Genshin Impact Beginner Guide 2026: Getting Started in Teyvat

Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG developed and published by miHoYo (HoYoverse). Released in September 2020, it features a gacha system for acquiring characters and weapons, elemental combat with seven elements, and a vast open world to explore. The game is free-to-play and available on PC, PlayStation, iOS, and Android.

Getting Started

After creating your account, you’ll begin with a brief tutorial featuring the Traveler (your main character) and Paimon (your guide). The tutorial teaches basic movement, combat, and the elemental reaction system.

The First Few Hours

Your early game focuses on:

1. Exploration — Open chests, activate teleporters, and discover world quests.
2. Archon Quests — The main story. Follow it for adventure rank and rewards.
3. Building Your Team — Collect and level up characters from the gacha and free sources.
4. Daily Commissions — Complete 4 daily commissions for 60 primogems (premium currency).

The first region, Mondstadt, is designed to teach you the game’s core systems at a comfortable pace.

The Seven Elements and Reactions

Genshin Impact’s combat revolves around seven elements that interact through elemental reactions:

• Pyro (🔥) — Fire damage
• Hydro (💧) — Water damage
• Electro (⚡) — Lightning damage
• Cryo (❄️) — Ice damage
• Anemo (🌪️) — Wind damage
• Geo (🪨) — Earth damage
• Dendro (🌿) — Nature damage (added in Version 3.0)

Key Elemental Reactions

Reaction	Elements	Effect
Vaporize	Pyro + Hydro	1.5x/2x damage multiplier
Melt	Pyro + Cryo	1.5x/2x damage multiplier
Swirl	Anemo + Any	Spreads element + bonus damage
Overloaded	Pyro + Electro	AOE explosion
Superconduct	Cryo + Electro	AOE damage + Physical RES shred
Bloom	Dendro + Hydro	Creates Dendro cores
Hyperbloom	Dendro + Hydro + Electro	Homing Dendro cores
Aggravate	Dendro + Electro	Electro DMG bonus

Understanding reactions is key to building effective teams. Focus on teams that can trigger strong reactions consistently.

Building Your First Team

You need a party of 4 characters. The recommended starter team uses free characters:

• Traveler (Anemo) — Free, versatile, good for exploration and Swirl reactions.
• Lisa — Free, Electro mage, good for Overloaded and Superconduct.
• Barbara — Free, Hydro healer, essential for survivability and Vaporize.
• Kaeya — Free, Cryo sword user, good for Superconduct and Melt.

As you progress, replace characters with 5-star gacha pulls or better 4-stars. Popular early-game characters include Xiangling (Pyro DPS, free from Spiral Abyss), Fischl (Electro sub-DPS), and Xingqiu (Hydro sub-DPS).

The Gacha System

Genshin Impact’s gacha system is how you acquire new characters and weapons:

Currencies

• Primogems — Premium currency. Earned from daily commissions, exploration, events, and quests.
• Intertwined Fate — Used to wish on Limited Character and Weapon banners (costs 160 primogems).
• Acquaint Fate — Used to wish on the Standard and Beginner banners (costs 160 primogems).

Banner Types

• Limited Character Banner — Features a specific 5-star character. Best value for primogems.
• Standard Banner — Permanent banner with a pool of 5-star characters and weapons.
• Beginner Banner — Discounted wishes for new players. Always pull this first.

Pity System

• Soft Pity — After 74 pulls, your 5-star chance increases significantly.
• Hard Pity — Guaranteed 5-star at 90 pulls (Character banner).
• 50/50 — First 5-star has 50% chance to be the featured character. If you lose the 50/50, your next 5-star is guaranteed to be the featured character.

Beginner tip: Save your primogems for limited character banners. Never pull on the standard banner with primogems.

Exploration and Progression

Oculi

Collect Anemoculi, Geoculi, Electroculi, Dendroculi, Hydroculi, and Pyroculi hidden across each region. Offer them to Statues of the Seven for:

• Adventure Rank experience
• Stamina upgrades (Anemoculi/Geoculi only)
• Free Aquaint Fates

Resin Management

Original Resin (160 cap) is used to claim rewards from domains, bosses, and ley lines. It regenerates 1 every 8 minutes.

• Condensed Resin — Craft from 40 Resin + 1 Crystal Core. Doubles domain rewards.
• Fragile Resin — Refills 60 Resin instantly. Save for later when domains give better rewards.

Use Resin wisely — it’s the main progression gate. Don’t waste it on low-level domains.

Adventure Rank

Your Adventure Rank (AR) limits what content you can access. AR increases by earning Adventure EXP from quests, exploration, and commissions. Key AR milestones:

• AR 10 — Co-op unlocked
• AR 16 — Spiral Abyss unlocked
• AR 25 — World Level increases
• AR 35+ — Better artifact domains unlocked

Making Mora (Gold)

Mora is used for everything: leveling characters, upgrading weapons, enhancing artifacts. Key sources:

• Daily Commissions — 60 primogems + adventure rank (every day).
• Domain Farming — Artifact and talent material domains.
• Boss Farming — World bosses for character ascension materials.
• Selling Artifacts — Convert unused artifacts to Mora at any alchemy table.
• Serenitea Pot — Build and sell furnishings for extra Mora.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Wishing on the Standard Banner — Save primogems for limited character banners.
2. Spreading Resources Too Thin — Focus on one team of 4 characters first. Don’t level everyone.
3. Ignoring Exploration — Chests, puzzles, and world quests provide massive resources.
4. Not Leveling Talents — Character talents are a huge power spike. Level them regularly.
5. Neglecting the Reputation System — Complete reputation quests in each region for recipes, gadgets, and rewards.

Final Tips

Test your build numbers in the Genshin Damage Calculator before investing crowns and mora.

• Explore Thoroughly — Teyvat is full of secrets, chests, and puzzles. Exploration is rewarding.
• Save Primogems — Only pull on limited character banners you really want.
• Complete Daily Commissions — They’re the most consistent source of primogems.
• Join Co-op — Playing with friends makes exploration and domains more fun.
• Be Patient with Gacha — The pity system guarantees characters over time. Don’t rush.