Genshin Impact broke the internet when they dropped Sumeru and the element of Dendro last year in August. It’s been a while since then. Nahida and Alhaitham’s banners broke records. Lots of surprises with Dendro reactions took over the community forums. Playable units buried by hate and prejudice resurfaced and claimed their meta value in full glory. And we got a ton of new regions in addition to the already ginormous map of Sumeru- both above and underground.
But Genshin Impact’s Sumeru especially has lately felt like a slog. While it’s natural to get bored or tired of a region after playing in it for almost a year, it happened much early with Sumeru. Players toiled with Inazuma too after Version 2.6 or so. But with Sumeru, this feeling is more tangible and dense and we believe it started much early in Version 3.5 itself. And the simple reason is Sumeru is jacked and filled to the brim with overwhelming content.
How It’s Partly Sumeru’s Fault
Sumeru’s map is almost as big as the entire regions of Liyue and Mondstadt. And even though it might not feel so on paper, players know the overworld is only just half the map whereas the other half are the caves and ruins underground which absolutely need a separate map so that we don’t get lost every 5 minutes. At one point, even 80% of exploration itself seems far-fetched.
The region has a lot of puzzles and challenges that require careful exploration and problem-solving skills. Sumeru’s puzzles are not just hard to solve but also hard to even find- which means they’re also a whole lot more time-consuming. The initial Desert map itself was overwhelming for most casual players and they added two more Desert regions since its release- all with their own unique rules, terrain and puzzle mechanics.
Traversal itself is hard in Sumeru. The Rainforest biome requires lots of skilful positioning and careful climbing skills while the Desert biome is just so vast you’re left running for 2-3 whole minutes just to reach a Daily Commission location. Add to that incomplete and confusing underground maps and you’re left with a mass of players who just can’t dedicate their entire days to exploring the map of Sumeru in Genshin Impact.
Finally, there are just too many things to collect! The amount of Dendroculi we have to collect to max out the Dendro Statue of the Seven has quadrupled from the no of oculus we had to collect in Mondstadt and Liyue. Just like Inazuma introduced the system of the Sacred Sakura Tree for motivating players to collect the Electro sigils, Sumeru too has the Tree of Dreams for that purpose. But that’s not nearly all. There are precious chests locked behind ruin mechanisms and puzzles that require you to collect special ruin fragments to unlock or solve. The latest Desert region introduced in Version 3.6 has a new reward system called the Amrita Pool, which requires collecting Plumes of Purifying Light scattered in the desert area to raise its level and receive rewards.
It’s natural to get bored when you’re stuck in the same region for a year and it’s nothing new in the Genshin fandom. This has happened before in Liyue as people complained it was too boring and there was a lack of content before Inazuma was released. In Inazuma, after a year, the complaint was that it was too hostile and violent and didn’t feel like home. With Sumeru, it’s the opposite of Liyue- we have too much content and not enough time or patience for it. Naturally, Fontaine has already been teased so this rut will soon disperse as Fontaine brings in fresh waters- pun intended.
