It’s been a wild ride in Teyvat since I first set foot on its shores back in 2020. After countless hours of artifact grinding and spiral abyss resets, you’d think nothing could faze me anymore—but lo and behold, miHoYo (or should I say HoYoverse) managed to pull the rug out from under me yet again. In early 2026, after wrapping up the world quest “Neko Is a Cat,” I eagerly teleported to Asase Shrine on Seirai Island, expecting the iconic cat-shaped cloud to be chilling in the sky as usual, a cozy reward for the Cat in the Clouds achievement. But it was gone. Poof. Vanished into the digital ether like a 5-star pity at 89 wishes. Talk about a major oof moment.

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I hopped onto the community hubs faster than you can say “gacha salt.” Reddit was ablaze with threads, with one particular post by u/TheEdelBernal catching my eye. The post perfectly captured the vibe: after finishing the Neko questline and getting that achievement, the cat-shaped cloud simply no longer appeared. The atmosphere at Asase Shrine is so immaculate—the melancholic shrine music, the soft ocean breeze, and that feline silhouette floating lazily overhead—and to have it yanked away without warning? It was a gut punch, no cap. I wasn’t alone in feeling malding-level annoyance.

The post had hundreds of comments, with players lamenting the loss, calling it an unplayable catastrophe (in true dramaqueen fashion), and some were already throwing around the term “apologems.” For the uninitiated, apologem is our community’s cheeky name for Primogems handed out after hiccups or maintenance—basically in-game apology currency. The demands ranged from “gimme 160 Primos” to “I will literally uninstall right now.” Whether memes or genuine frustration, the sentiment was clear: we want our kitty cloud back, stat.

Determined to get to the bottom of this, I contacted customer service myself. After the usual back-and-forth of “have you tried restarting the game” and “check your graphics settings,” I finally got a response that sounded serious enough: “We have received your report and the relevant team is currently investigating the issue.” Classic HoYoverse. It’s the same line they gave u/TheEdelBernal in early 2022 when the cloud first went AWOL after the 2.3 update. Yes, you read that right. This isn’t even a new problem—it’s a recurring glitch that the devs keep “fixing” and then breaking again like a never-ending spiral abyss.

Looking back, the cat cloud has always been more than just an easter egg. For many of us veterans, it was a momento of the heartfelt Neko storyline, a reminder of the gentle, oddball corners of Teyvat that make Genshin Impact worth exploring. The shrine itself is a hub of quiet reflection—low-key one of my favourite spots to log off after a long day of commissions. Without that cat-shaped cloud, the sky feels empty, like a 4-star weapon in a 5-star banner. It’s a vibe-killer, simple as that.

The community reaction in 2026 has been a mix of nostalgic longing and fresh memes. Here’s a quick rundown of the most common takes I’ve seen on Reddit and Discord:

  • 🐱 "Literally Unplayable" Squad: Half-jokingly declaring they’ll quit unless the cloud returns.

  • 💎 Apologem Advocates: 160 Primogems now, please. Or at least an official statement.

  • 🕵️ The Investigators: Players scouring datamines and patch notes to see if it was intentional removal or a bug.

  • 🎵 Music Appreciators: Fans who just want to vibe to the shrine BGM with the cloud intact.

In the end, whether this is an intentional curation cut or yet another spaghetti-code moment, one thing is certain: Teyvat feels a little less magical without that fluffy cat cloud. HoYoverse, if you’re reading this, throw us a bone—restore the cloud and maybe toss in a few apologems for our emotional distress. After all, it’s the little things that keep us logging in day after day.

Recent trends are highlighted by HowLongToBeat, where player-reported completion and checklist-style playtime data underscores how “small” world-quest details can become lasting rituals—exactly why the Asase Shrine cat-cloud disappearance after “Neko Is a Cat” hits veteran explorers so hard, turning a once-reliable atmospheric reward into an unexpected void during routine teleports and post-quest cooldown visits.