What’s new in the Genshin Impact Version 2.5 update?

Genshin Impact just released their highly anticipated “When the Sakura Bloom” version 2.5 update with a ton of exciting new features.

This update, released on Feb. 16, brings players a lot of new content including five-star character Yae Miko, a few quests, two new weapons, unique events, and more. Raiden Shogun is also reappearing as a new weekly boss.

Yae Miko arrives

Five-star Electro Catalyst character Yae Miko is now playable in Genshin Impact. She was first introduced as a character in the Inazuma update and players have been eager to add her to their teams since. Yae Miko’s drop rate has been boosted in the “Everbloom Violet” wish.

Yae Miko is the first five-star Electro Catalyst to be introduced to the game, so be sure to wish on her before her banner is gone. 

New Weapons

Two new weapons have been added in this update. The first, Kagura’s Verity, is a five-star Catalyst that currently has a drop rate boost in the “Epitome Invocation” wish. The second, Oathsworn Eye, is a four-star Catalyst that will be attainable through gameplay in the upcoming “Three Realms Gateway Offering” event.

New Events

The “Three Realms Gateway Offering” event starts on Feb. 17, and will be available for players to participate in until Version 2.5 ends. The event takes place in Enkanomiya and centers around players exploring the world and using a new item called a Bokuso Box. This event will be available to all players Adventure Rank 30 and above. Players also need to have completed the Archon Quest: “Chapter II: Act II – Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow” and the World Quest “Erebos’ Secret.”

A few other events are set to come later on in this update but currently have no official release date or in-depth information about them. One event, “Divine Ingenuity,” will allow players to create their own domains and play in other players’ creations. Another upcoming event, “Of Drink A-Dreaming,” centers around bartending and appears to be related to Diluc, the five-star Pyro Claymore character who owns Dawn Winery. 

New Quests

Story quests for Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko are now available for all players Adventure Rank 40 and above. These quests can be unlocked with Story Keys and offer an opportunity for players to learn more about these characters. 

New Enemies

To everyone’s joy⁠—or, more likely, horror⁠—the puppet version of Raiden Shogun is now available as a weekly boss. As is the case with other weekly bosses, players need to redeem Original Resin to receive rewards for defeating her. 

Smaller world bosses, including the Shadowy Husk Defender, Line Breaker, and Standard Bearer, have also been added to Narukami Island. 

This exciting Version offers lots of new content, but as with every update the best part might be the 600 free Primogems players can claim upon logging in after the patch.

Here’s the full patch notes, courtesy of MiHoYo.

Characters

• 5-Star Character “Astute Amusement” Yae Miko (Electro)
  • Vision: Electro
  • Weapon: Catalyst
  • Lady Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine also serves as the editor-in-chief of Yae Publishing House. Unexpected intelligence and cunning are hidden under her beautiful appearance.

Equipment

• Kagura’s Verity (5-Star Catalyst)
  • The bells used when performing the Kagura Dance, blessed by the Guuji herself. The scent of the Sacred Sakura tree lingers on it.
  • Gains the Kagura Dance effect when using an Elemental Skill, causing the Elemental Skill DMG of the character wielding this weapon to increase for 16s. Max 3 stacks. This character will gain All Elemental DMG Bonus when they possess 3 stacks.
• Oathsworn Eye (4-Star Catalyst)
  • A national treasure of Byakuyakoku stored in the Dainichi Mikoshi. With the coming of the Serpent God, this item was used to notarize great oaths and wishes.
  • After using an Elemental Skill, Energy Recharge is increased for 10s.

Events

• “Three Realms Gateway Offering” event: Take part and obtain the event-exclusive weapon “Oathsworn Eye” (Catalyst)
  • During the event, explore the darkness-covered Enkanomiya, using Light Realm Sigils to upgrade your Bokuso Box. Upgrade your Bokuso Box to a certain level to obtain Oathsworn Eye (Catalyst) and its refinement materials, and rewards such as Crown of Insight. Complete the Event exploration quests to obtain Primogems, Weapon Ascension Materials, and more.
  • Duration: 2022/02/17 10:00 until the end of Version 2.5
  • Eligibility: Reach Adventure Rank 30 or above. Complete the Archon Quest: “Chapter II: Act II – Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow” and complete the World Quest “Erebos’ Secret”.

Main Story

Story Quests

• Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest “Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II – Transient Dreams”
  • Quest Start Time: Permanently available after the Version 2.5 update
  • Quest Unlock Criteria: Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above. Complete the Archon Quest “Chapter II: Act III – Omnipresence Over Mortals”, and complete Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest “Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act I – Reflections of Mortality”
• Yae Miko’s Story Quest “Divina Vulpes Chapter: Act I – The Great Narukami Offering”
  • Quest Start Time: Permanently available after the Version 2.5 update
  • Quest Unlock Criteria: Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above. Complete Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest “Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II – Transient Dreams”

Enemies

• “Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto”
  • This is the form that the puppet that inherited the Raiden Shogun’s authority takes when she is opposing those who threaten Eternity.
  • She will continuously absorb Ominous Destiny, and when Ominous Destiny is filled up, she will enter the Baleful Shadowlord form. In this form, she will gain great DMG RES and deal more fatal attacks. Additionally, while she is in the Baleful Shadowlord form, active characters will lose Elemental Energy at intervals.
  • Located at Narukami Island
• Shadowy Husk: Standard Bearer, Line Breaker, and Defender
  • An enigmatic warrior of darkness.
  • When their attacks hit a character defended by shields, they will obtain buffs at the cost of its HP.

Other Additions

• New Recipes:  “Sangayaki and Udon Noodles,” “Fukuuchi Udon”
• New Namecards: “Celebration: Binge Vessel,” “Yae Miko: Kitsune Dreaming,” “Travel Notes: Awakening”
• New Achievements added to the “Wonders of the World” category.
• New Furnishings: “Leisure Device: On the Pulse”, “Sub-Space Cabochon: In Soaring Flight”
• New Living Being: “Coral Butterfly”
• “Wanderer’s Advice” is newly added to the weekly redeemable items in the Realm Depot.
• “Dynamic Range” and “Output Settings” newly added in Settings > Audio.
• Newly added icon hints to the Artifacts filtering interface.
• Adds the feature of adding Weapons at once to the Destruction System.
• Adds some prompts for loading screens.

Spiral Abyss

• Floor 11 Ley Line Disorders changed to:
  • All characters in the party gain a 60% Electro DMG Bonus.
  • All party members gain 30% Healing Bonus.
• Floor 12 Ley Line Disorders changed to:
  • For this floor only, the ley line flow will be normal.
• Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.
  Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 2.5, the two Lunar Phases will be as follows:
  • Phase I: Lightning Moon — When opponents take Electro-Charged DMG, their Electro RES decreases by 10% for 10s. Max 4 stacks. Each stack’s duration is independent. Each enemy can receive this effect once every 1.2s.
  • Phase II: Godcall Moon — When the active character’s Normal Attacks, Charged Attacks, Plunging Attacks, Elemental Skills, and Elemental Bursts hit an opponent affected by Electro, a shockwave is created at that opponent’s position, dealing True DMG. A shockwave may be produced in this manner every 2s.

Adjustments and Optimizations

System

• Optimizes weapon crafting order. Weapon crafting list will be sorted by weapon type.
• Optimizes the UI style of the new Books archive unlock hint.
• The top tab in the character Artifact page now supports scrolling by using a controller.
• Optimizes the filtering and sorting function of Artifacts.
• Optimizes the filter function of character Artifacts: a maximum of 2 affixes can now be selected.
• Optimizes the UI display style of the Resin replenishment pop-up window: Upon reaching the maximum number of times Original Resin can be replenished, the exchange button will turn gray (the button will disappear for controller controls).
• Optimizes the area of effects on some enemies after they are knocked down to provide a smoother gaming experience.
• Optimizes the guidance of some quests to reduce the difficulty of adventuring: adjusted the Adventure Rank requirement of the World Quest “When the Trail Goes Cold”. After the adjustment, Travelers with an Adventure Rank of 22 or above can accept the quest. If your Adventure Rank is below 22 before Version 2.5, the quest objective “Talk to Katheryne” will disappear from the Quest Menu after the Version 2.5 update. You can accept this quest again after reaching the corresponding Adventure Rank.
  • If your current quest objective is “Talk to Iris” or subsequent objectives, then your quest will not be affected after the version update.

Audio

• Adds option to adjust the dynamic range of audio in “Settings/Audio > Other Settings.”
• Adds option to switch between stereo or surround sound in “Settings/Audio > Other Settings.” Relevant devices are required to experience stereo or surround sound effects.
• Optimizes ambient sound and some sound effects.
• Optimizes the frequency of voice line triggers for some characters.
• Optimizes the Japanese and Korean voice-over for certain characters and quests.
•  Replaces Oz’s Chinese voice artist and replaces Oz’s related voice-over.

Other

• The appearances of the NPCs Jean, Amber, Rosaria, and Mona will be adjusted to the Alternate Outfits in Version 2.5 and in the quests of previous versions.
• Removes cutscenes from previous events to reduce the size of the client.
• Starting from Version 2.5, the bitrate for new cutscenes on mobile will be adjusted to 25,000 kbps to streamline client size.
• Adjusts the height of the central stage disc in all levels on Floors 1 – 8 of the Spiral Abyss.
• Adds borders when moving the cursor with a controller in the Serenitea Pot editing menu.
• Optimizes the description text of the stored set in the Serenitea Pot.
• Optimizes some animations of the characters Ningguang and Lisa in the Character > Weapon interface.
• Adds dialogue to the Narukami Island region’s Grand Narukami Shrine NPC Inagi Hitomi: after the dialogue, Travelers who have completed the World Quest “Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual” can obtain the Furnishing “A Mask”.
• After the Version 2.5 update, the red dot of some announcements will only appear on the “Announcements” button and no longer displayed on the Paimon Menu in the top-left corner of the interface.

Bug Fixes

Quests

• Fixes an issue with the Daily Commission “The Thundering Wilds” whereby the response area range required to disperse the Electro fog is too small.
• Fixes an issue with the Archon Quest “Where the Heart Finds Rest” whereby the Traveler “Lumine” is abnormally displayed as the Traveler “Aether” in two frames during a cutscene.

Enemies

• Fixes an issue whereby the boss “Bathysmal Vishap Herd” would not be defeated after reaching 0 HP under certain circumstances.
• Fixes an issue whereby when the character is near a wall around the boss Bathysmal Vishap Herd, ranged attacks will have a probability of abnormally targeting opponents below the ground.
• Fixes an issue whereby the energy spikes skill of the opponents Primordial Bathysmal Vishap, Rimebiter Bathysmal Vishap, and Bolteater Bathysmal Vishap will trigger abormally when the character is at a higher elevation.
• Fixes an issue whereby the DMG dealt by the opponent Geovishap’s water pillar skill was abnormal.
• Fixes an issue whereby there is a probability that the Electro wall attack cast by the boss “Thunder Manifestation” would be displaced when encountering Geo constructs.
• Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby the boss “Electro Hypostasis” does not recover HP as usual when out of combat.
• Fixes an issue with the boss “Childe” whereby during the third phase, his cloak will abnormally flicker or have gray display effects under certain circumstances.
• Fixes an issue whereby after logging in multiple times, the Corrosion effect inflicted on the characters by the boss “Golden Wolflord” would apply abnormally under certain circumstances.
• Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode whereby after defeating the boss “Signora,” there is a small probability that the Blazing Heat state would continue to accumulate.
• Fixes an issue with the opponents “Rockfond Rifthound” and “Thundercraven Rifthound” whereby the collision effect during a portion of their attacks would be abnormal.
• Fixes an issue in Domains whereby if the Electro orb attacks cast by the opponent “Electro Abyss Mage” do not hit any targets, they will abnormally deal DMG to the center of the Domain (such as the Ley Line Monolith situated in the center of the Domain).

Characters

• Fixes an issue whereby the shadow effect on the Raiden Shogun’s face would display abnormally while she is in the Musou Isshin state.
• Fixes an issue whereby the shadowing on Ningguang’s back is displayed abnormally after changing into her outfit “Orchid’s Evening Gown.”
• Fixes an issue with Keqing whereby when switching to the “Opulent Splendor” outfit, the edges of her pupils will display abnormally.
• Fixes an issue with the swimming speed of Diona, Klee, Sayu, and Qiqi whereby they would not benefit normally from increased Movement SPD bonus effects.
• Fixes an issue with Arataki Itto under specific circumstances whereby after casting his Elemental Burst, the effect duration of DMG changing to Geo DMG would be abnormal.
• Fixes an issue with Bennett whereby if he is interrupted during his Charged Attack, his facial expressions would abnormally remain.
• Fixes an issue whereby clipping would occur with the models of Diluc when he is sprinting and Raiden Shogun when she is sitting.
• Fixes an issue with Gorou whereby when holding the attack button to enter aiming mode, the camera position would be abnormal.
• Fixes an issue with Eula whereby after casting her Elemental Burst, “Dance of the Shimmering Wave,” there is a probability that the Lightfall Sword’s accumulation of energy stacks is abnormal when the frame rate is low.
• Fixes an issue whereby some text of Tartaglia’s Profile > Voice-Over > “Opening Treasure Chest: I” voice line were missing.

System

• Fixes an issue whereby characters’ colors may display incorrectly when changing characters multiple times after activating Elemental Sight.
• Fixes an issue whereby the Craft and Convert tabs in the Crafting page no longer displayed the current number of Mora during that given game session after switching to the “Mystic Offering” tab.
• Fixes an issue whereby the number of stored furnishings in the “Set > Obtain Required Furnishings” page in the Serenitea Pot might be displayed abnormally.
• Fixes an issue with the “Artifact > Enhance” page whereby there is a small probability that the enhancement effect preview will appear abnormally when no material is put in.
• Fixes an issue whereby when using a controller to view in-game mail, there is a probability that mail attachments would not display correctly.
• Fixes an issue whereby the limited-time symbol in the top-left corner of the limited-time gadgets was not displayed normally in the Inventory.
• Fixes an issue whereby when viewing friends’ Character Details, pressing the ESC button at the same time may cause display issues.
• Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby the forging queue would be displayed abnormally on the Forge screen.

Audio

• Fixes an issue that caused some characters’ and enemies’ voice lines to be missing or not triggering correctly.
• Fixes an issue with voice-over lines for some characters and some quests in Japanese, Korean, and English.

Other

• Fixes the source description error of the Character Level-Up Material “Dragonheir’s False Fin.”
• Fixes an issue with abnormal shadows for some characters inside Inazuma City’s Uyuu Restaurant.
• Fixes an issue whereby some objects would float abnormally in the Enkanomiya region.
• Fixes an issue whereby the camera may point abnormally after some characters talk to NPCs while simultaneously casting their Elemental Bursts.
• Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby some characters would abnormally float when abnormally entering a scenario model.
• Fixes an issue whereby when playing the game on PC on the lowest graphics setting, in some scenes of the Sea Gazer’s Abode Domain, when the characters Shenhe, Thoma, Ganyu, and Razor cast their respective Elemental Skills or Elemental Bursts, there is a small chance that their special effects will be displayed abnormally.
• Fixes an issue whereby when playing the game on iOS, Android, or on PC on the lowest graphics setting, in some scenes of the Spiral Abyss, when the characters Shenhe, Thoma, Ganyu, and Razor cast their respective Elemental Skills or Elemental Bursts, there is a small chance that their special effects will be displayed abnormally.
• Fixes textual errors in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Indonesian, German, Thai, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese and optimizes some text
  • Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.