While the core principles of planting elemental totems to defend rifts remain in place, the new version of the Theater Mechanicus sees the addition of modifying booster cards that players purchase and activate throughout each round. In the event, players are likely to face their first difficulty hurdle during the second map (Autumnal Resplendence).

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While the initial 3 waves should not pose any difficulty for most players, waves four and five are where players become overwhelmed. This guide will outline the optimal layout required to complete the map as easily as possible.

To start, players should prioritize their party to bring characters that are effective at blocking and stunning enemies. For players lucky enough to have rolled the character, Kazuha is an excellent addition due to his elemental skill and its short cooldown. For F2P players, The Traveller’s Geo-spec is extremely useful due to the pillars he can place which temporarily block enemies.

Players should note before starting each map that there is a buff restriction in place that prevents Hydro, Cryo, and Anemo buff cards from appearing on the map. As a result, players should avoid these elements and prioritize Pyro and Electro totems.

When the level begins, head to the bottom of the staircase and place a charity tower, with two banishment towers behind it. The charity tower is used to slow enemies’ movement, while the banishment tower blocks enemies temporarily with a shield that runs on a cooldown.

Players should then place three electro totems behind the banishment towers and one pyro tower on both the left and right lanes. When players build up enough points they should add an additional pyro tower to both the right and left lanes and for the final two slots can place either an additional charity tower in both lanes for insurance or electro towers for DPS.

When drawing and selecting cards for buffs it is important to prioritize pyro and electro cards, as these are the only DPS elements on the layout. Players should also avoid any cards that are discounted with purple text. These cards each contain a “Fickle” side effect that has the potential of drastically reducing the damage output of the elemental totems placed.

It is important that whenever a 1500 cost card that is either pyro or electro-spec appears, that players purchase it immediately, or save up the required points to purchase it. Additionally, players should be on the lookout for any cards that buff either the charity or banishment towers. These cards are far less common, but they are incredibly useful at biding time for the elemental totems to deplete the enemy’s health.

Players should also note that like most things in Genshin Impact, the Theater Mechanicus involves luck, and as a result, players could just get really unlucky with the buff cards received during a run. If this happens, and one or two enemies penetrate the totem defenses, it is important that players complete the map regardless of any small error. Even if players don’t receive a perfect score, they will earn XP and increase their rank in the event which will, over time, unlock high-level cards that reward more significant buffs.

Genshin Impact is available for Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5, with a Switch version in development.

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