Genshin Impact’s Upcoming Version Update Changes Addresses Concerns For Players Old And New

Early this morning, HoYoverse hosted a new Genshin Impact Special Program live stream. This one’s a bit different from your regular Special Program, so much so that they changed the naming convention for the Version. Rather than a version number, this one is Version “Luna I”. It’s all about the moon(s) as we head to Nod-Krai.

The devs had quite a few things to talk about in this Special Program, enough that they kicked things off a bit early and still ran for an hour and a half. If you’re noting the hour and 43-minute runtime on the video below, that’s because they decided the whole thing should have a tl;dw summary segment at the end.

Of course, the big focus is still on the action RPG's upcoming story content and characters. We are headed to Nod-Krai, and everyone else is too. We’ll be meeting new and old friends and enemies. Of the new ones, three: Lauma, Flins, and Aino, will be able to join us on our adventures. In fact, Aino will join us as soon as we meet her. Yes, for free. No wishing needed. So, prepare to have your first claymore-wielding Hydro character.

Lauma, of the Frostmoon Scions, will be up for grabs on the first wish along with Nahida. There’s also a Sumeru-focused Chronicled Wish banner – for anyone who wants to pick up more of the Sumeru gang. The second banner will feature Flins and Yelan and include an increased drop rate for Aino.

Since the anniversary is coming up, players can expect all kinds of rewards. This includes Primogems, Intertwined Fate, a special pet, and more. There will be free 5-star characters as well.

As for optimizations, with the drop of Luna I, oculi, shrines of depths, and other content will provide Adventure EXP, “Test Runs” (where you can try out certain characters) will now automatically give rewards to players whenever characters that have previously had test runs completed appear in the lineup – meaning you don’t have to do the tutorial for them again. In addition, Battle Passes will offer harvestable rewards, and the difficulty for open-world enemies and certain Domains has been reduced.

Adjustments have also been made to the artifact system, making it easier for players to determine if they should hold onto an artifact or not. Players will also now have an easier time tracking collectibles as they can upgrade the Treasure Compass to track items in Nod-Krai. The method of claiming bonus rewards has been improved as well.

There has also been a small change to Domains so that ones tied to 5-star characters or weapons with drop rate boosts will remain open every day for the first seven days of the boost, which means unlimited farming for the materials needed to improve the boosted characters.

Speaking of 5-star characters, it’s also worth noting that when one reaches its maximum constellation level, any additional constellations will be turned into something called Masterless Stella Fortuna, which can be used to push characters past the level cap to 100. This is retroactive, and the devs are tracking it all the way back to launch. Which means that players who thought they wasted rolls getting a 5-star that’s already maxed out will receive Masterless Stella Fortuna for every instance.