Genshin Impact's Nations Ranked: From Towering Peaks to Fiery Depths

The journey through Teyvat continues to captivate millions of players worldwide as Genshin Impact celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2025. What began as a modest adventure through Mondstadt and Liyue has blossomed into an epic saga spanning six distinct nations, each with its own cultural identity, elemental affinity, and narrative depth.

As the Traveler and Paimon's quest to uncover cosmic truths progresses, players have witnessed the game's world expand like a living tapestry, with each new region adding intricate threads to the overall design. The exploration of these unique nations has been instrumental in maintaining Genshin Impact's robust player base, even as the game enters its fifth year.

Let's embark on a comprehensive analysis of Teyvat's nations, examining how they stack up against each other in terms of storytelling, exploration mechanics, and overall player experience.

6. Liyue: The Land of Contracts

Liyue stands as a monument to traditional design – geographically expansive but somewhat one-dimensional in its exploration. Like a beautiful painting that loses its luster after prolonged viewing, Liyue's endless mountain climbing and repetitive terrain have rendered it less appealing over time.

That's not to say Liyue lacks merit. The region offered players their first taste of complex puzzle mechanics, introduced the concept of Archon mortality through Zhongli's storyline, and provided a glimpse into Teyvat's commercial heart. The Chasm's subsequent addition breathed new life into the area, introducing players to Yelan and expanding the narrative concerning the Abyss and Khaenri'ah.

However, Liyue suffers from what might be called "first region syndrome" – like a prototype that serves its purpose but lacks the refinement of later iterations. The mountainous terrain, once awe-inspiring, now feels like an obstacle course without sufficient reward, causing many veteran players to avoid the region entirely for general exploration.

5. Mondstadt: Where It All Began

Mondstadt serves as Genshin Impact's tutorial region, and like most tutorial areas in games, it prioritizes accessibility over complexity. The City of Freedom introduced players to basic puzzle mechanics and established the foundational lore through Venti's storyline.

What Mondstadt lacks in sophisticated exploration, it makes up for with its charming cast of characters. Jean, Diluc, Kaeya, and others remain beloved fixtures in the community, their personalities as distinctive as the region's windmills. Dragonspine's addition brought vertical exploration and temperature mechanics, briefly revitalizing interest in the area.

Mondstadt is like a childhood home – simple, nostalgic, and occasionally revisited during special events, but ultimately outgrown as the Traveler's journey progressed to more complex regions.

4. Inazuma: Isolation and Electrifying Tension

Inazuma marked a significant tonal shift in Genshin Impact's narrative. The archipelago nation, with its fractured geography mirroring its divided society, introduced players to a more politically complex storyline centered around the Raiden Shogun's Vision Hunt Decree.

Each island in Inazuma is like a different movement in a symphony – Narukami Island's political intrigue, Tatarasuna's environmental hazards, Tsurumi's ghostly mysteries, and Watatsumi's rebellion all contributing to a cohesive yet varied experience. The subterranean civilization of Enkanomiya added yet another layer to this already rich region.

Inazuma's strength lies in its emotional storytelling. The nation feels like a psychological thriller that keeps you on edge – from Thoma's warm welcome to the shocking confrontation with the Raiden Shogun, players experienced genuine emotional investment in the region's fate.

People Also Ask: What was the most difficult nation to explore in Genshin Impact?

Many players consider Inazuma the most challenging nation to explore due to its hostile environment (including electrified water), aggressive enemies, and complex puzzle mechanics that often required specific characters or elements to solve.

3. Sumeru: Academic Brilliance Meets Natural Wonder

Sumeru's dual ecosystem design – lush rainforests juxtaposed against arid deserts – created a region of stark contrasts. Like a university campus that transitions from modern facilities to ancient archives, Sumeru's landscape reflects its academic ethos: knowledge flourishes in some areas while remaining buried in others.

The Aranara questline stands as one of Genshin Impact's most ambitious world quests, transforming forest exploration into a months-long adventure with emotional depth and gameplay variety. The desert areas, while visually impressive, lack the same level of engagement, feeling more like beautiful but empty museum exhibits.

Sumeru's narrative strength lies in its intellectual approach to Genshin's overarching mysteries. Through Nahida, Dottore, and the Akademiya, players gained unprecedented insight into the nature of dreams, knowledge, and divine power. The region feels like a mental palate cleanser after Inazuma's emotional intensity, encouraging players to think rather than merely react.

2. Fontaine: Justice, Technology, and Underwater Marvels

Fontaine revolutionized Genshin Impact's exploration mechanics with its underwater gameplay. Like a Victorian novel that suddenly introduces science fiction elements, Fontaine surprised players with steampunk aesthetics and aquatic traversal that completely transformed how they interacted with the environment.

The Xenochromatic abilities and aquatic stamina mechanics created a three-dimensional playground that rewarded curiosity and experimentation. Underwater ruins, hidden caves, and submerged machinery made exploration feel fresh again, even for veteran players who had thought they'd seen everything Teyvat had to offer.

Narratively, Fontaine advanced the main storyline significantly through its focus on divine justice, prophecy, and the mysterious Celestia. Characters like Furina, Neuvillette, and the enigmatic Skirk expanded players' understanding of Teyvat's cosmic hierarchy and the true nature of Archons. The region feels like the middle chapter of a trilogy – answering some questions while raising even more intriguing ones.

People Also Ask: Will Genshin Impact ever add co-op exploration for Archon Quests?

As of 2025, HoYoverse has not implemented co-op functionality for Archon Quests, maintaining that the narrative experience is designed for single-player immersion. However, they have expanded co-op features for certain world events and domain challenges.

1. Natlan: The Crucible of Revolution

Natlan represents the pinnacle of Genshin Impact's region design, combining innovative gameplay mechanics with narrative significance. The ability to transmogrify into native creatures transforms exploration into a shape-shifting adventure that feels like donning different costumes at a masquerade ball – each form revealing new perspectives on the same environment.

The region's volcanic landscape serves as a perfect metaphor for its revolutionary themes. Like a pressure cooker about to explode, Natlan simmers with tension as the Traveler aligns with the Pyro Archon Mauvika against the Abyss. Characters like Mualani, Kinich, and Ororon provide fresh perspectives on Teyvat's history and future.

What truly sets Natlan apart is how it integrates all the lessons learned from previous regions. The puzzles have the complexity of Inazuma without the frustration, the vertical exploration of Dragonspine without the time pressure, and the ecosystem variety of Sumeru without the emptiness. It feels like a graduation ceremony celebrating how far both the game and its players have come.

The introduction of the Captain, a Harbinger who defies expectations by appearing benevolent, suggests that even five years in, Genshin Impact can still surprise players with character nuance and moral ambiguity.

Looking Beyond the Horizon

As we reflect on the six nations of Teyvat explored thus far, one cannot help but wonder about the road ahead. Snezhnaya, with its Fatui headquarters and Cryo Archon, looms on the horizon. The forbidden land of Khaenri'ah, destroyed 500 years ago, holds answers to the game's deepest mysteries. And what of the Dark Sea and other realms mentioned in lore but yet unseen?

Genshin Impact's world-building is like an iceberg – the visible nations are merely the tip of a much larger narrative structure lurking beneath the surface. Each region has not only expanded the map but deepened our understanding of the cosmic conflict at the heart of the Traveler's journey.

As players stand in Natlan, planning revolution alongside an Archon, the game feels simultaneously like a conclusion and a beginning – the end of one chapter and the opening of another. Like travelers who have circled the globe only to discover there are dimensions they never considered, Genshin Impact players find themselves asking not "What's next?" but "What lies beyond?"

The journey through Teyvat has been like climbing a spiral staircase – with each revolution, we cover familiar ground from a higher perspective, seeing connections and patterns invisible from below. As we await the next steps in this cosmic dance, one thing remains certain: the view from here is spectacular, but the summit still lies ahead.

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