Genshin Impact's 3.0 update has been here for some time, but boy does it bring breaths of fresh air for its many players worldwide.
However, with every new region in Genshin Impact comes a wave of new game mechanics, soundtrack, and enemies to be wary of.
Here's how well Genshin Impact's Sumeru update did.
New Region: Sumeru
Keeping true to the game's lore, Sumeru, the realm of the Dendro Archon, is a land divided into two parts. Players entering Sumeru for the first time can expect to see lush forests, green clearings, and new flora and fauna to collect or hunt.
It is in this part of Sumeru where players can find Gandharva Ville, the home of the region's forest rangers. This quiet village is where travelers will first be if they enter Sumeru through Liyue's "The Chasm."
The city of Sumeru, along with the port city of Ormos, can also be found here.
Meanwhile, the region's second part consists of miles and miles of barren desert as far as the eye can see. However, exploring this part is impossible at press time. It will be made available in a future update.
The culture of the people who live in Sumeru seems to be a mix of Indian and Middle Eastern ones, as evidenced by some of the characters' names. For example, Alhaitham, a scribe from the Sumeru Akademiya, seems to be a character loosely based on Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham, an Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to science and the principles of optics, per the Encyclopedia Britannica.
This mixture can also be noticed in the local's clothing, with the men wearing thawbs and scarves while the women don dresses with long sleeves, similar to those from India. Some NPCs from known families even wear jewelry similar to those worn by women in India.
Meanwhile, those that live in the desert, the Eremites, wear clothes that help them acclimate to its heat and environment, similar to traditional garments worn by Arabs in the desert.
Another piece of evidence is the city's architecture, which features a bazaar similar to those found in the middle east. Port Ormos' Pharos Lighthouse seems to take its name from the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria, which once stood on the island of Pharos.
New Mechanics
Thanks to Sumeru's forests, mountains, and cliffs, getting around simply by climbing can be a time-consuming task. Thankfully, HoYoverse added the four-leaf sigils and bouncy mushrooms to aid players in exploring Sumeru. Thanks to these new traversal mechanics, players can role play as Tarzan of Spider-Man if they wish.
Another thing to talk about is the expansion of the Dendro element in the game. With Sumeru's release, the Dendro element is no longer exclusively wielded by Dendro slimes and samachurls. However, mastering a new set of reactions alongside the game's standard elemental reactions can be difficult.
Here's a simplified list of possible Dendro elemental reactions that are possible as of update 3.0:
- Dendro + Pyro = Burning, a reaction many players are familiar with.
- Dendro + Electro = Quicken, a state that increases Dendro or Electro damage to an enemy.
- Dendro + Hydro = Bloom, an elemental reaction that creates Dendro Corers. Hitting these with Pyro creates the "Burgeon" reaction, doing AoE Dendro damage. If hit with Electro, the cores will become homing missiles called "Sprawling Shots." Any remaining Dendro cores will explode and deal AoE Dendro Damage.
Another mechanic is the Withering, a strange phenomenon that causes a small part of Sumeru's forest to wilt and die. To counteract this, you have to destroy its Withering Branches (the plants with a red hue in them) with Dendrograna with charged attacks or aimed shots. These branches are guarded by hostiles, whose attacks are enhanced by the Withering's effect.
Destroying the Withering Branches causes the Tumor of the Withering, the thing players must destroy to lift the Withering's effects, to summon high-level enemies to protect it. Successfully defeating them will allow players to clear the Withering's effects in an area.
However, players should be aware of the Withering's effects on their characters. Once a player enters an area affected by the Withering, they gain Decay, which reduces their resistances to elemental damage and their Max HP.
This effect is measured by the Decay meter at the top of the health bar. Damage from enemies affected by the Withering or environmental hazards will grant one gauge of Decay.
If the gauge is full for ten seconds, Decay will instantly kill all party members, forcing players to respawn near the nearest Statue of the Seven.
To decrease the Decay gauge to its lowest possible level, players must activate Candles and/or Flames of Life near the Tumor.
Soundtrack
The region's soundtrack takes inspiration from Indian and Middle Eastern traditional music. Whether players are walking along the streets of Sumeru City or fighting the local fauna in the region's lush forest, Sumeru will always feel real and alive, like you're in one of Disney's "Aladdin" animated movies.
Verdict
The addition of Sumeru and the new ways to explore the region is another win for HoYoverse. The company managed to make the region feel unique from the first three regions in the game through its game mechanics and design.
This update gets a 9/10 from me, along with an invitation to potential returning players to come back to the game. Sumeru is superb. Go and experience it for yourself.
