With the addition of the Natlan region in Version 5.0, Genshin Impact is likely to get some big changes - here are the things we’d love to see added in this hugely anticipated upcoming update.
Mounts
While mounts are all but confirmed for Natlan, we felt the need to include them on this list because we have no idea just how they work yet. What we’d love to see is the ability to mount creatures seamlessly regardless of where the player is in the map and be able to traverse different types of terrain quickly and easily, much like Pokémon Legends Arceus’ various mounts. The Pokémon game features mounts for quickly traversing ground (Wyrdeer), finding hidden treasure (Ursaluna), traveling on water (Basculegion), climbing walls and mountains (Sneasler) and gliding in the air (Hisuian Braviary). While Genshin Impact doesn’t need all of these mounts 1 to 1, we feel taking some inspiration from this game might be a great idea in terms of having movement across the map feel fun and engaging.
We’ve gotten two glimpses of Natlan so far in promotional material, through the Version 4.7 and Version 4.8 Special Programs. Both of these showed creatures that looked like mounts, but gave very little further context. This teaser shown at the end of the Version 4.8 Special Program has us hopeful, though - these mounts look like they’ll really add a lot to exploring Teyvat!
Combat Changes
Genshin Impact turns four years old this September, and has come a long way since it launched! However, its combat mechanics have mostly stayed stagnant in those four years, with the exception of the addition of the Dendro element in 2022. Genshin Impact’s combat is beloved for a reason, and is surely a key component in the game’s success, but at times it can feel painfully button-mashy. Almost any fight in the game can be solved by simply having strong, well-built characters that can create strong Elemental Reactions together, and using their attacks in patterns or ’rotations’ that allow you to maximize your damage output. Once you have this memorized, there really isn’t too much more strategy to be found within Genshin Impact’s combat.
We’d love to see some more strategic elements added to Genshin Impact’s combat system within Natlan, whether those take the form of more complex boss fights or literal additions to the combat itself. Many of the boss fights in Genshin Impact utilize unique mechanics, but these often boil down to simply destroying objects within a time limit or dodging certain attacks. We’d love to see some more puzzle-based mechanics, perhaps utilizing some of the respective region’s exploration mechanics. What about a gliding minigame in Mondstadt, or making use of some of Sumeru’s Dendro-themed platforming during an eventful boss fight? It’d be so cool, right!?
Roguelike Mode
For those of us who play HoYoverse’s other games, especially Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact may feel a little lacking in repeatable endgame content that doesn’t require resin. Once you’re caught up on the story, it feels like there is very little to do other than building characters for the Spiral Abyss. How Honkai Star Rail solves this issue is within the Simulated Universe, a roguelike mode that has players obtain Blessings from the game’s various deities between combats. These Blessings provide thematic buffs, such as Blessings of The Hunt mostly relating to Speed and Blessings of Remembrance applying Frozen to enemies. Players can also gain items called Curios throughout a run of the Simulated Universe, which provide unique effects such as reducing enemy HP upon entering battle, or guaranteeing more powerful Blessings after future combats. These mechanics help create a really fun and exciting gameplay experience which is different each time and infinitely replayable, especially as HoYoverse keep updating the game with more brand new modes.
Simulated Universe earns players Stellar Jade (Honkai Star Rail’s equivalent to Primogems) for discovering new Blessings and Curios, as well as for maxing out the Simulated Universe’s weekly point system just by playing. We think a similar mode would do extremely well within Genshin Impact, as combat buffs are already an integral part of the game’s events. Hopefully, HoYoverse will hear our wishes soon!
Easier Farming
Building a character in Genshin Impact can be difficult - getting all of the Artifacts you need to make a character as strong as they can be requires getting extremely lucky. There are five different Artifacts per character, and you’ll need to roll the correct sub-stats on each of them as well as the desired main stat on the ones that aren’t locked to a certain stat. This can be infuriating as it essentially boils down to random number generation (RNG). Completing Domains for Artifact farming can be boring and time-consuming too: unlike Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact doesn’t allow you to speed up combat or have the game farm on autopilot.
We’d love to see a new way of farming Artifacts in Version 5.0 that doesn’t require repeatedly completing Domains, or changes to make the process faster and less demanding on the player. Farming should be fun, not exhausting! If Genshin Impact were to add a roguelike mode like we mentioned earlier, it could be tied to this, as Honkai Star Rail’s Simulated Universe also allows players to farm for Planar Ornaments, the rough equivalent of Genshin Impact’s Artifacts. This would also be a great incentive to get more players to try out this fun new mode!
More Collaborations
This might be a hot take, but we think collaborations between games and other franchises can be extremely fun! Overwatch 2 has been utilizing collaborations a ton within the last year, making cool events and awesome skin lines in partnership with Transformers, Porsche, Cowboy Bebop, One Punch Man and even the K-Pop group LE SSERAFIM! Genshin Impact has certainly left the door open to future collaborations, but so far we have only had one, with Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy being added into the game. This was poorly received, mostly because the character was extremely weak and there was no way to unlock her Constellations, leaving her permanently at Constellation 0 with no room to become stronger. It’s sad to see such an exciting concept end up being fully underutilized because of one failed execution, though - we’d love to see Genshin Impact explore collaborating with other IPs more in the future.
That concludes our wishlist for Genshin Impact’s Version 5.0 update - share your thoughts what you’re hoping for in the Natlan patch on our community forum! Genshin Impact Version 5.0 will release on or around August 28th, 2024.
