Genshin Impact is obsessed with the moon, but what does it mean?

We’re eagerly awaiting the next update in Genshin Impact, and filling our time by looking at the lore and what it could spell in the future. Things seem to fall into place as new regions open up, and right now, we want to see what the significance of the moon is.

You may have noticed that there are a few lunar nods in the game. Quite a few, actually. From Arlecchino’s battle line about being “everlasting as the moon”, to the Mouun’s Moon bow, to the daily Blessing of the Welkin Moon log-in reward, the moon has many mentions in the game from the very beginning. Did you also know that Mondstadt means ‘moon city’ in German, and Liyue means ‘glazed moon’, or ‘jade moon’? Well, now you do. Here’s a fun list of moon mentions in the game, with some lore and explanations.

Soon, you can pull for Genshin Impact’s Ineffa, who deals damage with a lunar-charged reaction. Then, travelers embark on the next archon quest in Nod-Krai, which is called Song of the Welkin Moon. There’s also the faction you’re going to meet called the FrostMOON Scions. Everything comes down to the moon.

There’s definitely something big going on with the Nod-Krai quests and associated lore. AndaResmi recently figured out that the original, condensed, and fragile resin icons fit together to make the Song of the Welkin Moon logo’s shape. Recently, the original resin picture changed to be a cracked version of the crescent shape. These items refill your resin, which you can use to farm ley lines – and what do the ley lines look like? A blue or yellow moon! OK, it’s just a sphere, but still.

We recently saw Genshin Impact’s Mavuika break open the very sky to reveal a broken moon and starry sky beyond it. I subscribe to the theory that Teyvat is a planet within the Honkai universe, and that space will play a part in the lore going forward. There’s SO much celestial, lunar, and solar imagery already, it’s got to go somewhere. Maybe Genshin Impact’s Columbina is a lost moon sister, or Paimon is literally the moon? Perhaps the reason we’ve not seen the Tsaritsa yet is because she’s in space or something.

Could it just be a convenient way of measuring time in the game? After all, the Welkin Moon lasts a month, and the Spiral Abyss tends to reset around when a new lunar phase begins. Or it did, before lengthening. Either way, I’m intrigued, and these r/Genshin_Lore posts are getting my brain going.

You can keep up with all things Hoyo with our guides to the Genshin Impact banners, Honkai Star Rail updates, and Genshin Impact codes – you’re going to need some for new characters like Genshin Impact’s Alice.