Travelers who have already tested the waters of item crafting and weapons forging probably have a few good mineral deposits marked on their Genshin Impact maps, but those looking to craft remarkable four-star weapons know that minerals are only half the battle. Essentially all forgeable four-star weapons in the game, including the newest additions, are crafted with the aid of Northlander Weapon Prototypes.
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There is a Northlander Weapon Prototype for each of the five Genshin Impact weapons, so players will be able to find a Bow, Catalyst, Claymore, Polearm, and Sword Prototype. These forging materials are rather difficult to come by in-game, so players will want to be aware of every guaranteed opportunity before resorting to farming them from Bosses, which is the only consistent source.
Northlander Catalyst Prototypes can be found in two guaranteed locations, aside from being a random reward drop:
Liyue Souvenir Shop (one available for purchase) Adventurer Handbook Chapter 4 (one Prototype rewarded)
Once those two Northlander Catalyst Prototypes have been redeemed, players can only earn additional copies from the game’s Weekly Bosses. Dvalin, Andrius, and Tartaglia are the game’s current Weekly Bosses, so Travelers will want to challenge those if in pursuit of a Northlander Prototype. That said, rewards can only be claimed from these bosses once per week, and the bosses each drop all five of the possible Northlander Weapon Prototypes, so players need to be lucky to receive not only a Northlander Prototype, but also the correct one.
Weapons like the Mappa Mare and Prototype Amber (known as “Prototype Malice” prior to Version 1.2) have been forgeable with the Northlander Catalyst Prototype since the game’s release. However, as of the latest update, the new Frostbearer catalyst can be forged as well.
Rather than requiring White Iron or Crystal Chunks, the Frostbearer and its two Dragonspine weapon siblings require Starsilver, a new harvestable resource found throughout the region. These three weapons alone present a compelling reason to hunt down Catalyst Prototypes, as players must sacrifice an additional copy of any weapon they’re hoping to Refine.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.
MORE: Genshin Impact: Where To Farm Starsilver
