Updated at: 26-05-2023 - By: Leo Hall
How does Genshin Impact handle autosaves, does it allow for manual saves, and does it allow for crosssaves? This is the definitive manual.

Genshin Impact heavily utilizes the gacha game model, which necessitates that you have constant network connectivity to the game’s server.

The game has a series of story quests (Archon Quests) that get progressively better, as well as many interesting optional quests (World Quests). It’s too bad that you can’t go back and do any of the Archon Quests, Character Quests, or World Quests again once you’ve already completed them.

This is one of the many reasons why players want to know if Genshin Impact supports manual saves.

What is Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact is a free-roaming action role-playing game that makes use of “gacha” mechanics (which we’ll get into later). The Chinese company miHoYo is responsible for both its creation and release. It allows players to take charge of a large party, each member of which has their own unique set of skills, arsenal, and playstyle. The fights take place in real time, and players can use ranged, melee, and elemental attacks to take down a wide variety of foes in the game’s overworld and dungeons.

Genshin Impact is an MMO that can only be played online, with a focus on both story and multiplayer, and many of the same features that make popular games as a service so appealing.

Does Genshin Impact autosave progress? All you need to know

Genshin Impact has been likened to an anime version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by critics and players alike. Many of the settings and locations are similar between the two games, so it’s a valid comparison. The main similarity is that, like in Breath of the Wild, you can scale nearly any surface in Genshin, with the amount of climbing limited by a stamina meter. Another similarity is that once you reach your goal, you can glide off and move quickly in any direction on the map.

To simply label Genshin Impact as a “Breath of the Wild clone,” however, would be unfair.

Now let’s talk about the game’s main “gacha” features. The “gacha” component refers to the random loot box or slot machine style of monetization used in the game. Characters, loot, and equipment packs can be purchased with in-game currency (or real money) and contain random items of varying rarity.

It’s possible to get the desired character on your first try, or it could take hundreds of hours (and a lot of money) to get them. It feels like “luck of the draw” because different characters and items have different drop rates. Characters can be acquired in a variety of ways, including through normal gameplay. However, players will spend hundreds of dollars on currency to get their hands on the most coveted items or characters.

Banners for your favorite characters will change as the game progresses. This translates to a higher chance of encountering a specific character and thus keeping players around. Sometimes, after a character has been heavily pushed during a Banner, the community will re-roll that character. In a nutshell, the randomness is the game’s primary method of making money off of players.

What platforms is Genshin Impact available on?

Genshin Impact is currently playable on PC, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, and a dedicated Nintendo Switch version is planned for the future. The fact that people who play it on PS4, PS5, PC, or mobile can all join in on the fun together is a big reason for the game’s popularity. Genshin Impact combines the advantages of console gaming with the ubiquity of mobile games, giving players the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately for Xbox players, miHoYo, the game’s developer, has no plans to port Genshin Impact to the Xbox platform. However, given Xbox’s recent meteoric rise in popularity thanks to its first-party output and Game Pass, we wouldn’t rule out a port just yet.

At launch, it was clear that mobile was the game’s primary focus, as the controls on console often felt clumsy. The game’s design clearly prioritized touch screens, as evidenced by the multiple screens required to access the map, the confusing menu structure, and the inability to map the controls (at least on console). The potential for touch screen controls and gyro support in the Nintendo Switch version is one reason why players are anticipating it with such excitement.

Is Genshin Impact multiplayer?

In a nutshell, online co-op multiplayer is supported in Genshin Impact (again, across PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices). It supports four-player squads, so you can play with as many pals as you like. The vast open world can be explored, specific quests can be undertaken, and the game’s many dungeons can be experienced. In many zones, you’ll encounter formidable monsters that are much simpler to take down with a group.

However, if you don’t play very often, getting to Adventure Rank 16—the minimum requirement for playing with friends—can feel like a bit of a grind. After that, you can invite three other people to play or start your own game with them. However, you are not limited to playing in groups of four. Story quests, chests, and collectibles are off-limits during co-op play, with only the host having access to them. Therefore, it is not without defects.

What’s the gameplay like?

Genshin Impact’s moment-to-moment gameplay has you completing a wide variety of quests that send you scouring the expansive world map, completing challenging dungeons, and, of course, fighting monsters. In combat, players can instantly swap between different members of their party, giving them access to a wide variety of attacks. While some heroes shine in close quarters fights, others shine at longer ranges.

In order to progress through the game, you must discover and open all of the game’s dungeons, as well as fast-travel points, better equipment, collectibles, and more. The rarity of the rewards you receive from completing these dungeons depends on the level of difficulty you chose. There are usually prerequisites for entering a dungeon, and once inside, you’ll face a variety of foes and puzzles.

A unique feature of the game is the ability to chain together different types of elemental attacks (called “Elemental Reactions” in-game). To freeze an opponent in place, for instance, you could combine the Hydro and Cryo elements. You could also try using the fire-based elements Pyro and Dendro. Players are encouraged to try out a variety of permutations by tinkering with these variables.

Crafting equipment that will help you in your quests is strongly encouraged as you amass resources. Food, crafting materials, weapons, equipment, and more are just some of the things you can buy. Almost everything that could be desired in a massive open-world RPG is present.

The game features complex JRPG mechanics such as a party system, elemental-based combat, and a massive world to explore. You’ll need to practice quickly switching between party members because you can use them in a chain to unleash devastating combos on your enemies. This is true whether you’re preparing for a dungeon or a story mission in the open world; knowing the types of enemies you’ll face will help you select the best party members.

Does Genshin Impact autosave progress? All you need to know

Is Genshin Impact free?

Normally, players would be put off by Genshin Impact’s gacha mechanics, which are reminiscent of loot boxes, but since the game is free to play, they have been more understanding. Actually, you can have a great time playing the whole way through without spending a dime. In-game purchases are available in Genshin Impact, but unlike in many free-to-play games, they don’t make you feel obligated to spend real money.

Unlike many other games that label themselves as “free-to-play,” it actually is free to play when referred to by players.

Does Genshin Impact have DLC?

In Genshin Impact, you can purchase downloadable content like new currencies, characters, and equipment. All of this content is completely optional and not mandated in any way. As a game as a service, however, it receives free updates on a regular basis that add new features. This includes special events that only last a short time, new areas to explore, and more missions. It’s got everything that players want in a service-based game, including both free and premium content.

Every five or six weeks, new content appears on Genshin Impact. The community is preparing for the release of Genshin Impact Version 2.3 at the end of November. If you’re thinking about diving in, now is a great time because it coincides with a new wave of content that will introduce exciting new characters, weapons, and events.

What is the Battle Pass?

Finally, since the battle pass is such an integral part of Genshin Impact’s loot system, we’ll discuss it. You should have some idea of how a battle pass operates if you’ve played games like Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone. It’s essentially a seasonal ranking system where you earn bonuses as you progress and start over at the beginning of each new season. As you progress through the battle pass, you’ll unlock new rewards, such as skins, weapons, and more.

There are two distinct varieties of battle passes in Genshin. The free Sojourner’s Battle Pass is one option, as it grants benefits every ten levels. For an additional ten dollars, you can purchase the Gnostic Hymn Battle Pass, which includes everything in the Sojourner’s Battle Pass and more, including additional upgrade materials, Hero’s Wit, Mora, and Mystic Enchantment Ores. Offering both a free and a paid version of the battle pass is another sign that miHoYo cares about its customers. Players have praised Genshin for providing free battle passes, a rarity in games as a service.

You’ll need to play for a while before you can use the battle passes in Genshin, as you won’t gain access to them until you reach Adventure Rank 20. But the payoff is substantial afterward. The season in which you earn levels in a given battle pass is the only time during which you will receive those levels (though you will retain any rewards you have earned). Given the game’s relative youth, it stands to reason that the seasonal content will develop over time, as it has in many other games of this type.

Can You Save Manually In Genshin Impact?

What you need to know about Genshin Impact is this:

The game’s banners are where you’ll spend most of your time gambling for playable characters and weapons.

In order for the game to make money, it needs to prevent players from exploiting the system by loading a previous save and trying again without losing all of their resources.

To answer your question, no, Genshin Impact does not support manual saving.

If you try to cheat the system by changing your banner wishes at the last minute, you can expect swift retaliation from miHoYo. They have repeatedly proven that they are not hesitant to use the banhammer.

Does Genshin Impact Support Cross-Save?

Despite the lack of a manual save feature, Genshin Impact allows for a relatively smooth transition between platforms.

Genshin Impact can be played right now on PC, mobile devices, and the PlayStation 4.

There are no hiccups when switching between platforms in cross-play. Your three-person co-op multiplayer party need not worry about compatibility issues if one member plays on PC, another on mobile, and the third on PlayStation.

However, cross-save is more cumbersome.

While it works flawlessly between computers and mobile devices, Sony stays true to form by making it difficult to use the same account on both PC and mobile devices and the PlayStation.

To link your PC/mobile account to your PlayStation, you would need to have never started the game on your PlayStation account before. This makes no sense at all!

Even though we’ve tried to link our AR57 account to PlayStation since the game’s initial release in September 2020 and haven’t played the game for more than 30 minutes before realizing how this works, we have been unable to do so.

I’m hoping Sony and miHoYo can figure out a solution to this. With the recent news that Aloy and her Predator Bow will be added to Horizon Zero Dawn with a full patch of timed exclusivity on PlayStation, this topic is once again at the forefront of player discussion.

There has been no official word on cross-save as of yet, but we’ll be sure to update this article when we hear more.

Limited Resources

There are a ton of playable characters and weapons in Genshin Impact, each of which has its own leveling system.

However, unless you pay real money, the game will not provide you with enough resources to max out all of your characters.

If we could save the game at any time, level up a weapon or character, try them out, and then reload our previous save if we didn’t like them, that would be great. However, miHoYo’s business model would not support this.

Like most F2P games, Genshin Impact aims to leave a lasting impression on your credit card by encouraging you to spend money. One of the ways it does this is by making you feel like you don’t have enough resources to upgrade the brand new weapon or character you just got.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: if you have the time, the patience, and the foresight, Genshin Impact can be enjoyed without cost. If you’re new to the game and want to know how to avoid some blunders with long-lasting effects, our Beginner’s Guide is a must-read.

Check out our extensive Character Tier List and Weapon Tier List if you’re having trouble deciding which to invest in.

Genshin Impact Tier List – Best and Worst Characters

Let’s establish early on where these people stand in the pecking order. As was previously mentioned, the criteria used to create a list of merit are heavily influenced by the creator’s biases. In addition to our subjective assessments, we have also taken into account where these characters fall on established tier lists.
For your convenience, this Genshin Impact Tier List has ranked everyone at the C0 level. Increasing the level of the constellation only improves it further.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s find out who the top Genshin Impact characters are!

Genshin Impact Main DPS Tier List

In Genshin Impact, the Main DPS character is usually the one who will do the bulk of the damage and carry the team. Because of these factors, they frequently play in games.
Tier Character
S For example, “Ganyu,” “Klee,” “Eula,” “Diluc,” “Hu Tao,” “Xiao,” “Kamisato Ayaka,” “Kamisato Ayato,” etc.
A Jean Tartaglia (Childe), Keqing (Yanfei), Yoimiya (Arataki Itto), and Jean Keqing
B Authors: Fischl, Ningguang; Razor, Rosaria
C Xinyan Chongyun
Everyone in the S-tier is top-notch. As long as a good support character, like Bennett, is on the team, one or two of these characters can easily carry the party through most content with a moderate investment. Those in the A-tier need a little more time and effort spent in their artifact domains to develop properly, but they are still viable options.
The term “investment” is used to describe the amount of effort and resources that will be put into creating a character. When your investment is high, you’ve gone to great lengths to equip your character with the finest artifacts and weapons available.
DPS from tiers B and below are rarely used as the primary DPS in endgame content. Some of them are great for quick-switch teams but can’t replace your main DPS.
Does Genshin Impact auto save? Progressing saving features explained

Genshin Impact Sub DPS Tier List

Sub DPS characters in Genshin Impact are a hybrid between Support and Main DPS, and can contribute damage even when off-stage. They are powerful, but depending on the make-up of the team, they may be swapped out for a support character. They ought to work well with your primary damage dealer.
Tier Character
S Xingqiu, Kaedehara Kazuha, Yae Miko, Yelan, Albedo, Fischl, Mona, Zhongli, Venti, Raiden Shogun,
A Names like Beidou, Sayu, Ganyu, Jean, Kaeya, Rosaria, and Xiangling
B Lisa Chongyun
C Travelers Amber, Noelle, and Anemos (Geo)
Sub-damage-per-second (DPS) characters are crucial to the party because they increase the damage dealt by the main DPS through buffs or effects that last even when the character is not present on the field. Many characters in S-Tier are capable of this; for instance, Mona and Xingqiu deal significant hydro damage, and Venti and Kazuha can Swirl to group up their foes and deal more damage as a unit.
These A-Tier characters’ abilities are identical to those of the S-Tiers, with the exception that they have longer cooldowns or higher energy costs associated with their bursts.
The issue is even more severe for characters at the B-tier and lower, or they aren’t worth the investment because there are better options.

Genshin Impact Support Tier List

The backbone of your team in Genshin Impact will be your support characters. They’re the ones responsible for protecting the rest of the team or responding to the enemy’s elemental attacks in real time. The party as a whole has an easier time of things thanks to their assistance to the Main DPS.
Tier Character
S Bennett, Shenhe; Albedo, Mona, Jean; Raiden Shogun; Venti; Zhongli; Kaedehara; Shenhe; Kaedehara; Zhongli;
A Gorou Sangonomiya, Kokomi Sangonomiya, Sayu Sangonomiya, Xingqiu Sangonomiya, Diona Sangonomiya, Fischl Sangonomiya, Kaeya Sangonomiya, Suc
B Beidou, Qiqi, Lisa, and Barbara
C The Noelle, Anemo, Geo Traveler
As was just mentioned, your team’s composition wouldn’t be complete without its support characters. Having a reliable support character is crucial, as some of them have the ability to heal and increase defenses. Bennett, available on S-Tier, is one of very few playable characters who can both heal and increase attack power. Since the Sub DPS role and the S-Tier role can overlap quite a bit with only little differences, most of the S-Tier characters have already appeared in the Sub DPS tier list.
The main abilities of support characters are to heal the party or provide protection from harm. Diona has a shield and a heal, Sangonomiya Kokomi has great healing power, and Kujou Sara can buff your party’s attacks, though she may require more preparation than Bennett does.
To put it simply, B-Tier characters, like their predecessors on previous tier lists, are overshadowed by more compelling alternatives. However, it is acceptable to spend money on top-tier characters if you don’t already have them.

Conclusion

To sum up, in Genshin Impact, autosave is mandatory and there is no option to save manually. And that will have an effect on how you can spend your game money.

If you want to get the most out of the game, especially as a free-to-play player, you should educate yourself well enough to make choices you won’t come to regret. For this reason, it is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the guide on How to Get Characters in Genshin Impact, in addition to the tier lists.

You may find some useful information about banners and their effectiveness there.