Artifact loadouts finally coming to Genshin Impact, but not the way players expected

HoYoverse has released a new Developers Discussion previewing some new quality of life changes coming to Genshin Impact Version 4.4. One of these is a new artifact loadout feature that, while exciting at first glance, might not be what players expected.

Not the loadouts we’re looking for

From very soon after the launch of Genshin Impact, players have voiced the need for artifact loadouts. By this, they meant a system similar to Honkai 3rd’s Plans that allows players to save a character’s equipment set, making it easier to switch builds on the go. Genshin Impact characters often have multiple builds or share gear with other characters, so an artifact loadout system has been a common demand within the community for the past three years.

Instead, it looks like the loadouts being implemented in Version 4.4 will consist of artifact recommendations using the artifacts in your inventory. The “quick loadout” recommendations will be based on user data, but you can also customize your criteria to some degree with “custom loadouts.” No matter which method you use to generate your recommended set, there is no mention of being able to save your equipped set or saving multiple sets of gear.

It’s worth noting that Honkai 3rd, another HoYoverse game, has had its Gearing Plans system since April 2019, more than a year before Genshin Impact’s release.

Even if it’s not what veteran players wanted, the quick loadout function could still be useful for casual players. If nothing else, it lets us quickly equip our characters with something usable while using minimal brainpower. I imagine it’ll be nice to have a character fully geared up with one click. 

The custom loadout function looks like it requires a few more brain cells to set up though, and those who really care about min-maxing their artifacts probably already use Genshin Optimizer or other calculators.

Various other quality of life upgrades

Aside from artifact loadouts, it looks like we’ll be getting plenty of other general system upgrades. 

The Encounter Points system was added in Version 4.1, allowing players to bypass daily Commissions. Starting in Version 4.4, you’ll get a reminder alert to talk to Katheryne to claim additional daily rewards. Apparently, many players were forgetting to talk to Katheryne after doing their dailies, myself included.

The number of party slots you can save will be increased from 10 to 15. Additionally, when completing character trials, you can now start the next character’s trial immediately without having to exit back to the overworld. If you’re playing on a PC, there will also be a new setting for borderless windowed mode. 

There will also be a new “Dynamic Character Resolution” function that dynamically changes the details of character models to maximize performance. I can’t see much of a difference between HoYoverse’s example images, but the edges of Aether’s ring-shaped ornament and pauldron do seem a bit smoother after optimization.

Serenitea Pot optimizations

The Serenitea Pot will be receiving some updates too. Certain furnishings will be recategorized for more intuitive searching. After placing a furnishing, your place in scrolling menus will be remembered so that you’re not automatically booted to the start of the list. Companions will show their Friendship Level in the Companions menu. 

There will also be some ordering changes to the images for the furnishing Lingering Moment. This furnishing is a framed photo that showcases each ending for character Hangouts. Starting in Version 4.4, the furnishing will prioritize images from Hangouts you’ve already completed. This part of the Developers Discussion is worded a bit confusingly, so we might have to wait for more details during the Special Program.

When can we expect these updates?

All of these changes are slated to go live in Genshin Impact Version 4.4, which is expected to drop on January 31st. A Special Program has been announced for January 19 at 7:00 AM (UTC-5), which will detail all of the new characters, events, and other content coming in the next version update.

Regardless of their exact implementation, I’m still glad to see the Genshin Impact team continuing to roll out quality of life updates. Who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll have the artifact loadout system we really need.