Given the investment it takes to even unlock Genshin Impact multiplayer, people might find things feel a little anticlimactic when they reach that milestone. After all, you can’t take on regular quests or enter the Spiral Abyss when you have others around. But while that does take away possible assistance on some fronts, what is there for actual human allies can offer a different sort of approach. It almost feels like heading out into Teyvat is like going out to the woods with other people to see what you can find.
Once you unlock Genshin Impact multiplayer, accessing it is rather easy. You can see your available friends in the menu and send a request to basically invade their world from there. (You can also, well, see who is generally around and pop in. That doesn’t seem as polite, though.) Once someone has appeared, you have a handful of activities you can engage in together. If you haven’t completed your four daily quests yet, your new allies and you can work on your tasks together. Be advised that in the case of some missions, they might not see the person you’re talking to. (That’s what happened with “Stop Albert, Stop!” in Mondstadt during one multiplayer session.) If you have resin, you could head to a Ley Line to fight some monsters together and get some rewards. There are also Domains you could visit, again if you have the resin to trigger them.
…Does Albert know who he’s talking to?
And all of those are fine options. They give you someplace to go, so you have both a destination and goal in mind. If one person is farther along in the game, they could help someone more quickly get through those daily tasks. But I felt like the real draw and most appealing part was the more aimless option. Heading out into the open map and seeing what might be out there awaiting. Especially if the person you are playing with visited places you haven’t.
For example, I only hit adventurer rank 20 on October 26, 2020. While I log in every day to complete my “chores” and perhaps explore, other games have demanded my attention, so I couldn’t really dedicate my time to taking on campaign missions or… um, even reaching Liyue yet. (It’s on my to-do list!) A big part of my first multiplayer outing involved unlocking more of the map and reaching a new Statue of the Seven. I didn’t get to feel as useful as I would have liked with Barbara, who is one of my favorite characters and ones I enjoy using the most, but it did let me safely play as a mage and not worry as much about damage while my partner took on the role of the more physical attacker.
And, well, it was great. It was honestly the most fun I’ve had playing Genshin Impact. That’s because I like to explore and find things. I’ll get to the quests eventually, but I’d rather find new materials, unlock waypoints and explore to see what Teyvat has to offer. I’m very bad at finding Anemoculus and Geoculus on my own, but in multiplayer was exploring with someone who fantastic at picking them out and pointing out which ones I needed. Which made my general experience better, since it meant more stamina for me so I could reach even more places.
Like sure, fighting through a Domain and completing its challenge might be a bit tedious. You also might have to worry if you have enough resin for a Genshin Impact multiplayer adventure. In general, I like the approach. I approached it as a relaxed way to explore with someone else, perhaps considering the other person as a helping hand and safety net. You don’t have as much to possibly do as you would on your own, but it can still feel like you could work with the people with you to find a sense of purpose for each trip.
Genshin Impact is available for the PlayStation 4, PC, and both Android and Apple iOS devices. It will also come to the Nintendo Switch.
Published: Oct 27, 2020 03:00 pm