Starting very soon, Genshin Impact players can head to Liyue Harbor to participate in one of the big new Lantern Festival events, Theater Mechanicus. That's a fancy word for a tower defense mode! Players are not able to use their weapons in this, but there are a ton of different towers to set up, build, and even co-op with other players in order to take on hordes of foes.

If you're not familiar with Genshin Impact, it's a big open world game where you can climb mountains, battle monsters, level up, and explore. There's a huge feature and mechanics set that is similar to most major MMORPGs, but in a framework that's perfect for the single player experience. The most controversial aspect of Genshin Impact is its implementation of the gacha system where players can pay real money to roll on characters. Learn more about gacha and all things Genshin in our starting guide here.

To get things started, seek out Ruijin in the northern section of Liyue Harbor. Players interested in the tower defense game mode can unlock all kinds of different perks as they play through a variety of levels, so the experience should stay fresh through its duration. You can play the mode until February 28, so there's plenty of time to earn achievements and awards. For Theater Mechanicus, you can team up with one other player to fend off the invasion. 

There are a multitude of cool towers to experiment with during the wave-based defense of Theater Mechanicus. Check out the chart below for a rundown of some of the powers at your disposal. You can upgrade towers and also augment your experience with Mystic Arts that have overarching benefits and effects on the battle. While you won't be able to chop down enemies with your weapons or abilities, one interesting aspect that I'm sure players will have fun tinkering with is applying elemental effects to foes with skills, so this could become a subtle way to take advantage of the various towers available.

Your efforts at Theater Mechanicus pay off in Peace Talismans. What do you do with the Peace Talismans? Well, you turn them in for other things of course! The most important item of interest will cost you 1,000 Peace Talismans, a 4-star character from the Liyue region. This is an excellent time to pick up a "free" character that would normally force you to make banner rolls, either adding a new character to your roster or, if you're a longtime player, taking someone's constellation level to the next tier.

You can find out more details on the new game mode on the official Genshin Impact website here. Are you playing Genshin Impact? Are you excited to try out the new tower defense mode? Let us know in the comments!