Genshin Impact is a free to play gacha game that was supposed to fail: The game was passed off as a Breath of the Wild clone that should've been riddled with pay-to-win mechanics. But surprise, surprise: it is now one of the best games of the year: Free to play, with superconservative gacha mechanics and depth and complexity that require a Beginner's Guide. Who would've thought?
You already know what Genshin Impact is and you want a beginner's guide to ease you into the game. That's why you clicked the headline. Thus, let us not waste your time with a lengthy intro and jump right into it: A beginner's guide to the complex world of Genshin Impact.
Never Let Your Resin Reach Full Capacity
Once you hit Adventurer Rank 8, you can start collecting Resin. Resin is used to open up flowers that appear after boss fights or Ley Line challenges. It is very important to never let your Resin hit full capacity. Why? Every 8 minutes, you automatically generate 1 Resin, but once you hit full capacity, you will be capped and not gain any additional Resin on top. Since Resin unlocks big rewards, it’d be a waste to be capped and not used.
Later on, there are activities that need quite a lot of Resin and it might be worth saving some up then. Early on, though, use your Resin to get as many rewards as possible.
Mark Your Map
You’ll constantly run into areas with tasks that you can’t complete just yet. Maybe it’s because you’re too weak, lack an element or you are just not smart enough to solve a puzzle (hey… it happens). Whenever any of that is the case – put a pin it. Come back later. Marking the map is a real time saver and essential in vast open worlds like the one of Genshin Impact.
Beyond that, you should also use pins to mark locations with valuable resources that respawn after a certain cooldown.
You have 99 pins available and you have them for a reason: It’s near impossible to keep track of everything without them.
Talk to the NPCs
A lot of the NPCs in Genshin Impact serve a real purpose: They have secret quests or will sell you rare items. Thus, it is always worth talking to everyone you meet.
If a mission or an NPC’s demands are not doable for you at the moment, remember our previous tip: Use your markers and come back when you’re ready for it.
Use Stardust and Prismogems to Buy Wishes
Wishes can be bought with real money but can also be earned just by playing the game: Prismogems and Stardust can be used to buy Wishes. You earn Prismogems for basically anything and everything. Stardust, on the other hand, is earned for simply opening wishes. The in-game shop tries to tempt you into spending your hard-earned Stardust and those precious Prismogems for items but don’t give in to temptation: Save your Prismogems and Stardust for Wishes.
Prismogems can be directly converted into Wishes but Stardust has to be converted via Paimon’s Bargains in the shop menu. You are also limited to buying five types of each Wish via Stardust per month.
Speaking of wishes…
Use Your Wishes in Groups of 10
When you open 10 Wishes at once, you are always guaranteed a four-star weapon or character. Four stars is the second-highest tier available and the drop rate for it is only 5 percent, so those guaranteed four-star rewards on 10 Wishes are solid. Take advantage of it and get those high-tier characters and weapons.
Oh, again, speaking of tiers…
Don’t Rely On Tiers Too Much
Yes, strong and high-tiered characters are cool and all, but your team composition actually matters even more. Don’t simply go by tiers or you might not necessarily have the most efficient and strongest squad in action.
As far as four-star weapons go: Yes, they are super strong, but they are also super rare. Since upgrading any given weapon requires you to have multiples of that weapon, the process can be tedious with four-star weapons. Three-star weapons, on the other hand, are found much more frequently and a fully upgraded three-star weapon is stronger than an unupgraded four-star weapon. Keep that in mind.
Adventure Ranks and Character Levels
A lot of the content in Genshin Impact opens up once you hit Adventure Rank 20. Actually, here’s a list of exactly what you get at which Adventure Rank:
- Adventure Rank 8: Ley Line Blossoms
- Adventure Rank 12: Daily missions and more Ley Line Blossoms
- Adventure Rank 14: Expeditions where you can send unused characters out to scavenge resources
- Adventure Rank 16: Unlocks the multiplayer co-op mode
- Adventure Rank 20: Spiral Abyss, a massive, multi-floor dungeon, and the battle pass for extra loot
- Adventure Rank 22 & 27: More dungeons
Now, you might think that it’s a good idea to rush through the Adventure Ranks but not so fast there: At Adventure Rank 20, the world level also goes up by one and the game will become much harder. Since your character levels are not tied to your Adventure Rank, make sure your characters are strong enough before that happens.
The Adventurer Handbook
The Adventurer Handbook is more than just an annoyance or a check-list standing between you and exploration: Doing the tasks in the handbook actually gives you some really good rewards for tasks that are mostly very easy. It’s a simple way to gain adventurer experience points.
Don’t Level Up Every Character
Resources needed for leveling become sparse later on. Early on, it is very tempting to level up every character and weapon you come across.
The problem here is that by the time you get to the characters you actually want to have in your party, you’ll have no awakening materials left to level them up. Think twice about which character fits into your team composition and plan for the long term.
Don’t Teleport Everywhere
The fast travel system is convenient but you miss out on the open world. Beyond the open world being beautiful and fun to engage with, it is also crucial: this is where all items, secrets and hidden chests are located.
Teleporting from one location to the next will mean you miss out on most of it and you’ll be severely underpowered.
Stamina and the Dive Attack
Eventually, you’ll find yourself trying to climb somewhere only for your stamina to run out along the way. Once that happens, you’ll naturally fall, but it doesn’t have to spell certain death: Use your dive attack when falling from great heights to mitigate most of the fall damage. Keep in mind that this dive attack also requires a sliver of stamina to be performed, though.
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