Antiquarian

**Qi Shiyi** (戚十一), formerly known as **Xiao Yao** (萧遥) and also known as the **Antiquarian**, is a Contain-Type and Difficulty 3 Survivor available for purchase after completion of the prologue. She is one of **43** playable Survivors added to Identity V.

—Qi Shiyi (Deduction Quest No. 4)

## Appearance

Shiyi is a thin, slender doll with fair skin, brown button eyes stitched in a symmetrical Chinese *fangge,* long, flowing black hair with sharp bangs and the upper half pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head, adorned with a silver hairpin, and sharp black eyebrows. Four silver bobby pins, two on each side of her head, keeps her hair in place.

She wears a traditional slate blue blouse with a high mandarin collar, gold *pankous* and hems, and white embroidery of bamboo, a knee-length black skirt with a tear stitched with black thread, grey tights, and black Mary Jane pumps. She wears a jade pendant on her left waist, strung together with a jade bead and red tassel on a red string. She wears dangly grey and white pearl earrings. Tears are visible in her left elbow and right forearm, showing cotton stuffing. She wields a long, hollow, extendable and retractable mechanical bamboo flute with a sharp mouthpiece, six holes, and a dangling black beaded tassel in her left hand.

## Gameplay

The Antiquarian is a contain-type Survivor who can use her Mechanical Flute in a variety of ways. She is able to knock back the Hunter and slow their movement speed, and can potentially stun and disarm (preventing the hunter from using their default attack) them if she manages to knock the Hunter into an obstacle granting her a free kite. She can increase her movement speed by 5% as long as she keeps spinning to allow her to transit, and can destroy Hunter-created items by swinging her Mechanical Flute at them. Her footprints also disappear 1 second faster than other Survivors which makes it difficult for the Hunter to find her. Every time the Hunter attacks within 18 meters, her pallet dropping speed increases, and the Hunter is stunned for a longer period of time, which can stacks up to 2 times (5% for each stack). As a downside, the speed of her gate opening is decreased drastically.

Overall Antiquarian is a versatile survivor as her Mechanical Flute allows her to perform her tasks such as rescuing, assisting and kiting in almost any situation.

### External Traits

Below is a list of Antiquarian's external traits. For more in-depth details, please check the individual pages.

### Character Statistics

**Press "Expand" to see the character's statistics.**

Movements
* Running Speed: 3.8 m/s (3.99 m/s if using Spin)
* Walking Speed: 2.11 m/s
* Crouch Walking Speed: 1.14 m/s
* Crawling Speed: 0.44 m/s

Decoding
* Duration of decoding Cipher Machines: 81.0 sec
* Regressed decoding progress from electric shock: 1.0%
* Duration of inability to decode from electric shock: 2.0 sec
* Time spent opening Exit Gate: 25.7 sec

Interactions
* Time spent dropping pallets: 0.73 sec
* Time spent vaulting over pallets at high speed: 1.17 sec
* Time spent vaulting over pallets at medium speed: 1.63 sec
* Time spent vaulting over pallets at low speed: 2.07 sec
* Time spent vaulting over windows at high speed: 0.87 sec
* Time spent vaulting over windows at low speed: 1.27 sec
* Time spent going through chests: 10.0 sec

Healing
* Time spent healing injured Survivors: 15.0 sec
* Time spent being healed by others: 15.0 sec
* Self-healing time after knockdown: 30.0 sec

Others
* Duration of footprint: 3.0 sec
* Duration of speed boost after being hit: 2.0 sec
* Duration of struggle while being held up: 16.0 sec
* Rocket Chair countdown time: 60.0 sec
* Time spent being rescued from Rocket Chairs: 1.0 sec

### Tips

**Please press "Expand" to see tips about playing as and against this Survivor.**
	+ Maps like Arms Factory, Red Church, Sacred Heart Hospital, and White Sand Street Asylum are good maps for Antiquarian.
* Antiquarian's flute allows her to potentially escape hunter pursuit and avoid attacks, even in open areas.
	+ The flute can be used to simply push back the hunter just to slow them down or knock them into an object, which stuns them and prevents the hunter from attack for a certain amount of time.
	+ Her disarm ability can support kites and rescues, especially if everyone has used up tide.
	+ If caught in a bad kiting location, it can be used to disarm the hunter so they can't attack while you transition to a better kiting area. This makes looking behind very important.
		- Be mindful that the time the hunter is unable to attack is reduced for every survivor nearby.
	+ Twirling the flute allows for an increase in movement speed- this can catch some hunters off guard, and throw off their attack rhythm.
	+ Her flute allows her to jump over low obstacles and through windows. If the hunter is too close to consider vaulting a pallet or window, try jumping over to avoid a terrorshock. Using the jump in open space can be used to gain distance when all other options have been used.
		- The distance gained by the flute can allow for a surprise balloon rescue if you are waiting to harass.
* There are no cooldowns to use of the flute, but it is a depletable item, meaning that after a certain number of uses, the flute will be gone.
	+ However, each individual movement has a cooldown, so you cannot push the hunter in the same way twice in a row. This also means you can't leap over obstacles twice in quick succession, so use it wisely!
	+ Additionally, while any movement depletes the durability of the flute, there is no set amount required to use it. If even a sliver of durability is available, any one of the four movements (sweep, swing, stab, flip) can be performed until the flute is completely gone.
* The flute can destroy certain hunter-created objects, particularly projectiles.
	+ This skill can be used to prevent the hunter from successfully inflicting damage, or to increase the chances of a successful rescue.
		- Things Antiquarian can destroy:
			* Sculptor's statues
			* Axe Boy's flames
			* Ripper's foggy blades
			* Guard 26's bombs
			* Gamekeeper's traps
			* Feaster's tentacles
			* Soul Weaver's web shots
			* Breaking Wheel's nail boards
* Antiquarian's footsteps disappear 1 second faster than usual- this can be stacked with Air Walk to reduce the time they stay on the ground. This can help you lose a hunter's pursuit, especially if you walk or crawl.
* Antiquarian has an increased gate opening time compared to other survivors. Try to avoid opening the gate if possible, and have one of your teammates take over.

Against Antiquarian* Antiquarian is a survivor with strong kiting capabilities, who can also effectively harass and support kites when she is within range of attack. Try to avoid chasing her first, because the disarming ability can leave you unable to attack for long periods of time, especially if no other survivors are nearby.
	+ The effects of disarm can be countered by Excitement, and can be used to catch an antiquarian off guard.
	+ Blink can be used to quickly gain distance before Antiquarian has the time to attack.
	+ If she manages to disarm you, don't waste time- break pallets or vault a window to continue the chase, as her disarm does not affect interactions.
* Watch her carefully as she runs; if there are no pallets or windows nearby to create distance, Antiquarian will most likely attempt to use the flute, especially in tight spaces. Walk back slightly or turn around to avoid it.
* Antiquarian is weaker against hunters like Bloody Queen, because the mirror image is unaffected by her flute.
	+ Despite being able to destroy hunter-related objects, some hunters can still use their abilities to gain an advantage:
		- Evil Reptilian's Lethal Crash can't be interrupted.
		- Undead is immune to stuns when his energy level is over 50 and below 100.
		- Breaking Wheel can also avoid stuns in wheel form and deal damage from a distance.
		- Wax Artist can freeze Antiquarian and allow for an uncontested hit. Every stun from Antiquarian will also increase her wax level.
		- Disciple's cats can prevent survivors from using their items/abilities.
		- Violinist's string music allows for long range attacks, preventing the need to get close.
		- Hell Ember's puppets and phantoms are immune to stuns.
		- Naiad can inflict damage with her abysses.
* If an Antiquarian is nearby while you have a downed survivor, make sure to down her or otherwise prevent her from attacking while ballooning.
	+ If knocked into an obstacle and stunned, the ballooned survivor will be dropped. Otherwise, you will just be pushed back in your path and move slower for a few seconds.
* Certain persona traits like Rage, Desperate Fight, and Addiction can be used to reduce the effects of Antiquarian's stuns.
	+ Tolerance can reduce with the slowdown effect of a pushback.
	+ Exhibitionist can be useful if you regularly miss attacks against Antiquarian. This trait doesn't help so much in chase, but the missed attacks provide a benefit instead of simply being a missed attack. Note that this only applies to basic hits.
	+ Impulsive increases the chances of a successful charged attack by increasing movement speed. This goes especially well for hunters with large hitboxes, like Wu Chang and Feaster, who have the potential to hit Antiquarian from outside of her stun range.

## Concept / Design Notes

As the first Chinese female survivor character in the manor, we first thought of the image of a traditional Chinese oriental beauty, but her thoughts and deeds should not be confined to traditional stereotypes. We hope that she is also independent and strong in her era, with her own beliefs to uphold. In terms of skills, this character uses a staff and has martial arts skills that can interfere and restrain the hunter aggressively. The combination of the two gives us the prototype of what we expect from a Chinese female survivor, with the ancestry of a family of scholars and the spirit of a warrior.

For her handheld object, we chose to replace the stick with something that has a little more subtle and traditional Chinese feel, the xiao (Chinese flute). Her special mechanical flute is a weapon disguised by elegance, and is not only a manifestation of her own disguise, but also a reflection of the contradiction between her heart's desire and the reality of her situation. In traditional Chinese culture, the xiao is often made out of bamboo to show a gentleman's character and sense of cultivation, so a bamboo motif is used repeatedly for her design.

After determining what direction to take with the character and the hand-held object, we officially started working on her backstory and appearance. The character's surname is taken from the same sound as "Xiao", and according to the game's background, the "Xiao" family is a family of scholars who lived in seclusion in the mountains during the late Qing Dynasty. The character Xiao Qi, who is gifted and talented, has been taught the ways of like and the Xiao family traditions by her elders ever since she was a child, but unfortunately, she was forced to take her ancestral bamboo jade with her and flee the country, even crossing the ocean, before finally living among ordinary people as an antique dealer. Along the way, Xiao Qi studies martial arts as a way to survive and get revenge, becoming more and more withdrawn and resilient as time passes. Therefore, her appearance is expected to be proud and cynical, and her dress should not be constrained by old times, but also fit in with her anonymous identity.

In summary, we expect this character to not only have the charm and beauty of an oriental beauty in her appearance and the traditional Chinese imagery in her belongings, but to also have a gentlemanly style and chivalrous tenderness of a classical Chinese temperament in her soul.

### Initial Sketches

First, we designed her in a outfit that's easy to move around in, based on the Antiquarian's martial arts expertise, as well as basing it on the clothing styles of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era. In the first sketches, we explored a number of directions to fit the character's temperament. The first option wass too chivalrous and did not match her current identity as an antique dealer; among the other options, the second and fourth option were more prominent in terms of silhouette features, but did not have strong personal characteristics and lacked memorability.

In the second sketch, both temperaments were good directions to take, but we chose the first option, which was more in line with the character's cold, unsmiling personality. However, the character's head was still not recognizable enough and still had the appearance of a random "passerby". We decide to further strengthen the design of her hair and face to enhance the uniqueness of the character.

For the third version of the sketch, we tried many different hairstyles. Among them, the curly hairstyle was more mature and attractive, but did not match the simple style of her outfit; option three has a stronger sense of naivety, which does not match the character's lonely temperament. Based on her personality and aesthetics, we finally chose option 2, which is elegant and memorable enough.

We refined the face one more time, focusing on the elegant features of the Eastern style. After refinement, the character design of the Antiquarian was completed.

### Character Details

1. Her face is a combination of oriental beauty characteristics, with willow-leaf eyebrows, cherry shaped mouth, raised phoenix eyes, and a little peach blossom mole at the tip of her nose. Her overall temperament is clear and elegant.
2. The clothing is mostly decorated with bamboo leaves, which enrich the costume and at the same time implies the character's lonely and unyielding personality and her ill-fated destiny.
3. The ancestral jade worn around her wait also has a bamboo pattern, and the combination of jasper and red tassels are full of ancient charm.
4. Her shabby clothing with patches hint at her family's downfall, and also reflects her character traits of "never fraternal, but poor and humble".

## Change Log

August 11th, 2022
* Adjustment: Added icons to each sliding direction for the Antiquarian's items.

August 18th, 2022
* Buff: The Wax Artist's External Trait "Wax Coat" will no longer activate when he's being repelled by her. It will only activate when the Wax Artist is stunned by her when colliding with the object.
* Adjustment: Antiquarian's Spin had a separate button. Tapping Items was no longer activate Spin. (Mobile only)

August 25th, 2022
* Adjustment: Improved the performance of the tassel on the Antiquarian's flute.
* Adjustment: Adjusted the font for the cooldown of Antiquarian's abilities so that it's easier to read.

September 1st, 2022
* Adjustment: The Antiquarian's trait "Obscure" now displays the number of stacks.

November 24th, 2022
* Nerf: Increase durability depletion of using Sweep, Swing and Stab from 13% to 15%.

20th April, 2022
* Nerf: Reduced the flute's slowdown effect from 25% to 15%.
* Nerf: Excitement can now ignore the flute's slowdown effect.
* Nerf: Stun time is reduced from 1.2s to 1s.
* Nerf: Increase durability depletion of using Sweep, Swing and Stab from 15% to 17%.

## Trivia

* She was revealed alongside Hermit at the 2022 Call of the Abyss finals.
* Her initial announcement via global Identity V Twitter stated her name to be “Qi XI,” which prompted players to assume her name to be “Qi Xi,” when her official in-game appearance revealed it to be “Qi Shiyi.” Many players assume “Qi XI” to be a typo, but it may be intentional: If one reads “XI” as the Roman numeral for “11,” then it would correlate to “Qi Shiyi,” as “shiyi (十一)” is Chinese for “eleven.”
* In her Character Introduction Trailer it was revealed that her family name is Xiao.
	+ As such, her flute may specifically be a *xiao* due to the mouth hole placement and her Chinese origins.
* Her current name, "Qi Shiyi (戚十一)", is a homophone for "seven and eleven (七十一)".
	+ Her former name, "XIao Yao (萧遥)", is a homophone for "frolic and stride with ease (逍遥)".
* Her favorite Dish is Dumplings probably because said dish originates from China, and she is Chinese.

## Name in Other Languages

 🇺🇸 | English
 español | Español(Spanish) | Anticuaria (Qi Shiyi)
 🇮🇩 | Bahasa Indonesia
 🇲🇾 | Bahasa Melayu
 🇻🇳 | Tiếng Việt(Vietnamese) | Người Bán Đồ Cổ (Thích Thập Nhất)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Translated from the official 2024 Character Days announcement post on Weibo https://weibo.com/6140485374/4985311753405780
2. ↑ Can drink Dovlin
3. ↑ As the In-Game Voice. A website confirming the voice actress of Antiquarian - https://zh.moegirl.org.cn/zh-hans/%E5%BE%90%E6%85%A7
4. ↑ In her Character Trailer, according to the cast list on the Identity V IMDb page.
5. ↑ As Bai Ze in the Summer Event 2022 Trailer.
6. ↑ Antiquarian Design Notes - https://weibo.com/6140485374/M1tBCFqk5