Genshin Impact 4.0 is just around the corner, and HoYoverse outlined what to expect in the first Fontaine update in a new trailer and press release, including a glimpse at the region’s dank, rotten core and some new features and events in store. Genshin Impact 4.0 releases Aug. 16, 2023, for PS4 and PS5, PC, and mobile devices.
The PS5 version launches with new graphics improvements as well.
The Traveler and Paimon turn up in Fontaine at a moment of crisis, because of course they do. The region’s decadent Archon and upper classes treat justice and life as a spectacle, comparing the suffering of others with the delights of a good, dramatic opera. While Fontaine may seem prosperous, discord stirs under the surface, and an ancient prophecy of destruction has even the Archon on edge.
One day, so the prophecy goes, Fontaine and its people will dissolve in floods of water, with only the Archon left on her sodden throne to rule over the droplets. Whether this prophecy is written in the stars or not, it looks like Fontaine has more immediate problems to worry about – namely, an invasion of mechanized soldiers determined to topple the Archon and free Fontaine’s people.
On the event side, we’ll be taking part in Mega Meka Melee, a series of challenges that looks designed to introduce players to Fontaine and how it works, including the new swimming feature. There’s another combat event in Verdict of Blades, a suite of new world quests, and two new world bosses.
Genshin Impact 4.0 adds three new characters – the 5 star Lyney and his two 4-star siblings, Freminet and Lynette – new weapons, and two new artifact sets. While you can’t start the Fontaine storyline until you wrap up the Sumeru story, you can visit the region and challenge its enemies and bosses at any time. Unlike Inazuma, you can access Fontaine easily just by heading north from the Sumeru desert.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
