Breaking down Genshin Impact’s 1.1 update

With the release of its 1.1 update, Genshin Impact celebrated this milestone with an event which increased the drop rates of four new characters.

Justin Cong, Staff Writer
November 20, 2020

Following the huge success of its initial release, Mihoyo, the developers of Genshin Impact, released the highly anticipated 1.1 update on the 11th of November. In this update, Mihoyo has added a new reputation feature, added the last chapter of the Archon Quest of Liyue, a new upcoming event, plenty of quality of life features, and 4 new characters.

Genshin Impact is a gacha-centered anime open-world RPG that was officially released in September of this year. The gameplay consists of the player being able to control a group of 4 characters to fight against different kinds of enemies in an open-world setting. Each character has an element and a unique skill set which can lead to many interesting strategies in-game.

The four new characters that are being released in this update are fan-favorites 5 star Childe and Zhongli, as well as 4 star characters Diona and Xinyan. Childe and Diona were released with the update on the 11th, but Zhongli and Xinyan will drop in the first week of December. Childe is a Hydro bow user, who is able to switch stances into a melee form with weapons made from water, and Diona is a Cryo bow user who holds a supporting role in the team, helping out with elemental reactions as well as healing. Zhongli is a Geo claymore user who can form pillars from the ground and launch a meteor at enemies. Xinyan is a Pyro claymore user, but her full skillset hasn’t been revealed yet by the developers. The 4 star units don’t seem too impressive in a sense that they don’t introduce any new mechanics or abilities in the game. Childe and Zhongli on the other hand, are incredibly well-designed with abilities never seen in the game before that add a sense of freshness.

The update had introduced new characters into the story and a new boss, Childe, to fight. The boss was scaled to your level so even if you grinded a lot, you could still struggle in the fight. The plot itself was very nice and ended on a note that left me wondering and waiting for the next installment of the main story. The story could have taken a cop-out route and there would be no tensions at the end of the chapter, but it didn’t follow through as expected and more will be discovered through further updates.

While the rewards for having a high reputation are very good for exploration and progressing in general, I didn’t enjoy the weekly limits as rewards are time-gated and can’t be obtained all at once. The commissions take around 5 minutes to finish for the week and the bounties take around 20-25 minutes to finish. Overall, it’s a mechanic that seems very empty and does not have the best design.

Leaks for the 1.2 update show 2 new 5 star characters, Albedo and Ganyu, coming to the game with a new unexplored mountain region. The update is slated to release near the end of December, and fan-favorite character Xiao dropping in February with the 1.3 update. The 1.4 update will introduce a new region closely resembling Japan called Inazuma with the character Ayaka. These updates will provide longevity to the game and one can hope Mihoyo keeps up with more content to clear and characters to collect.