A good Genshin Impact guide can save players dozens of hours of trial and error. Whether someone just downloaded the game or is returning after a long break, the open-world action RPG from HoYoverse offers an overwhelming amount of content. With over 80 playable characters, seven explorable nations, and countless quests, knowing where to focus makes a huge difference.
This Genshin Impact guide covers the core mechanics every player should understand. It breaks down team building, resource management, exploration strategies, and smart approaches to the gacha system. Players who master these fundamentals will progress faster, build stronger teams, and enjoy the game without burning out.
Key Takeaways
- This Genshin Impact guide helps players master team building, resource management, exploration, and the gacha system to progress efficiently.
- Build balanced teams with a Main DPS, Sub-DPS, Support, and Healer—the free-to-play National Team (Bennett, Xiangling, Xingqiu) clears most content.
- Learn Elemental Reactions early, as combining elements like Pyro, Hydro, Electro, and Cryo dramatically increases your damage output.
- Manage Resin wisely by prioritizing character ascension materials and talent books—wait until AR 45 to farm artifacts.
- Save at least 160 wishes (25,600 Primogems) to guarantee a specific limited character, and avoid the weapon banner as a new player.
- Never skip daily commissions—they provide 60 Primogems daily, adding up to roughly 1,800 free Primogems per month.
Understanding the Basics of Gameplay
Genshin Impact combines action combat with RPG progression and open-world exploration. Players control a party of up to four characters, switching between them freely during combat. Each character has a unique elemental ability (Elemental Skill) and a powerful ultimate move (Elemental Burst).
The seven elements in Genshin Impact are Pyro, Hydro, Electro, Cryo, Anemo, Geo, and Dendro. These elements interact through a system called Elemental Reactions. For example, hitting a wet enemy with Electro triggers Electro-Charged, dealing continuous damage. Hitting a frozen enemy with a heavy attack causes Shatter. Learning these reactions is essential for dealing maximum damage.
Adventure Rank (AR) gates most content in the game. Players increase AR by completing quests, opening chests, and discovering waypoints. Higher AR unlocks new story chapters, domains, and weekly bosses. World Level also increases with AR, making enemies tougher but improving loot drops.
Resin serves as the game’s stamina system. Players spend Original Resin to claim rewards from domains, bosses, and ley lines. It regenerates slowly, one point every eight minutes. Managing Resin efficiently matters because it limits daily progression. New players should prioritize spending Resin on character ascension materials and talent books.
The Genshin Impact guide tip here: don’t rush AR progression. Some players find themselves underpowered when World Level increases. Focus on building at least one strong main damage dealer before pushing Adventure Rank too fast.
Building an Effective Team Composition
Team composition determines success in Genshin Impact’s hardest content. A balanced team typically includes a Main DPS, Sub-DPS, Support, and Healer or Shielder. Understanding each role helps players build teams that work.
The Main DPS deals the most damage and stays on the field longest. Characters like Hu Tao, Neuvillette, and Arlecchino excel in this role. They need the most investment in artifacts and talents.
Sub-DPS characters deal damage while off-field or during skill rotations. Xiangling, Fischl, and Xingqiu are popular choices. Their abilities continue working after switching to another character.
Support characters buff the team or debuff enemies. Bennett provides attack boosts and healing. Kazuha groups enemies and increases elemental damage. These characters often transform average teams into powerful ones.
Shielders and Healers keep the team alive. Zhongli offers the strongest shield in the game. Barbara and Kokomi provide reliable healing. At higher difficulty levels, survivability matters as much as damage.
Elemental Resonance adds passive bonuses based on element combinations. Two Pyro characters grant 25% attack bonus. Two Hydro characters increase healing. Players should consider these bonuses when building teams.
This Genshin Impact guide recommends starting with the National Team for free-to-play players: Bennett, Xiangling, Xingqiu, and a flex slot. These four-star characters are accessible and clear most content in the game.
Exploring the World and Managing Resources
Exploration rewards players generously in Genshin Impact. Each region contains hundreds of chests, puzzles, and collectibles. Opening chests grants Primogems, the premium currency used for wishes. A thorough explorer can earn thousands of Primogems without spending money.
The Adventurer Handbook tracks exploration progress and suggests activities. Completing handbook tasks rewards players with Primogems and useful items. It serves as an excellent daily checklist.
Oculi are glowing collectibles scattered across each region. Anemoculi in Mondstadt, Geoculi in Liyue, and similar items in other nations upgrade the Statues of the Seven. These upgrades increase maximum stamina and provide Adventure EXP.
Resource management separates efficient players from struggling ones. Mora (gold) and Character EXP materials drain quickly. Players should farm Ley Lines when these resources run low. Artifact farming should wait until AR 45, when five-star artifacts become guaranteed drops.
Weekly bosses drop talent upgrade materials needed for high-level character builds. Players can challenge each weekly boss once per week for rewards. Prioritize bosses that drop materials for main team characters.
The Genshin Impact guide suggests using the Teyvat Interactive Map. This community resource marks every chest, oculus, and material spawn location. It makes 100% exploration much easier.
Don’t ignore daily commissions. These four quick tasks provide 60 Primogems daily plus Adventure EXP. Skipping them means losing roughly 1,800 Primogems per month.
Progressing Through the Gacha System Wisely
Genshin Impact uses a gacha system for obtaining new characters and weapons. Players spend Primogems to make Wishes on various banners. Understanding how this system works prevents wasted resources.
The pity system guarantees a five-star item within 90 wishes on character banners. Soft pity kicks in around wish 74, dramatically increasing five-star odds. Most players get their five-star between wishes 75 and 85.
The 50/50 system affects limited character banners. When players win a five-star, there’s a 50% chance it’s the featured character. Losing the 50/50 means getting a standard banner character instead. The next five-star is then guaranteed to be the featured character.
Pity carries over between banners of the same type. If a player reaches 60 pity on one limited banner and it ends, that pity continues on the next limited banner. This makes saving for specific characters viable.
Free-to-play players should save Primogems for characters they genuinely want. Pulling on every banner spreads resources thin. A Genshin Impact guide rule of thumb: save at least 160 wishes (25,600 Primogems) to guarantee a specific limited character.
The weapon banner has worse odds and requires more investment. New players should avoid it entirely. Character constellations and four-star weapons from character banners serve most players well.
Starter characters like Traveler, Amber, Kaeya, and Lisa can clear all story content. Players don’t need five-star characters to enjoy the game. Smart investment in accessible characters often beats chasing rare ones.
