Genshin Impact FAQ: Answers to Your Most Common Questions

What is Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world action RPG developed by miHoYo (now HoYoverse). The game features a massive fantasy world called Teyvat, where players can explore diverse regions, solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and collect characters with unique elemental abilities.

Is Genshin Impact free to play?

Yes, Genshin Impact is completely free to download and play. The game monetizes through optional in-game purchases for items like Primogems (used for wishing/gacha) and Battle Pass. However, all content can be accessed without spending money.

What platforms is Genshin Impact available on?

Genshin Impact is available on multiple platforms: PC (Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Android, and iOS. The game features cross-save functionality between PC and mobile platforms, with some limitations for PlayStation accounts.

Is Genshin Impact multiplayer?

Genshin Impact features both single-player and co-op multiplayer modes. After reaching Adventure Rank 16, you can join other players' worlds or invite them to yours, with up to 4 players in a single world. However, some content (like story quests) can only be completed in single-player mode.

What is the main story of Genshin Impact about?

The main story follows the Traveler (player character) who is searching for their lost sibling across the world of Teyvat. Along the journey, the Traveler becomes involved with the seven nations, each governed by an Archon representing one of the seven elements, and uncovers the mysteries of this world.

How do I get new characters in Genshin Impact?

Characters in Genshin Impact are primarily obtained through the "Wish" system (gacha). You can spend Primogems or Fates to make wishes on different banners. Some characters are also obtainable for free through the main story, events, or the Spiral Abyss.

What are the best characters in Genshin Impact?

The "best" characters often depend on your team composition and playstyle. However, some consistently strong 5-star characters include Hu Tao, Ganyu, Zhongli, Raiden Shogun, and Kazuha. Among 4-star characters, Bennett, Xingqiu, and Xiangling are considered exceptional.

How does the pity system work in Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact has a pity system that guarantees a 5-star item after a certain number of wishes:

• Soft Pity: Around 75-80 wishes, your chance of getting a 5-star increases significantly
• Hard Pity: At 90 wishes, you're guaranteed a 5-star character or weapon
• 50/50 System: On character event banners, your first 5-star has a 50% chance to be the featured character. If you don't get the featured character, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be the featured character

How often do character banners change?

Character event banners typically change every 3 weeks. Each version update (approximately every 6 weeks) usually features two phases of character banners, with 1-2 featured 5-star characters per phase.

Can I play Genshin Impact with only free characters?

Yes, you can complete all content in Genshin Impact with free characters. The game gives several characters for free, including the Traveler (main character), Amber, Kaeya, Lisa, Barbara, Xiangling, and occasionally others through events. While premium characters can make some content easier, they're not required.

What is Adventure Rank and how do I increase it?

Adventure Rank (AR) is your overall player level in Genshin Impact. You can increase it by:

• Completing quests (Archon quests, story quests, world quests)
• Opening chests and finding Anemoculus/Geoculus/etc.
• Completing daily commissions
• Spending Original Resin on domains, ley lines, and bosses
• Completing one-time domains

Higher Adventure Ranks unlock new quests, domains, and increase the World Level, which affects enemy difficulty and rewards.

What is World Level and can I lower it?

World Level determines the difficulty of enemies and the quality of rewards in your world. It increases automatically as your Adventure Rank increases. Starting from World Level 5 (AR 40), you can lower your World Level by 1 through the menu, with a 24-hour cooldown before you can change it again.

How do I build strong characters?

Character strength in Genshin Impact comes from several systems:

• Character Level: Increase by using EXP materials and ascending with boss materials
• Talents: Upgrade combat abilities using talent books and weekly boss materials
• Weapons: Equip and level appropriate weapons
• Artifacts: Equip artifacts with appropriate main stats and substats
• Team Composition: Create teams with good elemental synergy and reactions

What is the Spiral Abyss?

The Spiral Abyss is Genshin Impact's endgame challenge content. It consists of multiple floors with increasingly difficult enemies. Floors 9-12 reset twice a month and provide Primogems based on your performance. Completing the Spiral Abyss requires two well-built teams (8 characters total).

How do I unlock all regions in Genshin Impact?

New regions become accessible as you progress through the Archon Quests (main story). Some areas may have additional requirements, such as completing specific world quests or reaching certain Adventure Ranks. Currently, the available regions are Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, and Natlan, with Snezhnaya and Khaenri'ah expected in future updates.

What is Resin and how does it work?

Original Resin is Genshin Impact's energy system that limits how many rewards you can claim from certain activities. You have a maximum of 160 Original Resin, which regenerates at a rate of 1 every 8 minutes (or 180 per day). Resin is used for:

• Domains (artifacts, talent books, weapon materials) - 20 Resin per run
• Weekly Bosses - 30/60 Resin per claim
• Normal Bosses - 40 Resin per claim
• Ley Lines (Mora or EXP materials) - 20 Resin per claim

How do I get more Primogems?

Primogems can be obtained through various activities:

• Daily commissions (60 per day)
• Events (major events provide 1000+ Primogems)
• Spiral Abyss (up to 600 per cycle)
• Exploration (chests, Sacred Sakura, Statue of the Seven, etc.)
• Achievements
• Redemption codes from livestreams
• HoYoLAB daily check-in
• Quests (Archon, Story, and World quests)
• In-game mail compensation and gifts

On average, F2P players can earn about 14,000 Primogems per patch.

What should I spend my Resin on?

Resin spending priority generally follows this order:

1. Weekly bosses (for talent materials and billets)
2. Talent domain materials for your main DPS characters
3. Weapon ascension materials
4. Character ascension materials from normal bosses
5. Artifact domains (focus on these at higher AR)
6. Ley lines for Mora or EXP when needed

It's generally recommended to focus on guaranteed upgrades (talents, weapons, levels) before farming artifacts, which have RNG-based stats.

How do I get more Mora and Character EXP?

Mora (in-game currency) and Character EXP materials (Hero's Wit, etc.) can be obtained from:

• Ley Lines (blue for EXP, gold for Mora) - requires Resin
• Events
• Battle Pass
• Quests
• Exploration (chests)
• Realm Currency from the Serenitea Pot
• Parametric Transformer (weekly gadget)
• Expeditions

How often does Genshin Impact update?

Genshin Impact follows a consistent update schedule with new versions approximately every 6 weeks (42 days). Each version typically includes new content such as story quests, events, characters, and sometimes new areas.

When is the next Genshin Impact update?

Version 4.7 is expected to release around May 22, 2025, following the standard 6-week update cycle after Version 4.6 (which released on April 10, 2025).

What types of events are there in Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact features various types of events:

• Major Events: Multi-part events with a storyline, unique gameplay mechanics, and significant rewards
• Mini-Events: Smaller events with simple gameplay and moderate rewards
• Web Events: Browser-based events accessed through HoYoLAB
• Login Events: Daily login bonuses during special periods
• Recurring Events: Events that return periodically with similar mechanics (like Hypostatic Symphony, Energy Amplifier, etc.)

How do I get free characters from events?

Occasionally, Genshin Impact offers free 4-star characters through major events. To obtain these characters, you typically need to participate in the event and collect a certain amount of event currency or complete specific challenges. These opportunities are announced in-game and on official social media channels.

What is the Genshin Impact anniversary reward?

Genshin Impact celebrates its anniversary on September 28th each year. Anniversary rewards vary but typically include Primogems, special gliders, furniture, name cards, and other in-game items. The anniversary is also often accompanied by special events and web activities.

How much storage space does Genshin Impact require?

Genshin Impact's storage requirements vary by platform:

• PC: Approximately 50-60 GB (and growing with each update)
• Mobile (iOS/Android): 20-25 GB (with all resources downloaded)
• PlayStation: Around 40-50 GB

Mobile players can reduce storage requirements by using the game's resource management options to download only necessary assets.

Can I play Genshin Impact offline?

No, Genshin Impact requires a constant internet connection to play. This is because the game saves all progress to servers and synchronizes data in real-time. There is no offline mode available.

How do I link my Genshin Impact account across devices?

To link your Genshin Impact account across devices:

1. Create a HoYoverse account on the official website or in-game
2. On your original device, go to Settings > Account > User Center and link your HoYoverse account
3. On your new device, log in with the same HoYoverse account

Note that PlayStation accounts have some limitations with cross-save. They must first be linked to a HoYoverse account through the PlayStation console before being used on other platforms.

What are the minimum requirements to run Genshin Impact?

Minimum requirements for Genshin Impact:

• PC: Windows 7 SP1 or newer, Intel Core i5 or equivalent, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 or better
• Android: Android 7.0 or above, 4 GB RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or better
• iOS: iOS 11.0 or above, iPhone 8 Plus or better
• PlayStation: PS4 or PS5

Is Genshin Impact coming to Nintendo Switch?

HoYoverse has announced that Genshin Impact will come to Nintendo Switch, but as of April 2025, no release date has been confirmed. The Switch version has been in development for several years, and players are still waiting for further updates.