But certain pieces of gear or characters are highly sought after, causing players to spend hundreds of dollars on currency to finally acquire them. However, you’re definitely able to earn characters by playing the game normally as well. The characters and loot you receive all have a different probability of dropping, giving it a “luck of the draw” feeling. You might get the specific character you’re looking for on your first try, or it might take you hundreds of hours (and dollars) to finally acquire them. The way it works is that you can spend in-game currency (or real money) on packs of characters, loot, and gear - all of which are random with varying degrees of rarity. The “gacha” element is used to describe the game’s monetization, which is comparable to random loot boxes or a slot machine. Let’s get into its “gacha” features, which are a huge portion of the game.

Though, to call it a “ Breath of the Wild clone” is reductive, as Genshin Impact does a lot to stand on its own. Once you get to the top of your destination, you can glide off, allowing you to travel quickly around the map - yet another similarity. The biggest similarity is that you’re able to climb almost any surface in Genshin and the amount you can climb is dictated by a stamina meter - just like in Breath of the Wild.

It’s a fair comparison, as many of the environments and locales resemble one another across both games. Many critics and players have compared Genshin Impact to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with an anime twist. Genshin Impact is an online-only adventure that heavily leans into story and multiplayer - with many features you’d see in popular games as a service (like daily quests, rewards, loot, and other things to keep you checking in). The combat plays out in real time, allowing players to utilize ranged, melee, and elemental attacks against a wide array of enemies across the game’s open world and dungeons. In it, players control a number of party members, each with different abilities, weapons, gear, and personalities. It is developed and published by Chinese studio miHoYo. Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG with “gacha” (we’ll go over that later on) mechanics.

How to unlock characters in Genshin Impact.

Genshin Impact’s latest 5-star character Ganyu is worth the pull.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you’ll need to know about Genshin Impact, including an overview of its gameplay, how monetization works, what its multiplayer is like, and more.

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