Greetings travellers! Here’s your Genshin Impact development team, inviting you to Summer of Teyvat with Genshin Impact version 2.8, Summer Fantasia, coming on July 13th! The Golden Apple Archipelago is open again with a different look, bringing a variety of plots, stories, challenges, and rewards. Prepare to delve into realms you’ve never set foot before and discover another side to your longtime companions.
Then, a year after Kaedehara Kazuha’s first arrival, the wandering samurai seems intent on deepening his friendship with you while bringing the first chapter of his personal story quest, along with his close friend Shikanoin Heizou.
summer odyssey
Compared to previous island adventures, this year’s big Summertime Odyssey event aims to bring even more as the Golden Apple archipelago gets a facelift. New landscapes and many new stories can be found throughout the event; including richer rewards like a large number of new treasure chests. Players will also have the chance to get the four-star character Fischl and his new outfit, both available for a limited time.
Travelers visiting the Golden Apple Archipelago this summer can expect some serious exploration, as each island has been transformed through different themes and puzzles. Xinyan, Fischl, Kazuha and Mona traveling with us also seem to have their secret connections to certain areas, where you can encounter mysterious realms with dangers and treasures.
Sailing is always the highlight of island recreation, and this summer you can either speedrun your Waverider on the specially designed course or sail with friends online. For example, Reminiscent Diet is a co-op specific event with three different game modes. Convoy mode requires all participants to escort a large raft to its destination, while Raid tasks players with piloting their own Waverider to board floating platforms and take out enemies. In Descent mode, players will have to fight their way from a platform high in the sky. Be careful, or you and your teammates could find yourself in trouble in flight.
If you want to take a leisurely stroll along the beach, be sure to pick up the special conches during the Resonating Visions event. As you collect the conch shells, you can listen to intriguing tales and stories and exchange Fischl’s brand new outfit for a number of conch shells. Overall, this year’s Golden Apple Archipelago will not only give seasoned travelers a familiar feel, but will also introduce plenty of exploration mechanics and scenarios for everyone!
Connect with friends
While you’re having a good time on the islands with other characters, version 2.8 lets you bond with even more friends, old and new. Diluc, Kaedehara Kazuha, and all-new four-star playable character Shikanoin Heizou will appear in the latest events and stories.
As one of the first playable characters, Diluc will be getting a brand new outfit. The outfit, featuring a distinctive look, new idle animation, and new effects, will be available in the store soon. Meanwhile, his backstory and a trial stage can be found in the Hidden Strife challenge event.
After joining the game for over a year, Kaedehara Kazuha’s story quest has finally arrived. Coming from a renowned family of swordsmiths in Inazuma, Kazuha’s story seems to be related to a mysterious sword and a duel. You will know more about it in his story quest, chapter Acer Palmatum.
Kazuha’s friend Shikanoin Heizou will also debut in the next version. Heizou is a genius young detective from the Tenryou Commission who is active on the front lines in the fight against criminal masterminds. Despite her free-spirited and unruly nature, Kujou Sara values her crime-solving abilities. You can read more and even join his work in his Hangout event.
In combat, Heizou is our first melee catalyst user. Although he wields a Catalyst and carries an Anemo Vision, his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst are all unarmed techniques, just like his normal attack. His Elemental Skill will launch a Heartstopper Strike, and charging his Elemental Skill can grant him special “Declination” stacks. Once Heizou reaches a certain number of Declination stacks, his elemental skill’s DMG and AoE increase. His Elemental Burst will unleash a Windmuster Kick, pulling nearby enemies in and inflicting AoE Anemo DMG. If enemies are affected by the Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, or Electro element, a subsequent delayed explosion will occur, dealing damage of the corresponding elemental type. Additionally, Heizou can reduce sprint stamina consumption for your own party members.
Shikanoin Heizou will be available in replay event wishes from Kaedehara Kazuha and Klee in the first phase of version 2.8. The Yoimiya Replay will be available in the later phase of the update.
More bonuses
With version 2.8, more events and rewards are also waiting for you to explore. For example, with the Evermotion Mechanical Painting event, you can solve a special puzzle game and get new furnishings for your Serenitea Pot.
Finally, a reminder that the PlayStation Plus Bundle, available to PlayStation Plus members at no additional cost, will be updated after version 2.8 goes live. So don’t forget to claim your free PS Plus pack which contains Mora × 50,000, Hero’s Wit × 20, Mystic Enhancement Ore × 15 and Fragile Resin × 2.
And that’s all for today. We hope to see you next time!
