I was lucky enough to get some time to explore the frosty region of Snezhnaya in Genshin Impact early. Note: I do not want to give any actual lore or story drops in this preview because this is a region many players have been waiting for since the very beginning of the game.
Exploration
Every region in Genshin Impact has a different way in which you explore the region. Snezhnaya is no different. The Traveler gets a new ability to build with ice sculptures. The first easy ones you learn are blocks that can open doors and give you extra vertical climbing. You can even learn to use ice zip lines that feel straight out of the ones from Arknights: Endfield. You can place points across the area that let you zip between locations.
Building things is not the only thing you do with Ice in the Snezhnaya region. You will come across areas that have large ice blockades that you can’t melt with your normal pyro skills. You will find special heat sources, or you can create them with the special energy you find. You can use these heat sources to melt these large ice blockades.
Snezhnaya has one very useful thing for covering large distances. Similar to getting a cruise ship to move throughout Fontaine, Snezhnaya has a train that lets you travel to different towns in the region. The best part of the train, though, is that you can decide where to take it. You will have options for stops in different cities.
Combat
The reactions that matter in Snezhnaya are based on the reactions that were introduced with the character Sandrone, Stellar Glimmer. The one that is emphasized with the team I played with was Stellar Conduct, or Electro and Cryo mixed by a character that has access to stellar reactions. That team was Odette, Sandrone, Cryo Traveler, and Alyosha.
Stellar Glimmer reactions are similar to the game’s normal reactions, but they have a much larger multiplier, which adds significantly more damage to character elements. Currently, in the upcoming update, there are Stellar Conduct and Stellar Swirl reactions. Stellar Conduct is Electro and special Cryo characters like Cryo Traveler, Odette, or Sandrone. Stellar Swirl is Anemo with those same special Cryo characters. After a Stellar reaction hits, a new passive also happens depending on who is in your party. One big difference between normal reactions and stellar reactions is also the stat it multiplies off of. Most reactions scale off Elemental Reaction. Stellar Glimmer reactions scale off the characters’ ATK stat. This means main DPS will be significantly enhanced with Stellar Glimmer reactions.
The Power Of This Gun I Found
There is a new realm you discover in Snezhnaya, and the elements are not usable. To fight in this area, the Traveler is given some gadgets, guns, a grenade launcher, grenades, etc. You have hallways and some big open areas. Each area has some half-cover barriers; if you are running towards a barrier, the Traveler will automatically go to hide behind it. In these areas, you can find ammo and health locations. Your ammo is limited, but generally you will have a lot of it. This area is very generous in ammo drops. Plus, you get ammo from enemy drops as well.
After the tutorial in this realm and the story section, you will get access to challenges. Finishing challenges gives you extra Primogems, like most other modes. These challenges are a bit of a difficulty spike from the tutorial, though. There are stronger enemies and more open areas to be aware of. While you are holding the run button, if you press it again, the Traveler will slide, which can be a faster way to get behind barriers. Also, it can dodge bullets aimed at you while sliding.
This mode is like a whole new game. You now have to take care of your health; you can’t rely on shields and healers. You have spots that can give you heals, but only a limited amount. You will have to play this game mode defensively. Oddly enough, I spent a lot of time in this game mode just because it was pretty fun, and figuring out new ways to finish challenges was a blast.
My Thoughts
Snezhnaya is a fun region and adds a lot of mechanics that make living with the sheer cold element much nicer. The train also makes it so you don’t have to actually travel on foot to a lot of the towns. Adding a building element to the game also helps with making more diverse puzzles. There are a lot of options you can use when building, such as heat sources, zip line towers, or even just ice blocks. Stellar Glimmer reactions make characters who don’t get a lot of use have so much more use. It is great that Cryo Traveler can use the Stellar Glimmer reactions too, which gives them a special use case if you don’t have Sandrone or Odette. It also makes them a real powerhouse for the team.
Genshin Impact is a free-to-play gacha game available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Android, and iOS. Version 7.0 of Genshin Impact is live right now.
