Genshin Impact Beginner’s Guide: What to Know Before You Start
Platforms, ratings, Adventure Rank, World Level, elements, Original Resin and what to focus on in your first weeks of Genshin Impact.
Genshin Impact is one of the biggest games of the past decade, and it can look intimidating from the outside. Years of updates have added regions, systems, currencies and menus, and a new player opening the game for the first time faces a world map full of icons and a long list of things to do. The good news is that the game still starts gently, the full story is playable without paying, and most of the complexity can wait.
This guide covers what you actually need to know before you start: where you can play, what the age ratings say, how progression works, what the elements are for, how stamina (Original Resin) gates rewards, and what is worth focusing on in your first few weeks.
Platforms, Price and Age Rating
Genshin Impact is developed and published by miHoYo, which operates internationally as HoYoverse. It launched on September 28, 2020 for Windows, Android, iOS and PlayStation 4. A dedicated PlayStation 5 version followed in April 2021, and the game arrived on Xbox Series X|S on November 20, 2024. HoYoverse announced in 2025 that the PlayStation 4 version would be retired: it was removed from sale in September 2025 and support ended in April 2026, so PS4 players should move to PS5, PC or another platform.
The game is free to download. Progress is tied to a HoYoverse account, and the game supports cross-platform play and cross-save on most platforms, though paid currency bought on one platform may not be usable on another.
In North America the ESRB rates Genshin Impact Teen, with an “In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)” notice. In Europe PEGI ratings are commonly 12, though store listings can vary by region, so check the listing where you download it. The purchase notice is the signal for parents to look at platform spending controls. Our explainer on how gacha games work covers what that notice means.
The Premise in One Paragraph
You play as the Traveler, choosing between the twins Aether and Lumine. At the start, an unknown god separates you from your sibling, and you wake up alone in Teyvat, a world of seven nations, each associated with an element and ruled by a god called an Archon. With a floating companion named Paimon, you travel from nation to nation searching for your sibling. The story is told through Archon Quests (the main plot), Story Quests for individual characters, World Quests tied to regions, and limited-time events.
The nations arrive in order: Mondstadt and Liyue at launch, then Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine and Natlan, with the story moving into Nod-Krai and toward Snezhnaya in more recent versions. A new player starts in Mondstadt and follows the same path.
Combat and the Seven Elements
Genshin Impact is a real-time action game. You build a party of four characters and control one at a time, switching freely during combat. Each character has a normal attack, an Elemental Skill on a short cooldown, and an Elemental Burst, a powerful move charged by collecting energy.
Every character uses one of seven elements: Anemo (wind), Geo (earth), Electro, Dendro (nature), Hydro (water), Pyro (fire) and Cryo (ice). The Traveler is the exception and can switch between elements as the story progresses. The real depth comes from elemental reactions: applying one element and then another produces effects such as Vaporize (Hydro and Pyro), Melt (Pyro and Cryo), Freeze (Hydro and Cryo) or Overloaded (Pyro and Electro).
For a beginner, the practical lesson is to avoid four characters of the same element. A mixed team of two or three elements lets you trigger reactions, solve elemental puzzles in the world, and handle enemy shields. You do not need to memorize every reaction on day one; the game introduces them gradually.
Adventure Rank and World Level
Two numbers drive your overall progression.
Adventure Rank (AR)
Adventure Rank is your account level. You raise it by earning Adventure EXP from quests, exploration, daily Commissions and spending stamina. Higher AR unlocks more of the game: co-op multiplayer opens at AR 16, and many quests and challenges have AR requirements. If you hit a wall where the next Archon Quest is locked, it is almost always because you need a slightly higher AR.
World Level
World Level controls the difficulty of the open world. It rises at Adventure Ranks 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 58, and some of those increases require completing an Ascension Quest. Each step makes enemies stronger and improves reward quality. This is the most common surprise for new players: around AR 30 to 40, enemies suddenly feel much tougher. That is the cue to spend time leveling characters, weapons and talents rather than rushing ahead.
The game lets you temporarily lower your World Level if a jump feels too steep, which is a sensible option while you catch up.
Your First Characters
Every new player receives several characters for free. The Traveler is always available, and the opening story adds Amber, Kaeya and Lisa within the first hour or so. More free characters arrive through early progression and rewards, and the Beginners’ Wish, a one-time discounted banner for new accounts, guarantees the 4-star character Noelle within its first ten pulls.
These free characters are enough to finish the main story. Many experienced players still use some of them later, because a 4-star character with good upgrades often outperforms a neglected 5-star. There is no reason to treat the starter team as something to replace as soon as possible.
A note on wishes
Wishes are the game’s gacha pulls. You will earn a steady trickle of the currencies used for them just by playing. Before pulling on any banner, read its details page, which lists base rates, the pity number and whether there is a 50/50 rule. Our guide to pity systems explains what those numbers mean. For a new player, saving currency until you know which characters you actually enjoy is usually a better choice than pulling straight away.
Original Resin: The Daily Stamina System
Original Resin is Genshin Impact’s stamina currency. It is not needed to explore, fight in the open world or play the story. It is spent to claim rewards from repeatable activities that provide upgrade materials:
- Ley Line Outcrops give character EXP books or Mora (the basic currency).
- Domains give talent books, weapon ascension materials and artifacts.
- Open-world bosses drop character ascension materials.
- Weekly bosses drop rarer materials, with a discount on the first few claims each week.
Resin regenerates at a rate of one unit every eight minutes. Since version 4.7 (June 2024) the cap is 200, up from the original 160, which means a full bar takes a little under 27 hours to refill from empty. If you log in once a day and spend it, you will not waste much.
The game sells Resin refills for premium currency, and the price rises with each refill in a day. For most players these refills are poor value; the system is designed for short daily sessions, and progressing at the normal pace is entirely fine.
What to Focus On in Your First Weeks
- Follow the Archon Quests. The main story unlocks features, regions and teleport points. When a quest is locked behind AR, do World Quests and exploration until you catch up.
- Unlock Teleport Waypoints and Statues of The Seven. Waypoints make travel instant, and offering Oculi to the Statues increases your stamina (the separate sprint and climbing stamina, not Resin).
- Do daily Commissions. Four short tasks a day reward Adventure EXP and premium currency. They are the most efficient small habit in the game.
- Open chests and solve puzzles. Exploration gives premium currency and materials, and it is often the most enjoyable part of the game.
- Build a small team well. Focus your upgrade materials on about four characters rather than spreading them across everyone. Level weapons as well; an underleveled weapon is a common cause of weak damage.
- Do not stress over artifacts yet. Artifacts (equippable gear with random stats) matter much more later. Early on, equip whatever has the highest level and move on.
- Use Resin every day once you start leveling. Before roughly AR 20, there is little reason to worry about it.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Rushing Adventure Rank without leveling characters. World Level rises, enemies scale up, and the game suddenly feels unfair. Slow down and upgrade.
- Spreading resources too thin. Ten half-built characters are weaker than four well-built ones.
- Pulling on every banner. Pity counters carry over, and skipping costs nothing. Banners for popular characters often return later.
- Ignoring the in-game tutorials. The Tutorial section in the menu explains reactions and systems clearly when you need a refresher.
- Treating endgame content as mandatory. The Spiral Abyss and other recurring challenges are optional. The story and exploration do not require a perfect team.
Playing on Your Own Terms
Genshin Impact is designed to be played for years, and it rewards consistency more than intensity. Short daily sessions spent on Commissions and Resin keep you progressing, while longer sessions can go to story and exploration. Decide before you start whether you will spend any money at all; zero is a perfectly valid choice, and every Archon Quest, region and most events are available to free players.
If a limited banner, a battle pass or an “only this week” offer appears on your screen, it is fine to close it. Nothing in the first weeks of the game requires a purchase, and you will make much better decisions later once you know which characters and play styles you actually enjoy.
