Genshin Impact's new 2.8 update comes with a healthy dose of content in the form of a new story quest, character, and weapon. As is tradition with Genshin Impact updates, free Primogems are being awarded to players as compensation for each hour the game is under maintenance along with an issue fix compensation.
Genshin Impact by Chinese developer HoYoverse has been incredibly successful since its September 2020 launch. Accessible across PC, consoles, and mobile devices, the game is able to appeal to a massive audience thanks to its addicting gacha system for unlocking characters and equipment and satisfying exploration gameplay reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As a partially online game with co-op functionality, Genshin Impact receives regular updates that introduce new items to collect, more quests to undertake, and limited-time events to participate in. Like many online games, Genshin Impact is constantly improving with bug fixes, performance improvements, and balance adjustments.
The latest update for Genshin Impact brings the game up to Version 2.8 and introduces a few new things for players to collect. The new 4-Star character, "Analytical Harmony" Shikanoin Heizou is a catalyst-wielding Anemo-aligned character with some unique AoE-focused abilities. His Heartstopper Strike is an attack that can be charged to unleash a powerful AoE, while Windmuster Kick has Heizou leaping into the air and creating a wind tunnel that pulls in nearby enemies for more AoE damage. The new 4-Star sword Cursed Blade furthers the Anemo-AoE theme of this update by unleashing a Hewing Gale AoE on Normal, Charged, or Plunging attacks. Players can find out more about the weapon during the new 2.8 story quest.
Players who have reached Adventure Rank 40 can take part in the 2.8 story quest and the new Hangout Event. 10 limited-time world quests, a new cooking recipe, new achievements, and new Adventure Handbook pages have been added. Dozens of bug fixes, optimizations, and minor balance adjustments have also been included in the update. The update is rewarding players with a 300 (60 per hour the game spends offline) Primogem maintenance compensation along with a 300 Primogem issue fix compensation, adding up to $10 USD in free Primogems.
The 2.8 update should provide a welcome distraction as players wait for the highly anticipated Sumeru region coming to Genshin Impact in Version 3.0. The upcoming update will also introduce Genshin Impact's seventh element, Dendro, which will have far-reaching implications for the game's element-based combat and puzzle solving.
Genshin Impact is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is currently in development.
Source: HoYoverse
