My Stumble Through the Shape of Empathy Thing in Genshin
Okay, so I was deep into the Sumeru region the other day, you know, running around, clearing quests, the usual grind. Got tangled up in that massive Aranyaka world quest chain. Honestly, it’s huge, felt like I was never gonna finish it.
Part of that whole thing involved getting this little gadget, the Vintage Lyre. Cute little thing. Then you gotta learn these specific songs from the Aranara, those little plant guys. Each song does something different, supposed to help you interact with stuff out in the wild.
So, I learned a few tunes, felt pretty good about it. Then I started noticing these weird spots – sometimes like a green bubble barrier blocking a chest or a path, other times it was like a hidden object marker, kinda swirling green energy. Couldn’t interact with them directly, hitting them did nothing.
Took me a bit to connect the dots. I remembered one of the songs the Aranara taught me was specifically for dealing with these kinds of obstacles. I think they called it the “Shape of Empathy” song, or something similar. It wasn’t immediately obvious this was the tool for those specific green things.
Figuring Out the Lyre Part
So, what I did next was trial and error, mostly.
- I’d walk up to one of those green barriers.
- Open my inventory, go to the gadget tab.
- Equip the Vintage Lyre. This part’s a bit fiddly sometimes, swapping gadgets around.
- Once equipped, I had to activate it near the barrier.
- Then, you get this little interface to select the song. I scrolled through until I found the right one, the “Shape of Empathy” melody.
- Played the notes. You gotta get the sequence right, but the game shows you which ones to press.
The first few times, I messed up. Either I stood too far away, or I picked the wrong song accidentally. It’s easy to forget which tune does what when you’ve learned a bunch. I remember standing there, playing the wrong melody, and nothing happening. Felt a bit silly.
But eventually, I got the hang of it. Stand close enough, equip the lyre, select the “Shape of Empathy” tune, play it correctly. Boom! The green barrier dissolves, or the hidden object appears, or whatever the puzzle was. Usually revealed a chest, a hidden passage, or sometimes another Aranara needing help.
It’s one of those mechanics that feels a bit clunky at first, switching gadgets and playing tunes. But once you do it a few times, it becomes second nature. Just another tool in the box for exploring Sumeru. Pretty satisfying when that barrier finally vanishes after you play the right notes.
