Genshin Impact is huge. There are hundreds of hours of content alone before you’ve even seen the end of the map, and that’s not counting collecting characters from the gacha system, building them, and pitting them against the game’s (notably limited) endgame content. So, is it too late to start Genshin Impact with all that ahead of you? The answer is simple, its reasons are many.
It’s Never Too Late to Start Genshin Impact – Here’s Why
A year ago, I asked myself the same question that this article asks: Is it too late to start a game like Genshin? Fontaine was on the horizon, and I knew I had almost 100 hours of story and side content to chew through, not to mention being significantly behind on my 5-star character collection. Would I buckle under the weight of too little damage, healing, and buffs? Would the game’s difficulty spikes put me off finishing the story content? How would I catch up with the veterans I asked for advice on?
The short version? I jumped into Genshin and started grinding. I scrounged up enough Primogems for a Kokomi, one of the limited 5-star characters at the time, and was on my way. A year later, I can say that there are a few times better to get into Genshin right now, whenever “right now” might be for you. Worrying about what team you’re going to run first, which OP character you want, or any such considerations can wait. Your first few dozen hours playing the game aren’t nearly demanding enough for your team composition to matter. You’ll be spending too much time learning the systems, exploring the world, questing, and treasure hunting for it to matter.
The first real hurdle you’re likely to face doesn’t appear until you reach the Inazuma region, which, depending on your pace, can take upwards of 30 to 40 hours. Up to that point, you’ll be mostly cruising through every boss encounter, and if you don’t ascend your World Level past 3 or 4, you won’t run into any roadblocks.
Let’s also say that 30-40 hours takes you at least ten or twelve days to get through. In that time, the active limited character banner might swap, or an entirely new version of the game might begin. There are bound to be some in-game events as well, especially if you get into the game in the lead-up to a new region update. No matter when you start, however, know that you’re never really “out” of anything. Limited character banners come back around every four to eight months, and there’s almost always one type of character you’ll want in your team, whether they’re 4 or 5-star.
There’s Always Something to Do in Genshin Impact
Or at least, there is until you’ve spent several hundred hours doing all the content available in the game — a value that has at least three more years to balloon. The list of objectives available in Genshin is staggering, and some of them you can self-impose. Here are just a few:
- Complete all the main story Archon Quests. Doing this alone is a 100+ hour venture.
- Unlocking the entire map and all the fast travel points. Another dozen or so hours.
- Getting through the Adventurer’s Handbook Guide tasks. These handy objectives give you a rough. roadmap of things to do every day.
- Increasing your Adventure Rank. For the first several dozen hours, your AR will advance steadily, but you’ll need to be careful not to advance it too high or too fast, or the enemies will outstrip you in power.
- Participating in limited events. Genshin almost always has some sort of limited in-game event to enjoy, where you can earn Primogems, experience items, weapons, and more.
- Open the many treasure chests scattered about the world. These are a great supplementary source of materials and Primogems.
- Complete World and side quests. There are hundreds these days.
- Gather materials. You’ll need a lot of them.
- Challenge domains for additional upgrades. Domains are where Genshin‘s endgame goes to die (mostly), so get familiar with their mechanics early.
Is it a daunting amount of content to get through? Yes, but that’s the case for anyone getting into Genshin now, and the game is all the better for it. You have more resources and ways to play than ever before, so don’t worry too much about the mountain that is getting to the endgame.
Genshin Impact has always been about the journey, not the destination. And even if you can’t get that shiny new 5-star character now, they’ll come around again, probably about the time you have the resources to actually build them. Or skip them again and save your resources for someone you like even more.
Learn more about the game through our Genshin Impact guide hub.
