4 Best Tips for New and Returning Players in Genshin Impact

26, 2026, 1:50 PM EDT Marc Santos is a Guides Staff Writer from the Philippines with a BA in Communication Arts and over six years of experience in writing gaming news and guides. He plays just about everything, from turn-based RPGs to life sims, 4X, horror, and more. Marc has spent over 2,200 hours on Destiny 2, all while leaving his Steam game backlog to grow ever bigger. Genshin Impact is a massive game with hours upon hours of content to experience. Since it's a live-service title, it is continuously receiving updates that add even more content, which makes it a little intimidating for new and old players. You're going to get bombarded with information once you boot up Genshin Impact so long after it was first released, and if you're having trouble with that, here's a quick list of things you absolutely be doing first as a new or returning player. Continue the Main Story First Nearly every gacha game on the market has a storyline, and Genshin Impact in particular already has over a hundred hours' worth of quests, both main and optional. If you've just come back from a long break, then you absolutely want to do the main Archon quest first for the following reasons: The majority of new content (mainly maps, mechanics, and character progression materials ) is locked behind main quest progression. You get plenty of Primogems for completing Archon quests. You probably have a huge backlog of Archon quests if you stopped playing early into Genshin Impact's story, and while this gigantic list of quests can be intimidating, you don't necessarily have to rush all of it. Take your time, enjoy the show, and let everything else come after you're done with Archon quests. Complete Your Returnee Challenges If your account has been inactive for at least 14 consecutive days, it becomes eligible for the Stellar Reunion Returnee event. Yes, there are Primogems up for grabs here, but more importantly, you'll also get a boatload of materials for upgrading your characters and equipment. The good thing about the Stellar Reunion event is the majority of its challenges are things that you're going to do anyway. Some might ask you to complete an Archon quest or do Domains, while others may simply ask you to upgrade your teams. Pay attention to the challenges listed under this event to get significantly more items and rewards. Rebuild Your Teams Genshin Impact is constantly adding Domains with new Artifact sets. Some of these sets may prove to be major upgrades for your characters, so you'll definitely want to check if there are new Artifacts that can be used by the members of your favorite teams. Of course, the catch here is that new Domains are almost always found in new areas, which are locked behind Archon quest progress and map exploration. Build Your Favorite Characters First On a related note, if you previously stopped playing before you could max anyone out, I very strongly recommend you max out at least two or three characters first. You'll need a decent team in order to clear the combat encounters in Archon quests, and by getting a team of Genshin characters to max level, you won't have to worry about grinding materials for them again in the future. Set a Daily Routine One of the biggest issues that returning Genshin Impact players will face is the sheer, overwhelming amount of content. If you've been gone for several patches, then there's no way that you're going to complete everything in a single day. The best approach to overcoming this is to set goals. By doing this, you'll have a clearer idea of what you should be doing every time you log onto the game. My daily routine in pretty much every gacha game I play is as follows: Complete story quests (if any are available) Farm for character leveling and ascension materials If targeted characters are already maxed out, farm for better Artifacts instead Explore maps for chests and other open-world content Do available events Prioritize Farming Materials Over Artifacts If you have characters that need building, you should always focus on upgrading their levels and skills first before you start farming for Artifacts. This is because level/skill upgrades offer more tangible benefits to your character over random Artifact drops that may or may not be useful. Gathering materials is generally more Resin-efficient; always level your characters up before you start hunting for the perfect Artifacts. 8 /10 Genshin Impact Follow Followed RPG Action Adventure Gacha Open-World Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 87% Released September 28, 2020 ESRB Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact Developer(s) HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo) Publisher(s) HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo) 6 Images Where to play Close WHERE TO PLAY SUBSCRIPTION DIGITAL FX Wiki Wiki Multiplayer Online Co-Op Cross-Platform Play All platforms Cross Save All platforms Number of Players Single-player PC Release Date September 28, 2020 Xbox Series X|S Release Date November 20, 2024 PS5 Release Date April 28, 2021 Genre(s) RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World Platform(s) PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android OpenCritic Rating Strong How Long To Beat 294 hours X|S Optimized yes File Size Xbox Series 124.86 GB Wiki Fextralife Wiki Powered by Expand Collapse