You just blew 40 intertwined fates on the latest limited banner and walked away with three 3-star swords and a duplicate Fischl you don’t even use. Or you’re 10 hours in and realize you’ve been building your main character completely wrong, with no resources left to fix it. It’s totally normal to pause, stare at your home screen, and ask, can I restart Genshin Impact? I’ve been playing the game since its global launch, and I’ve walked dozens of new and returning players through this exact decision, so I know how high-stakes it can feel. This guide breaks down every part of the choice, from when a restart makes sense to how to pull it off without losing anything you care about.
When Should You Consider Restarting Your Genshin Impact Account?
Restarting isn’t a choice you should make on a whim after one bad pull, but there are plenty of valid scenarios where it’s the best call for your enjoyment of the game. Rerolling for a good starting 5-star is one of the most common reasons new players choose to restart, especially if you want a character that fits your preferred playstyle, whether that’s a heavy-hitting main DPS or a supportive healer. It’s also a good option if you’re returning after a multi-year break and feel completely overwhelmed by the number of new regions, quests, and mechanics you missed. Restarting almost never makes sense if you’re already Adventure Rank 30 or higher, though, because you’ve already put in enough time to fix almost any mistake with a few weeks of focused farming.
- You’ve played for fewer than 20 hours and haven’t unlocked the Liyue region yet
- Your only 5-star characters or weapons don’t match the playstyle you enjoy
- You’ve lost access to the email linked to your original account and can’t recover it
- You want to experience the full story from the beginning without skipping cutscenes
I’ve seen players restart after 6 hours of play and end up with a way more engaging account than their first run, but I’ve also seen people restart at AR 40 and regret it within a week. The sweet spot for a restart is when you’re still early enough that you won’t lose dozens of hours of progress, but sure enough that your current account isn’t giving you the experience you want.
Can I Restart Genshin Impact Without Losing My Purchases?
This is the question I get asked more than any other when people are weighing a restart, and the short answer is no, with very few exceptions. All primogems, genesis crystals, paid skins, battle passes, and character banners you bought are permanently linked to the email and UID of your original account, per HoYoverse’s terms of service, and there is no way to transfer those items to a new account. That means if you spent $20 on genesis crystals on your old account, that money is gone if you delete it and start over. The only small exception is if you made a purchase within the last 7 days and haven’t used the items you bought, you can request a refund from your platform (Apple, Google, PlayStation, etc.) before you delete your old account. Refunds are not guaranteed, though, and HoYoverse can ban your new account if they flag frequent refund requests, so don’t rely on this as a workaround. I had a friend who bought a $10 battle pass on their first account, restarted a week later, and had to repurchase the pass on their new account, so make sure you’re willing to lose all paid content before you commit to a restart.
How to Safely Restart Your Genshin Impact Account Step by Step
You don’t have to delete your old account if you don’t want to, first off. The lowest-risk option is to just create a new account with a different email address on the same server, and switch between accounts whenever you want. That way, you can go back to your old account if you change your mind later, no hoops to jump through. If you do want to delete your old account permanently to free up your email or linked platform account, the process is straightforward. First, log into your HoYoverse account on the official website, not the game client. Go to account settings, select “Account Security”, then find the “Delete Account” option. You’ll need to verify your identity via the email or phone number linked to the account, then wait 30 days for the deletion to take full effect. You can cancel the deletion request at any point during those 30 days if you change your mind, so that’s a built-in safety net for anyone who’s on the fence. If you play on PlayStation, you’ll need to unlink your PSN account from your old HoYoverse account first before you can link it to a new one. That process takes a few business days, so plan ahead if you’re a console player. Also, make sure you note down any friend UIDs you want to add on your new account before you start the deletion process, because you won’t be able to access your friends list once it’s underway.
Tips to Avoid Regretting Your Genshin Impact Restart
There’s nothing worse than restarting your account, spending 10 hours rerolling for your desired character, then realizing you made a huge mistake. These tips will help you make sure you’re making the right call. First, test out the playstyle of the character you want to reroll for before you restart. You can use trial characters in the event page, or ask a friend who has that character to let you test them in co-op, so you don’t restart just to get a character you end up hating. Second, Save a screenshot of your old account’s UID and any 5-star characters or weapons you had, just in case you want to go back. I’ve had players who restarted, got the character they wanted, then realized they missed the 5-star catalyst they had on their old account, so having that info makes it way easier to recover the old account if needed. Third, don’t rush through the story on your new run. A lot of people who restart skip all cutscenes to get back to the point they were at before, and that takes all the fun out of starting fresh. Take your time exploring, do side quests you missed the first time around, and experiment with team comps you never tried on your old account. Fourth, set a limit for how many times you’ll reroll for your desired starting character. It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of restarting over and over again because you didn’t get the exact 5-star you wanted, and that’s way less fun than just playing the game with the characters you get. I recommend limiting yourself to 3 to 5 rerolls max, then sticking with whatever account you end up with.
At the end of the day, whether can I restart Genshin Impact is a question only you can answer, based on how much time you’ve put into your current account and what you want out of the game. If you’re early in your playthrough and not having fun, a restart can be a great way to reset your experience and build an account that fits your playstyle perfectly. If you’re further along, you’re almost always better off sticking with your current account and fixing any mistakes with targeted farming instead of starting over from scratch. Whatever you choose, the point of the game is to have fun, so don’t let FOMO or regret over past choices ruin that for you.