MiHoYo's flagship franchise, Genshin Impact has cultivated a massive mobile community. The first adventure game of its kind to release a port for mobile platforms, many fans have adored Genshin Impact for its constant updates and massive world.
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That said, with a game going on effectively 14 gigabytes of data total, it can often be quite a hassle to make the game run smoothly. After all, many in the Genshin Impact community joke about the game's ability to make the player's phone a heater (hosting its fair share of memes.) Nonetheless, making the game run smoothly is not impossible; with good graphic changes, players enhance their gameplay experience.
Updated on November 9th, 2021, by Scott Vengel: It has been a good run so far in Genshin Impact. Having just finished with the newest segment of the main storyline, many players are looking forward to seasonal events and upcoming character releases. Naturally, the RPG only continues to expand, having just become the most profitable game in its first year, narrowly beating Fortnite. And of course, this also continues to be a major source of concern, as the expanding size of Genshin Impact matches its increasing popularity. As such, this article will be updated to add clarity to existing entries and a few more helpful tips.
Overview And Terms
Generally speaking, there are two ways to set up settings in Genshin Impact: battery-performance optimization and gameplay enhancement. Overall, battery-performance optimization focuses on improving device performance at the expense of in-game features, while gameplay enhancement focuses on improving in-game experience for more heavy-duty devices. Below is a terms list explaining the in-game graphics menu:
Terms | Definition |
|---|---|
Graphics Quality | The overall quality of all settings in the menu. Individual settings can be tweaked after setting. |
Render Resolution | Resolution at which objects in the game exist, higher settings will render objects in at farther distances and quality. |
Shadow Quality | The visual quality of shadows in-game. Higher settings will make shadows more distinct, while lower settings will decrease the rendering of shadows. |
Visual Effects | The overall quality of effects given off by objects in-game. Buildings, walls, etc. will appear more detailed at a higher setting, and vice versa with a lower setting. |
SFX Quality | The visual quality of elemental effects and other special effects, similar to visual effects. A lower setting will make abilities less detailed, while a high setting makes character abilities brighter and more aesthetic. |
Environment Detail | Effects the distance in which environmental details will appear visual. Ex. cliffside will appear farther away at a higher setting, while they will disappear from view at a low setting. |
FPS | Frames per Second. The rate at which frames in the game's animation appear per second of gameplay. |
Motion Blur | The streaking in-between frames of animation, in an effort to make the motion more fluid. |
Bloom | The effect of natural light, plant movement, etc. Generally, the settings that make the game world feel more "alive." |
Anti-Aliasing | The appearance of the edge of in-game objects. Turning off the setting will make the world appear more jagged and edgy. |
Crowd Density | The number of non-interactive NPCs in the game. |
Co-Op Teammate Effects | The character effect quality of teammates that join the player's world in co-op mode. Includes idle animations, ability effect quality, etc. |
Check Your Connection
It can be tempting to assume that the primary issue with the game is the game itself. But oftentimes, the source of the issue has nothing to do with the game itself but the player's own connection to the internet. If the player also has issues with other games that require an internet connection, then it may be an issue of connection over processing capabilities.
One good solution may be to look into a wired connection. Wireless connections can often be susceptible to interference and other third-party issues. Of course, should the players be playing on mobile devices, this solution will not be of any help.
Play At The Right FPS
Generally speaking, players should be playing at 60 fps (or 120 fps, which was recently added for mobile players.) In Genshin Impact, players have the option of choosing to play at either 30 or 60 or 120 frames per second. While 30 fps most certainly has its benefits, 60 and 120 fps will record more details in movement and gameplay. Naturally, this makes it the ideal setting for a smoother Genshin Impact experience, as well as most other video games with high-quality graphics as a rule of thumb.
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On the other hand, 60 and 120 fps are more intensive; consequently, for players having issues with Genshin Impact draining the battery on their devices, 30 fps can help mitigate power consumption at the expense of gameplay quality. This can also avert some lag if the player's device is a little less current. Overall, Genshin Impact players will find 60 fps to be the best middle ground for balancing battery consumption and video quality.
Reduce Visual Settings
Should the issue not be with a player's connection or other exterior causes, then changing the game's visual settings will be the best direction for improving gameplay. Like most other games, Genshin Impact runs by the rule that decreasing graphic quality will increase gameplay functionality. Visual settings that can be altered include:
- Render Resolution
- Shadow Quality
- Visual Effects
- SFX Quality
- Overall Settings
- Bloom
- Crowd Density
While players can most certainly tinker with the settings to match their ideal game speed, some settings have more of an effect on the game's processing ability than others. Settings like visual effects and overall settings often have more of an effect on processing than others like crowd density. Either way, players can see the exact cumulative performance of their settings at the top of the graphics menu.
Turn Off Co-op And Extra Effects
Slightly different from normal visual effects, turning off a few extra features may help smooth gameplay in Genshin Impact a little. Unlike graphic changes, these extra, often co-op-oriented features cannot be scaled down; rather they can be turned on or off. These types of settings include:
- Motion Blur
- Anti-Aliasing
- Co-Op Teammate Effects
Of course, because of the limited amount of these features and the extremity of their changes, they should mainly be a last resort. Players can change them should they find it necessary, but it may be more efficient to alter graphics settings first. Motion blur especially can make gameplay less smooth, however, players should reconsider turning off anti-aliasing. Turning off this setting will make the game more jagged-looking, with sharp corners and edges.
Ensure No Apps Are Working In Background
This issue mainly occurs for mobile players in Genshin Impact, though having too many windows open can hurt gameplay for PC players also. By having multiple apps working at the same time, a device's processing capabilities will also be divided between all working applications. For those Genshin Impact players having trouble with this issue, they may experience slower gameplay, device overheating, as well as high battery consumption.
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While having one app open will not necessarily impact gameplay too much, players should ensure that all of their apps are closed before starting Genshin Impact. These apps can be accessed by swiping up on the home screen for most mobile users.
Avoid Overloading Your Device
Especially with mobile devices with fewer measures to avoid overheating, some of the issues with playing Genshin Impact may have to do with the player's time management. It can be tempting to play the game for hours given the amount of content, but this can often hurt the player's gameplay.
Should the player find their device growing too hot, it may often lead to more laggy gameplay. To avoid this, players may want to take breaks here and there to ensure their device is always working healthily.
Avoid Playing While Charging
Though it should be common knowledge, doing anything on a mobile device while it is charging can be potentially overwhelming for the battery. This is especially the case with Genshin Impact, which requires an extraordinary amount of processing power to run.
As such, players should make sure they avoid playing the game while charging their phones, however tempting it may be. Genshin Impact is renowned for eating at battery life, so players will find a lot of benefit in playing for short amounts of time instead of for long sessions. This will allow players to prioritize their battery's health.
Genshin Impact is available on PS5, PS4, PC, Android, and iOS.
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