How to Ascend in Genshin Impact

In Genshin Impact, Ascension is a feature that allows players to increase levels beyond the current cap. There are three ways you can ascend in this game: adventure rank, character level, and weapons. All of these ascensions are the key factors in building your characters and account.

Adventure Rank Ascension

Adventure Rank (AR) is your account level, and you can raise it by gaining Adventure Experience (AR EXP). You can get AR EXP from quests, daily commissions, domains, world challenges, Ley Line Outcrops, Adventurer Handbook Mission rewards, boss battles, and killing certain monsters. AR EXP is represented by an icon that looks like this:

When you reach a certain Adventure Rank, an Ascension quest will be available for you to take. This will automatically appear in your quests list, or you can accept it from Katheryne, Adventurers Guild Receptionist.

You have to complete the ascension quest to continue leveling up your Adventure Rank. But even if you do not ascend, AR EXP will still accumulate. When you ascend later, the accumulated AR EXP will cause your Adventure Rank to skip to levels equivalent to all the AR EXP you have collected and saved.

Some world levels do not need an ascension quest and will immediately increase when you reach a certain Adventure Rank.

Increased World Level without the need to do an Ascension Quest

Ascending your Adventure Rank will enable you to enhance your weapons to a higher level while also increasing your world level. Monsters are stronger at higher world levels, but the drop rate will also be much better.

All of the ascension requirements can also be crafted using the low-rarity versions of that material.

Character Ascension

Your character level is separate from the Adventure Rank and independent of any other characters that you have on your Genshin Impact account. To ascend your characters, they need to reach the current level cap. To continue leveling up your characters, you are going to need these three character EXP materials: Wanderer’s Advice, Adventurer’s Experience, and Hero’s Wit.

These materials give different amounts of character experience based on their rarity, with Hero’s Wit giving the highest EXP.

Character level up window

Once your characters reach their current level cap, you can now ascend them. However, you will need ascension materials to do this, and these materials vary depending on the character and their vision element.

This screen will appear after clicking the Ascend button

To ascend a character, you will need ascension material, including gems and boss materials. You can obtain these as rewards from quests, but the easiest way to get them is to hunt world bosses. The world bosses are Cryo and Pyro Regisvine, Anemo, Electro, Geo, Cryo, and Pyro Hypostasis, Oceanid, and Maguu Kenki. You will get the gems and boss materials in random amounts and rarity.

Gems of different elements and levels/rarity

Boss materials obtained from hunting world bosses

You will also need local specialties for character ascension. These can only be found in specific regions. Local specialties could be a flower, a plant, a stone, or an item that is exclusive to a particular region.

You can preview a character’s ascension requirements by clicking on the preview icon found at the top right corner of the character information screen. It is above your character’s level information.

Click this button to preview the ascension levels and requirements

Ascension materials preview

A character must ascend six times to reach the maximum level. This will unlock passive talents while lifting the cap on their skill or talent levels. Also, note that a character’s level 40, 50, and 70 ascensions will reward you one Acquaint Fate each.

Weapon Ascension

In Genshin Impact, the maximum weapon level is 90. Enhancing it will increase the base and secondary stat. The latter varies from weapon to weapon. You will need enhancement materials to enhance a weapon, which can either be other weapons or enhancement ores. These enhancement ores come in three different degrees of rarity and give different amounts of weapon EXP.

When the weapon’s level reaches its current cap, you can ascend it using ascension materials. The easiest way to get them is by doing domain challenges.

Weapon ascension materials

Weapon ascension materials preview

Each region has its own domain for weapon ascension materials, and they are only available on certain days of the week. You can click on the material and see which domain it is from and the day of the week it is available.

Ascension material availability schedule

You will also need monster drop items and, of course, Mora.

All of the ascension requirements can also be crafted using the low-rarity versions of that material.

Please note that enhancing the weapon does not change its passive effect since that is the purpose of Refining. Your ability to enhance a weapon depends on your Adventure Rank or world level, so you will have to ascend to a higher world level to be able to enhance weapons to their maximum level of 90.