The anticipation for Natlan, the next major nation in Genshin Impact, has been building with a flurry of leaks and rumors. A recent and significant development, however, has shifted the conversation. A major leak suggesting the character level cap would increase to 100 with Natlan's arrival has now been debunked by the same source that initially spread it. According to a reliable update shared on community platforms, the level cap will remain at 90. For many players, this news comes as a massive relief, sparing them from a potential mountain of new grinding just to keep their favorite characters at peak performance.
Why The Level 100 Leak Was a Nightmare Scenario
The idea of pushing characters to level 100 initially sounded exciting—stronger stats, potentially new abilities, and tougher world challenges. But the reality, as players quickly realized, would have been a brutal grind. The core issue is the exponential increase in material requirements. Ascending a character from level 80 to 90 already demands a staggering amount of specific boss drops, local specialties, Mora, and EXP books.
Let's break it down with a current example:
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A 5-star character like Clorinde needs 46 Fontemer Unihorns to reach level 90.
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20 of those are required just for the final Ascension from level 80 to 90.
If a new Ascension to level 100 followed the same pattern, estimates suggested needing an additional 25-30 Fontemer Unihorns. That translates to fighting the Millennial Pearl Seahorse boss an extra 10-15 times—for just one character. Now, multiply that effort across an entire roster. Players would be looking at farming:
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Vastly more boss materials (with unpredictable drop rates!)
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Mountains of local specialty items (with long respawn timers!)
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Oceans of Mora and EXP books
This would have fundamentally changed how players spend their time in Teyvat. Instead of exploring new stories, events, and domains, a disproportionate amount of playtime would be dedicated to repetitive farming. The game's existing resource systems are not optimized for such a steep increase, making the debunked leak a potential recipe for burnout.
Recent QoL Updates That Fueled the Rumor
Interestingly, a series of recent quality-of-life optimizations inadvertently made the level 100 leak seem plausible. HoYoverse introduced changes that looked like preparations for a more intensive farming future.
Key Updates That Raised Eyebrows:
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Removed World Boss Respawn Timer: Players can now challenge world bosses back-to-back without waiting. This seemed like a perfect tool for grinding the hypothetical extra boss materials needed for level 100 Ascensions.
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Increased Original Resin Cap: A higher cap allows for more activities in a single play session. This was interpreted as a way to handle the increased Resin expenditure a level 100 system would demand.
However, as the community has pointed out, these updates don't address the core inefficiencies in Genshin Impact's farming systems. They are welcome changes, but they feel like bandaids rather than solutions.
The Real Farming Problems That Need Fixing
If HoYoverse wants to improve the player experience, especially with a new region like Natlan on the horizon, addressing these longstanding issues would be more impactful than raising the level cap.
🔴 Problem 1: Unpredictable & Sparse Boss Drops
Challenging a world boss currently rewards only 2-3 material drops, with the amount being random. This creates frustrating scenarios. For example, needing 3 more materials to ascend a character but only receiving 2 from a fight, forcing a wasted Resin run. A fix already exists in HoYoverse's other title, Honkai: Star Rail, where highest-level bosses guarantee a fixed number of drops (e.g., 5), allowing for clear planning.
🔴 Problem 2: Slow Local Specialty Respawning
Many ascension materials found in the open world have a 48-hour respawn timer. For characters that need dozens of a rare item, players are forced to wait days or resort to visiting other players' worlds. Reducing this timer would significantly cut down on idle waiting time.
🔴 Problem 3: Resin Regeneration Rate, Not Just Cap
While a higher Resin cap is nice, the fundamental constraint is the slow regeneration rate (1 Resin per 8 minutes). Boosting this rate would give players more flexibility and daily engagement without feeling so restricted.
| Current Pain Point | Ideal Solution |
|---|---|
| Random 2-3 boss drops | Guaranteed 4-5 drops at highest level |
| 48-hour specialty respawn | 24-hour respawn timer |
| Slow Resin regeneration | Slightly increased regeneration rate |
Looking Ahead to Natlan's Real Focus
With the level 100 distraction out of the way, attention can return to what Natlan will actually bring: a vibrant new region to explore, a fresh cultural aesthetic, and new characters with unique kits. Leaks have already hinted at several Natlan characters, such as the rumored 5-star Dendro claymore user Kinich and the 5-star Hydro catalyst wielder Mualani. The community eagerly awaits their official reveals and, hopefully, a continued focus on improving the core gameplay loop rather than adding punitive new grind layers.
The debunking of the level 100 leak is a win for player sanity. It allows everyone to look forward to Natlan's launch in 2026 as a celebration of new adventures, not a daunting checklist of upgraded chores. Here's hoping the development team continues listening to feedback and refining the Teyvat experience for all Travelers. 🎉