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Genshin Impact 5.0 release date, characters, and anniversary rewards

Everything we know about what's coming to the Genshin Impact 5.0 update including details on Natlan, the Saurian creatures, and characters.

Genshin Impact 5.0 update Dendro

When is the Genshin Impact 5.0 release date? There’s not long to go until the launch of Genshin Impact’s next big update, where we’ll get a brand-new map, characters, creatures, and story. We’ll also be introduced to the Pyro Archon, who should be available as a playable character at some point in the near future.

Hoyoverse finally spilled the beans on the latest Genshin Impact 5.0 update, dropping details about the new batch of playable characters, and the sixth region known as Natlan. We’ve also got information on character kits, artifacts, and of course, a new area with Saurian creatures to play with.

Genshin Impact 5.0 release date

Genshin Impact 5.0 is set to launch on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

Genshin Impact 5.0 livestream

The Genshin Impact livestream premiered on Friday, August 16, 2024, at 12:00 AM (UTC-4). You can catch the presentation on YouTube or Twitch.TV.

Genshin Impact 5.0 characters

We now know the names of these three characters, as well as six additional residents from Natlan, including the Pyro Archon, Mavuika. Give our upcoming Genshin Impact characters guide a read to discover which characters you would like to join your party in the future.

The end of the Genshin Impact 4.8 livestream gave us a glimpse of the new characters set to join from the Natlan region. Mualani, Kinich, and Kachina will be available in the Genshin Impact banners.

The leaks say that Natlan will be divided into four parts and the three characters are from different tribes within Natlan, though this hasn’t been verified.

Genshin Impact 5.0 anniversary rewards

To celebrate the game’s anniversary, you can pick from a selection of five-star characters from the Standard Wish ‘Wanderlust Invocation’ to add to your roster for free. This will be made available until September 18, so be sure to claim these rewards while you can.

There are two anniversary events you won’t want to miss out on, giving away 10x Intertwined Fate just for signing in for seven days. There’s also a gift pack containing 1,600x Primogems, 1x Sanctifying Elixir, 2x Fragile Resin, 1x Firstborn Firesprite, and 1x Kaboom Box through the in-game mail system. You have until the end of the 5.0 update to claim these rewards.

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Genshin Impact Natlan

The region, Natlan, was teased in the 4.7 livestream and though we don’t know much about it, it does look as if it’ll be located near Sumeru and have a dry, volcanic terrain. It’s also home to dragons, called Saurian, and while these creatures don’t look like typical dragons, they are adorable, and should aid players in getting around Natlan.

Hoyoverse released a teaser of three Saurian, which shows them burrowing underground, scaling tall cliffs, and swimming through water and lava. It also shows one creature using its tongue to grab an object and spin through the air, so it’s likely they can be used to reach inaccessible areas, or solve puzzles.

Natlan features new forgeable weapons, artifacts sets, and a range of enemies to hunt down. Two story quests will be made available at launch, ‘Where the Spring Returns’ for Mualani, and ‘Yapanqui’s Turnfire’ for Kinich.

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Genshin Impact 5.0 Saurian

There’s gameplay footage from leaker, SunYongPS, showing off the mechanics of the Hydro Saurian. The Hydro Saurian, named Koholasaurus, can swim through water at a much faster rate than regular characters, and they’re able to leap into the air. We imagine this mechanic will be used to grab objects during a race in a future Genshin Impact event.

Leaker kuroo has shown off Dendro Saurian gameplay, and it appears to have similar abilities to Kinich, the new Dendro character. This Saurian, also known as Yumkasaurus, can leap into the air and fire a projectile which it immediately follows in a straight line, even when moving through the air. It also appears to be heavily focused on combat, able to perform slashes using its sharp talons.

Lastly, kuroo has Geo Saurian gameplay, though there isn’t that much to see in this clip. While we get to see the Saurian, referred to as Tepetlisaurus, briefly in action, getting a quick glimpse at its digging mechanic, allowing it to burrow through the ground. The Saurian ends up getting trapped inside lava… it wasn’t taking any damage at the time, but we imagine this was the result of a gameplay bug rather than intended behavior.

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Genshin Impact 5.0 new features

Unlike previous major updates, new players only need to complete all the Mondstadt Archon Quests and reach Adventure Rank 19 to travel to Natlan. In addition to several tweaks to the artifact system to make farming for materials easier, there are more opportunities to earn Primogems through daily quests.

For the first time, World Rank 9 is going to be made available to the player, but you will need to reach Adventure Rank 58 to unlock it. Genshin Impact is also adding a mechanic for players who have been away for more than 45 consecutive days, providing them with 10x Intertwined Fate if they complete the ‘Stellar Reunion’ Event.

Now you’re caught up on when to expect the Genshin Impact 5.0 update, here are the latest Genshin Impact codes and all Shrine of Depths locations for all areas.