How to play Genshin Impact on Android with a controller

Genshin Impact is one of the most popular “free-to-play” action RPGs in the world, helped by its support for mobile play on Android, iPhone, and iPad. A controller, of course, can potentially make any action game better, especially when compared with touchscreen inputs that block your view and smudge your display.

Can you play Genshin Impact on Android with a controller?

Yes you can, although enabling controller support is a more convoluted than it needs to be. To even open up the option you need to watch the game’s opening cutscene, meet Paimon, then follow a tutorial teaching the game’s basic touchscreen controls, including a combat encounter. This is in contrast to many Android games, which let you use a USB or Bluetooth gamepad from the jump.

On top of that, you’ll need to re-pair every time, and the game doesn’t have official controller support on Android. That means using something like the Razer Kishi V2‘s Virtual Controller mode, or a third-party mapping app such as Mantis Gamepad Pro.

How to play Genshin Impact on Android with a controller

Follow these steps to enable a controller:

• First, setup a controller mapping tool such as Mantis Gamepad Pro or Razer’s Virtual Controller. You may need to spend a little time here tailoring it for Genshin.
• Watch the game’s opening cutscene and complete Paimon’s tutorial if you haven’t already.
• Tap the Paimon menu, which is found in the top-left corner of the gameplay screen, next to the mini-map.
• Tap the gear icon to open the Settings menu, then choose Controls.
• Put your controller into pairing mode if it uses Bluetooth.
• Tap Control Type, then select Controller in the drop-down menu.
• Later, you can go back to the Controls menu to adjust camera sensitivity, or possibly invert the Y-axis (up-down movement) if you prefer aircraft-style controls. Don’t invert the X-axis.