How to Change the Time in Genshin Impact

Image: miHoYo via HGG / Devin Dornbrock

Human Made

Penned by Devin Dornbrock

Devin has always been a fan of good writing and compelling visuals. She learned from an early age that video games are the best and most satisfying... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

“Time flies by when contemplating life, the universe, and everything…” a reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and also one of many loading screen tips found in Genshin Impact. Time may be a small part of Genshin Impact’s many mechanics but it’s still an important aspect of the game. That’s why today we’re going over how to change the time of day in Genshin Impact!

Popular Destinations..

Genshin Impact Waystone | Navigation Page

Genshin Impact 5.2 Update – Banners, Events, News

How Time Works in Genshin Impact

The time system in Genshin runs on a 24 hour clock and is segmented into four parts.

• Dawn begins at 6:00,
• Midday at 12:00
• Dusk at 18:00
• Midnight at 24:00

Normally the time of day doesn’t matter too much but it can affect a few things that we’ll go over later.

One hour of in-game time is equal to one minute of real time, with each day and night lasting for 12 minutes. An entire day lasts 24 minutes. The passage of time is pretty unnoticeable, only marked by changes in the weather and the rising and setting of the sun. 

There aren’t many restrictions placed on changing time in the game. Pretty much any time you can use a gadget, you should also be able to change the time. Which basically means you can’t do it while talking to an NPC, during combat, and when your menus are otherwise locked.

Changing time unfortunately does not affect respawn times on resources or bosses. Only the passage of time in real life will respawn items and enemies. The amount of time varies depending on the enemy/ resource. Resources will typically take much longer to respawn than enemies but again, it varies.

How to Change Time in Genshin Impact

The way to actually change time in Genshin Impact is pretty simple. All you need to do is open up the menu and select the clock icon on the far left. The menu will change and allow you to fast forward time up to 48 hours in-game. Time must be changed in segments of 30 minutes or more. 

While you’re changing time, in-game time will freeze and the game will pause. This applies to some internal timers as well (mainly for balance purposes), such as the following:

• Elemental Skill/Burst cooldowns
• Revival food cooldowns
• Characters’ fullness gauges

Not all game timers will be paused while you change time though. The following will continue ticking, so if you need to change the during any of these, just make sure you’re aware:

• Gadget cooldowns
• Bounty time limits
• Domain time limits
• Food delivery quest timers

Another thing to note about changing time in Genshin Impact is that it can actually still be done in co-op mode. Only the host is able to change it though, and time does not pause while it is being done. Visitors to your world can still run around, engage in combat, and collect resources while time is being changed.

Reasons to Change Time

As we’ve mentioned, time isn’t a very big part of Genshin Impact so why would you even bother to change it in the first place? There are actually a few reasons. 

Quests

The most common reason to change time in Genshin Impact is to continue quests. Often the game will prompt players to wait for specific times in order to continue on. That can mean waiting for night time or one to two days altogether. Being able to instantly go to the required time is a lot better than having to wait 20+ minutes for the correct time to cycle around.

Fishing

Another reason you may want to change the in-game time is when fishing. Certain fish will only appear during either the night or day, and it’s pretty annoying to have to wait before casting your line. Luckily, fish will spawn immediately after the time is changed, so you won’t need to wait for them after changing the clock.

NPCs

Players may also want to change the time in order to interact with NPCs who aren’t available during certain times. For instance, you won’t find Timmie once it gets dark, so if you want to talk to (or bully) him, you’ll need to change the time to day.

Being able to change the time is especially useful when trying to visit certain markets in Teyvat. Near the docks in Liyue Harbor for instances, there are NPCs who sell fish only during daylight hours.

Weather

On occasion players may want to change the time in order to change the weather too. Fast-forwarding through the day can get you out of stormy weather, clear out a drizzle of rain, or bring forth a cloudy day.

The exact weather you’ll end up with after pushing the in-game time forward is random, but it can be helpful for farming things. Animals like crystal flies won’t spawn in the rain, so being able to change the time makes it much easier to nab them whenever you get to gathering them. 

There are areas where the weather won’t change no matter how much time passes. In those areas, you’ll need to complete quests or interact with certain mechanisms in order to change the weather.

Join the High Ground!

That’s it for our guide on how to change time in Genshin Impact! Have any other questions about the game mechanics? Let us know in the comments below! For more guides you can find another “how to guide” on gliding here. Players wanting something a little more in-depth can check out our ranked list on the best Elements in the game here. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more gaming content and all things Genshin Impact.

Until next time, ad astra abyssosque and happy gaming!