Genshin Impact update 2.0 bringing Inazuma characters and challenges this month

Genshin Impact 2.0 will introduce the Inazuma region when it arrives later this month, and we've already seen 9 new characters who will all likely be playable eventually.

Developer MiHoYo showcased Inazuma in an hour-long reveal stream which aired today. You can watch the English version of the 2.0 trailer below.

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A brief montage at the start shows the Electro version of the Traveler as well as Ayaka, Yoimiya, Sayu, a blonde guy named Thoma wearing a horned headband, platinum blonde Hydro user Sangonomiya Kokomi, and scruffy-haired, and the bow-wielding catboy Gorou. Later on, we see the sword-wielding Electro archon Baal herself, the pink-haired shrine maiden Yae Miko who was first teased during a previous stream, and electro bow user Kujou Sara.

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In total, not counting the newly released Kaedehara Kazuha, 9 new Inazuma characters were shown today, and we already know that Ayaka, Yoimiya, and Sayu will be playable soon. Ayaka will be released at the launch of update 2.0, with Yoimiya to follow with Sayu on her banner. New weapon banners will roll out alongside them, and they'll use a new Wishing system that lets players guarantee a specific five-star weapon after a certain number of rolls, giving weapon banners a hard pity of their own after months of potentially endless bad RNG.

More details on these three were shown elsewhere in today's reveal. Ayaka is a cryo sword-user who can convert her normal attacks to cryo, with a skill that does a circular AoE pulse and an elemental burst that summons a mini cryo whirlwind. Yoimiya, meanwhile, is a pyro bow user who can also deal elemental damage with her normal attacks thanks to her skill, while her burst marks enemies with a firework-esque insignia and causes explosions. Finally, Sayu can use her anemo skill to spin rapidly, either for a short attack or a longer wheel-like barrage, while her burst summons a little tanuki totem that seems to heal you.

Genshin Impact update 2.0 — (Image credit: MiHoYo)

The release of Inazuma, the Nation of Eternity, will kick off a new act of the main story: The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia. The second act, Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow, will arrive in a future update. MiHoYo confirmed that Ayaka and Yoimiya, at a minimum, will receive their own story quests throughout these arcs, and with so many new characters on the way, I'd bet on additional story and hangout quests too.

Naturally, Inazuma itself is full of new stuff to find. Update 2.0 will effectively expand Genshin Impact's map by 50%, and beyond the sheer scale of the new region, Inazuma also looks packed with unique mechanics and puzzles. There are new Electro oculi to collect, special plants and ore, and a variety of electro puzzles featuring new mechanics ranging from makeshift grappling hooks to electro keys. An array of new enemies were also shown in today's trailer, including samurai soldiers and ronin, new versions of staple baddies like abyss mages and Fatui witches, bestial Ruin sentinels, and new world bosses like the Pyro Hypostasis.

A new artifact domain is hidden somewhere in Inazuma, too, based on the two new sets shown today. One gives energy recharge and bonus elemental burst damage based on your energy recharge, while the other gives attack and can trade some burst energy for increased damage on your normal and charged attacks.

Update 2.0 will see plenty of smaller events and features as well. A brief teaser showed one event that seems to give a free copy of the four-star character Beidou, the return of the tower defense mode Theater Mechanicus, and a farming system for the Serenitea Pot house, among many others. Importantly, the new update will give PS4 and PS5 players the ability to link their Genshin Impact and MiHoYo accounts, unlocking many previously unavailable events and options. All platforms will also get cross-save support in 2.0, as a previous leak suggested.

We'll get our first real taste of all this content when update 2.0 launches on July 21.