Genshin Impact 2.0: everything we know

(Image credit: miHoYo)

Genshin Impact 2.0 is all about Inazuma island exploration, Electro-themed collectibles, and a katana-wielding dictator. On top of that, you’ll find lots of new characters, new bosses, and new weapons in this massive update. If all that is not enough though, Genshin Impact 2.0 will also get you your own Serenitea Pot garden. Plenty of things to keep us occupied!

The Genshin Impact 2.0 release date is almost here, and miHoYo has shared a lot of new information. From the Thunder Sojourn event to the Mirror Maiden enemy, here’s everything we know about Genshin Impact 2.0 so far!

Genshin Impact Thunder Sojourn | Genshin Impact Inazuma region | Genshin Inpact Memento Lens | Genshin Impact Sakura Bloom

Genshin Impact 2.0 release date

The official Genshin Impact 2.0 release date is July 21. As for the Genshin Impact 2.0 release time; that depends on your location. On the official website, miHoYo states that maintenance will start at 06:00 for those in time zone UTC +8 (Beijing time). That means that it will start at 23:00 in UTC +1 (the UK), and at 18:00 for UTC -4 (New York time).

According to miHoYo, the update will take about 5 hours to complete. Every Traveler will automatically receive an in-game mail containing 300 Primogems to make up for the maintenance time (during which the servers are down).

What's new in Genshin Impact 2.0?

We’ll explore some of the upcoming Genshin Impact 2.0 features in more detail below, but let’s start with an overview of everything new in this major update:

A new region. After spending countless hours in Mondstadt and Liyue, it’s time to explore the brand-new Inazuma region. This is the first permanent region to be added since Mondstadt’s Dragonspine.
New characters. Three new characters were shown in the Genshin Impact 2.0 trailer: Ayama, Yoimiya, and Sayu. They are all from Inazuma.
New Archon, World, and Story Quests. The two new Archon Quests are called ‘Chapter 2: Act 1 – The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia’, and ‘Chapter II: Act II – Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow’. Furthermore, you’ll get to play 32 new World Quests and two new Story Quests: the ‘Grus Nivis Chapter’ featuring Ayaka, and the ‘Carassius Auratus Chapter’ with Yoimiya.
New events. The first major event of Genshin Impact 2.0 is ‘Thunder Sojourn’, which starts on July 22 and rewards players with a free Beidou. The second main event, ‘Phantom Flow’, will likely start about six weeks after the Genshin Impact 2.0 release.
New weapons. There’s a new four-star Inazuma weapon for each of the five weapon types. On top of that, there’s a special five-star version for the Bow and Sword. Let’s hope you like katana’s and the color purple!
New Artifacts. The first set, ‘Emblem of Severed Fate’, increases Energy Recharge and Elemental Burst damage. The second new Artifact set in Genshin Impact 2.0, Shimenawa’s Reminiscence, will increase attack power and boost Normal/Charged/Plunging attacks.
New enemies. The new boss character Maguu Kenki from Genshin Impact 1.6 will return in Genshin Impact 2.0 as a permanent World Boss. Apart from a bunch of new standard enemies, you’ll find the following new boss enemies in Inazuma: Pyro Hypostasis, ‘Perpetual Mechanical Array’ (similar to a Hypostasis), the Nobushi and Kairagi Samurai, four new types of Ruin enemies, and the Mirror Maiden (a Hydro Fatui enemy).
New Domains. Inazuma will be home to six new Domains, offering Talent Level-Up Materials, Weapon Enhancement Materials, and Artifacts.
A cross-save function. Great news for those playing on different platforms: the Genshin Impact 2.0 cross-save function will allow you to share your saves between the PC, PlayStation, and mobile phone.

Genshin Impact 2.0 Inazuma details

The Genshin Impact 2.0 Inazuma region is new to the game. Known as the Nation of Eternity, this new land will be a lot bigger than Dragonspine, as the latter wasn’t a separate region. And unlike the Dodoland Golden Apple Archipelago event region introduced in Genshin Impact 1.6, the Inazuma region will form a permanent addition to the world of Teyvat.

The Genshin Impact Inazuma region is loosely based on Japan in terms of landscape, architecture, and names. That means you’ll find a lot of cherry blossoms, samurai, and a massive shogun palace. Furthermore, Inazuma is ruled by the Electro Archon, so the overall theme of the region is ‘lightning’. Don’t expect the skies to be as clear and blue as in Mondstadt and Liyue!

Finally, we know that Inazuma consists of six different islands. The following locations were teased during livestreams:

Narukami Island. It’s home to the Grand Narukami Shrine and features a very tall mountain with a sacred Sakura tree on top.
Yashiori Island. A darker place, as the ‘presence of evil is palpable here’, according to miHoYo. There’s a skeleton of a giant snake on this island.
Tatarasuna, Kannazuka. A mountainous, more peaceful area with lots of cherry blossoms. Surrounds the Mikage Furnace.
Mikage Furnace. This giant smelting facility is somewhere in the Tatarasuna area.
Inazuma City, the region’s main hub.
Tenshukaku. The most important building in Inazuma City, belonging to the Electro Archon.
Komore Teahouse. Located somewhere in Inazuma, this teahouse is owned by a Shiba Inu dog (yes, the one from the meme).

However, only three of Inazuma’s six islands can be reached right after the Genshin Impact 2.0 update. Those islands are Narukami Island, Kannazuka, and Yashiori Island. The rest of the Inazuma region will release on a later date.

New Genshin Impact 2.0 characters

Three new playable characters from the Inazuma region will be added in Genshin Impact 2.0. The first is Kamisato Ayaka, a five-star Cryo character who uses a Sword weapon. Ayaka will be the first five-star Wish banner character, which means she’s released on July 21. If you’re lucky, you can play her as soon as Genshin Impact 2.0 launches. The four-star characters on her Wish Banner are Yanfei, Ningguang, and Chongyun.

The second is Yoimiya, a Pyro Bow character. As another five-star character, Yoimiya will be released with her own Wish banner after Ayaka’s banner has ended. This would mean that Yoimiya’s release date is around September 1st. She will be joined by the third new Genshin Impact 2.0 character; four-star Anemo character Sayu.

Finally, as Inazuma is Electro-themed, Traveler (your own character) will gain the Electro element. Before Genshin Impact 2.0, Traveler could only choose between Anemo (Mondstadt) and Geo (Liyue).

Genshin Impact 2.0 Artifact offering and gardening

Two of the most useful upcoming features in Genshin Impact 2.0 are Mystic Offering and Gardening. The Mystic Offering mechanic allows you to sacrifice three five-star Artifacts in return for a random new one (one of four types you can choose from). Given the amount of useless five-star Artifacts you receive while playing the game, this will be a welcome feature to many payers.

After Genshin Impact 2.0 launches, players will also be able to get a tool from Madame Ping, allowing you to gather seeds from plants in the wild. You can then bring the seeds to your Serenitea Pot to start your very own Genshin Impact farm.

Genshin Impact 2.0 Inazuma Electro gameplay mechanisms

Finally, Genshin Impact 2.0 will introduce some new Electro-themed gameplay mechanisms. Most notably, you can collect Electrograna from the ‘Thunder Sakura Boughs’ in the Inazuma region to grant you a unique Electro shield. Its strength can be increased by offering Electro Sigils to the Sacred Sakura Tree. You’ll also need Electrograna to protect you from ‘Balethunder’; a concentrated Electro power that can make you lose HP in certain Inazuma areas.

One of the most exciting new features is the Inazuma Thunder Sphere. Use these spheres to move around at lightning speed. According to miHoYo, the Thunder Spheres will be a common sight in Inazuma.

Time to sharpen our katanas and get ready for the Genshin Impact 2.0 update!