Everything You Need to Know About Genshin Impact’s 5.0 Update

Genshin Impact is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary. The game’s anniversary also falls on the 5.0 update, which will introduce the Natlan expansion. Genshin fans know that they’ll get the chance to travel to a new nation in Teyvat once a year. The game started in Mondstadt and since then, players have traveled to Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine. Natlan will be Genshin Impact’s sixth major expansion.

Along with a new nation come many new characters, stories, and quality-of-life updates. Since the game’s anniversary also falls on the 5.0 update, players can look forward to some incredible anniversary rewards. Many changes and updates are coming to Genshin Impact on Aug. 28, 2024.

What Players Can Expect from Natlan

As mentioned, Natlan will be the newest nation once the 5.0 Genshin Impact update rolls out. With the release of a new nation, players can look forward to loads of new content. A new Archon Quest will continue the Traveler’s story across Teyvat, bringing them one step further in their journey. Players will meet and have the opportunity to recruit new characters. Natlan also comes with new mechanics and so much more for players to explore.

The New Nation & Archon Quest

Natlan is the sixth nation introduced to Genshin Impact. It is the Pyro Nation, home of the Pyro Archon, Mavuika. Not much has been revealed about Natlan before its release, but players know that it’s home to many dragons, and it’s considered by many in Teyvat to be the Nation of War. Natlan is broken up into six major tribes.

So far, three tribes have been revealed, including:

• Nanatzcayan (the Children of Echoes)
• Meztli (the People of the Springs)
• Huitztlan (the Scions of the Canopy)

With the release of a new nation, players will have access to a new Archon Quest that will focus on Natlan’s Archon and the perils Natlan has been fighting for many years. Needless to say, the developers haven’t released too much about Natlan’s story— they don’t want to spoil the experience early. In addition, fans can look forward to Fatui Harbinger II Capitano (aka “The Captain”). Capitano will play a major part throughout the Archon Quest. The Natlan trailer even features an epic clip of Archon Mavuika and II Capitano locked in a deadly duel.

New Characters & Character Stories

With a new nation, of course, comes new characters. Many Natlan characters have been teased, but three major characters will be featured in the main Archon Quest, character quests, and the 5.0 Event Wish banners. The first three Natlan characters include Mualani, Kachina, and Kinich. Each of these three characters represents one of the three Natlan tribes the Traveler will explore in 5.0.

Mualani is part of the People of the Springs and she is a hydro catalyst user. Kachina is from the Children of Echoes and she is a geo polearm user. Kinich is a member of the Scions of the Canopy and he is a dendro claymore user. Each character represents the core principles, skills, and elements of their respective tribe.

Each of these characters will be available on the 5.0 Event Wish banners.

• Event Wish Phase 1 – Mualani (new 5-star) and Kazuha (rerun 5-star). Kachina (new 4-star) will be available on both banners. Players will also receive a free Kachina during the 5.0 update.
• Event Wish Phase 2 – Kinich (new 5-star) and Raiden Shogun (rerun 5-star).

New Weapons, Artifacts, and the Nightsoul’s Blessing

In addition to new characters, players will also have access to new weapons as well. 5.0 will feature two Event Wish 5-star weapons and five new forgeable 4-star weapons.

Weapon Banners:

• Surf’s Up – Mualani’s signature catalyst
• Fang of the Mountain King – Kinich’s signature claymore

Forgeable Weapons:

Players can obtain these weapon patterns from the blacksmith in Natlan. As long as players have the appropriate materials, they can forge these weapons at any time. During the 5.0 update, they will also receive three out of five of these weapons for free.

• Flute of Ezpitzal – 4-star sword
• Earth Shaker – 4-star claymore
• Footprint of the Rainbow – 4-star polearm
• Ring of Yaxche – 4-star catalyst
• Chain Breaker – 4-star bow

In addition to new characters and weapons, players will also have access to a new domain that will drop two new artifact sets. These artifact sets include the Obsidian Codex and Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City.

Obsidian Codex Stats:

• 2-Piece Bonus – While the equipping character is in Nightsoul’s Blessing and is on the field, their DMG dealt is increased by 20%.
• 4-Piece Bonus – After the equipping character consumes 10 Nightsoul points while on the field, CRIT Rate increases by 40% for 6s.

Scroll of the Hero of Cinder City Stats:

• 2-Piece Bonus – When a nearby party member triggers a Nightsoul Burst, the equipping character regenerates 6 Energy.
• 4-Piece Bonus – When the equipping character triggers an Elemental Reaction involving their Elemental Type, all nearby party members of Elemental Types involved in that reaction gain 15% All Elemental and Physical DMG Bonus for 10s. When the equipping character is in Nightsoul’s Blessing when triggering this, an additional 30% All Elemental and Physical DMG Bonus will be granted to characters for 20s. The above effect can be triggered even if the character is off-field. DMG Bonuses provided by Artifact Sets with the same name will not stack.

Both sets revolve around the Nightsoul’s Blessing, a new status unique to Natlan characters. Natlan characters can enter the Nightsoul’s Blessing state by performing an ancient ritual known as “Phlogiston Engraving.” Completing this ritual will boost their ability stats and give them a fire-like glow all around their body.

New Open-World Traversal, Saurian Companions, & Test Run Area

Natlan will introduce a new mechanic that allows players to have better control over how they travel across the nation. Each Natlan character comes with their own unique traversal. For example, Mualani surfs around on a shark-like glider over both water and land. These unique abilities will make exploring easier and faster. Players will be able to cross long distances and climb faster than ever before.

In addition, Natlan will also be introducing Saurians. The developers describe the relationship Natlan’s people have with Saurians as how ordinary people view their pets. The people have a strong bond with these Saurians and these adorable little creatures have unique skills and talents. Players will be able to recruit and utilize multiple Saurian companions throughout their journey in Natlan.

To compensate for the new traversal and Saurian mechanics, many open-world puzzles and challenges will be updated to mirror these new abilities. Instead of completing time-based objectives or collection-based objectives on their own, many challenges will allow players to use Saurians.

Since the Natlan characters will have unique and fresh gameplay styles, Genshin Impact will include a new “Test Run” area. The Test Run area is a map that mimics the open world of Natlan and will allow players to explore more extensively and try out new characters’ abilities. The Test Run will help players get comfortable with a character’s play style better than the simple character trials they’re used to.

New Open-World Bosses & Limited Events

Natlan’s release will feature two new open-world bosses. Players will need to farm these buffed-up Saurians for character-level-up material, artifacts, and other useful items. The new bosses include:

• Gluttonous Yumkasaur Mountain King
• Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant

And finally, the 5.0 update will include five unique events. Not much has been revealed about these events or the stories they might tell, but players can look forward to primogems and other useful rewards. The five events include:

• Of Thorns and Crowns
• Dodoco’s Boom-Bastic Escapades
• Traces of Artistry
• Mementos of Teyvat
• Ley Line Overflow – A common re-occurring event that doubles the drop rates of Ley Line bubbles.

Quality of Life Updates & Optimization

Natlan-Specific Changes

With the release of Natlan, Genshin Impact is updating and improving the way many things are done. Here are the significant changes that players need to know about.

• Upped rewards for completing the Archon Quest – Players will receive 500 primogems for completing the Archon Quest in 5.0. This update will apply to all future Archon Quest updates. Natlan’s Archon Quest updates will happen in 5.0, 5.1, and 5.3.
• Upped rewards for completing character quests – If players complete character quests within the corresponding update, they will receive more primogems than previous character quest rewards. They will also receive enough character ascension material for the corresponding character to get them to level 60.
• Episodic World Quests – This new system will make open-world quests easier to complete by making them shorter and easier to digest in small bursts.
• New Reputation System in Natlan – Players can visit the Obsidian Totem Poles in each tribe to receive bounties and requests. While earning reputation, Travelers will unlock Tribal Chronicles for each tribe too. As their reputation increases, the Tribes will gradually unlock three story chapters.
• Quick-Start Feature – Natlan will introduce a feature that allows newer players to skip straight to Natlan. Players will need to be Adventure Rank 28. They will also need to complete the main story through the Liyue Archon Quest. If both these requirements are met, players can activate the Quick-Start Feature, which will allow them to access Natlan without doing Inazuma, Sumeru, or Fontaine.
• Natlan’s exploration rewards will be increased – Players will receive more primogems and other rewards for leveling up Natlan’s Statue of the Seven, unlocking Shrines of the Depths, and leveling up Natlan’s unique area (similar to the fountain in Fontaine).

Event Character & Weapon Banner Changes

• Capturing Radiance – When players are on a 50/50 (meaning they aren’t guaranteed the limited Event Wish character), they have a chance of triggering a Capturing Radiance event. Capturing Radiance means that the player is more likely to win their 50/50, making it easier for them to obtain desired characters, even without a guarantee.
• Weapon Banner Fate Point reduction – Previously, players needed two Fate Points to guarantee their desired weapon from the limited weapon banner. These points have been reduced to one. Now, if a player fails to get their desired weapon on the first 5-star weapon pull, they will be guaranteed on the second pull.

Artifact Updates

• Improvements to artifact salvaging – Originally, if a player salvaged an artifact, they’d only get mora. In 5.0, salvaging artifacts will give players artifact enhancement materials instead. This will help players dismantle useless artifacts and save space in their artifact inventory.
• Sanctifying Elixir – Players will be able to use Sanctifying Elixirs to choose one main stat and two sub-stats on their desired artifact. This will allow players to customize artifacts to suit their exact needs. Sanctifying Elixirs will be obtainable through the battle pass and several other methods. Players will also receive a Sanctifying Elixir with the anniversary rewards.

Other Quality of Life Updates

• World Level 9 – Before the 5.0 update, the highest World Level players can reach is 8. 5.0 will introduce World Level 9, which will up the difficulty of the world state. With the upped difficulty comes better drop rates from all enemies, including bosses.
• “Found in the Wild” regional specialty tracking – Players can search in their inventory for regional specialty material with the “Found in the Wild” category. From there, they can click on the specific regional specialty they’re looking for and select “Go to collect.” This will highlight all regional specialties of that type on the map, making it much easier for players to farm character ascension materials.
• Upped drop rates for specific monsters – Some open-world enemies are notorious for dropping small amounts of material. To address this, Genshin Impact will be upping the drop rates for several enemies, including (but not limited to) Specters, Nobushi, and Kairagi.
• Battle Pass optimization – When unlocking the battle pass, players will be able to choose up to three desired rewards including mora, character EXP material, weapon enhancement crystals, and artifact enhancement materials. Additionally, players will also be able to choose their desired talent-up material from any nation.
• Improvements to the stamina system – Originally, players could only increase their stamina by fully upgrading the Mondstadt and Liyue Statues of the Seven. In 5.0, players will be able to max out their stamina by leveling up any nation’s statue.
• Imaginarium Theatre Changes – Guides, strategies, and tips will be added to the Imaginarium Theatre to help players better plan for the multiple stages of combat. The Imaginarium Theatre will also receive a new floor that amps up the difficulty for players looking for more of a challenge.
• Stellar Reunion update – The Stellar Reunion is a welcome-back event for players who have been away for a long time and have decided to re-enter Teyvat. Players will receive the original Stellar Reunion rewards and an additional 10 Intertwined Fates.
• Reset Top-Up Bonuses – 5.0 will reset all top-up bonuses for buying Genesis Crystal packs. First-time purchases will double the amount of crystals received.
• Invocation TCG – Several new Invocation TCG cards will be added to the game in 5.0.

Anniversary Rewards & Compensation

To round out Genshin Impact’s 5.0 update, players can look forward to the game’s 4th anniversary rewards. These rewards include:

• 10 Intertwined Fates delivered through the player’s mail (wishes for the limited Event Wish banner)
• 1,600 primogems delivered through the player’s mail (the equivalent of another 10 wishes)
• 1 Sanctifying Elixir delivered through the player’s mail
• 2 fragile resin delivered through the player’s mail
• Firstborn Firesprite, a new pet gadget, delivered through the player’s mail
• Kaboom Box, a new toy, delivered through the player’s mail

In addition, for the first time ever, Genshin Impact players will have the chance to select a free Wanderlust Invocation (common banner) 5-star unit. Players can choose from Dehya, Keqing, Mona, Qiqi, Jean, Tighnari, or Diluc. During the “Genshin Impact Version 5.0 Special Program,” the developers promised that players would be able to choose a free common 5-star every anniversary starting from 5.0. They also said that more characters would be moving to the Wanderlust Invocation banner, meaning that players will have a larger selection to choose from in future anniversary celebrations.