Melding elements of a Fire Emblem Heroes-style Gacha game with the gameplay of an open-world action RPG, Genshin Impact is a free-to-play adventure that explores a fantasy based on traditional Chinese folklore. While there used to be a time when players would scoff at something like Genshin Impact, which is entirely free-to-play but has microtransactions, the game is genuinely content-rich. For those who jumped in at launch, the game has ended up being a surprise hit among the hardcore fans who've started playing since day one.
There's plenty of reason for new players to give this game a try, mostly because the game only gets much better as it goes on. That being said, while remaining entirely spoiler-free, there are some things that new players should keep in mind when starting Genshin Impact. The game does have a bit of an elongated starting quest, but in general, the game does take its time teaching players the ropes. However, there are some things the beginning quests do gloss over that players should certainly keep in mind when starting Genshin Impact.
Updated on July 18, 2022, by Scott Vengel: Once again, the Genshin Impact community finds itself in a frenzy, mostly in a good way. Leaks have revealed a lot of information about the next most anticipated region, Sumeru, and in addition, at the official release of Hoyoverse, a teaser revealing the appearances of all Fatui Harbingers. Naturally, all of this juicy information has left many in the gaming community looking to restart with Genshin Impact, in order to relive old experiences before the new region, as well as to reroll for Sumeru's new cast of characters. In anticipation of new players joining the fray, this article will be updated to clarify inaccuracies in the original release, as well as add more tips to help beginners in Genshin Impact's early game.
Re-Rolling The First Banner
After the introductory quest and players finally arrive in Mondstadt, that's when players unlock the "Wish" function. Wishing in Genshin Impact is the Gacha-based system that gifts players with new heroes as they play throughout the game. For those wishing for the first time, it's generally the safest option to use the first-time "Beginners' Wish" pull. Beginners' Wish guarantees a 4-star Noelle with 8 Acquainted Fates (20% off), wish is a huge boon for players just starting out. However, future pulls will be divided between the "Wanderlust Invocation" banner (the permanent standard banner), and limited-time character and weapon event banners which feature a rate-up for a specific 5-star (and typically 3 4-star characters).
In general, the first 5-star and 4-star characters that a player pulls can have a major impact on their success in the late game. As such, players may want to consider rerolling. Rerolling is when a player creates multiple accounts, utilizing their initial primogems to pull a desired character or weapon from Genshin Impact’s banners.
This gives the player the opportunity to pull their most wanted character among either the banner’s featured limited characters or the five standard 5-stars — Diluc, Jean, Keqing, Qiqi, and Mona. In this way, players can either guarantee that they receive the limited feature or their desired "standard" character.
Alternatively, instead of rerolling, players may choose to skip their first banners and save a large number of primogems for another of their choice. Though this option may leave the player with limited 5-star access (making the early game slower), it also gives players ample time to prepare building materials for their character of choice.
Stick to Main Story Quests, At Least Until Commission Rewards
Upon completing those first few quests and players get their first Wishes for characters, it's then time to move on into the world of Genshin Impact. One thing that new players should absolutely keep in mind is that they should keep moving on with the main storyline, at least until they get access to Commission Rewards. Exploring around is still fine, however, if players really want to grind their Adventure Level up fast (like if they want to play coop, they need Adventure Rank 16), then it's best to limit exploration to smaller chunks. Besides, the main quest rewards a decent amount of Adventure Rank experience, exploring is really only necessary for getting materials to upgrade/level up.
If for whatever reason players are having trouble with certain enemies, or their Adventure Rank needs to be higher to continue the main quest, then feel free to explore plenty. Exploring generally has a lot of rewards for enhancing and finding new weapons, leveling up characters alongside finding items that also fast-track leveling up for all characters.
Once players access Commission Rewards, then exploring and doing those Commission tasks at the same time nets twice as many Adventure Rank points, alongside the benefits of world exploration. That way, players can grind upgrades (like from the Statues of the Seven) whilst also leveling Adventure Rank as fast as possible.
Redeem All Free Bonuses, As Often As Possible
Also, another thing players want to be aware of is that there are several additional bonuses that gain extra currencies for free in Genshin Impact. Many of these are constrained to menus, but some of them are also found in the world as well. Firstly, always make sure to check both Mail and Events upon each login, as those are the two main sources of free income from Genshin Impact. Mail in particular has had a ton of Primogem rewards for new players, whereas events are where daily login bonuses are redeemed. There are also a few optional challenges and character trials that players can participate in for extra rewards as well.
Once those are all checked and redeemed, it's important to keep an eye out across the world of Genshin Impact as well. Whenever players' Adventure Ranks level up, they should always be checking in on the Adventurer's Guild in Mondstadt for tons of free resources. This is also where players obtain the Adventurer's Handbook, which has little milestone rewards that can be completed while doing quests or exploring the world as well. There are also the Challenge arenas found throughout Genshin Impact that players should continually visit when they can. These fights are perfect for XP, upgrade/XP materials, and money, and can be grinded up to six times for free daily.
Finally, it's also worth noting not to get overwhelmed by any of these different systems or rewards. The wonderful thing about Genshin Impact is that there are a ton of avenues to get rewards that players can take advantage of. If one or a few of these rewards are missed, it's truly not a big deal, this information is strictly for those who wish to optimize their time ranking up their Adventure Rank and more. All of these methods and options are totally free to players, so it's useful knowledge for anyone jumping into Genshin Impact for the first time.
Saving Primogems And Pulling Strategically On Banners
Rerolling can only go so far, as eventually, players will want to settle on a rerolled character. At this point, there is no easy solution to continuing in the early game that will give players an advantage in their primogem count. However, there are a few ways for players to improve their primogem consumption, in order to get what they want out of Genshin Impact.
For one, there are largely two main uses for primogems in Genshin Impact — pulling on banners and using them to refill resin. Resin is essentially the resource that allows players to obtain rewards in boss fights and domains, and for that reason, it is incredibly important for players looking to build characters and weapons. That said, resin regenerates naturally, at a rate of 1 resin per 8 minutes, so it is not recommended for players to use their primogems in this fashion unless they desperately need to ascend weapons and characters.
On the other hand, primogems are largely the only ways to pull on banners, so players are heavily recommended to use their gems for this purpose. Players can improve their chances of pulling characters and weapons on banners by saving primogems over a long period of time. This way, there is no need to scramble for primogems when a banner featuring a favorite character is released, increasing the chance of receiving the characters that will make the game easier to play.
Don’t Forget About Ley Lines
Given how much is given in the early game, Genshin Impact players just beginning often underestimate the importance of mora and EXP raising booklets. This is a dangerous line of thought to enter, as these resources provide some of the most crucial processes in all of Genshin Impact — from improving artifacts to refining weapons, every step of the character-building process relies on mora in some way, and likewise, EXP booklets have a high cost when leveling characters in the game.
Given the rate of consumption of these items, in particular, players often find themselves running low by the time they are reaching Liyue, only the second region in the game. Players often find it helpful to visit Ley Lines, the yellow and blue bubbles that give out mora and EXP booklets respectively, often in the early game. Outcrops of these Ley Lines can be found in each region, offering a different set of opponents depending on which region they're in — players will find themselves preferring one nation over others based on the elements and reactions found in their team.
Genshin Impact is available now on PC, PS4, Android, and iOS devices. A Nintendo Switch version is in development.