Genshin Impact has become one of the best role-playing games for PC. The new 1.6 update is now live and rocking since 9th June. This update brings opportunities for players to earn loads of primogems, more so than the other updates. A much wanted, new 5-star character, new banners with new rotations of 4-star characters, many new events, etc. are the major highlights of the event. In this patch alone, you could earn around 8,000 primogems to wish for your favorite characters or weapons! It’s not just that though, there’s a new event exclusive map for you to explore filled with puzzles and chests that give you a lot of loot. Let’s look at everything new in this update:
New Character
Kaedehara Kazuha is a wandering samurai from Inazuma. He seems to have escaped Inazuma and is now a member of Beidou’s Crux Fleet. Kazuha is an ‘Anemo’ sword user, many assume he is a ‘Pyro’ character because of his red clothing. Kazuha’s skill is quite detailed, it pulls enemies towards him and launches them upwards with him (Kazuha is lifted higher). While in mid-air, if his plunge attacks are converted into Anemo damage while creating a wind tunnel which again pulls in enemies. You can hold his skill for a few seconds to produce more damage. His ultimate creates “Autumn Whirlwind”- a field that deals anemo damage and swirls over time.
In the 1.6 update, we’ll get his story quest, to get to know him and his past better. Since he is from Inazuma and just recently escaped from there, he might have the best up-to-date news. He might also suggest a way to enter Inazuma. There is also a minor possibility that Beidou would help us reach Inazuma aboard her Crux Fleet.
1.7 Characters from Inazuma
It’s not every day that Mihoyo leaks their own characters. While Kazuha was already confirmed in the 1.6 livestream, Mihoyo recently leaked three upcoming characters (possibly planned for 1.7). They will not be available or featured in the 1.6 update. The first and the most awaited 5-star character is Ayaka! She was available in the closed beta and has gained a massive fan base because of her skills, looks, and playstyle. She is a princess from Inazuma who wields a sword and cryo powers. The next character- Yoimiya was quite unexpected. She is a lively girl from Inazuma and a friend of Ayaka. She is a 5-star Pryo bow user. The last character: Sayu is a 4-star Anemo claymore user. She is a very cute, little ninja.
Banners
The first banner features ”Fleeing Sunlight”-Klee as the featured 5-star character. She’s a fun character to play with and is sure to blow up all your enemies with her explosive toys. There are three 4-star characters that have received a rate up this time- Fischel, Sucrose, and Barbara. The second banner features Kaedehara Kazuha along with 3 rate-up 4-star characters. Since the banner is not officially disclosed we don’t know which 4-stars would be featured. As Bennet and Ningguang have not been featured for a while they might be featured. A new 4-star bow “Mitternachts Waltz“ with a physical damage bonus sub stat is now available in the weapons banner. Along with Kazuha’s banner, the next weapon banner will feature a new beautiful 5-star sword “Freedom-Sworn” with an Elemental Mastery sub stat.
Electro reactions and Elemental Mastery Buff
After much complaining about the underrated electro and swirl reactions, the developers have officially buffed them in the 1.6 update! This buff specifically increases the damage caused by major electro reactions like Electro-Charged, Superconduct, Overloaded, and Shatter. But this is only when your character is at level 60 or above. Swirl damage is also indirectly buffed thanks to Elemental Mastery buff. The basic damage absorption for shields created by Crystallize reactions has also been increased. Thanks to this, underrated characters like Sucrose, Beidou, etc have become much better and Venti just got more powerful.
New Limited Time area
In this “Midsummer Island Adventure” update, a new region called “Golden Apple Archipegalo” is out for a limited time (duration of the 1.6 update). Players can visit and explore these fascinating bunch of islands to solve various puzzles and collect chests as rewards. All these chests(read primogems) will not be available after 1.6 so, best explore it to the fullest in time. Don’t worry you won’t need to swim to reach every island. Developers have added a new way to travel around- Skiff boat! which also has weapon attachments. A sweet story quest featuring some of our favorite characters sums up the wonderful experience of the islands.
New Outfits
The much-hyped skin system is finally here! Barbara and Jean are the first characters to receive new outfits or skins in the game. Barbara’s skin- Summertime Sparkle, can be claimed for free in the Echoing tales event. While Jean’s skin- Sea Breeze Dandelion needs to be purchased using genesis crystals. Right now it is available for a discounted price of 1350 genesis crystals. These crystals need to be purchased with real money.
Tea Pot Companion move-in feature
Now that the Serenitea Pot feature has been out for a while, developers have added the ability to add your favorite characters as companions in your humble abode! You can select your characters from the companion tab in the edit menu. All placed characters have a dialogue option, which ranges from one to four depending on the friendship level of the characters. The “load” system has been further optimized to increases the number of objects per room as per your device’s capability. So the number of companions you can keep in one room depends on your device. You can get primogems and other rewards if you place certain characters with a furnishing set of their choice.
New Events in 1.6 Update
Of course, a new update means new fun events with tons of rewards! As of now, 4 major events have been disclosed officially but other events like the daily login bonus might be available later! Here is all you need to know about 1.6 events:
- Midsummer Island Adventure – Accompany Klee and other characters as they try to uncover the secrets of the islands and a potential criminal calling himself “Dodo-king”. Your journey will take you to the Golden Apple Archipelago, a new limited-time area available to explore with lots of mysteries to unravel and rewards to claim. You will also encounter the new ferocious boss “demon puppet” or Maggu Kenki in these islands, so watch out! The event is further divided into 4 sets of mini-games which you can play to obtain mora, EXP, talent books, etc. You will never guess the cute twist coming at the end of the story quest!
- Echoing Tales – Echoing conches are scattered across the whole island containing snippets of valuable conversation. Collecting a particular amount of these conches will help you receive Barbara’s new skin- Summertime Sparkle for free along with other valuable rewards! Whenever you are around one, a sea conch icon will pop up on the minimap. If you are into lore you might find some unheard facts about the islands.
- Legend of the Vagabond Sword – A new mysterious domain has appeared on the map! In here, there are tremendously powerful enemies lying wait. But you know how it is, the harder the enemies are, the bountiful the rewards are! Defeat new enemies and dangerous bosses to claim rewards like primogems, mora, weapon ascension materials, etc. A new name card is also obtainable when you clear one of the end stages!
- Kaboomball Kombat – Leave it to developers at Mihoyo to keep coming up with fun new mini-games. This time around you will be playing with Harpastum balls to activate the endlessly amusing Dodofortresses. Doge and strike back the incoming Kaboomballs before the timer runs out!!
Inazuma prequel quest
Unless you are living under a rock for the last one or two months, you would know the high levels of anticipation in the Genshin Impact community for Inazuma. The developers have thus added a special Inazuma prequel quest in the 1.6 updates to calm the community’s nerves. From the screenshots provided in the live stream, it will feature Beiduo, Kazuha, and some members from the Crux Fleet. Some parts of the quest might take place at Guyun Stone forest in Liyue. Now that some characters from Inazuma have been officially disclosed, we could safely assume that Inazuma would be explorable in the next 1.7 or 2.0 update.
- Bonus tip: An estimated calculation suggests that you could earn around 9,000 primogems from this 1.6 update! That is over 55 wishes in total!
- This is assuming you will collect all rewards from the events, open all the chests available in the islands, complete daily commissions, clear all floors of the Spiral Abyss with 9 stars, etc.