I’ve been putting time into Genshin Impact since it launched, and have been having a great time like so many others. But that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t have its issues, or aspects of the experience it doesn’t make clear. Frankly, it’s like that in a lot of mobile games, especially the ones with gacha pulls and lots of progression mechanics.
That doesn’t mean the game is deliberately obtuse or anything – there are just things that you have to discover for yourself sometimes. But you don’t always want to put in that extra effort when somebody else can. So after playing Genshin Impact for a few weeks, I’ve compiled a brief list of mechanics or tips that can make the experience go by much more smoothly.
Some of these may be obvious, and some of them may be revelatory, depending on the kinds of things you tend to notice. But I totally feel like there’s a lot of useful information here, especially if you’re just joining Genshin Impact for the first time.
Genshin Impact Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Don’t Run – Dash Instead
Genshin Impact has a Breath of the Wild-like stamina system, which means you can only sprint for a very limited time. And when it comes to just running across the city or something, it can be annoying. But! If instead of full-on sprinting you mash out dodges instead, not only will you save some stamina, you’ll actually go a bit faster. It isn’t a huge difference, but a noticeable one.
Keep Your Weak Equipment
When you’re making Wish pulls, it’s always exciting when you get the four-star stuff, and even more so when you crack a five. But that doesn’t mean you should be dismantling or using your three-star weapons for boost fodder.
Since these weapons are more common, you’ll actually be able to get a lot of use out of them. You’ll be able to fully refine a three-star weapon much faster than a four-star, meaning while you hang onto that stronger weapon, your fully juiced-up three-star might be stronger for a while.
Dupes are Great
Genshin Impact, despite how friendly it seems, has a pretty nasty gacha-driven underbelly. Each character has something called a Constellation, which is basically a skill tree. But the only way to progress through each character’s skill trees is to pull multiple copies of them from Wishes.
Your progression won’t come to a halt if you can’t max all your folks out, but don’t be so disappointed when you pull a character multiple times. Those upgrades are great! The same applies to weapons, which get special properties when you “Refine” them.
Horde Everything
While some games like this have very limited inventory space, Genshin Impact will let you go hammer on those random resources scattered around the map. You have several thousands of inventory slots, and there’s no reason not to use ‘em. Even if you don’t explicitly need something, you might need it later, especially as you’re trying to fill out your achievements to squeeze those gems out.
Heal With Fast Travel
While you’re exploring the world you might run into the occasional “way stronger than you” monster, and get your butt kicked. If you survived, you don’t need to always scramble for food or waste items. If there’s a Statue of the Seven nearby, just fast travel to that bad boy and you’ll get patched right up for free.
Use the Handbook!
You might see the Adventurer’s Handbook and dismiss it as a codex-type installation, and you’ll be mostly correct. But this is a gacha game, and that means grinding for resources if you don’t want to buy them.
The cool thing about the Handbook is that there’s a record of where to find a lot of the resources you need. That way you don’t have to keep track of everything or refer to guides, and you can come back to it whenever you need to know which boss you should be farming when you need a specific material. It’s an actually handy handbook!
Burn Those Books
As you play Genshin Impact you’ll get a lot of resources meant to pump EXP into your characters and equipment. It can be tempting to hold onto that stuff, but games like this really don’t want you to do that.
In fact, the amount of EXP you get from killing monsters and doing quests is just low enough that you will run into roadblocks. It can feel a little like cheating, but making sure you can at least keep up with dungeon requirements will help keep everything moving.
Also, your equipment doesn’t get stronger without those boosts, and don’t forget to level up the accessories! That’s the easiest part to forget, and one of the best ways to quickly boost power.
Elements Matter
In some games you can get by even if your type advantages aren’t all fully set up. But in Genshin Impact, even weak enemies can be pains in the ass if you’re mismatching elements. On the other hand, while a neutral attack can also work when you need it, having the element advantage is a huge deal. Even weaker characters can suddenly become DPS monsters simply from the elemental advantage bonus.
- Free Characters in Genshin Impact: Who They are and How to Get Them
- Genshin Impact Currency Guide
- How to Raise Adventure Rank in Genshin Impact
That’s all for now, aside from the obvious. You always want to study the gacha banners, and be careful about your spending. Especially if you want a certain character. But that’s a universal law of gacha, and everyone learns it one way or another. You also want to make sure you’re always chasing Adventure Rank EXP, so on and so forth.
The broader picture in Genshin Impact is pretty straightforward. But getting to know the game, in the ways I went over up there, leads to a much more positive experience.
What do you think? Are there any other things you wish you knew when you were just getting started in Genshin Impact? Or have you been pretty smooth sailing since you started it? Let us know over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels!
