Is genshin worth returning to in 2026?

I dropped the game a while ago now, but I have logged in every once in a blue moon. I remember exploring Fontaine whilst my account hadn't even finished Sumeru archon quest.I LOVED Fontaines visuals,music, and environment.

Last year or maybe even before that I logged in again and didn't read and I think I automatically skipped to the Natlan and I'm not sure if I can play the Fontaine Archon quest anymore lol. I also got bored pretty quick since movement was just slow compared to what I had gotten used to so I BARELY explored Natlan.

It's really weird how I've just random itch to play, maybe it's nostalgia since genshin will always have a special place in my heart, and I'm just in the mood for a cozy experience that genshin gave me for a good 3 years.

I'm wondering if I can just walk over to nod krai or if I have to do any story content? Can I play past events? How's exploration and quality of life now?And is endgame a total nightmare for if you don't have the right units? Don't want to have my hopes up that my Yae Miko can clear endgame when she'll get her butt whooped💔

Also thank you for reading this is you have, mainly just want to hear some opinions on the current state of the game🫶✨

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Commentaires

New_Economist_94292026-01-05 03:50

modusxd2026-01-05 03:51

It can be fun if you don't mind the infinite dialogue

notthatjaded2026-01-05 03:53

You can play the Fontaine Archon quest even if you've started the Natlan one. It only interferes if you quickstarted Natlan because the place where the Natlan quest starts is the same place where the Fontaine quest starts (because you're saying goodbye to people from Fontaine before you head to Natlan). Once you get past that point, you can go back and start Fontaine.

But as far as Nod-Krai goes, there should be a fast travel point somewhere north of Natlan where you can just go straight to Nod-Krai without having to do any story content to get there.

The only past "event" that's playable is last year's summer event that takes place in Natlan, all the story stuff and exploration is available (but not the minigames but that's kind of whatever anyway).

I've got no insight on endgame because I don't make any particular effort to complete any of it (but if that's your thing, there's three endgame modes now.)

edit: also Lantern Rite is coming up soon so it's a pretty good time to come back and get a fair amount of rewards

akoangpinaka2026-01-05 03:54

You're the one whose gonna play, why ask us.

Rachel15782026-01-05 03:56

With the way you worded it, no it’s not worth it. If you want to sit down and play through everything and explore, then sure it’s worth it. You’ll want to play through things in order to play in order understand everything.

This game requires a little more time then once in a long while.

Kamimikoo2026-01-05 04:00

"oh i dont like this and this and this, oh and this was bad too i got bored so fast, should i come back?"
no.. why do even ask tbh? if you get bored by the game, didnt pay attention to the story, why do you wanna play it?

MegalFresh2026-01-05 04:03

Whether it's "worth" returning to is a personal question, but...

Nod Krai is NOT story locked. You can walk over whenever you want. (Or, well. Use the teleporter. Actually walking is a bit difficult because it's an ocean away from natlan.)

At the moment, past events are not archived and playable- though the upcoming lantern rite quest is supposed to be permanent, so they might have plans to change that sooner than later.

We've gotten a decent spread of QoL updates this year, tho i wouldn't know if any of them address issues you had with the game

General consensus is that exploration has been dumbed down pretty significantly, at least compared to back in sumeru and fontaine. Landscape is gorgeous as heck though so there's that.

Endgame is... Well, I don't really invest in endgame content so I can't speak personally, but by the sound of it things certainly haven't gotten \*better\* in the time you've been gone.

Also RE not being able to play the Fontaine archon quest- early unlocking Natlan does not prevent you from playing the fontaine arc. Though there IS an issue some people had where starting natlan temporarily blocks off the fontaine quest. (This is because they use the same location for a little bit. if you havent even started fontaine yet that won't be an issue, though you might still need to do the rest of the natlan intro beforehand?)

Curious_Ring_28132026-01-05 04:32

I only just got to Nodkrai with Mavuika and Chasca from the highest point in Natlan, so unless they wanna icebridge for centuries or have furina, getting there without teleporting will be really hard.

A fun challenge though, the border where it becomes nod krai and you can't nightsoul transition was pretty far away. I think I had to stamina food and add another anemo to my party to make it.

You could probably use a kahoulasaur

Curious_Ring_28132026-01-05 04:40

If you just wanna explore and ignore the story you can do that. World quests will trap you for a bit.

No, Yae Miko can't clear much end game unless you wheelchair her (possibly a good wheelchair of Columbina and Ineffa coming out though, she might do well in that team)

Personally I found the Fontaine archon quests boring game play wise but ok story wise. The end for me was dissatisfying like "ok, this was all caused by this? But it felt set up like it should have been something directly influenced by Celestia, not this somewhat random event" (avoiding spoilers)

Natlan was better but again the ending was like "how is this the logical progression? Why are they teleporting what is happening" but otherwise good

Nod krai has been really good so far, no wtf moments for me yet. Some fairly long sections that aren't clear when you can pause, but that's more a lack of my time issue than a storytelling issue.