If you’ve spent hours exploring Mondstadt and Liyue, staring out at the churning, thunder-shrouded ocean past Guyun Stone Forest wondering when you can reach the famed Electro islands, you’re not alone. I spent weeks assuming I could just build an ice bridge or sail straight across before I figured out how to get to Inazuma in Genshin Impact, and I made every possible silly mistake along the way so you don’t have to. This guide breaks down every requirement, quest step, and workaround you need to reach Inazuma without wasting hours on dead ends or glitches that don’t work.
Prerequisites You Must Complete to Unlock Inazuma Access
Before you even see the option to travel to Inazuma pop up in your quest menu, you have to hit a few non-negotiable requirements. There are no workarounds for these rules as of current game updates, so don’t waste time trying to bypass them. The full list of mandatory prerequisites is below:
- Adventure Rank 30 or higher: This is the hard minimum, no glitches or exploits can lower this requirement, and the game will block access to the required Archon quest until you hit this rank.
- Full completion of Chapter I: Act III (A New Star Approaches) of the Archon Quest: You have to wrap up the entire Liyue storyline, including the final fight with Osial and the closing cutscenes with Zhongli and the Liyue Qixing, before the next Archon quest will become available.
- At least one open quest slot in your quest menu: The Inazuma Archon quest takes a primary quest slot, so if your menu is full of random side quests, clear one out to make space before you try to pick it up.
A lot of new players assume they can brute force their way to Inazuma early by sailing or gliding across the sea, but that’s not possible. The game has an invisible barrier that automatically pushes you back to Liyue shores if you sail too far out before you unlock the official travel quest. I spent 2 hours testing this on my alt account once, and I got booted back to Guyun Stone Forest before I even made it a third of the way to Inazuma’s thunder barrier. Don’t waste your time.
Core Steps for How to Get to Inazuma in Genshin Impact
Once you meet all the prerequisites listed above, the process to unlock Inazuma is straightforward and takes less than 2 hours to complete even if you take your time watching cutscenes. This is the only official method for how to get to Inazuma in Genshin Impact, so you don’t have to look for any secret tricks to make it happen.
First, you’ll get an in-game notification that the new Archon quest “Chapter II: Act I – The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia” is available to pick up. Head to the Liyue Harbor Adventurer’s Guild and talk to Katherine to accept the quest. A common mistake players make here is skipping the guild visit and heading straight to the Crux Fleet, but the quest won’t trigger until you talk to Katherine first.
Make sure you have the southern Guyun Stone Forest waypoint unlocked before you leave the guild. The quest will ask you to meet Beidou at the Crux Fleet, which is docked just off the coast of that southernmost Guyun island. If you have the waypoint unlocked, you can glide straight to the fleet in 30 seconds, otherwise you’ll have to build an ice bridge or sail across which takes far longer.
Once you’re on the Crux Fleet, you’ll complete a handful of short, low-effort tasks for the crew, talk to Beidou about the upcoming journey, and sit through a cutscene of the fleet sailing through the thunder barrier surrounding Inazuma. Once that cutscene ends, you’ll spawn on Ritou Island, the first access point of Inazuma, and you’ll be free to explore the region as you wish after you finish the short initial Ritou access quest.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Trying to Reach Inazuma
Even with the straight-forward quest path, a lot of players run into avoidable snags that slow down their access to Inazuma. The first big mistake is wasting resources leveling up extra characters just for the unlock quest. The entire Inazuma unlock process has almost no combat, so even if your main team is only level 50, you’ll be completely fine. The first real combat encounters in Inazuma don’t pop up until you’re already fully inside the region, so you don’t need to prep any extra teams beforehand.
Another big mistake is looking for glitches or exploits to get into Inazuma early. A lot of old tutorials online show players glitching through the thunder barrier or using character abilities to clip past the invisible wall, but these glitches are almost always patched within a few weeks, and HoYoverse regularly bans accounts that exploit game bugs to access locked content. Stick to the official quest path to avoid account penalties – it only takes a few days of casual play to hit AR30 and finish the Liyue Archon quest, so it’s not worth risking your account for early access.
Don’t forget to unlock the Ritou waypoint as soon as you spawn in Inazuma either. I made this mistake on my alt account, and when I accidentally teleported back to Liyue to grab a forgotten resource, I had to sit through the entire 5 minute sailing cutscene again to get back to Inazuma. It’s a tiny step that saves you a huge amount of frustration later. You also don’t need to purchase any battle passes or premium characters to unlock Inazuma – the entire region is 100% free for all players who meet the base requirements.
What to Do First Once You Arrive in Inazuma
Once you’re officially in Inazuma, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the scattered islands, vertical terrain, and high-level enemy camps scattered around the region. There are a few small steps you can take in your first 30 minutes to make your exploration far smoother long term.
Prioritize unlocking the Statue of The Seven in Ritou first. Activating the statue will reveal the full Inazuma map, let you teleport to any unlocked waypoints across the region, and let you offer Electroculus to increase your stamina bar, which is critical for gliding between the scattered islands. You’ll also get a handful of free Primogems just for activating the statue, which is always a nice bonus.
Next, unlock every waypoint you come across as you follow the initial Archon quest. Inazuma has far more scattered terrain than Liyue or Mondstadt, and waypoints will save you hours of sailing or climbing between islands later. Don’t worry about exploring every hidden corner right away – the main Archon quest will guide you through the region in order of difficulty, so you won’t accidentally stumble into a level 90 enemy camp when your team is only level 60.
If you plan to level up Electro characters like Raiden Shogun, Ayaka, or Yoimiya later, take a few minutes to pick up local Inazuma materials like Sakura Blooms and Naku Weeds while you explore Ritou and the nearby Kannazuka Island. These are rare ascension materials that you can’t find anywhere else in Teyvat, so grabbing them early saves you from having to come back later to farm them when you’re ready to level up your favorite characters.
Unlocking the Electro region is one of the most exciting milestones in your Genshin Impact journey, and now that you know how to get to Inazuma in Genshin Impact, you can skip all the frustrating mistakes that slow most players down. Take your time exploring the islands, follow the Archon quest if you get lost, and don’t forget to stop and watch the purple lightning storms over the sea every once in a while – they’re some of the most beautiful visuals in the entire game. If you run into any snags during the unlock process, double check that you’ve completed all the Liyue Archon quest segments and hit AR30, and you’ll be sailing through the thunder barrier in no time.