This is the community for Genshin Impact (原神) Tips. If you have a guide or tip you'd like to share with us, post it here! If you have a question, please use our Weekly Questions Megathread. Join us if you're interested in improving as a player! 👏
How to effectively use the interactive map without entirely spoiling your exploration experience
I have seen the topic of utilizing versus not utilizing the interactive map while exploring pop up a handful of times since the new region was released. While very beneficial, specially if you are prone to missing out syndrome, some argue its usage ruins the experience that comes from exploring on your own accord.
To this effect, I figured I would write a quick blurb to offer some advice on how one can utilize the interactive map feature, while minimizing the negative side effects of spoiling the joy of discovery.
Step 1: "X marks the spot"
While often used for marking resources and ore nodes, the in-game pin functionality can be extremely useful for exploration. When you come across a chest, a [element]culus, a puzzle, etc, you can add a pin to the location (or as close as you can get it) and label it appropriately (such as "TimeTrial", "Culus", "CommonChest"). This will help you make a map of stuff you already uncovered during your travels through a new region.
This is a small example from my own map, with 6 pins. You can scale this to as many pins as you still have available to use (current maximum is 150 pins).
After a session of exploration, or when you've run out of pins, whichever comes first, it is time to move on to the interactive map itself.
Step 2: "Corporate wants you to find the difference ..."
Via the interactive map, one can toggle showing various things, including enemies, materials, chests, puzzles, shrines, etc. I suggest making bookmarks appropriate for each of the different regions, but that is something one can explore on their own. For the purpose of this post, I will assume you already have whatever you wish to see on the map selected.
Now that we are on said map, we can use one of its features to import our in-game pins, as can be seen on the following picture.
Once you have done so, and after refreshing your map, you should see all the pins you marked on your map during your exploration. They even retain the titles you gave them, so if you used descriptive ones, this will help you clear up most of the possible ambiguity.
Now that we have our pins, we can mark each of the exploration points of interest (PoI) we have already found.
You may notice that one of pins (the bottom most one, near the withering zone and the torch puzzle) does not have a marker on the interactive map. This may be because one has not toggled the appropriate PoI or, as is the case here, it may mean that it is simply missing from the map itself. On rare occasions, you will stumble upon missing poi, since the interactive map is not 100% complete.
In this situation, you can make a custom pin on the map, add a title and a description, even an image (if you so happen to have taken one).
These custom pins do not carry over to your in-game map, so you don't need to worry about cluttering. Also, when the map is updated (which happens infrequently) if said PoI is added to it, you will know you have already got it previously and can mark it as found at a later date.
Step 3: "Wrapping things up"
Now that the exploration map is updated, one can freely delete the pins in-game to make room for future exploration sessions. The next time one resyncs the in-game pins on the interactive map, the old ones will disappear, and any new ones you made since will be added.
If one wishes to continue exploring straight away without taking a break, and to further minimize the spoilers of realizing you missed a bunch of stuff, as it is often the case, a suggestion would be moving on to an entirely new sub-region and exploration there. You can always return here at a later date, and odds are you wont remember that stray common chest or rockpile that you clearly missed the first time.
I understand this might be obvious to most people, but I still hope it is useful to someone's journey.
Happy dreams and wishes of continued pleasant travels through Teyvat.
That's a great tip.
Only thing I know is the 150 pins are not enough and I cleared almost all my previous pins before Sumeru update came.
And I'd highly recommend to use pins to mark the entrance/exit of caves, because in Sumeru there are several hidden spots, which will be hard to remember when you want to come back.
This is no joke. There's several quest lines that lead you down a tiny crevice into a deep one-direction cave with huge vertical-elevation shifts. Even worse when you don't have the song-ability to open up some of the cave content and you KNOW you'll need to return.
This zone has brought craftable waypoints back into style.
I use the pin variations instead of labeling them. Hooks are seelies, stars are Oculi, quest banners are trials, hilichurl masks are combat chests, etc.
so what do you use to mark fishing locations lol
The wiki lmao
I've been doing this but I forgot about "import in-game pins" thing. Thanks!
Genius idea! Thank you.
I pesonally just use one type of pin to mark "points of interest" no matter what it is. It helps maximise the exploration immersion when i don't know what is under the pin, i just know something is there
I personally don’t like the idea of pinning what you discovered. It will gradually clutter your map more and more which is the exact opposite of what you want, not to mention that 150 pins is not nearly enough so you’ll end up in an awkward situation.
But I understand there aren’t many better options.
the little share button isn’t on my map
Personally I have only the dendroculus highlighted, and only check when i hear the chime and can’t find it