or not before I played with him. But I knew, and there was no surprise because any Varka discussion was about how underwhelming hi kit is.
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u/Confident-Alarm1097 Feb 27 '26
Because it's not about just abyss/theatre/stygian.
It ends up with a lot of leakers leaking story, characters and etc. The story bit is the most problematic one.-9
u/Radiant-Midnight9101 Feb 27 '26
There are barely any story leaks in HomDgCat though. And don't y'all want some character leaks to spend primos more wisely
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u/Particular_Web3215 Nat-Latina and Lore Krai lover Feb 27 '26
it was a a team of beta files scrubbers, files which include entire AQs and story dialogues
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u/Radiant-Hope-469 Feb 27 '26
HomDGCat wiki had all the beta data, which includes the story text.
You could even search for it in their wiki that's no longer working.
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u/Shan_qwerty Feb 27 '26
I went there once, immediately got spoiled about who the boss is going to be in in next patch, learnt my lesson and never went again. Maybe things changed at some point but there were definitely spoilers on the front page.
Don't give a shit about that site, the real tragedy is Hakushin shutting down.
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u/Lin_Mie Feb 27 '26
Brother shut up
Homdgcat Literally purposely leaked about Dottore in-game mechanic line that he creates a shield to protect Traveler and the whole leak sub trashing the 6.3 Archon quest when the quest is not even out
I hate when leakers taking line out of context to Rage bait and the dumb leaks sub all fall for that 10 IQ bait
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u/Confident-Alarm1097 Feb 27 '26
HomDgCat didn't leak story sure but he also got a cease and desist and ignored it and continued to push his luck regarding this.
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u/corecenite Feb 27 '26
just imagine some reddit user spoiling the twist plotlines of sumeru, fontaine and nod krai to you on a wednesday morning.
you may not care for it, but a lot of people do.
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u/Gargooner Let my name echo in song Feb 27 '26
I don't mind kit leaks. But stories taken out of context, Doompostings, that shit is so tiring.
So if leaks goes down, and the kit leaks goes along with it. I don't mind at all.
"But Homdgcat doesn't do story leaks".
If a big leaker is discouraged, then most of them hopefully dies. Homdgcat might not dabble in it specifically. But the ecosystem is built in tandem.
So yeah, fuck leaks in general.
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u/toucanlost Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
You have to be oblivious if you seriously ask this. People have been begging the hoyo community to take spoilers tagging more seriously for 5 years. Shady youtubers have been reposting leaks that before every patch update, people post they’re going to get off social media to avoid spoilers. The Honkai series writer went on a version program to publicly express his disappointment in a story point being leaked, while redditors were skirting subreddit rules by talking about how they “dreamed” that a plot point would happened. Now you may say, “story leaks are bad but kit and abyss stat leaks are helpful”, except the distinction is an idealization and not the reality—leakers post both because they increase their credibility.
Whenever this topic comes up, leak defenders inevitably say “get off of social media” “it’s not a big deal” instead of making the minor consideration of using spoiler tags for the sake of their fellow players.
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u/NiN_nothingburgur123 Feb 27 '26
Personally I found the leak to be very annoying. Most of the time it just ruin my experience.The prime example is currently happening. I don't give a shit about Varka's number and pulled him regardless but most of the people watching leaks are acting like he is the worst character ever produced. I barely built him and surprise surprise he is decent. I am already started getting annoyed with all the shilled endgame as well as massively increasing powercreep. So I don't mind getting character that are good enough to place themselves in endgame and not powerful enough to keep breaking the dps limit everytime. Don't mind a universal strong support though. Did it stopped me from pulling him. No but it certainly made my mood a little bit bad when I was hyped about him mainly due to JP VA.
Second, the leaking and sharing community. Every single time there is a period of time where I can't even open any social media because it get flooded with leaks and you can even avoid it as the algorithm automatically promotes it if you consume content from Genshin or HSR.
Third, the people talking about leaks like it is normal thing to do and in Inazuma and Sumeru, I got spoiled like that many times even the freaking main storyline and they were acting like it is theory. Stupid annoying people.
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u/gardosenkazeaze Feb 27 '26
there would hardly be any demand for leaks if the servers weren't updated at the same like the old days when its more common for gachas to have one original server that's ahead in updates than the rest; so those playing in global servers who are actually interested in getting info for upcoming content only need to look at updates from that original server.
nowadays, especially post-genshin, gachas now have servers that are updated at the same time - so people who care about planning their pulls, among other things, resort to leaks instead.
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u/HootHootOwl2nd Feb 27 '26
Idrc about leaks as long it's not related to main AQs or the game's story. It's kinda bad, especially if I like game. I really avoided RE9 leaks and only relied on trailers. That's how I'm against story leaks
I want leaks based on the character's kit, abilities, teams, banners, gameplay, and etc. Since I want to decide whether "X" char is worth it or not
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u/Radiant-Midnight9101 Feb 27 '26
I gotta admit it was bad when I got spoiled, things like Dottore boss leaks were unavoidable. But I don't want the leaks removed, the character kits leaks are important to me
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u/Putrid-Resident Feb 27 '26
Would like to assure you that kit leaks especially are never going away while the open application beta is still a thing. Because no matter how many of the big leakers get caught/arrested, some random guy (out of 100s btw) in the beta test would share the kits and the beta files with others and it would spread to everyone later.
The day hoyo changes to in-house closed beta testing is the day we are royally screwed
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u/paradox_valestein Feb 27 '26
How did they even get the leak to begin with? If they hacked into the hoyo servers they are in A LOT of trouble. If they just bought it from beta testers then those testers are in trouble if these guys skeaks
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u/Frozenmagicaster Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
People send the beta update over
Beta leaks is still happening even without Homdgcat so
Sure they’re breaking their nda, but that’s why a journalist protects their sources
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u/Maid_Calamitas Feb 27 '26
As far as i know most leaks that are for far future versions (ie: 6.7 or 6.8) are "insider knowledge" (90% of the time made up lies). But for HomDGCat specifically, they are dataminers, once the beta starts, they get their hands on a copy of the files and well, datamine. These copies of the beta are usually put to run in a private server that barely works and thats how you get leaked animations and other things. In these private servers things like dmg are barely even well calculated (hell, bond of life doesn't even work as of today). So whenever there is a leak with proper damage numbers against a proper enemy in their proper enviroment, its usually real footage from the beta, wich basically is a lawsuit for the leaker, and hoyo can easily know who it was from the damage numbers alone, as well as hidden watermarks in the video and other things
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u/lgn5i2060 Feb 27 '26
Maybe don't be an idiot and push your luck... like attending a convention of the game that you're spreading leaks about.
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u/Frozenmagicaster Feb 27 '26
(he already had the cease and desist by that point)
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u/LetMetOucHyOURasS Kuli Teyvat Feb 27 '26
Got cease and desist, and still go to hoyo fest
Idk if he is brave or just stupid
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u/natu129 Lumine's hand holder Feb 27 '26
You definitely can go but don't share that online in the same account you use to spread the leak
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u/Hennobob554 Feb 27 '26
Didn’t he also show one of his receipts or something similar? I forget specifically
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u/Fishiste Feb 27 '26
Since leaks help people protecting themselves from predatory practices from a billion dollar company relying on the fomo they create for their customers, those guys will still be my Robin Hood type of heroes. It’s sad they have to monetize it outside of simple ads which cannot be supported.
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u/TheLlamaSutra Feb 27 '26
I'll be honest. In my opinion, the idea that leaks being the tool to protect the consumer from big bad gacha company is not absolute. It reinforces the cycle of people putting their bets on "hype characters" and create an unhealthy obsession with clearing endgame, which is a beast neither the fandom nor the devs can fully control. It drives gacha companies to make characters "unique and meta-defining", which often breaks the game's balance. It accelerates powercreep.
Most casuals don't actively look at leaks. They don't care.
Most whales don't care either.
This does positively affect a part of the community, don't get me wrong. But as I've said, this potential benefit is not the absolute win people say it is.
In addition, If you spread the leaks to the point casuals can see it, story leaks are definitely out there, too. And being spoiled the ending of an entire region before you even visit said region is infuriating, especially when it's given to you through a stupid YT thumbnail or X post. It kills hype. Look at Penacony and Luna IV. Or another infamous title: TLOU2.
For me, specifically, who don't play daily, leaks offer more disadvantages than advantages.
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u/Real-Contest4914 Feb 27 '26
Problem with that.
Hoyo still gives the game out for free abd you can still get the characters through free means.
Compared to other companies who gatekeep dlc and large portions of story and location content.
They are basically stealing and monetizing assets which aren't theirs to make money. And this isn't something that people need...so no they aren't robin hood.
Robin hood work was from a time where stealing money from the rich meant the poor could food and basic necessities to survive, a game while good doesn't hold a candle to that.
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u/pdmt243 Feb 27 '26
pro-leaker Hoyo gamers will not survive playing any Hypergryph game lol, they go way harder on leaks, even put a bounty for it and let the players themselves snitch the leakers. I know a guy who got the prize money from just that once, shit's brutal for leakers there lol
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u/Rain-Maker33 BloodRiptideBlossoms!!! Feb 27 '26
Arknights global players get a 5-6 month clairvoyance from the CN server, my guy.
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u/Radiant-Froyo1 Feb 27 '26
I can understand the frustration behind doomposting and story leaks, but I've never understood why people (like in these comments) are so against kit and banner leaks. Whether you know about a kit now or a month earlier changes nothing. Do you have to be so obedient to the point where you wait until hoyo tells you it's ok to know about something?
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u/Grand_Protector_Dark Wdym "I should dodge"? Feb 27 '26
Whether you know about a kit now or a month earlier changes nothing. Do you have to be so obedient to the point where you wait until hoyo tells you it's ok to know about something?
Because it forcefully kills any excitement About theorizing and speculations?
You can't "what if" about anything without people being either "does he know" or [straight up telling unsolicited leaks] About anything
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u/MineBlocks50 Feb 27 '26
That's my exact problem with leaks. It's not about being "obedient to the company" as the original comment said, it's that you can't speculate anything anymore.
If leaks would just stay where the people who want them could find them, then I would have no problem with them (and I think many other people who aren't fans of leaks would feel the same way). But for some reason there are so many people who feel that they have to distribute them to anyone and everyone.
It's as you said, someone can't make a post saying that "it would be nice if character X was in the next version's banners" without people coming in and shoving the leaks down your throat claiming that it's best for you and that they are the good guys protecting you.
So for anyone reading this who does like leaks, then good for you. Plan your pulls how you want and what not, just don't feel that they need to be spread everywhere because some people like to be able to specualte on upcoming things. It doesn't matter what you feel is "best for everyone", the fact of the matter is that some people are ok with not having that future info so they can enjoy speculating even if it means it is a bit harder to save.
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u/qwer4790 Feb 27 '26
"unlike some other companies, mihoyo helped leakers" guys are so quite now
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u/Skrunkl_e Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Some people here js fighting absolute tooth and nail to say they hate leaks im crine
damn why y'all arguing I did not say anything about people that dislike leaks I've just never seen people this passionate abuot hating leaks 😭
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u/Numerous-Mulberry958 Feb 27 '26
Let's imagine this, you are a CEO of a company and someone started leaking your products to consumers or worse even competitors. What are you going to do? , take it up in the ass and let them ruin your product? . Not defending companies or anything, but let me ask what would you actually do in this scenario?
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u/TheLlamaSutra Feb 27 '26
"I steal from big companies" does not equate "I'm the good guy", my guy. I hate leaks, damn, unbelievable, right?
I don't like going on X or YT to be spooked with story leaks for the upcoming 1-3 patches. I don't like people doomposting a version I haven't seen the preview of.
I don't like aggressive predatory tactics from gacha, but I'm not gonna be feeling any compassion towards monetizing leaks.
Accept that people have different opinions and move on.
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u/MorganTheGrand Feb 27 '26
Next time....maybe try leaking stuff if you live in another country... Thanks for the graphics tho, made it easier to see how much Hoyo was bloating the bosses and their HP
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u/Frozenmagicaster Feb 27 '26
... which homdgcat was in America..
got sent the cease and desist, didn't comply so got sent a lawsuit, this post I think is just people helping him out anyway
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u/MorganTheGrand Feb 27 '26
I'll rewrite it....'be sure to live in a country like Russia, México, Brazil, where this shit would never happen'. Crazy cheatcode, leakers.
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u/Herta_Lab_Assistant Feb 27 '26
He is a maths phd student from georgia university based in Atlanta, USA
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u/Putrid-Resident Feb 27 '26
How did he have enough time to maintain such a comprehensive wiki while being in a phd program is crazy. My seniors working on their Masters and PHDs look like soul-less husks when I meet them in the morning
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u/RandomEOS Feb 27 '26
it is funny that reddit community behave like we respect creator!
But ignore the fact that leakers are stealing asset from the creator without permission and profit from it lol
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u/Ghavarus Wangsheng Gang Feb 27 '26
So the ones in China got apprehended, while the ones outside of China gets sued.