Reveals, a new game, and villains: 5 things that shook Genshin Impact in 2022
Fans were in for many treats and surprises this year, including one that caught the community by surprise
2022 was a long year for Genshin Impact players. A new region and new element were released, new characters were introduced, and many new stories were told.
But while most of the content released this year were fine additions, others shook the game and its story to the very core.
Here are our picks for the five things that shook Genshin Impact the most over 2022:
Dendro
When Genshin Impact was first released back in September 2020, Dendro was the only one out of the game's seven elements that hadn't been fully implemented.
While there were a couple of enemies that utilised the Dendro element, like Dendro Slimes and Dendro Samachurls, there were no playable characters that were able to use it.
Almost two years later, Dendro was finally released alongside the new region of Sumeru in Genshin Impact version 3.0 back in August.
The new element brought a lot to the table by letting players perform a total of seven new elemental reactions, namely Bloom, Hyperbloom, Burgeon, Quicken, Spread, Aggravate, and Burning.
Dendro quickly shook up the Genshin Impact metagame that was previously dominated by Pyro, Hydro, and Cryo characters.
Not only did Dendro characters like Nahida come to define the meta, previously under-utilised ones like Keqing, Kuki Shinobu, and Thoma have also found new niches where they can shine.
Genius Invokation TCG
In version 3.3, Genshin Impact, a game that was already brimming with tons of content, got even bigger with the addition of the Genius Invokation TCG game mode.
Genius Invokation TCG seamlessly translated Genshin Impact's combat, including its innovative element and elemental reactions system, to a card game format.
This veritable game within the game was so addicting that many Travelers forgot they had an Archon Quest to do in Sumeru as they were too busy challenging everyone in Mondstadt to a du-du-du-du-duel!
Not only did Genius Invokation TCG give Travelers something to sink all their time into, it also helped to alleviate Genshin Impact's ongoing endgame issues.
That is, there was a growing divide between hardcore players that wanted more difficult content like the Spiral Abyss and casual players that didn't want to miss out on rewards like Primogems just because they don't want to clear the Spiral Abyss.
But with Genius Invokation TCG, both sides of the spectrum practically got what they wanted.
Hardcore players dived deep into the card game and scratch their competitive itches on its matchmaking mode, even if it offered no rewards, while casual players still get something new and rewarding that isn't too difficult or time-consuming.
If you're still trying to master the basics of Genius Invokation TCG, then check out our guide here. If you want some advice on which character cards to get to build competitive decks, we also got you covered here.
The revelations in the Sumeru Archon Quests
With the conclusion of each region's Archon Questline, Genshin Impact's story is driven forward as the Traveler prepares to move on to the next nation in their quest to find their missing sibling and uncover the mysteries of Teyvat.
Sumeru was no different. As the domain of the God of Wisdom, it was expected that Nahida, also known as the Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali, would have a lot to reveal to the Traveler.
For example, we learned that Irminsul had the power to 'erase' the existence of people and that the Top 3 Fatui Harbingers possessed strength that could rival even gods. But those weren't the biggest lore bombs dropped by the God of Wisdom.
Not only did Nahida reveal that the Traveler was the fourth among the "Descenders" — a term for a group of beings that the Fatui knew came from another world before arriving in Teyvat — but that their sibling was not classified among them.
It's now one of Genshin Impact's biggest mysteries, as why would the Traveler's twin, who we know came to the game's world together with them, would be classified as a being that originated from Teyvat?
While we may have more questions than answers at this point of the game's story, that just makes uncovering all of Genshin Impact's mysteries that much more exciting.
Enkanomiya's lore bombs
Speaking of lore bombs, Genshin Impact had been bombarding players with them all throughout the year.
When version 2.4 was released back in January, it allowed Travelers to enter Enkanomiya, a mysterious underground realm underneath Inazuma's Watatsumi Island that was inhabited by an ancient civilisation.
While the existence of Enkanomiya itself was a big lore bomb, it paled in comparison to what was revealed in an otherwise unassuming book Travelers can find in the area.
By completing the 'Antigonus' World Quest, Travelers will be able to acquire the book Before Sun and Moon, which revealed Teyvat's ancient past.
In the book, it was written that a being known as the 'Primordial One' descended upon Teyvat and defeated the 'Seven Sovereigns', a group of powerful dragons that represented the game's seven elements and ruled the old world.
After forcing the Seven Sovereigns to flee to the depths of the ocean, the Primordial One then remade the world with the help of its four 'Shades'. One of the Primordial One's creations would be humanity, which would spread all across Teyvat as a single, unified civilization.
After that, another otherworldly being known as the 'Second Who Came' came to Teyvat and waged war on the Primordial One. The world was ravaged by the ensuing conflict, with Enkanomiya sinking underwater and getting severed from the surface world.
Before Sun and Moon speculated that the Primordial One defeated the Second Who Came, as the latter had apparently banned the denizens of Enkanomiya from returning to the surface world.
While Before Sun and Moon's records of Teyvat's mysterious past end there, the knowledge it contained was revealed to be heavily protected by Celestia, the floating island above Teyvat inhabited by gods.
The Serpent God Orobashi, who came to rule Enkanomiya and Watatsumi Island as their god, happened to read Before Sun and Moon and was sentenced to death by Celestia for his discovery of forbidden knowledge.
Orobashi died after he was forced to lead Watatsumi Island in conquering the neighboring Yashiori Island, sparking a war with the Inazuma Shogunate. The killing blow came from Raiden Ei, who cut Orobashi to pieces with her Musou no Hitotachi and, in the process, created the Musoujin Gorge that split Yashiori Island into two.
That was a lore bomb that fundamentally changed how players saw the world of Genshin Impact, and what's more, that's hardly the whole story.
Hopefully, more about the game's engaging lore will be explored in 2023.
The Fatui Harbingers take the stage in the Winter Night's Lazzo
Prior to the release of Sumeru in Genshin Impact version 3.0, very little about the Fatui Harbingers — the leaders of one of the game's primary antagonists — was known.
By then, we had only met three of the eleven Harbingers: La Signora, Tartaglia, and Scaramouche.
Many assumed that the rest of the Harbingers would slowly be unveiled over time with the release of each new region.
But on 11 July, HoYoverse threw a massive curveball at the entire Genshin Impact community, who at the time were mostly concerned with the upcoming release of Sumeru, by unveiling all of the Fatui Harbingers in the epic Teyvat Chapter Interlude Teaser: A Winter Night's Lazzo.
In the teaser, the remaining nine Harbingers gathered to mourn the fallen La Signora, who was slain by the Raiden Shogun during the Inazuma Archon Questline.
Seeing all of the Harbingers together was nothing short of spectacular, as the community finally put faces to what were once only mysterious names hinted at in the game's lore.
Some of the Harbingers quickly became community favorites, like Columbina, who was singing the enchanting lullaby that accompanied the teaser's score, and Arlecchino, who was revealed to be in charge of the Fatui's spy network and army of orphan soldiers.
I'm sure that, like me, almost everyone else in the Genshin Impact community is excited to see their favorite Harbinger take the stage as the game's story continues.
We've already encountered Dottore in Sumeru while Capitano was revealed to be on his way to Natlan, so many are already speculating as to which Harbinger will be the antagonist for Fontaine. Our fingers are crossed that it's either Sandrone or Arlecchino!
It's been an exciting year for Genshin Impact fans in 2022, and we're sure most of you can't wait to see what 2023 has in store!
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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