Genshin Impact Starter Guide

Genshin Impact is the latest free-to-play craze, but how do you get started? We are going to roll out some useful advice to answer any basic questions you might have.

What's the Goal in Genshin Impact?

There is a main story line that carries you through the game with fully realized cutscenes and voice acting (English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese). Your goal is to find your sibling, but you'll face some tough foes like the dragon Dvalin and The Abyss Order along the way.

You can't essentially "beat the game." As this is a games-as-a-service title, the story isn't yet complete and will continue through future updates; the next major update is coming in November. It's like the current model of Destiny, in which chapters of the story will be released over time and it will continue to keep going.

Currently, there are only two regions out of a presumed seven in the world, so Genshin Impact will likely be updated with new characters, areas, and missions to come across. Unlike other gacha games, it doesn't pester you that much, making this feel like a fully fledged AAA title like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

There is a comparison to be made with Breath of the Wild as it features a ton of world exploration. You can find better weapons, Artifacts, and currency within the chests around the world, and the best thing is that they don't break.

Bosses like the Ruin Guard drop important items like the Chaos Device that can be used to upgrade characters, weapons, or equipment. The ruin guard is a particularly nasty foe for lower-level players, but we have the tactics you need to defeat it. Like Breath of the Wild, there are puzzle elements within the world itself like the secret puzzle in Luhua Pool. 

We recommend focusing on the story at first as it is the best way to increase your Adventure Rank. Our guide will take you through that process. With an improved adventure rank, you'll gain rewards and features like Co-op, Expeditions, and the Spiral Abyss challenges. There's a lot here for the low, low price of free. 

Genshin Impact Gacha System

Gacha games are when characters and weapons are locked behind rolls. Imagine getting a Kinder Surprise and hoping for the toy you want, but with Genshin Impact, it's way more expensive than that.

You can earn the in-game currency (Primogems) to gain new rolls, or you can spend real-world money to make the process faster. There are multiple ways to earn characters in the game currently, but to get a guaranteed 4-star or higher item, you will need to use 10 wishes at a time. It's best to save them up rather than redeeming your wishes one at a time. 

Intertwined Fates are the purple gem-like objects that can be used to grab a wish from the current event, Ballad in Goblets, and Acquaint Fates are for regular event drops. Different sets of characters can be unlocked, depending on which event you choose to spend your wishes on.

For example, the Ballad in Goblets gives you a 0.6% chance to get the wind-based character Venti. However, with every unlock you activate, the more likely you will get the character. If you ever get confused by the business model and currency system in Genshin Impact, we have an excellent guide for that!  

A nice thing is that the developer of the game usually gives out free rewards for new players. If you want to find out more, check out our beginner's guide. 

What's the Point of Rolling for Genshin Impact Characters?

There are currently a total of 22 characters to unlock through the Wish system, and they all hold their own abilities and have an element that can aid you in battle or the open world itself. However, some are better than others! Characters like Chongyun can break through rocks with his claymore weapon while Venti has the unique ability to fly upwards.

They all offer something to the table, so it's worth rolling for more characters, especially so you can work with more elements. If you reroll the same character, you can actually upgrade the character. Elements can significantly change the battle.

Bringing up Chongyun again, he has cryo abilities and is able to freeze enemies who are standing in water. The wizard Lisa can also electrocute foes while they're wet. Mixing and matching the elements will give you an edge in battle. Fire from Amber can also burn weeds that are covering chests in the world.

If you don't want to participate in the gacha system, four characters are given to you throughout the story early on: The Traveler, Amber, Lisa, and Kaeya. You can also unlock Xiangling through the Spiral Abyss. 

We hope this helped you get your bearings in Genshin Impact. If you need more, check out our other guides on the game.