Genshin Impact Exploration Guide – An Overview of the World of Teyvat

 

Teyvat is the realm in which the famous open-world RPG game “Genshin Impact” takes place. Teyvat is home to many gorgeous sites, challenging bosses, uncharted territory, time crunching domains, mini-games, and last but not least, the bountiful nature of the content available for both casual and committed players.

As we venture into this world full of mystery and rich lore, we can meet many characters on our journey and our trusty guide Paimon. After spending almost five months playing Genshin Impact, I can almost expertly give a comprehensive guide on all things Teyvat.

In this Genshin Impact Exploration guide, you can expect brief descriptions of;

  1. The main nations in Teyvat, and nations that we have heard of or seen but cannot access
  2. Exploration, how to increase exploration, and tools
  3. Rewards and exploration progress
  4. Characters who are great for exploration

Nations

Teyvat originally comprises of seven main nations, three lore-based nations, and also historical nations (information about which are released through quests relevant to the main storyline).

The seven main nations of Teyvat each resemble an element and draw inspiration from real-world locations. This real-world inspiration stems out to influence the geography of each region, NPC/character names and attire, cuisine, and even lore.

The seven nations and the corresponding elements include:

Anemo Geo Electro Dendro Hydro Pyro Cryo
Mondstadt Liyue Inazuma Sumeru Fontaine Natlan Snezhnaya

Of the seven nations mentioned, only three (Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma) are currently open for exploration with the rest on the way via upcoming updates. Sumeru is the next scheduled/rumored nation to be released, and the release can be expected to come with the 3.0 update or beyond.

A Brief Description of Khaenri’ah, Celestia, and the Dark Sea

Khaenri’ah

Khaenri'ah
From: “Genshin Impact Story Teaser: We Will Be Reunited (Contains spoilers).”

Khaenri’ah is yet another unreleased region that is heavily referenced and spoken about in the in-game dialogues and quests. Khaenri’ah, once a great civilization that fell to ruin after the Archon War, now its citizens have mutated and evolved to form the Abyss Order.

It is rumored to be an underground civilization, with one of Tartaglia’s storylines stating that he fell into a “bottomless crack in the earth’s surface” and then met someone called Skirk (a swordswoman).

She trained him in the ways of the Abyss, with Tartaglia also stating, “I should hope that next we meet, I’ll at least be able to force her to use both hands to beat me,” which could be a small insight as to how strong the Abyss could be because Tartaglia himself is one of the strongest characters in the entire game.

Celestia

Celestia
Celestia floats in the sky above Xiao and Hu Tao

Celestia, another region that can be seen from various parts of Teyvat (a floating castle), is where the gods reside and watch over the common folk. According to the lore, any vision holder is eligible to ascend towards Celestia and achieve godhood through various heroic feats and good intentions.

Since vision holders are hand-picked by gods, they are considered to have the potential to become gods and are given the term Allogene. Which could mean that any of our beloved characters could become an Archon given the right motivation. (fingers crossed for Tartaglia and Xiao to become potential Archons XD).

However, according to the lore available only two individuals have portrayed feats that were recognized by the gods and then were taken to Celestia; they are Vennessa of Mondstadt (the first Dandelion Knight) and Guhua of Liyue region (an Adeptus).

Dark Sea

Dark Sea

Dark Sea, this region includes the areas beyond the seven main nations, which are essentially the unmarked areas of the map. According to lore, the fallen gods and those who refused to cooperate with the new regime of the seven Archons moved out to the Dark Sea and currently reside there.

We do not have much information on exactly which fallen gods and other monsters reside in the Dark Sea. Still, I expect them to be similar to the Wild Hunt from The Witcher series, which in my opinion, would be an extremely cool and very different addition to Genshin Impact.

Exploration

As with any other RPG game, world exploration is essential when it comes to battling and levelling up, gathering resources and getting a general idea of the landscape and what to expect.

However, in the world of Teyvat, these things are gradually introduced and along with that players are able to experience and understand the concepts of the game in a very straightforward manner.

To help ease the process of exploration in Genshin Impact, the game provides us exploration tools and other incentives to explore every corner of Teyvat. The incentives include the all alluring Primogem, increasing stamina, Acquaint or Intertwined fate, Mora, oculi, shrine of the depth keys, Adventure EXP, and Companionship EXP.

Areas that are available for exploration include Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Dragonspine, and Enkanomiya. The Golden Apple Archipelago was a region introduced during the 1.6 version of the game, the area was open for exploration back then, but now it is unavailable.

However, we do have two regions (Dragonspine and Enkanomiya) related to two nations but are completely different from the standard layout of the particular landscape. The Chasm is another area that has been referenced and one that we can see as well, which is situated west of Lisha.

Mondstadt
Mondstadt (Read Our Complete Mondstadt Exploration Guide)
Liyue
Liyue
 
Inazuma

Inazuma

Dragonspine
Dragonspine
Enkanomiya
Enkanomiya

How to Increase the Exploration Progress?

There are many ways to increase the exploration progress; this includes opening chests, finding Seelie courts for Seelie, completing timed challenges, and even finding the viewpoints. Below would be pictures of the above mentioned items, which could help new players.

Seelie, chests, and timed challenges are all tied to achievements for each specific region. All of the achievements and the requirements are visible on the achievements page.

Gadgets are extremely useful for aiding a player’s exploration progress since it helps overcome obstacles, find chests, find oculi, and even increase gilding speed.

Types of Chests Available

In Genshin Impact, chests are pretty common, but some are difficult to obtain because of specific unlocking criteria. Some require defeating monsters, chasing Seelie, completing timed challenges, breaking/ burning obstacles, climbing to different heights, and through quest completion as well.

Common Chest Exquisite Chest Precious Chest Luxurious Chest

Seelie

Seelie are an ancient race in the world of Teyvat, a race filled with beautiful creatures full of wisdom and knowledge that helped guide mankind have now taken a form that is more timid and underwhelming given their history.

This once great race can only offer small treasures to Travelers who are willing to follow them to their courts. Currently, we have three different types of Seelie, but all of them offer the same thing, chests.

  1. Seelie – Can be found all over the three available nations, they offer chests once they are successfully reunited with their respective Seelie courts.
  2. Warming Seelie – Can be found in Dragonspine only (for now), they offer warmth to reduce the Sheer Cold effect along with a chest once successfully guided to their court.
  3. Electro Seelie – These Seelie are EXTREMELY ANNOYING since they zap around and make a few unnecessary loops before finding a resting place where they form their own Seelie courts.
Seelie Seelie Court Seelie resting within the Seelie Court

*I am only able to show the regular Seelie since I have completed all Seelie related things in my main account, and the alt account that I use was opened very recently. T_T*

Timed Challenges

Timed challenges are also known as open world mechanisms; these are also tied to achievement rewards for each region. These challenges are also scattered all across Teyvat, and based on the difficulty level, the rewards offered always increase proportionally.

The timing given for each challenge varies along with the particles that need to be collected, the number of barrels needed to be exploded, and the monster spawns as well. There are three types of timed challenges available in Teyvat;

Defeat all enemies Explode all barrels Dexterity  Pressure plate

*In some instances, “Explode all barrels” and “Dexterity” have the same challenge sign, which could be a little confusing but do not worry, Genshin Impact always provides a brief intro about the particular challenge that has been activated.*

  1. Defeat all enemies – Defeat all enemies within the time limit to obtain the chest.
  2. Explode all barrels – Explode all barrels within the time limit; it is highly recommended to keep some space from the barrel and use bow characters to complete the challenge safely.
  3. Dexterity – This challenge would require the player to run across different terrains, collect elemental particles, or collect a chest within the given time limit.
  4. Pressure plate– Another challenge or world exploration helping mechanism, which spawns a chest or produces a wind current when triggered. The challenge must be completed before the pressure plate switches off. These can be activated by standing on it or by placing a Geo construct or second player.

Viewpoints

Viewpoints allow players to capture a gorgeous picture of the landscape in Teyvat, courtesy of Genshin Impact. These pictures are then recorded on the Archive page, which can later be viewed when the player wants to.

Players are advised to collect all the viewpoints available in Teyvat since some online Web events held by Mihoyo use these pictures to decorate cards and so on.

Viewpoint as seen in game Viewpoint capture

Exploration Tools

Gadgets: We currently have three different types of treasure compasses that could help us navigate and find the chests. The treasure compasses are unlocked by increasing the reputation levels in each region; these are obtained as rewards.

Anemo Treasure Compass  Geo Treasure Compass Electro Treasure Compass

*Each treasure compass is specific to its own particular region.*

Oculi

Anemoculus Geoculus Electroculus

Each region in Genshin Impact has its own statue of the seven in order to enhance and level up the statue’s collecting their specific oculi. As of version 2.4, we have three different types of oculi available for collection.

By leveling up the statues, the player is able to increase their stamina bar, obtain shrine of the depth keys, primogems, region-specific sigils, stones of remembrance (only in Liyue) for the nine pillars quest, Electro Traveler constellations (only in Inazuma) and Adventure rank EXP.

Since these oculi are scattered all across the specific regions, they are quite challenging to obtain. As a souvenir, Genshin Impact provides us with one extra oculus on top of all the available oculi, which will be offered to the statue.

Gadgets: Once again, as of the current version, we have three different types of resonance stones. Resonance stones help locate the oculi, which, when used, show the general location of the located oculi. Once again, the resonance stones are obtained as a reward by increasing the reputation level for each specific region.

Anemo Resonance Stone  Geo Resonance Stone Electro Resonance Stone

*Each resonance stone is specific to its own region.*

Notable Mentions:

Gadget Description

This would help the player move upwards by producing a wind current; this wind current is charged by Anemograna.

Obtained: Blueprints are obtained a level 3 reputation reward in Mondstadt. It is made crafting.

This does not help with exploration progress; however, it does help quickly heal all party members or revive party members, if in a pinch.

 

Obtained: Blueprints are obtained a level 5 reputation reward in Mondstadt. It is made crafting.

Increases movement speed by 30% for 30 seconds while gliding. However, it undergoes a 100 second cooldown.

 

Obtained: As a level 5 reputation reward in Inazuma.

It can be used to interact with the mini Kitsune statues to obtain rewards.

 

Obtained: World Quest “Sacrificial Offering”.

Can be used to unlock various things on Tsurumi island.

 

Obtained: World Quest “Peculiar Pinion”.

Food that Help with Exploration

The world of Teyvat is no stranger to food, recipes, ingredients, and of course, their very own culinary professionals. Xiangling is the only playable culinary expert available as of version 2.4; however, we do have NPC’s such as Smiley Yanxiao and Xudong, who are in contention with Xiangling on the culinary expert discussion.

When it comes to stamina depletion, I am certain that all Genshin Impact players have either fallen or drowned while exploring Teyvat. I personally have fallen off cliffs while climbing and even drowned at the moat near STARFELL LAKE BECAUSE I KEPT SPRINTING BEFORE I JUMPED INTO THE WATER T_T.

However, embarrassing situations such as that can be avoided by consuming food that replenishes stamina. Especially when it comes to climbing high places such as the mountain circled in the picture below (to collect the luxurious chest and Geoculus) consume the appropriate food from the table also mentioned below.

Food How to obtain Description
The recipe can be purchased from Good Hunter. Decreases stamina consumption by sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
The recipe can be purchased at Bubu Pharmacy.  Reduces stamina consumption by sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
There are two ways to obtain this food, they are:

 

  1. Recipe is found inside a chest at the top of a central tower in Stormterror’s Lair.
  2. Can be purchased from Brook, Springvale.
Restores 40-60 stamina.
The recipe can be found by speaking to Vind at Stormbearer Point. Decreases stamina consumption by gliding and sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
The recipe can be obtained from Shimura Kanbei. Restores 70-100 stamina.
The recipe is obtained through Wanmin Restaurant. Decreases stamina consumption by gliding and sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
The recipe is obtained from Shimura Kanbei. Decreases stamina consumption by climbing and sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
The recipe is obtained as a reward for completing the “Contraption-Contrived Cooking Course: Part 1” Restores 70-100 stamina.
The recipe is obtained as a reward for completing the “Contraption- Contrived Cooking Course: Part II” Restores 70-100 stamina.
The recipe can be obtained by completing the following:

 

  1. Dawn Winery version of Food Delivery commission given by Sara at Good Hunter.
  2. Jean’s story quest: Master’s Day Off
Decreases stamina consumption by climbing and sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.
The recipe can be obtained by completing the “Old Tastes Die Hard” quest. Decreases stamina consumption by climbing and sprinting by 15-25% for 900s.

Rewards Based on Regions/ Locations

In the main regions/ nations of Genshin Impact, there is a reward system for completing the quests, weekly bounties and requests, and for world exploration as well. Each region has its own unique rewards but a few of them are similar such as the treasure compasses, resonance stones, name cards, gliders, and even recipes as well.

For the main regions (Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma), the reward system is called reputation rewards. As for The Frostbearing tree in Dragonspine, players must collect Crimson Agate and then offer them to the tree to increase its levels and obtain the rewards.

In the case of the Sacred Sakura Tree, players must offer electro sigils as offerings to raise the level and obtain rewards and to level up the electrogram as well.

Mondstadt

Liyue

Inazuma

Dragonspine

Sacred Sakura Tree

(Narukami Shrine)

Since three of these systems are based off-world exploration and reputation increasing quests they are quite easy to accomplish.

However, increasing the level of The Frostbearing Tree and the Sacred Sakura Tree can be a little daunting for players since the Crimson Agate are spread out all over Dragonspine, where the conditions are harsh even for some veteran players, and in order to increase the level of the Sacred Sakura Tree players need to collect 1250 electro sigils.

Genshin Impact has offered players a great way through the exploration phase of the game by introducing the interactive map. The interactive map helps players locate almost everything available in Teyvat, which includes resources for cooking, leveling up characters, ores for weapon building, chests, open world mechanisms, seelies, and shrines of the depth as well.

The interactive map is available on the official Mihoyo app, which can be downloaded onto IOS and Android as well. Mihoyo also offers the enhancement progression calculator, daily check-in, and traveler diary, along with the interactive map.

Characters who are Beneficial for World Exploration

*These talents are only applicable if the character wielding the talent is a part of the active party; the character does not have to be on the field for most of these talents to work. However, they MUST be in the currently active party.*

Expedition Bonus Wielding Characters

In Genshin Impact, expeditions help gather resources, ore, and mora. This is similar to AFK (Away From Keyboard) farming, and the characters that are dispatched are not locked out of usage, so it is quite beneficial if the player is having difficulty getting resources such as meat and fowl in the early game.

As of version 2.4, we currently have six characters who have an expedition bonus as one of their passive talents.

Character Talent Name Description
It should be safe… Decreases expedition time consumed by 25%, in Mondstadt.
Mein Hausgarten Decreases expedition time consumed by 25%, in Mondstadt.
Gallant Journey Decreases expedition time consumed by 25%, in Liyue.
Land’s Overseer Decreases expedition time consumed by 25%, in Liyue.
Land Survey Decreases expedition time consumed by 25%, in Inazuma.
Precise Comings and Goings Gains 25% more rewards from expeditions based in Liyue, when the expedition time is set for 20 hours.

Stamina Consumption Decreasing Characters

Stamina consumption is one of the most important things that any player (veteran or new) needs to pay attention to.

Since all sorts of trouble can arise through stamina depletion, such as falling off high places while climbing, drowning while swimming, and falling out of the sky while gliding (although this can be avoided by clicking the plunge attack option just before the player touches the ground).

By maxing out the Statues of the 7 to level 10 in each of the three available regions, the players stamina bar would increase to 240. However, it is always better to be on the safe side, so if you are planning on building an exploration based team, do consider the following characters.

*The Anemo elemental resonance “Impetuous Winds” reduces stamina consumption by 15%, increases movement speed by 10%, and reduces the elemental skill CD by 5%. This resonance is activated by having two Anemo characters in the team, when it comes to exploration, this resonance would be the most optimal, in my opinon.*

Character Talent Name Description
Transcension: Gravity Defier Decreases stamina consumption when climbing by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Cloud Strider Decreases stamina consumption when gliding by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Windrider Decreases stamina consumption when sprinting by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Conqueror of Tides Decreases stamina consumption when swimming by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Gliding Champion Decreases stamina consumption when gliding by 20%, for the whole party. (Non co-op)
Hidden Strength Decreases stamina consumption when sprinting by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Princess of Watatsumi Decreases stamina consumption when swimming by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Wolvensprint Decreases stamina consumption when sprinting by 20%, for the whole party. (non co-op)
Night Walk

During Night time (18:00 to 6:00), Rosaria increases the movement speed of the whole party. *This bonus is not applicable during the daytime.* (non co-op)

Glorious Season

After using her Elemental skill “Let the show begin”, all characters within the skill move have their stamina consumption reduced by 12%.

1st ascension passive bonus. 

Cat’s Tail Secret Menu

Characters who are shielded by Icy Paws have a movement speed buff of 10% along with a stamina consumption reduction of 10%.

1st ascension passive bonus.

Kanten Senmyou Blessing

When the Cryo application aspect of the Kamisato Art: Senho, she regains 10 stamina and a 18% Cryo damage bonus for 10s.

4th ascension passive bonus. 

Region-specific Area Exploration Characters

When it comes to gathering resources in Genshin Impact, we run into a few issues since most characters have similar ascension materials. Since all local area specialties take 72 hours to refresh/ respawn, it only leaves a limited amount of resources to be farmed daily.

Having a character that is able to highlight the location of area specific resources comes in handy when coupled with the interactive map. Most players have a set farming route; using a rotation such as this would help utilize resource gathering in the most efficient way.

Character Talent Name Description
All of my Treasures! All locations of the local area specialty resources will be displayed on the mini map, only applicable for Mondstadt.
Encyclopedic Expertise All locations of the local area specialty resources will be displayed on the mini map, only applicable for Liyue.
Former Life Memories All locations of the local area specialty resources will be displayed on the mini map, only applicable for Liyue.
Seeker of Shinies All locations of the local area specialty resources will be displayed on the mini map, only applicable for Inazuma.
Trove of Marvelous Treasures All locations of minable ore (all ore veins which are forgeable) will be displayed on the mini map, applicable across Teyvat.

When it comes to exploring the wilderness, hunting, and collecting animal resources in Genshin Impact, we run into a few obstacles, such as: getting rammed by a boar, birds flying away before we can attack, crystalflies flying away before we can grab them, and butterflies and fireflies despawning before we can capture them.

These problems arise mainly in the early game when players are still getting accustomed to dealing with the timings, spawn rates, and resource gathering aspect of Genshin Impact. A key thing to keep in mind would be that;

  1. All animals and insects under the category “Wildlife” respawn after 12 hours (half a day).
  2. Fish residing in fishing spots (areas where fishing needs to be done via the fishing rod gadget) respawn every 72 hours (3 days).
Character Talent Name Description
Easy does it Animals belonging to the Wildlife category (in the archives) that produce raw meat, chilled meat, and fowl will not be startled by any character when approached.
Yoohoo’s art: Silencer’s Secret Creatures that are in the “Other” sub-category of the Wildlife section and crystalflies are not startled when the player approaches them.

FAQs

Question: What Counts Towards Exploration in Genshin Impact?

Answer: Collecting Oculi (or the equivalent such as Crimson Agate in Dragonspine), chests, completing world quests, clearing out open world mechanisms, unlocking all the waypoints and statues of the seven, and elemental totems.

Question: What does 100% Exploration Mean in Particular Regions?

Answer: This would mean that all the possible world quests, collectible items, and chests have been found and cleared out. However, there are chests that respawn after some time has passed, which would appear even though the region has received a 100% exploration rating.

Question: Which Genshin Impact Team is Best for Exploration?

Answer: There are no particular set teams or must haves in order to get the most out of in game exploration. However, as mentioned above in the table containing characters, Genshin Impact does offer a wide range of characters with different abilities for different occasions.

A team purely built for exploration should include a solid Main DPS character along with a good utility character (a healer or a shielder) along with characters that offer benefits towards exploration.

A pair that I used for a very long time comprised of Keqing and Kaeya, since Keqing can zap to different places with her elemental skill and because Kaeya was great at building impromptu ice bridges.

The best team for exploration (in my opinion) would be something free to play players may have trouble getting since it includes:

• Venti/ Kazuha (for vertical lifting through elemental skill moves)
• Zhongli (for the pillar he summons through the elemental skill move)
• Aloy/ Sayu (since most animals are undisturbed when they are in the party, making it easier to hunt)
• Ningguang (since she marks all the available ore locations on the mini map).

Question: Roughly how many Primogems can a Player Obtain Through Chests Alone?

Answer: Each chest provides a different amount of primogems, and as the chests become rarer in terms of quality, the higher the primogems obtained will be. Luxurious chests are quite rare to find, and some are even locked behind puzzles and boss battles. However, common chests are exquisite chests are much easier to find.

• Common Chest – 0-2 Primogems
• Exquisite Chest – 2-5 Primogems
• Precious Chest – 5 Primogems
• Luxurious Chest – 10-40 Primogems

Question: What are Exploration Talents?

Answer: Each character comes with their own combat talents and world/team related talents. Most characters have world related talents which help when it comes to exploration, such as Aloy and Sayu having talents that allow the player to hunt more efficiently without alarming the wildlife. Beidou has a 20% lower stamina cost when the player has to swim.

Conclusion

World exploration is quite easy in Genshin Impact and the hints provided are usually very straightforward. This makes Genshin Impact a very “user friendly” game for beginners as well. However, the only issue I have would be when it comes to playing on the mobile in terms of the area of sight and control placements.

However, I run into absolutely no problems that hinder my experience on the PC. Overall, I would highly encourage new Travelers to explore all the areas, clear all the quests and challenges, gather every resource they could find, interact with chests and Seelie as soon you see them, and have fun while exploring the wonderful world of Teyvat.

After all, Genshin Impact is home to some gorgeous sites and sceneries, so have fun capturing these little moments while you run around Teyvat defeating monsters, completing commissions and quests, and making your characters the strongest they can be. Best of luck on your journey, Travelers, Ad Astra Abyssosque.

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