Although Genshin Impact is ultimately free-to-play, it is also a "gacha"-style game, which means that loot boxes are integral to the game.

As such, players who explore Genshin Impact will be occasionally enticed by a precious currency, infrequently rewarded in-game, but easily purchasable for real-world cash: Primogems. These blue star-like crystals are the game's form of premium currency, and they allow their spenders an edge over the competition.

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At the moment, Primogems only serve two functions in Genshin Impact. They can be used to refill Original Resin, or to purchase Acquaint and Intertwined Fates. This follows the usual "gacha" conventions pretty closely, with Resin being Genshin Impact's form of dungeon "energy," which recharges over time (or via money) and Fates being the game's literal "gachapon" tokens (Japanese vending-style games where participants insert coins to receive a random varying trinket).

Needless to say, players can purchase Primogems for actual cash. This can be done in several ways in Genshin Impact:

  1. Monthly Card - Currently titled "Blessing of the Welkin Moon" | $4.99
  2. Battle Pass - "Gnostic Hymn" | $9.99
  3. Genesis Crystals | $0.99 for 60, $3.99 for 330, further discounts for larger purchases

The monthly card awards players 300 Genesis Crystals upon purchase, and an additional 90 daily Primogems for logging in for the 30 following days. This totals to 3,000 Primogems after the month because Genesis Crystals (which can also be bought separately) are actually unrelated to the Crystal Chunks players can farm in Genshin Impact - they're simply placeholders until players redeem them for Primogems at a 1:1 ratio.

genshin impact genesis crystal fates

The paid Battle Pass is a bit more costly, though it rewards players with more than Primogems. Explorers who purchase the pass will receive some rare materials, additional EXP, 4 Intertwined Fates, 5 Acquaint Fates, and 680 Primogems. Of course, that's fewer gems, but the Fates can be traded for Wishes at a 1:1 ratio, whereas a player needs 160 Primogems per Wish. This effectively adds 1,440 Primogems/9 Wishes to the package (though only 5 of them can go towards a Special Banner). Explorers should also note that the freely available Battle Pass will also occasionally award Fates.

Players hoping to track down Primogems without spending additional money will want to focus on three things instead: Daily Commissions, Exploration, and the Spiral Abyss. Players should use their Adventurer's Handbook to keep track of Daily Commissions and Events like the Elemental Crucible that dish out gems, as Daily Commissions, for example, provide 60 Primogems every day.

Exploration, on the other hand, is a more natural path to Primogems. In short, discoveries generally grant Primogems in Genshin Impact. Sometimes, this means Achievements, or Story and Archon Quest completions, but oftentimes, the gems are simply a reward for making discoveries. Each new domain and waypoint revealed gifts players a one-time 5 Primogem reward.

Last but not least, is the Abyss. Players can level up to Adventure Rank 20 to access the Spiral Abyss. This late-game feature offers two paths to Primogems: the initial 8 floors found in the Abyss Corridor each grant a one-time "Star's Bounty" of 3oo Primogems for a flawless completion. And after that, floors 9 - 12 of the Spiral Abyss will each award 150 Primogem Star's Bounties that reset twice monthly.

Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, and PS4.

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