Spectral Secrets: Day 3
By Day 3, players are probably familiar with the sequence of events required to launch the next Spectral Secrets quest. Speak to Katheryne in Mondstat, Liyue, or Inazuma and select the “Dispatch Character on Expedition” dialogue box. Pick up all of the characters with completed expeditions so the selection pool is fresh for the unique Spectral Secrets requirements. As a reminder, four of the seven expeditions may be selected per day with the following frequency:
S-RANK: 20 Primogems, 1 per day A-RANK: 15 Primogems, 2 per day B-RANK: 10 Primogems, 4 per day
RELATED: Genshin Impact: Spectral Secrets Preliminary Investigation Guide
To receive the most Primogems, players should select the singular S-RANK expedition, the two A-RANK expeditions, and one B-RANK expedition. There will be four options for B-RANK with the same amount of Primogems but differing secondary prizes, from Mora to Resin-gated ascension materials. The amount of rewards characters return with depends on the scouting characters’ Elements and levels. “Perfect” will yield the most items, “Exceptional” increases the chances of a larger yield, and “Normal” doesn’t guarantee or improve the max amount of potential items listed. These levels do not apply to Primogems.
Compile a team based on the anticipated response above the character icons, adding and removing members until “Perfect” populates. For those with a smaller character collection, individual characters may be pulled from friends’ showcases and vice versa. This doesn’t affect the characters availability in their respective owners’ world on either end. The remaining characters can now be sent on the standard daily expeditions.
Before that last step, however, the S-RANK expedition needs to be unlocked. This will require a Preliminary Investigation: players must travel to a designated location in Genshin Impact and defeat a hoard of Specters in exchange for Mora and the ability to participate in the special S-RANK mission at all. Specters are frustrating opponents with abilities that would be unimaginable back in the idyllic days of lounging around Mondstat. Read on for an easy guide to initiating the battle and best practices to expel Specters for good.
The Purge: Preliminary Investigation Location
Location: Chinju Forest on Narukami Island, Inazuma
Teleport to Chinju Forest near the golden circle indicator on the map.
Run upstream until a small cascade of water is reached.
Face the Thunder Sakura Bough in front of the large tree.
Use Elemental Sight to spot the three Electric Lamps.
Grab an Electrograna from the Thunder Sakura Bough and approach the Lamps until they sizzle with electricity. If the Electrograna expires, refresh at the Thunder Sakura Bough.
Once the last Electro Lamp is charged, 3 Hydro and 2 Anemo Specters will spawn approximately 3-4 seconds later.
Defeat the total of 9 Specters and return to Katheryne to launch the S-RANK expedition.
Best Characters for Spooking Specters
As the world of Genshin Impact expands, players are sure to be faced with opponents that present fresh and at times, exasperating challenges. Sorry Specter-deniers: these durable ghosts are here to stay, but diligent adventurers can prepare to meet them head-on with a thoughtfully curated team. Refer to the following compilation for the best Specter-repellant characters for traversing the violet hills of Inazuma.
Notes About Specters:
Specters buff their own damage when dealt high damage in a single strike. Specters arrive in groups and mostly deal fast projectile or AoE damage, so keep a shield or healer on your team. Hydro Specters should be the first to go: like the Hydro Fatui, they will continuously micro-heal their party. Specters scatter when the active character gets too close – pretend to run away and they’ll float back down to follow. Maintain distance after defeating a Specter to avoid being hit by their explosive demise. Specters taunt players by drifting over water, often imbuing themselves with Wet status.
Pyro:
Yoimiya: With their tendency to hover by waterfalls, Specters seem to have been designed with Yoimiya in mind. Her Elemental Burst deals AoE Pyro DMG while also allowing other party members to trigger explosions with her sniper-esque effect, Aurous Blaze. Aurous Blaze marks an opponent for additional explosive contact damage that passes on to nearby enemies upon the host’s defeat, giving Specters a taste of their own volatile medicine. Yanfei: Yanfei has fantastic range for a Catalyst user and boasts one of the strongest elements in Genshin Impact, Pyro. Her constant Elemental uptime means easy Vaporize reactions on the Hydro Specters and any Anemo drifters attempting escape over a body of water.
Electro:
Fischl: It isn’t untimely to suspect that in the land of the Electro Archon, this new enemy encourages the player to flex previously snubbed Electro-Charged reactions. While Electro-Charge won’t net big damage independently, the slow-drain HP sap that spreads near water is an excellent conduit for frying Specters. Fischl’s migratory Elemental Burst applies Electro quickly and her Skill activates ranged off-field Electro. Pair her with a Pyro character for Overload reactions that will incinerate both the Hydro and Anemo Specters. Raiden Shogun: Raiden’s ability to exorcise Specters rivals Ganyu and Yanfei thanks to her Elemental Skill. She dishes out AoE Electro DMG via her Skill and Burst, the former of which applies a ranged Electro attack to any active character’s moveset. Players wielding Electro characters should be mindful of entering the splash zone of residually Charged water or they’ll be in for a shock.
Cryo:
Ganyu: Ganyu’s specialty lies in her Charged Attack, which isn’t an ideal approach to Specters due to the likelihood of interruption. However, the humble adeptus is one of Genshin’s strongest characters, and Wet Specters are no sweat for her chilly Elemental Burst. Ganyu is a glass cannon and may need a shield support for extended field time. Diona: Diona is a solid Cryo applicator to river-hungry Specters on a freeze team, and her joint ability to both heal and shield give her an edge over other supporters.
Geo:
Zhongli: Zhongli’s celebrated Elemental Burst compensates for the lack of Anemo crowd control possible with Specters, petrifying the entire group long enough to sneak in some solid melee hits. His durable shield is excellent in pretty much any combat situation Genshin has thrown at players thus far. Ningguang: Ningguang is useful against Specters and especially this particular mob because she can deal solid damage as a catalyst user with a non-immune Element. She’s fully capable of taking down Anemo and Hydro Specters, albeit more slowly with the non-reactive Geo. Keep in mind the Crystallize shards she generates will protect against the Hydro Specters, but Anemo does not respond to Crystallize.
Genshin Impact is available on mobile devices, PC, PS4, and PS5.
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