In the world of Teyvat, where ancient secrets and complex narratives intertwine, a recent discovery has veteran players of Genshin Impact looking back with a mixture of amusement and face-palming disbelief. A mission etched into the memory of millions as a tense, nerve-wracking stealth challenge—one of the earliest major quests in the story-rich Mondstadt region—had a shockingly simple solution hidden in plain sight all along. Players didn't need to sneak at all; they could have just sprinted to victory. This revelation, emerging years after the game's 2020 debut, casts a humorous new light on one of the game's most formative early-game experiences, especially when contrasted with the dense, emotionally charged sagas of regions like Fontaine that define the game's storytelling in 2026.
The quest in question is "Venti's New Plan," a pivotal moment where the Traveler and the bard Venti must infiltrate the basement of the Church of Favonius to retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel. The game sets the stage for a classic stealth sequence: guards patrol with glowing vision cones, the player is instructed to crouch behind pillars and boxes, and the tension mounts with every cautious step. For countless players, this was their first real taste of high-stakes tension in Teyvat.
Yet, as a viral social media post highlighted, the entire stealth mechanic is optional. The intended solution of carefully avoiding guards' sightlines can be completely bypassed. Players can simply ignore the crouch button and sprint full-tilt past every guard in the cathedral's underbelly. While their alert meters will briefly flash and rise, simply moving past them quickly enough causes the guards to lose interest entirely. The Traveler can dash directly to the Lyre's pedestal in a matter of seconds, triggering the next story cutscene where a Fatui agent swoops in to steal it. The mission's objective—to reach the Lyre—is fulfilled, just not in the way the game's instructions suggest.
This counter-intuitive shortcut is both a blessing and a revelation. For new players in 2026, who might find the old-school stealth mechanics clunky compared to newer content, knowing they can run through this segment is a massive relief. The mission, even today, remains one of the most stressful in the game's extensive library. The fear of failure was palpable: getting caught by the patrolling Knights of Favonius meant an instant reset, forcing players to begin their infiltration from the very start. This led to widespread frustration, with many players recounting how they spent agonizing minutes—or even hours—crawling through the shadows, hearts pounding, only to be spotted at the last moment.
However, this clever bypass does come with a significant trade-off. The stealth-optional approach, while efficient, means permanently missing out on valuable loot. Scattered throughout the church basement are six treasure chests that can only be collected during this specific mission:
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Two Common Chests
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Two Exquisite Chests
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Two Precious Chests
These chests contain Mora, Enhancement Ore, and, most importantly, a handful of Primogems. Since the basement area is permanently locked after the quest concludes, these chests are unattainable by any other means. For a newcomer, this creates a classic risk-reward dilemma: endure the stress of a full stealth run to claim all the rewards, or sacrifice the loot for a swift and grievance-free completion. For veterans who meticulously cleared the area years ago, this new information is a bittersweet pill—a humorous reminder of their past struggles and the annoying realization that it could have been so much easier, albeit less profitable.
The discovery underscores a charming aspect of Genshin Impact's enduring legacy. Even as the game has evolved with sprawling narratives and intricate mechanics in regions like Natlan and Snezhnaya, players are still uncovering quirky secrets and unintended solutions in its oldest content. It serves as a funny footnote in the Traveler's epic journey, proving that sometimes in Teyvat, the most straightforward path—even if it involves blatantly ignoring the rules—is the most effective one. This mission, once a rite of passage fraught with tension, is now also remembered as a lesson in thinking outside the box, or perhaps, just running straight through it.