With the month-long Summertime Odyssey event closing out and the Golden Apple Archipelago map closing its doors again until the next summer, Genshin Impact has officially released its 3.0 update! This latest update brings travelers to the new continent of Sumeru, as well as Dendro, a brand new element for players to wield!
Along with the announcements, Hoyoverse showed off previews for what’s to come in a special program last week. More Information has been dropped here and there in the past few days following up on the anticipated release of version 3.0 in snippets of reveals of soon-to-come characters and details on more mechanical changes to the games system. We’ll be covering all of these here in greater detail as a post-patch news roundup.
The update saw a final trailer being shown off during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event as well. Check it out!
▍ New Dendro Characters
While the 3.0 update release came with the introduction of two new Dendro characters in ★4 Collei and ★5 Tighnari, Genshin Impact’s Twitter account was quick to announce even more characters in a series of tweets.
It introduced Cyno, an Electro element polearm user who was briefly shown in the previous trailers for Sumeru, appearing first in an official prequel Manga alongside Collei who hails from the same continent. Alongside were reveals of Nilou’s official render, the Hydro element dancer was shown prominently in the lead-up trailers as a possibly key figure to the Archon Quest of Sumeru.
Perhaps most interesting of all was the last tweet showing off a completely never-before-seen character to be added in the subsequent updates after the drop of Genshin Impact’s 3.0 update, Candace.
Described as a protector of her own village, Candace seems to be another addition to the roster of the game’s approach to taking inspiration from Egyptian themes just like Cyno. Expected to be dropped in the next several updates for Genshin Impact, Candace, Nilou, and Cyno’s addition to the game surely hints at the desert landscapes that were briefly shown in the earlier trailers for the Sumeru update. Expect great contrasts to the region even within the same continent, as Hoyoverse is sure to reveal more information about the three characters down the line.
▍New Weapon in Banners
A new character banner of course comes with new weapon banners as well, as the update brings new weapons in the gacha pool, with more added to the craftable roster of weapons!
■ Hunter’s Path
Hunter’s Path is the signature 5-star weapon for Tighnari available in Genshin Impact’s newest limited gacha banner ‘Epitome Invocation’ alongside the polearm, Vortex Vanquisher. A weapon similar to the previously introduced Aqua Simulacra in terms of its ATK stats, Hunter’s Path is a bow that has the CRIT rate sub stat only available to two other 5-star bows (Skyward Harp and Polar Star).
What sets this weapon apart comes from its passive which sees its wielder’s elemental damage boosted by 12% passively, added with an effect where any hits with the bow’s charge attack give a buff to any subsequently charged attacks, increasing their damage relevant to 160% of the wielder’s own Elemental Mastery(EM) stat.
Due to the nature of this weapon’s unique scaling towards EM, along with its significant CRIT rate substats, this weapon makes for a perfect fit for Tighnari, with his EM-centric kit.
■ End of the Line
An unusual-looking bow made out off…a swordfish, End of the Line is a 4-star bow acquired by fishing in Genshin Impact 3.0 and trading your catches at the Sumeru Fishing Association located in Port Ormos. Similar to the other fish-themed weapon Luxurious Sea-Lord, this bow triggers an AoE damage explosion effect, only this one triggers its effect after its wielder uses an elemental skill.
Boasting 45.9% Energy Recharge (ER) Substats, End of the Line seems to be a more desirable option for sub and main DPS characters that require heavy requirements to their ER stats. This however comes with a trade-off in ATK to elemental recharge ratio, as there are better options if players are just seeking a way to bolster their uptime on Elemental Bursts (e.g. Favonius Bow or Sacrificial Bow).
Furthermore, the need for the user to be on-field when the elemental skill activates for the Flowrider effect to trigger makes this bow a very niche weapon choice for most characters currently available.
▍More Craftable Weapons
Below are the craftable weapons that were added with the update, covering all five weapon types. Interesting to note, is that outside of the King’s Squire Bow and the Fruit of Fulfillment Catalyst, the weapons revolve around the numerous Dendro reactions keeping in theme with the region’s affinity to the elements of nature. Of which, the claymore and the sword oddly share identical stats and effects across the board.
Though some of these weapons seem unappealing for the existing character rosters, do keep in mind that the updates for 3.1 and beyond will more than likely add characters that may enjoy its more Dendro-centric effects down the line. An investment for the future perhaps?
As a reminder, when trying to craft any of these weapons at the blacksmith, you will need a new material called the Midlander Billet. These are strictly different from the Northlander Billets we saw in the three other regions of Teyvat, so be sure to hit up the crafting bench where you may convert these billets for the purpose of crafting these weapons.
▍ New Artifact Sets
Two new artifact sets debuted with the Sumeru update, both accessible relatively quickly after jumping into the Denro Continent. The Deepwood Memories and Gilded Dreams artifacts are here to give travelers more material as they theory-craft new damage rotations and team comps to better clear higher-difficulty dungeons and new enemies throughout Sumeru.
■ Deepwood Memories
Deepwood Memories is the first of its kind Dendro-specific artifact, perfect for the two new characters Tighnari and Collei, along with Dendro Traveller. Its 2-piece set boosts Dendro damage similar to the other element-specific artifacts, while the 4-piece bonus causes a Dendro resistance shred on enemies struck by an Elemental Skill or Burst.
Interestingly this effect of shredding can be applied even if the character equipped with Deepwood Memories is off-field, making this set an ideal choice for Collei who sees a lot of downtime after each cast of her skill and burst. Very similar in theory to the Anemo artifact Viridescent Venerer, this artifact piece solidifies the Dendro element’s effectiveness as a supportive role for attackers aiming to do damage using its powerful elemental reactions.
■ Gilded Dreams
As the first 5-star artifact in Genshin Impact to ever dabble in Elemental Mastery (EM), the Gilded Dreams artifact set may be a strong contender for burst support/sub-DPS role characters to pick up over the more contemporary sets, such as Noblesse Oblige or Emblem of Severed Fate. The 2-piece set boosts EM which is simple enough but the 4-piece set is where it’s at. With a fully decked-out set, a character wearing the Gilded Dreams artifact can buff allies based on their elemental type after triggering a reaction.
This is where things get rather complicated, as the nature of these buffs are influenced by your team’s composition in comparison to the equipped character’s own element. Upon triggering an elemental reaction with a Gilded Dreams wearer, this set will give an ATK buff up to 14% for each party member with the same element.
Alternatively, the set increases the EM stat of the wearer up to 50 for every member with a different element. Like the Deepwood Memories’ 4-piece set bonus, the bonus effect for Gilded Dreams can also be activated while the holder is off-field.
The double-sided nature of Gilded Dreams is sure to open up more team comps for pre-existing characters and may even see team compositions that take advantage of the ATK buff by way of slotting in nothing but a single element for the whole team. Outside of this, characters such as Yae Miko, Fischl, and Kuki Shinobu who greatly benefit from increasing their EM stats will probably see more use from equipping the Gilded Dreams artifact.
▍Big Changes Come Along with Big Regions
Not only does the new update to Genshin Impact feature magnificent new locales to the game, but changes to the game’s systems and mechanics might influence your experience moving forward into the new continent. Here’s a rundown of some of the more significant changes that were shown in the latest patch notes:
■ New Resonance Effects
The addition of Dendro to the mix of elements in Genshin Impact of course means that there is a new Elemental Resonance equivalent to match. Along with the addition, the Electro and Hydro elements have had overhauls to how they work…
The new Dendro Resonance ‘Sprawling Greenery’ boosts your character’s Element Mastery by 50 and boosts your allies’ EM temporarily by 30 for a 6-second duration whenever any Burning, Quicken, or Bloom Elemental Reaction is triggered. Furthermore, if you follow up the Dendro reactions by triggering any of the secondary reactions; Aggravate, Spread, Hyperbloom, or Burgeon, this effect adds another 20 EM on top of the above effects.
Though requiring players to juggle elemental reactions quickly to get the most out of its effect, the Dendro Resonance gives a whopping 100 extra EM to party members when used to its full effect. With more Dendro element characters sure to come, this elemental resonance is a promising new addition to Genshin Impact.
The Electro Resonance “High Voltage” now adds the new Dendro-related reactions that can be caused by Electro, specifically Quicken and its secondary reactions Aggravate. Hyperbloom, although requiring a Hydro character to cause a Bloom reaction in the first place, is also influenced by the effect of Electro Resonance. The actual benefit granted by the resonance, however, remains unchanged.
Hydro Resonance “Soothing Water” used to be a bit of a joke amongst players due to its rather underwhelming effect of simply increasing incoming healing effects by 30%. This effectively meant that the Hydro Resonance was the only one of its kind that offered no offensive capabilities at all. This all changes with the brand new adjustment in 3.0 as this effect has now been changed to a 25% boost to Max HP for all party members.
Though this doesn’t look like much at first, one must also remember that there have been characters throughout Genshin Impact that directly benefit from having a higher HP pool. Yelan, Kamisato Ayato, and Sangonomiya Kokomi come to mind immediately, as their elemental skill and burst both purely scale off of their corresponding HP value and not the traditional ATK stats. Others that may be able to use this new resonance effect include Hu Tao, Zhong Li, and Kuki Shinobu.
■ More Party Slots
Ever had to change out your party composition every time you went out scrummaging for ores or artifacts? Now you probably don’t have to, as your configurable party slots have been increased to 10 separate teams from the previous 4.
The increasing roster of appealing characters has left users wanting more team slots as they had to frequently swap out characters for specific occasions while exploring the overworld. Now you can rest easy knowing that you have 6 other compositions you can save, so you can be ready for anything the world throws at you. Being able to quickly swap teams from the newly added tab is a nice touch as well!
■ Better Movement Experiences
Anyone using Ayaka, Mona, Sayu, and Yelan should be very familiar with this one. These characters would frequently get caught on bumpy terrains unable to move forward after colliding with a rock or a ditch before. Rejoice! As the update made it so characters with special sprinting animations/skills properly path through minor obstacles, getting rid of the stress of getting yourself stuck while zipping around the overworld.
▍Genshin Impact‘s Update 3.0 is Now Live!
The announcements following the latest update to Genshin Impact have been nothing short of a continuous bombardment of information, with content to last for days to come! We also saw some previews of characters and features to come in the soon-to-be-added versions after 3.0 in Candace’s reveal and possible hints to the next region of Sumeru to be unlocked in 3.1. As players begin their deep dive into the secrets of the new viridian continent, so is Hoyoverse ready to please its player base with its seemingly endless amount of contents down the line.
