All The Changes Coming In Genshin Impact's Next Update

While Genshin Impact was just about as immediate of a success as a game could conceivably be at the time of its launch, it was (and still is) incomplete. The world in which Genshin Impact takes place revolves around seven elements, and accordingly includes a region corresponding to each element. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, players will one day be able to visit all seven of these regions, but at launch the game only included two. While a release window for its third region has yet to materialize, developer MiHoYo has detailed some significant quality-of-life changes to be implemented in Genshin Impact's next patch, in the meantime.

First among these is an improvement to the functionality of the friends list. Players will now be able to chat with anyone they've added as a friend, regardless of whether or not they're sharing a game world. Messages can be sent to offline friends too, and are delivered the next time the recipient opens their copy of the game. In order to keep better track of changes to in-game nicknames, Genshin Impact will now also allow users to add personalized icons and notes to accompany each player on their friends list.

Arguably the biggest change to Genshin Impact's gameplay is the addition of trackable map pins. Currently, players can track quest objectives by adding a distance marker to the HUD that leads directly to their intended destination. Now distance markers can be created to track virtually any location pinned to a player's map, though only one objective, be it a quest or a pin, can be tracked at a time.

Completing Domains has been streamlined too. Upon reaching a Domain's endpoint, two new things will happen: rewards will be automatically added to players' inventories, and an option will appear to replay that domain, no longer requiring exiting and re-entering. Rewards from Ley Lines will also now be picked up automatically.

Other additions include the option to auto-play dialogue and a menu that includes reviewable text/audio from completed quests. Finally, players will no longer be removed from a Domain should a co-op partner close their copy of the game. Now the Domain will persist, and the remaining player or players can continue to progress.

Genshin Impact's last update introduced a new playable character, Zhongli. MiHoYo has yet to announce the rollout date for Version 1.2, which includes these latest updates. According to leaks circulated in November, however, the patch is supposed to be released on Dec. 23.