Genshin Impact Developers Talk Endgame Content And Welcoming Newcomers

The Genshin Impact version 3.1 update has recently went live, and with it came the chance to speak HoYoverse’s developers over e-mail to gain insight into the team’s plans for the future.

We asked about endgame content, Resin caps, costumes, and more. In their responses, the developers touch on what’s currently being worked on, as well as potential ideas for future updates.

GameSpot: Versions 3.0 and 3.1 are expected to be one week shorter than usual. In the future, will you be continuing with these shortened version lengths, or should players expect update releases to return to their former pace?

Starting from Version 3.0 to the end of Version 3.2, the length of each update will be shortened to five weeks. But a shorter update cycle will not influence the quality of gameplay and content. Please stay tuned.

Currently, the Spiral Abyss is the only true endgame content for players at high Adventure Ranks. Are there any plans to release new, permanent endgame content in the same vein as the Spiral Abyss?

The Spiral Abyss is one of the most effective ways [for] players [to] test out their party composition and combat strength. If we design another type of permanent endgame that is similar to the Spiral Abyss, it might end up creating excessive anxiety for our players–not everyone is interested in Musk Reef.

Just like [the] Genius Invokation TCG that we unveiled in the Special Program for Version 3.2, we are also working on designing more interesting gameplay in the future. As an open-world game, Genshin Impact has a natural compatibility with various types of gameplay, which gives us confidence in the long-term operation.

Genshin Impact is going into year two with an ever-expanding roster. Some older characters might get left behind as power creep settles in and newer characters become much stronger choices. Is there a plan in place to potentially upgrade older characters and make them more viable?

If a character is only assessed by a single dimension of numerical strength, power creep could indeed be an issue. However, in Genshin Impact, [the] rules of gameplay [are more impactful] than how strong a character is. Therefore, new battlegrounds, new challenge levels, or even new team builds, all have potential to bring new life to existing content.

The introduction of Dendro has created plenty of new ways to cause elemental reactions, but some elements have been left out. Has there been any discussion regarding the addition of new reactions for existing elements? For example, in the future, could there be a new Geo and Dendro reaction?

We have no such plans for the time being. With the release of the Dendro element, the seven-element system has become somewhat complex. For us, there are other ways to increase the fun for players rather than simply increasing the complexity of game rules.

With easy and open rules, given some time, players will come to discover their own ways of developing builds. That is the fun of this game. The balancing of all gameplay rules is part of the team’s long-term design focus, plus the team’s experience and learning from player feedback in the long run are all important to maintain that focus.

For us, there are other ways to increase the fun for players rather than simply increasing the complexity of game rules.

The world of Teyvat continues to expand, giving players so many more challenges to complete daily (Domains, bosses, Ley Lines). Is there a chance we see a cap increase for Original Resin, or a quicker regeneration rate to allow players to take on more of these challenges each day?

Domains, bosses, and Ley Lines are important means to farm character and weapon ascension materials, and resins [are] required to claim these items as rewards. Meanwhile, we’re also providing more options for gamers to obtain character development items. For example, many character and weapon ascension materials can be obtained and redeemed from events that we run periodically.

New players may have been a bit lost when starting the Summertime Odyssey event because they missed Fischl and Mona’s first introductions. This also happened when Scaramouche showed up in Inazuma’s Archon Quest after appearing in the limited-time Mondstadt event. Is the team considering adding a way for new players to see or replay old story-related content and cutscenes that only existed in past limited-time events?

We’re aware of this issue and are looking into solutions for it. On one hand, stories from limited-time events shall never become barriers to understanding and playing Archon Quests. On the other hand, we’re also working on beginner tutorial adjustments, client capacity optimization, intelligent management of past content, and other optimizations. And as our technology and capacity [grow], we hope to have useful solutions that players welcome.

Costumes were added to the game last year, providing new, stylish looks for some characters. How likely is it that the Traveler becomes a recipient of one of these costumes? It would be interesting to see the Traveler in clothing that represents some of the regions they enter on their journey.

It is an intriguing idea to design outfits and accessories with regional characteristics for the Traveler. We don’t have anything to share on that front, but we’re always considering new ideas.

As a follow-up to the previous question, Aether and Lumine seem to get fun little accessories during certain quests, like a mask or flower crown, but they can only be worn for short periods of time. Have you ever considered turning these temporary accessories into permanent cosmetics?

We’ve been discussing this question within the team and some other ideas similar to it, however, we don’t have any news or details to reveal at this time.

On top of Genshin Impact, HoYoverse is also working on Honkai Impact 3rd , Zenless Zone Zero, and Honkai: Star Rail. There’s been a crossover between Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd in the past where Keqing and Fischl arrived in Honkai Impact. Are there any plans in store to do the reverse, and bring characters from Honkai Impact 3rd into Genshin Impact?

In terms of characterization, we wish to channel more effort and attention [into] creating characters from the world of Genshin Impact. If there are new opportunities for crossover in the future, we will be sure to share them with everyone.